Core Gaming
Game Article: Infamous Set To Prove Fanboys Right?
Andrew Weymes of The Nightly Gamer writes: The Playstation 3 exclusive entitled Infamous is set to electrify gamers later on this year, but this newcomer to the open world scene has a lot of pressure resting on its shoulders. Playstation 3 owners seem rather confident that their console is able to produce better visuals than the competition, so it only makes sense that Infamous should set the bar for open world games in terms of graphics.
Long before Grand Theft Auto IV's release when it was first announced for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, PS3 owners became enraged at the thought of a multiplatform release. The reason for this is that Playstation 3 fans were very worried that an Xbox 360 release of Grand Theft Auto IV would result in the quality of the graphics being downgraded to accommodate the 360. This is clearly debatable, but it's true that Grand Theft Auto IV has some technical issues such as an occasionally poor frame rate and quite a bit of pop in while driving.
While gamers may never know what could have become of Grand Theft Auto IV were it a Playstation 3 exclusive, they are able to see if the Playstation 3 is capable of better technical graphics within the same genre as Grand Theft Auto IV. Of course, in addition to the power of a console, the quality of a game depends on the developers behind it. The people at Sucker Punch can sway the opinion of gamers all around the world depending on the visual quality of Infamous.
On one hand, if Infamous is miles above Grand Theft Auto IV in terms of technical graphics then it's apparent that the Playstation 3 is the more powerful of the two consoles. On the other hand, if Infamous is worse, slightly better or on par with Grand Theft Auto IV technically, then that suggests that the two consoles are about even in terms of graphical power. This may seem trivial, but graphics are becoming a bigger issue by the day among the core gaming community.
Many gamers have rumoured that the Xbox 360 has been maxed out in terms of graphical capability while developers are just becoming accustomed to developing for the Playstation 3. While neither rumour is to be taken as fact, it's incredibly interesting to see if Microsoft will able to prove the rumours wrong by releasing visually superior exclusives to Playstation 3 exclusives.
Multiplatform games also play a part in this race for visual supremacy between Sony and Microsoft. 2008's Dead Space was arguably one of the most visually impressive console games of the year and it was shared by gamers on both consoles. If multiplatform games begin trumping exclusives graphically then the debate over which console is superior may never have an end.
Prototype is an upcoming multiplatform game that shares many similarities to Infamous. Both are open world games and both have lead characters with super-human powers. Both games are releasing around the same time as well, so the competition is expected to be fierce. From a purely visual standpoint, if Infamous is not superior to Prototype, Sucker Punch is going to give gamers around the world the impression that the Playstation 3 is overhyped when it comes to graphical capability.
Infamous is either going to help prove what fanboys have been saying since the launch of the Playstation 3, or it's going to prolong the never ending debate until more exclusive games are released for both consoles. The Nightly Gamer is excited for both games mentioned above and will likely review them and write a visual comparison piece.
About the Author
Andrew Patrick Weymes
Core Gaming
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(PC gaming) multi-core processors - do they matter for gaming?
Do multi-core processors (ie duel-core, quad-core, etc.) really make a difference for gaming? The only way that I can see it having a huge impact is if the game was designed in some way to take advantage of the multiple processors such as task schedulers in the game program that can scedule between the multiple processors, calculate most efficient use, etc. However, I am inclined to believe that all but the newest games do not have this type of programming in them.
So my question is, do you guys think having one or a hundred CPUs (sums equal to the speed of the single) really makes a game run better, if the game is not designed to get maximum efficiency out of the multi-processors?
Right now? A little. There are a few games that take advantage of multi-cores but the vast majority don't. However, that's going to start changing very rapidly. Most games (especially 3D FPS games) run on a fairly small number of underlying game engines (ie, Valve's Source engine, the upcoming UT3K engine, CryTek's Cryengine, and iD's Doom 3 tech) all of which have publicly stated that the newer versions of their software will support and be optimized for multi-core processors. It's newer technology so not everyone is maximizing the possibilities, but as time goes on more and more people will be exploring what can be done. Valve have said that the newest version of the Source engine will be offloading a lot of AI onto one core while devoting the other one to graphics. As more companies adopt the same or similar ideas you'll see more and more games that take advantage of multicore, especially as multicore CPUs are becoming the standard as opposed to cutting-edge tech.
