Naughty Dog, Realtime Graphics, and Comparisons!

Since the unveiling of the Uncharted 2 footage just before and during the Spike TV awards many have been questioning and speculating about the visuals they received concerning gameplay. Naughty Dog has of course responded to the skepticism and has stated the trailers were rendered using the title's in-game engine. Given history one would have right to doubt and question these things. Sony once before tried to pull a fast one on us with the unveiling footage of killzone 2. Sony showed us what was CGI footage and attempted to pass it off as in-game graphics; however, Naughty Dog was quick to note that they have a good track record with showing game footage they claim was in-game, but how genuine is their claim? Is their track record credible?

Naughty Dog in a few interviews after the release of the original game claimed the character models in both cut scenes and in-game are one and the same. According to ND the characters use the exact same textures and polygons. I have decided to test that claim.


Due to the default nature of the in game camera it would be hard to see any similarities between in-game models and those in cut scenes. The problem is that the camera is set back to far away; however, there are several times and places where the camera can be zoomed in allowing you to get a closer look at these in-game models. After working around with the camera in these select situations I was able to do some close up capturing of the in-game characters. Hopefully with this comparison any doubt can be laid to rest concerning Naughty Dog and their credibility with in-game and trailer/cut scene graphics.

Click on the images to view them in their original 720p full resolution.


In these images one particular thing to note is Drake's gun harness.

Cut scene

In-Game



The focus here is Drake's hair.

Cut scene

In-Game

In-Game




Cut scene
In-Game




Notice Drake's hands.
Cut scene
In-Game


Here the focus in on the face, gun, and general upper body.

Cut scene
In-Game
In-Game


It seems that Naughty Dog was not telling a tall tale concerning the character models. The cut scene model appear to be same as the in-game models just only zoomed in. It is amazing how well the characters look that close up in-game, but how good are they compared to a similar rival in the genre? How does Uncharted stand up to the Crown Xbox graphics king, Gears of War 2? The following comparison was made at the request of friends from GAF and the Gamespot Forums.

Click on the images to view them in their original 720p full resolution.






























One thing I noticed in Gears of War 2 was that there seems to be some strange blurring effect going. I have no idea as to why this was happening, but I had to redo some character shots because some of the subjects would come out blurred. I had to set my software to capture every individual frame coming in so I could discard the blurry captures from the non blurry ones. Below are some examples of the strange blurring I noticed.









More images are coming soon. I have yet to upload the comparison of enemies and other secondary characters. I also will have images of smoke and explosive effects to compare. Stay tuned!

Also to all the Sony fanboys, Gears' gameplay >>>>>>>>>>>>> Uncharted.

Kinetic Ninja out!
*Disappears surreptitiously into the tenebrae of the taciturn night. . . to play Gears of War II *