• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Turok demo online on Euro XBL - Impressions!

Status
Not open for further replies.

Bildi

Member
andrewfee said:
I know your TV would be adjusted properly so I don't get why it's so dark. Mine is adjusted to optimal brightness and I had no problems. In fact, there were very few actual 'black' areas to the picture so I found it a little bright really. Maybe it's an issue with that black level adjustment on NTSC 360's and this being a demo for PAL consoles???

Anyway, my impressions of the demo:

+ environmental sounds are great. At the very start of the demo I really took notice of the sounds of things moving in the caves.
+ animation on the dinosaurs is great.
+ I enjoyed the gameplay overall. In terms of physics everything felt good.
+ the lights on the gun showing your ammo status are a great idea.

- I found the tone mapping to be a little funny (hope I'm using the right terminology here). The characters themselves would actually go to black when part of their body was in darkness, but the environment didn't have any actual black, only dark grey. Put another way, it's like the gamma on the environment was higher than the characters. Overall, I found the gamma too high.
- the delay on the right analog stick was a bit annoying. You move it, but your vision doesn't start moving until soon after - it makes aiming quite fatiguing for me. If I remember right the Time Shift had something similar to this and it annoyed me there too.
- the red around the edge of the screen when you get hurt is much too intrusive. It didn't seem to be dynamic, so it's like switching on a layer in photoshop with a static image.
- I didn't really like the speed-up delay when Turok starts walking, and Turok walks too slow (even for me who likes to move slow generally).
- I think everyone's tired of caves but at least they were over quick.
- at one point I ran out of ammo and was picking up a couple of guns that I came across, and while fiddling with picking up and putting down guns on the spot, I found the guns I went to pick up originally had just vanished. So I was left with no ammo and nothing to pick up. Under normal 'laws of videogames' nowadays I would assume every time you drop a gun, it just falls on the ground and is available to pick up again. I found the whole X and Y button thing confusing and honestly didn't really figure out what was going on.

Even though my negatives list is longer, I quite liked it overall. If not for the look and walking delays I probably would have enjoyed it more. I sure liked it a lot more than say Timeshift or Jericho.
 
wow....tried the PS3 demo and its got some issues:

- the overall sound isn't on par with the 360 version. If anything, parts of it (like NPCs) sound similiar to the Stranglehold demo where it just sounds like its at a lowerquality bitrate? or something. But in the Stranglehold the entire demo was like that as well as parts in the final game....is this just an issue with the engine or something?

- textures, while good, didn't look as good as 360 version

- NO MOTION BLUR!

- lighting/post processing just didn't seem as vibrant...example is glaring at the cliffs in the distance when outside

So yeah, I'd probably pick this up on 360 (obviously since it was the lead sku anyway) or PC
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Dunno if it has been touched on yet, but I've compared the 360 and PS3 demos directly (switching back and forth between inputs).

It's not a bad port, but once again, the 360 has a slight edge. The framerate is perfectly fine on PS3, fortunately (perhaps even a tad better), but it lacks the motion blur effect (which is odd as UT3 itself uses it without any problems) present in the 360 version.

Furthermore, the lighting is...different. I don't know if there is a technical reason for that or not, but the PS3 game just looks different. When you step out of the caves, for instance, the sky is extremely bright on PS3 and the colors are very vivid (bright greens). The 360 version has a much more gritty appearance that seems more realistic and subtle. There are a few texture differences too. Again, when you first step out of the caves, the jungle floor textures are completely different between the two versions. The PS3 textures aren't low-res or anything, just totally different. They give the whole scene a very different appearance. Oh, and the 360 version has just slightly more foliage (very very minor difference).

So, basically, the 360 version has (in my eyes) better lighting, motion blur, and some different textures. Framerates and image quality seem roughly the same between them. To be honest, I don't quite understand why the differences are present. I'd imagine HDR is present in both versions as the players eyes adjust dynamically the light in both versions.

If you look at the jungle shot andrewfree posted, the PS3 version of that shot would have a bright blue sky with white clouds up in the distance while the ground texture would be a grassy looking green texture rather than what you see there.
 

besada

Banned
Hey bish. I'm genuinely not trying to be an ass, but after hearing half of the guys I play FPS's bitch that they aren't buying UT3 because the PS3 got it first (very stupid), was your company at all concerned that having the largest FPS user base in the world about being dead last to get access to the demo?

I bought it on OXM, but I know some of the more extreme 360, er, partisans get cranky when they feel slighted.
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
What the hell?! This is exactly why I never listen to the comments on GAF. I hyped the game and when this demo came out, I couldn't try it out until just now. The comments in this topic makes it seem like it's a bad game or something - holy crap! It frikkin RULES O_O. I can't really say the negative and positive things about it quite yet but so far, it's good!
 

Jag22

Banned
I played the PS3 demo and actually like the game.


Maybe it's because my expectations were low. But the controls were fluid, the dinosaurs looked nice, not too crazy about the art style of the characters. But the environmental visuals get the job done, I mean you're in a forest, so there's trees and tall grass to hide in.

I didn't see anything bad in the demo. Could be a blast with coop (there's still coop, right?).
 
dark10x said:
Dunno if it has been touched on yet, but I've compared the 360 and PS3 demos directly (switching back and forth between inputs).

It's not a bad port, but once again, the 360 has a slight edge. The framerate is perfectly fine on PS3, fortunately (perhaps even a tad better), but it lacks the motion blur effect (which is odd as UT3 itself uses it without any problems) present in the 360 version.

Furthermore, the lighting is...different. I don't know if there is a technical reason for that or not, but the PS3 game just looks different. When you step out of the caves, for instance, the sky is extremely bright on PS3 and the colors are very vivid (bright greens). The 360 version has a much more gritty appearance that seems more realistic and subtle. There are a few texture differences too. Again, when you first step out of the caves, the jungle floor textures are completely different between the two versions. The PS3 textures aren't low-res or anything, just totally different. They give the whole scene a very different appearance. Oh, and the 360 version has just slightly more foliage (very very minor difference).

So, basically, the 360 version has (in my eyes) better lighting, motion blur, and some different textures. Framerates and image quality seem roughly the same between them. To be honest, I don't quite understand why the differences are present. I'd imagine HDR is present in both versions as the players eyes adjust dynamically the light in both versions.

If you look at the jungle shot andrewfree posted, the PS3 version of that shot would have a bright blue sky with white clouds up in the distance while the ground texture would be a grassy looking green texture rather than what you see there.

Lack of blur actually sounds like a benefit to me.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
AdmiralViscen said:
Lack of blur actually sounds like a benefit to me.
It's kind of a matter of opinion, I suppose. I love the blur effect, but I know some folks hate it. They will be pleased.
 

Kintaro

Worships the porcelain goddess
My impressions will be laughed at and ignored...but who had the idea to start off a demo inside a dark ass cave with no flashlight for you to stumble around in? Seriously? No flashlight?

I had to turn it off. I'll try it again later. Just about the worst way to start off a demo I've seen in a very long time.
 
dark10x said:
It's kind of a matter of opinion, I suppose. I love the blur effect, but I know some folks hate it. They will be pleased.

Yea, I haven't actually played the demo yet.

Thanks for the post, I'll have to try both (assuming I actually like the gameplay).
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Kintaro said:
My impressions will be laughed at and ignored...but who had the idea to start off a demo inside a dark ass cave with no flashlight for you to stumble around in? Seriously? No flashlight?

I had to turn it off. I'll try it again later. Just about the worst way to start off a demo I've seen in a very long time.
It wasn't really that dark, though. You certainly didn't need a flashlight.
 

iplay5150

Member
This demo isn't near as bad as everyone here made it out to be. I just got it off PSN and I thought it was fun. Love the dino kills with the knife. Its no Half Life 2, but its far better than crap like Blacksite: Area 51 or Timeshift, IMO. Maybe we're all a little FPS'd out. Too many came out last year and I've grown a bit tired of them. Turok doesn't do much to stand out from the rest, but its not bad. Definate rent.
 
Tried it on the PS3. Doesn't support 1080i. I thought that was going away?

Anyway, the graphics weren't very impressive, but the animations are good. The game itself seems solid enough, I'll probably pick it up. I'll have to check into the co-op thing. It definitely had a Gear of War vibe going on. If it's co-op like Gears, then they just sold 2 copies--on the 360. I'd like to play this in 1080i, thanks very much.
 

noonche

Member
iplay5150 said:
This demo isn't near as bad as everyone here made it out to be. I just got it off PSN and I thought it was fun. Love the dino kills with the knife. Its no Half Life 2, but its far better than crap like Blacksite: Area 51 or Timeshift, IMO. Maybe we're all a little FPS'd out. Too many came out last year and I've grown a bit tired of them. Turok doesn't do much to stand out from the rest, but its not bad. Definate rent.

I tried the PS3 version, and I also had quiet a bit of fun. The cave was kind of boring, but once I got to start stalking enemies and dinos in the jungle I enjoyed myself. I'm definitely going to try the 360 demo when it's available for U.S. silver members before I decide which version to buy.

Unrelated, but I liked Blacksite, it was short and the PS3 port was complete crap, but it was fun on 360.
 

Mesijs

Member
bishoptl said:
You must be playing a different demo than the one we put out, then. :p

That's because I'm not playing the demo but the full game to review it. ;)

I'm at some stupidly designed boss now. I beat it in 2 or 3 tries and was very happy about it, then I quit the game but DAMNED I DIND'T PASS A SAVE POINT!!!

So I was very angry to fight it again. And then I was seeing how stupid this boss is designed. In the 3rd part of the battle he can pretty much kill you with one single attack if you're out of luck, which is plain ridiculous. You have to try to dodge this attack, but sometimes the game doesn't recognize your dodge move (X & moving stick sideways) and only jumps instead of dodging...

So I died a lot of times and I'm quite frustrated. I think the first boss is OK but this boss isn't that well designed... The battle has some nice ideas that I won't spoil but it just isn't worked out well.
 
Kintaro said:
My impressions will be laughed at and ignored...but who had the idea to start off a demo inside a dark ass cave with no flashlight for you to stumble around in? Seriously? No flashlight?

I had to turn it off. I'll try it again later. Just about the worst way to start off a demo I've seen in a very long time.

This is the reason I COULDN'T play it. I literally could not see a damn thing inside the cave on my Sony Wega 55". Not giving the demo the ability to adjust the brightness was a dumb dumb dumb move.
 
antoniogaud said:
This is the reason I COULDN'T play it. I literally could not see a damn thing inside the cave on my Sony Wega 55". Not giving the demo the ability to adjust the brightness was a dumb dumb dumb move.

Given the lack of control config options, view bob on/off options, etc, they didn't seem too interested in giving people options to change much of anything. Now, confidence in one configuration is perhaps an acceptable mentality, but then it needs to basically be universally awesome.
 

justjohn

Member
whose awesome idea was it put the demo in some dark cave where you couldnt see shit, your accomplice kept repeating the same phrase about how's gonna move on if you dont hurry, but still keep fucking hanging around to piss you off, red blood that covers the whole screen so you cant see shit, dinosaurs popping out of nowhere every 15 seconds?
awful awful demo.
 

Endless

Member
Xbox 360 <-------> Playstation 3

2206631708_a309124190_o.jpg

2205844083_91c495cb0c_o.jpg

2206632412_dd56591da8_o.jpg

2206632718_829fc98fed_o.jpg

2205845005_2b14fb789a_o.jpg

2206633378_c653eba08c_o.jpg
 

NeonBlade

Banned
My Lord, I have the Ps3 demo, and now that I see the Xbox demo, what the fuck? Looks like a washed out PC game with a poor vid card on the PS3. At first I thought it was your cable, but theeeeeeeeeeen. It became clear.

Still though, the game itself was trash.
 
Endless said:
Xbox 360 <-------> N64

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2132/2206631708_a309124190_o.jpg[IMG]
[/QUOTE]

Fixed

I haven't bothered downloading either of the demos yet but I surprised the PS3 version looks that much worse.
 

Speevy

Banned
It looks like they didn't even add shaders to the PS3 version. Come on guys, Uncharted and HS look much sharper than that.
 

Big-E

Member
Played it on PSN and I thought I was playing an upscaled PS2 game. Gameplay was ok but I didn't like the shotgun/flare gun thing. It sounded and felt weak.
 

BeeDog

Member
... well, at least they made a good demo background for the PS3 version, compared to let's say Stranglehold's hideous background.
 

Speevy

Banned
Felix Lighter said:
I say we put those worms back in their can and pretend we never saw those images. Whose with me?


You can't unsee that. It's 2008. Devs should get it together or go home.
 

kevm3

Member
didn't have much interest in the game before, and after seeing those ps3 screens, any desires i had were effectively eliminated
 
well soon as bish said 360 was the lead platform you guys should have expected the 360 version to look atleast a little better.
 

Speevy

Banned
Kabuki Waq said:
well soon as bish said 360 was the lead platform you guys should have expected the 360 version to look atleast a little better.


I've mentioned the platform disparity thing to him before. He did say that there weren't any problems.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
That's not "bad port" in that the PS3 version is like running at 10 fps or missing features...that's "bad port" on the level of Splinter Cell for PS3. If the final product looks like that, of course.
 

Tieno

Member
Biggest complaint with the demo is the sound. It doesn't have enough power and snap to it, especially when firing.

Also, is there a run button? Because I feel the movement is too slow.
 

Busty

Banned
Yikes. Those pics are quite startling. I assumed that Turok might have benefitted from the advances made with the UE3 engine for the PS3 by EPIC and Sony with their work on Unreal3. But evidently not.

But I suppose that Turok probably came too late for that. Again, it's a shame that Turok now seems to be placed in the (still growing...WTF?) pile of multi format UE3 games that simply don't hold up against the 360 version.

It would be interesting to see whether the PS3 version is using the SPUs in any significant way. Has Bish mentioned this?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom