SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

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Ondine
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SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by Ondine »

I was surprised :o at how good SH3 looked when I played it for the first time two weeks ago. I'm reallllly spoiled graphics-wise (Killzone 2, God of War 3, Uncharted 2, MGS4, etc...) so I was actually hesitant to pick this game up simply for being PS2 era. Anyways, (technically speaking) since SH3 was so impressive, will it be a noticeable downgrade to go from 3 to 2? I'm talking in terms of graphics, physics, sound quality, controls/camera--which, btw, I had no problems with in SH3 considering all the complaints.

Thanks for any help/comments! :mrgreen:
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by SPRINGS02 »

No silent hill 2 looks pretty good, sh3 looks way better and is more vivid as far as the art stye for the otherworld. But silent hill 2 looks good as well. SH3 is my favorite silent hill game but silent hill 2 is a must play for every silent hill fan.
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SilentWren
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by SilentWren »

I think Silent Hill 2 looks good in terms of environment, but the characters (and trees) look a little pixel-y during game play at times. They definitely spent a lot of time on the fog, but the graphics aren't as good as everyone always plays them up as (& this is coming from someone who is happy with dumb shit like tetris.)

On a scale of 1-10, I would rate 2 a 6.5, and 3 at least an 8. But that's just my two cents.

I thought the monsters in 3 were a SHIT TON better, though.
The patients in 2 are so ugly, and not in the way they were intended to be.

Just to avoid the flaming I'm going to add:
2 was the cornerstone of the series by most criteria you'd care to throw at it.
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by SPRINGS02 »

Wren is right, sh2 is considered the cornerstone of the series by many(i consider it great but i still say it's overrated by many and that sh3 is better). Trust me it's a great game. Check it out so you can see what all the fuss is about, also play sh4 as well(some people say it's not that great but they don't know anything :P)

But yeah definitely don't let the graphics keep you from playing the game, they don't look as good as 3 but they're not that bad and they fill their purpose.
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clips
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by clips »

Yeah...SH3 was the disturbing graphical masterpiece of the series...the artists created some absolutely terrorfying otherworlds and the characters were incredibly detailed. But when SH2 first came out it was one of best looking games on the system(the leap from SH1 to 2 was amazing), and like others have mentioned it still looks great against SH3 and it still looks good even by today's standards.

I think the story in 2 is a bit better than 3 tho, it's fleshed out a bit better imo than 3 and i thought the characters were a wee bit more interesting....but you can't go wrong with either game...definitely give prt2 a spin...
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by Ratiocinator »

I remember the unholy flack I got when I said SH3 had better visuals than SH2 and 4 back in the day when I did my SH4 review. So many people thought I was full of shit. So, so much flack and now people finally see the light. Better late than never.

I'll relate this to your eye-candy games Ondine: You know how Uncharted looked pretty damn good back in the day and is still nice on the eyes to this day (relating to SH2)? You know how Uncharted 2 took all the good and made it that much better (relating to SH3)? It's about like that. (Side-note: I love the Uncharted games.)

SH2 has relatively the same amount of poly detail per character/environment/assets. It also has around the same texture detail/resolution as SH3. What made SH3 shine, however, was its more vibrant color palette, as SPRINGS02 mentioned, its use of cel-shading to make gorgeous shadows, more attention to detail with light placement and "dynamic" textures (i.e. the wiggling, moving walls).

SH2's animations (especially facial animations) are noticeably stiffer than SH3's, too. While not visual-related, attention to detail in character animation and lip-syncing made SH3's visuals shine that much more.
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by Uyrikeustek »

Yeah I always thought that Silent Hill 3 looked much better graphics-wise when compared to 2. However, I really enjoyed the CG's in the opening and in certain cut scenes in 2. They were very beautiful and high-quality. I don't know. I personally like 2 better than 3 in terms of the story.
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by dr bones »

Graphics-wise (and in other ways), I still regard SH2 as a game that was way ahead of it's time. Sure, they tweaked and perfected the visuals in SH3, but I still think think they are very comparable, especially PC and Xbox versions. I have to admit though, I find the controls slightly more stiff and awkward, especially in the combat department. Oh sure, you get used to it quick, but it lacks the fluidity of SH3's.

Speaking of the graphical evolutions of the series, I still can't see how they managed to actually take a step backwards cosmetically with SH4 (not that I don't still enjoy the game).
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clips
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by clips »

Speaking of the graphical evolutions of the series, I still can't see how they managed to actually take a step backwards cosmetically with SH4 (not that I don't still enjoy the game).

I've read some comments from the dev's after they finished SH2...they stated that for the next game(SH3) that they wanted to throw everything at the player they could possibly think of in terms of disturbing imagery and atmosphere....and imo they did that ten-fold....so i guess when it came to prt4, it was kinda hard to top what they did in prt3...in terms of it's visuals and imagery, but you didn't think that the first time you saw that incredible 5 minute trailer for SH4....don't get wrong, prt4 was still an amazing game (i tend to think it has one of strongest storylines in the series) but visually it was tad weaker than prt3....and i loved the overall concept of prt4 (being locked up in your apt)...
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by SilentWren »

@The original poster-Sorry if you haven't played 4 yet, but I'm jumping on the bandwagon here...

Some of the hallways in 4 (you know the ones I'm talking about) seemed like they were trying to 'copycat' the moving walls in 3. I know they need continuity between the titles, but it felt so 'added on' to me for some reason. Maybe because they executed it worse than in 3, idk.

4 was a down grade. It was an interesting game, but the mechanics of it were...sucky.
Even if things like the 'revisiting' of areas didn't bother me, the item capacity cap alone was enough to make me roll my eyes.
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Re: SH2 vs SH3 (technical discussion)

Post by Zeraylph »

I like SH 3 beginning better than SH 2 beginning.

So much fog, while in SH 3 you get to see some horror right away, your in a mall and Someone getting their face eaten off,
but Heather gets scared too easily. Just 1 monster she's already frightened.

But Harry Mason, NOW that guy, he would never be afraid.

Anyways, the amount of content in SH 3 excels SH 2, IMO. The unlockables, the costumes, beam, the weapons. The stages, and environments.
The variety of monsters. Not only that, unlike Heather, James cannot see things in even relatively light areas, such as getting that pistol.

I dunno, James can't do even simple stuff, but sometimes he has amazing abilities somehow, like surviving a long jump.

Yes James IM talking about you!!! Such as leaving your flashlight on near pyramid head!!

Heather is smart, she wouldn't do something like that.

Both games have strong points, I should leave it at that. Both are excellent too.
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