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[FFXII]

Indeed, and it's especially notable for its facial animation and how well it matches the dialogue. It might be too much to hope for to it be as well-matched to the inevitable English dub as it is to the Japanese, but I'm hoping anyway.

 

[epmode]

it sure takes them long enough to localize the game. it's not like they don't have the time.

 

[jett]

Too bad the faces of MGS3 still have the same horrible "lip-synching"(if you can call it that) animation from MGS2. SH3 and HL2 win hands-down.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I agree, although it's texture usage & attention to detail that sets RE4 apart. SH3 is beautiful in scripted in-engine generated cutscenes, is Heather that detailed during gameplay? No. RE4 spits out 20+ detailed infected villagers at a time.

Seems very obvious that it's a cutscene. With games like RE and SH you hardly ever see the main characters face during the actual in game so it's always hard to tell how good they look.

 

[Dice]

I don't think SH3 and HL2 animate all that well, especially with the voice. I was very impressed by FFX-2 and think FFXII will probably improve it even more, it reminded me of an animated movie. I think Capcom definitely has best overall models, but not specifically face modeling, and their animation isn't quite up to snuff.

 

[dark10x]

I agree, although it's texture usage & attention to detail that sets RE4 apart. SH3 is beautiful in scripted in-engine generated cutscenes, is Heather that detailed during gameplay? No. RE4 spits out 20+ detailed infected villagers at a time.

Like SH3, the details are lower during the game...

However, it shouldn't be THAT suprising. The GC is more powerful hardware and is simply being used well. I mean, look at Ninja Gaiden on XBOX. DURING the game, all characters on the screen are as detailed as a dedicated fighting game...

i think kojima team's ace members are the cinematography/effects/imagery people. see the facial models are certainly not bad, but its those effects people that make the package look much better than they are.
if you'll check out some RE4 character shots (and i dont wanna get involved in a screenshot battle), you'll notice that the hair is much more detailed.
as you can also notice, in MGS, the ears are showing polygonal edges, in RE4 they are more rounded.
but overall look of the shots you posted, the "warm" glow, the shallow depth of field (blurry backgrounds), overexposed parts of the face...these are the effects that make the whole package look tremendous, to the extent of hiding the lack of detail in the faces.
props where its due, kojima's effects/artistic team...they got great aesthetic vision. unless of course its the same guys doing the modeling as well, then they balanced everything to achieve some great results.

The point that I was trying to make is that the team simply had a smaller geometry budget per character due to the environment and number of characters and objects that can appear on the screen at once. The fact of the matter is, the models can still stand up to those which feature 4 times the amount of geometry. THAT is what makes them so impressive! Many modellers aren't able to create faces and characters of that quality with a much larger poly budget. So, although there is more detail present in other games, the models in MGS3 still impress me more than most as they were able to achieve that with greater limitations. Surely you can understand why that is so impressive...

 

[FightyF]

I agree, although it's texture usage & attention to detail that sets RE4 apart. SH3 is beautiful in scripted in-engine generated cutscenes, is Heather that detailed during gameplay? No. RE4 spits out 20+ detailed infected villagers at a time.

Hmm...this makes me wonder what FPS these games are running at, because it would be incredible to see these faces at a lower framerate (but with higher detail). NHL 2K4/5 does it at 60 fps (go into replay when playing online), MGS 3 is 60 fps during gameplay, but I don't know about cutscenes...how about RE4 and FFXII?

 

[evilromero]

For the console side of things MGS3 has the most impressive still-shot face models. But I know how Konami is really good at pulling the blankets over our faces with that stuff.

 

[dark10x]

For the console side of things MGS3 has the most impressive still-shot face models. But I know how Konami is really good at pulling the blankets over our faces with that stuff.

Eh? What do you mean by that?

 

[Li Mu Bai]

Seems very obvious that it's a cutscene. With games like RE and SH you hardly ever see the main characters face during the actual in game so it's always hard to tell how good they look.

You've never played, nor read very deeply regarding the game apparently. I know for a fact that the engine does minimally 10+-20 enemies simultaneously, & Leon's face is quite obvious during actual in game play. (the stictching on his jacket is even clearly visible) Such as when enemies choke you, your knife use, dependent also upon the angle you're firing from, despite the default behind the back view. I believe its 30fps, a game like this doesn't need that high of a refresh rate IMO. (esp given the superb texture use & amount of detail) Whereas racers, fpsers, & sports games most assuredly do. (no RE game has been above 30 iirc) Although I may be wrong however, Gamespy is stating 60fps.

IGN: The Resident Evil franchise has traditionally provided gamers shock scares. A perfect example of this would be the dogs that crashed through the window in the first game. We haven't seen at lot of these elements in RE4. In contrast, it seems to emphasize action, albeit in a very eerie way. Are there old-style scary scenes in the game? Also, will there be points where Leon will simply have to run away from the oncoming villagers?

Kobayashi: When it comes to the action, sometimes you're going to be attacked by 10 or 20 villagers, so of course you're going to run. http://cube.ign.com/articles/515/515402p2.html

Gamespy: The framerate seems to be hitting the 60 frames-per-second mark nicely based on what we've seen so far. Framerate whores (you know who you are) are unlikely to be disappointed. Quite how Capcom has managed to achieve this level of detail while maintaining a blistering framerate is a mystery. It must be using devil magic.
http://cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/resident-evil-4/539956p10.html

Come on SSX, do your homework. The cutscene rebuttal was was weak.

 

[Zaptruder]

Attractiveness of the character models are probably also clouding some judgements in here.

It's true that the MGS characters are much better looking than the Doom3 marine... but I'm not sure how many people would refer to an attractive person as 'better modelled' over a less attractive person...

 

[Li Mu Bai]

For the console side of things MGS3 has the most impressive still-shot face models. But I know how Konami is really good at pulling the blankets over our faces with that stuff.

They incorporate phenomenal "art assets," they are not the most detailed still-shot face models. (Both SH3 & RE4 are above them in this regard in both detail & texture usage IMO) Do not confuse art as pulling the the blankets over our collective faces.

 

[Li Mu Bai]

Attractiveness of the character models are probably also clouding some judgements in here.

It's true that the MGS characters are much better looking than the Doom3 marine... but I'm not sure how many people would refer to an attractive person as 'better modelled' over a less attractive person...

You've got a valid point Zaptruder.

 

[SolidSnakex]

"The cutscene rebuttal was was weak."

How it's weak when it's obvious that it is a cutscene? I never said you'd never get to see their faces ingame, just that most of the time it's hidden because of the camera, nor did I say anything about the villagers.

 

[FightyF]

Come on SSX, do your homework. The cutscene rebuttal was was weak.

This arguement is making Joe Thorton and his superiorily modelled face cry...

 

[Li Mu Bai]

"The cutscene rebuttal was was weak."

How it's weak when it's obvious that it is a cutscene? I never said you'd never get to see their faces ingame, just that most of the time it's hidden because of the camera, nor did I say anything about the villagers.

My, my, how the tune has changed once we're presented with incontrovertible evidence. You never said anything about the villagers? That "torch cutscene" you were referring to is comprised of nothing but "villagers." I was talking about interactive ingame enemies on the screen simultaneously. I believe Kobayashi verified this, no? I've played both, please don't try to compare Heather's LOD ingame to Leon's.

 

[SolidSnakex]

My, my, how the tune has changed once we're presented with incontrovertible evidence. You never said anything about the villagers? That "torch cutscene" you were referring to is comprised of nothing but "villagers." I was talking about interactive ingame enemies on the screen simultaneously. I believe Kobayashi verified this, no? I've played both, please don't try to compare Heather's LOD ingame to Leon's.

Dude read my first post, I didn't mention the villagers at all. I just talked about the main character (which would be Leon). Don't be so touchy.

 

[eso76]

Riddick deserves a mention

 

[Li Mu Bai]

You're right eso, Riddick definitely deserves a nod. SSX, my apologies. I thought you were saying that the RE4 engine was incapable of reproducing that many villagers in real-time, (20) when I knew otherwise.