"Killzone: Shadow Fall is set to wave the 1080p banner when it arrives, and based on close, frame-by-frame scrutiny of the trailer, we can confirm this target is being realised fully here, giving us a crisp level of image quality we seldom see outside of PC gaming. But, while this leap gives us an impressive 2.25x pixel increase over the 1280x720 seen in Killzone 3, is this standard actually here to stay for all future releases?
The available evidence from this and other Sony trailers suggests that this is indeed the case, owing to the vastly higher fill-rates afforded by the PS4's powerful Radeon graphics processor. Chief among the priorities in its design is of 176GB/s memory bandwidth at its disposal in concert with a whopping 32 ROPs - stats that place these aspects of the PS4's architecture on a par with some of the fastest PC rendering hardware. Put into perspective, this level of throughput exceeds that of even capable £120+ PC graphics cards, including current mid-range favourite the Radeon HD 7850. Recent benchmarks of this card show little issue in running DirectX 11 titles like Battlefield 3 on high settings at 1080p60. In other words, given the right optimisation for the new version of Sony's custom LibGCM graphics library, there's more than enough of an overhead for the PS4 to push for more than what we're seeing here - or at least break even with 1080p going forward.
Even with such a high resolution in place, anti-aliasing is still necessary. The series has used a range of post-processing methods in the past, going from the blur-inducing quincunx of Killzone 2, to the sharper morphological (MLAA) method in Killzone 3. Given that we see image treatment in Killzone: Shadow Fall extends to non-geometric elements such as foliage, there's a strong indication that a post-process approach is making a return here and we wouldn't be surprised to see the return of MLAA in effect. This is backed up by the light shimmer effect we see on high-contrast edges too, showing sub-pixel noise which this method typically has trouble addressing. Even with these artifacts though, the image looks far beyond the quality console gamers have grown accustomed to. The fact is that, with more resolution to work with, the issues that have blighted post-processing AA in the current-gen era are far less of an issue at 1080p.
It's a beautiful game overall, but with compromises that only make sense if frame-rate has become the priority. Those hoping to see a trend of fluid 60FPS titles begin from day one will be disappointed, but for Shadow Fall the emphasis is placed on a cinematic spectacle rendered at 1080p30. The frame-rate is confirmed to be capped at 30FPS during interviews with the studio, and based on our feed we see this is absolutely 100 per cent stable throughout the entire demo. No drops, no screen tearing - it's a smooth play-through all the way, suggesting that the frame-rate could be running higher if it weren't locked down on this figure. So there's no 1080p60 here and Guerrilla's decision to lock at 30 also has implications for controller latency - it's a shame that Killzone won't have the crisp response that only 60Hz provides, and that helps makes PC gaming attractive to so many.
As it stands, the condition of Killzone: Shadow Fall's demo hints at the greater promise of its full release later this year. Regardless, and perhaps most importantly, out of all the titles showcased at Sony's event this week, Guerrilla Games is making the most practical declaration of intent for the future of PS4. Here we have unscripted stretches of gameplay on display with a multitude of effects we may well have seen in isolation on PS3, but rarely all in tandem, and never at this incredible sense of scale.
There are some curious cut-backs we didn't expect to see, but there's plenty of development time remaining until the game is finished, and with the bar being raised in almost every other category, it's perhaps inevitable that certain shortcomings - specific hangovers from the last generation - might rise to the surface. On the positive side, the push for higher-grade volumetric effects, masses of on-screen geometry, object-based motion blur, SSAO, and a full 1080p native frame-buffer all stand as the big selling points from a technical perspective in the here and now.
Based on specs alone, the PS4 clearly has far more to offer than what we're seeing, and it's worth remembering that Guerrilla would have developed a large chunk of Shadow Fall on incomplete hardware. Our understanding is that final kits based on actual PS4 production hardware are a relatively recent phenomenon, and now the developer has a fixed target to aim for, we may well see significant engine improvements. But if this stands as the level of technical quality we should expect for Shadow Fall's final release, we'll be due for one of the most technically compelling launch titles we've seen in a very long time."
