God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?

By Richard Leadbetter Published 19 December, 2009

Digital Foundry argues the Kratos.

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With the recent announcement of a PAL-only God of War Ultimate Trilogy Edition pack, combined with this week's reveal of the PSP emulator for PS3, Digital Foundry decided to take a good, hard look at Sony's God of War Collection: an HD "re-mastering" of the original PS2 titles, and an interesting new solution to the age-old, thorny issue of backwards compatibility on PlayStation 3.

The God of War Collection is unique in that it not only makes two truly classic games playable on any PlayStation 3, but it also produces a range of visual and performance benefits that make it a tempting purchase even if you already own the original releases. Even if you've got a PS3 with full hardware PS2 compatibility, the Collection is so good and so keenly priced, its charms are difficult to ignore. According to November NPD data, the game sold around 180,000 copies in the USA in less than two weeks, putting it into the top 20 in one of the most fiercely competitive launch windows of the year.

While it is generally believed that Sony is working on full software emulation of the PS2 behind the scenes, Sony Santa Monica chose a different route. Both God of War and its sequel were coded in C - the same programming language that has effectively become the norm for development on the current-generation consoles. Rather than go to the effort of software-emulating an entire system, the God of War team handed the source code for the games themselves to Bluepoint Games, who then worked on effectively porting the projects across over to PS3. So, just how successful is the conversion? Can a PS2 game really look good on PS3 if it's a simple port?

Let's break out the comparison screenshots. On the top deck we see the PS2 emulation within an NTSC launch PS3 blowing up Kratos' debut to 720p resolution. Both "normal" and "smooth" modes (selected from the XMB) are captured. There appears to be very little difference here, perhaps suggesting that the mode is more to do with the deinterlacing technique used to convert the 480i PS2 output to a progressive format (God of War is a select number of games that can be run natively at 480p).

The bottom row of shots shows the God of War Collection rendering of the same scene, alongside an HD shot showing the original PS2 code running on PC via open source emulator, PCSX2. The emulator is still far from complete, and there are various glitches and issues, particularly in the handling of transparencies. However, this shot emphasises the sheer quality increase that can be attained from a simple resolution bump, with the emulation proving that the detail was there in the original assets, as opposed to being added for the God of War Collection.

'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 1-normal
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 1-smooth
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 1-collection
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 1-emu

PS2 hardware emulation shots on top, God of War Collection and PCSX2 shots on the bottom.

This second shot demonstrates quite beautifully that while the original art is somewhat low-poly by today's standards, the work done by Sony Santa Monica in terms of lighting plus the amount of detail given to Kratos is remarkable, and scales up in a sensational manner. That the visuals look so good and run at 60 frames per second makes for a solid, extremely attractive presentation.

'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 2-normal
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 2-smooth
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 2-collection
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 2-emu

Close-up with Kratos you see just how detailed the original model is, and how the God of War Collection really makes the most of it.

Having established that the games' artwork works so well in full-on high definition, performance is the next port of call for our tests. God of War pushed back barriers in its time for a game so rich in detail: the developers targeted 60 frames per second when they could have locked the game at 30 and given themselves a lot more overhead in rendering each frame. However, they didn't - they seemed hell-bent on producing a game as fast, smooth and responsive as possible.

There were consequences though: Sony Santa Monica opted for a 512x448 framebuffer that was anamorphically scaled outwards to give the impression of full resolution. Back in the era of the CRT display, there was no such thing as a "native" display resolution for consoles, and anamorphic scaling in this fashion worked very well indeed. Additionally, to ensure that the game offered the lowest controller latency possible and the highest possible frame-rates, v-sync was disengaged.

Performance analysis of both the original God of War running on an NTSC launch PS3 with full hardware support, compared with the God of War Collection is remarkable:

While not running at 60FPS 100 per cent of the time, the performance differential of the God of War Collection over the PS2 original is significant, even factoring out the huge resolution boost over the original. Dark blue line represents PS3, while light blue signifies PS2. The tear indicators apply only to the PS2 version - PS3 is v-synced.

Not only does the PS3 run the game at over four times the resolution of the original game, it does so with absolutely no tearing whatsoever and adds in 2x multi-sampling anti-aliasing (MSAA) for good measure. There are performance drops, specifically with the age-old problem of transparencies, but it is very difficult indeed to feel any lag in either the frame-rate or the controls.

Playing God of War in HD on PS3 is a real treat, but it's fair to say that Sony Santa Monica's art reached a new height for the sequel, released in March 2007. God of War 2 is often perceived as the last truly great game released exclusively on PS2, but there were questions being asked internally at Sony on whether the PS3 would've been a more natural home for the game at a time when the system could really have used a profile boost in terms of its exclusives. If you've not read it, this 1UP retrospective with director Cory Barlog is well worth a read for a look back at this showcase game. According to Barlog, PS2 was settled upon as the target platform after "bouncing back and forth", as the team could refine upon what they had rather than tackling the great new technological challenges the PS3 represented.

It's perhaps ironic therefore that a conversion of the PS2 code produces a PS3 game that looks so good; a straight port carried out by a third-party developer no less. This initial comparison shot is very revealing. The quality of Sony Santa Monica's art is such that it looks as though the PS2 simply doesn't have the resolution to resolve anywhere near the full detail of the assets the team created. The fog is lifted when that same artwork is rendered in HD, be it through the porting process used for the God of War Collection, or via emulation.

'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 3-normal
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 3-smooth
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 3-collection
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 3-emu

Resolution limitations in the PS2 prevented God of War's art from realising its full potential on-screen. The improvements in the God of War Collection can be dramatic.

For those who've recently downloaded and enjoyed the Dante's Inferno demo, you really need to see God of War 2 running in HD on the PS3. Based on what's been revealed in the demo, it's fair to say that it's doing things that Dante isn't. Visceral Games' clone maintains 60FPS in a number of ways, but one of them is through the use of tight, confined gameplay environments. Compare and contrast with the often vast, expansive gameplay areas in God of War 2.

'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 4-normal
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 4-smooth
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 4-collection
'God of War Collection: The Future of Backwards Compatibility?' Screenshot 4-emu

The God of War Collection maintains its frame-rate even in expansive, open environments. However, note the SD-quality background art to the right.

Over and above that, there is the sheer quality of the original artwork. In both of the games found in the God of War Collection, the low-poly models still look excellent simply because they were drawn with real style. While age isn't so kind on technology, it is far less impactful on basic class.

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Comments (52) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Dizzy #1 2 years ago

    It is called porting.

  • Retroid #2 2 years ago

    Fact remains that if they hadn't removed all PS2 hardware for the sake of a tiny cost (as Sony themselves have said) per machine, they could've continued updating the emulation, added in the HD rendering* and flogged these as downloads over PSN.

    A *MASSIVE* missed opportunity not only for those of us with decent PS2 collections, but for them to resell past hits to a new audience.

    *HD rendering (like shown here on the Collection & emulated) was being worked on for PS2 BC before it was dropped

  • Monkeyfeet #3 2 years ago

    Back in August sony did patent how to emulate the Graphics Synthesizer of the PS2 using the Cell. Before that they already patented the Emotion Engine. So Sony definitely seems to be working on a solution. The question is if Sony can implement BC without recompiling the entire software.

    [link url=http://neogaf.net/forum/showpost.php?p=16952451&po stcount=4262
    ]http://ne ogaf.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1...[/link]
    [link url=http://neogaf.net/forum/showpost.php?p=16955164&po stcount=4333
    ]http://ne ogaf.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1...[/link]
    http://ww w.siliconera.com/2009/06/29/son...

  • Darren #4 2 years ago

    Interesting article.

    If you have a launch PS3 with full hardware support for both the emotion engine and the graphics synthesiser, you can play God of War and its sequel with an experience that is totally identical to the original PS2 releases."

    If that's the case then we Europeans got the better end of the emulation deal because when I played both PS2 games on my launch PS3 I noticed that neither version exhibited any screen tearing at all and the graphics looked less a little less jaggy with smoothing on. On the negative side though, God of War II was missing shadows on Kratos and some of the enemies.

  • Hotcooler #5 2 years ago

    */would like to see Silent Hill 2 re released.*

    It would look something like that Gallery here albeit incorrect aspect ratio. =)

    All pics are done on SVN version of emu ver.2338
    Edited by 1 at 20/12/09 @ 07:01

  • Chufty #6 2 years ago

    So what Richard is saying is, God of War looks better on the PS3, and therefore we can deduce that the PS3 is more powerful than the PS2?

    Nicely done.

    As for the interesting bit of the article, software emulation will surely happen on the PS3. It's already pretty damn good on the PC, and lets not forget even the PSP has a fully featured PSX emulator. It will be a big plus point for their console if they can re-introduce BC into the console within 2 years or so.

  • jag10 #7 2 years ago

    Metal gear solid 1,2 and 3 re-mastered on blu-ray with trophies would be cool. Also the Final Fantasy series.

  • old_skool #8 2 years ago

    If GOW looks this good imagine how good Shadow of the Colossus will look and I'll definitely buy the remastered version.

  • Obiwanshinobi #9 2 years ago

    So you can really port a PS2 game to the PS3? Hardly shocking news.

  • jag10 #10 2 years ago

    @Obiwanshinobi

    yeah it's good to port from a inferior console to a superior one.

  • Obiwanshinobi #11 2 years ago

    Funnily enough, you probably could buy MGS2 (shitty port, but with a bit of luck you can make it run almost glitchlessly), SH2, SH3 and SH4 (good ports in my experience) for the PC, and a PC (made of ancient, previously used parts even), hook up your HDTV and play at 1600-1200 (or higher) resolution for less money than a "remastered" collection of your dreams would cost.
    Personally I would be more interested in Zone of the Enders 1&2, Gradius V and Contra: Shattered Soldier ports as those were PS2 exclusives. Porting those and Capcom cel-shaded games to the systems outputting high resolutions would make a helluva lot more sense.

  • Darkjinxter #12 2 years ago

    ICO and SotC on PS3, at 60 FPS, SotC at 60 FPS in particular would be the icing on the cake. Go for it Sony.

  • HermitArcader #13 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Bagpuss #14 2 years ago

    "completely legal PlayStation 2 emulator called PCSX2"

    How can it be legal, when it requires a PS2 BIOS download, in order to run it, which is still Sony property?.......

    Not that i care, as i use PCSX2, and its a right pain in the arse to configure and get some games running.

    You used ICO as an example, in that you have to skip certain movie scenes or the game completely crashes.

  • Stormflood #15 2 years ago

    I like the idea of 'remastering' the classics.

  • tossetaz #16 2 years ago

    "Both God of War and its sequel were coded in C - the same programming language that has effectively become the norm for development on the current-generation consoles."

    Wrong, the norm for development on the current-generation consoles is C++, I'm sure they are using C and assembler in parts of the graphics engine but the larger part of the games are written in C++.
    Edited by 1 at 19/12/09 @ 11:38

  • Aretak #17 2 years ago

    It's nice to see PCSX2 getting a bit of a shout-out on here. It really is a very impressive accomplishment.

  • hiddenranbir #18 2 years ago

    How can it be legal, when it requires a PS2 BIOS download, in order to run it, which is still Sony property?.......

    Because they don't provide the BIOS? You're expected to dump it from your own PS2.

    Of course, no doubt the majority have probably downloaded it.

  • Peew971 #19 2 years ago

    The massive difference is that with backwards compatibility you don't have to buy the same game again so hopefully that's not the future.

  • feistycheese #20 2 years ago

    Im not very clued up on all these technical tidbits that DF provide us with (ill leave all that to you clever techie buggers), but I can say this, I have just bought an import of GOW collection and it looks great (apart from the cinematics, which you can easily tell are very outdated). The reason I bought it was simply as Ive never played it before, missing a lot of PS2 games at the time, and for that reason any mention of a remastered ICO/shadow of the colossus would interest me.

    In fact any of the great old PS2 games bieng re-done for the PS3 is a good thing in my book, as I missed out on a big chunk of gaming history, and so would happily part with my hard earned coin for some of the classics.

  • Obiwanshinobi #21 2 years ago

    I have just "remastered" Silent Hill. Behold: 1, 2 (mind you, Imageshack has compressed the pictures, affecting the quality somewhat). Make of it what you will, but I liked it better on an SDTV, in low resolution without interlacing (let alone progressive scan) and hardware texture filtering. Ico will probably always look best on such a telly as some of the textures are clearly leftovers from the PSX phase of development. That said, scenes like that one (Legend of Legaia) benefit significantly from a bit of graphical poncing. Simple character models with very little texturing also look arguably better in high resolution, pimped up with a lick of AA&FA. Surely with LCD being standard, this is the only way acceptable for the majority of gamers. What I'm saying is: don't expect every old game (even if it was really good looking for its time) to look better as a straight port supporting high resolutions for real (not only upscaling). Especially Ico.

  • Lord_Gremlin #22 2 years ago

    That's what we call a GOOD porting.

  • Rack #23 2 years ago

    For all the talk of how expensive current gen development is supposed to be last gen games still look bloody good upscaled to modern resolutions.

  • CitizenGeek #24 2 years ago

    Final Fantasy XII looks absolutely fantastic on that emulator :o

  • Doctor_What #25 2 years ago

    @ Rack: Yep, good art direction is pretty timeless. There's been a lot of work wasted this generation on the details of models, nuances of animations, and other dev-time/processor consuming things: gamers rarely notice the difference. We've been struggling to keep a good game flowing against the demands of empowered art teams, not helped by the picky articles of people like the Digital Foundry! ;)

    We need to focus more on making things fun first, then (and only then) should we start pushing the performance. Every game I've worked on has had very bad framerates for most of the development period and it makes it harder to judge the final quailty of the game in that state. I fully understand the need for good graphics, and for code optimisation at the end of a project, but we're becoming slaves to the visual style. The trouble is, that the first optimisation always seems to be 'let's take out a few of the enemies' because it's easier to delete them than optimise the animation and art assets.

    I'd be up for making an incredibly polished PS2 game that runs like a dream on the 360 and PS3, and I suspect most players would enjoy it more for that (publishers would be happy with a small team size too).

  • Zaltan #26 2 years ago

    I seem to remember the PC version of MGS2 looking much better than the PS2 one (and better than the emulated one), all those other games look great though.

  • dfish #27 2 years ago

    with the resolution jump that has happened this generation backwards compatibility simply doesn't cut it. Sensibly priced HD remakes are the order of the day. Most SD games are nowhere near 640*480 most have pretty bizarre and low resolutions.

  • Bigglesworth #28 2 years ago

    Just an aside, really, but could we stop assuming that input read speed needs any tie to render speed. Please? It's been long enough.

  • Kaminari #29 2 years ago

    We don't want BC on bloody "next-gen" systems.

    We want BC (in software or virtualized form) on PS3 NOW.

  • Raiko101 #30 2 years ago

    The differences aren't great enough to convince me to buy the same game twice, but if people are really impressed by this then fair enough. Graphics obviously don't mean a great deal to me anymore as I can only see a minute difference in quality, and don't see anything particularly wrong with my PS2 version.

  • Wilfster #31 2 years ago

    It's amusing when people say things like 'It's just porting' or Wow, it plays better on more powerful hardware'.

    How many ports have we seen that have been utterly abysmal? And it would be quite easy to screw up any port no matter whether it's an upgrade or from PS3 to 360 or vice versa. The fact they have taken so much care over it, making use of what was fantastic art direction bodes well for the future for collections like this. What it says about current gen games is another matter entirely.

    I only had a chance to play the original so an updated trilogy represents fantastic value as far as I'm concerned. Would love to see Ico/SotC though...
    Edited by 2 at 19/12/09 @ 19:38

  • Munn #32 2 years ago

    I'd like to see it done with the hitman series.

  • andyconr #33 2 years ago

    Hopefully SE will remaster Kingdom Hearts FM, FM2 and RE:COM and put them on PS3. That would be a day 1 purchase for me.

  • IneptPercy #34 2 years ago

    So they attach an emulator to a game and charge you for the game again.

    If I remember there is another HD console which re-rendered and improved games from its previous generation and it didn't force you to re-buy them or charge for the emulator...

    As for PCSX2 being legal... if you take the bios image from a PS2 you own then its perfectly legal.

  • Widge #35 2 years ago

    Funny. I read an article on here that said that the GOW collection is head and shoulders above playing the PS2 version via BC. If I can find a link to it, I'll post it.

  • rexluger #36 2 years ago

    It's nice to see PCSX2 getting a bit of a shout-out on here. It really is a very impressive accomplishment.
    ____________

    http://www.rexlugerblog .info

  • rexluger #37 2 years ago

    It's nice to see PCSX2 getting a bit of a shout-out on here. It really is a very impressive accomplishment.
    ____________

    http://www.rexlugerblog .info

  • jag10 #38 2 years ago

    @Widge:
    well for starters it has trophy support.

  • Ryze #39 2 years ago

    MUST BUY despite owning the originals.

  • sargulesh #40 2 years ago

    Fuck Sony in their fucking faces: "[BC is] not as big as a purchase intent driver as you may be hearing," he says. "We've got such a substantial lineup of titles on the PS3; most people are buying the PS3 for PS3 games. They've been buying it for PS3 games and Blu-ray movies. [BC] won't be returning."

    Fuuuuuuuucccccckk yoooooooooooouuuuuuuuu!!!!!
    Edited by 1 at 19/12/09 @ 23:52

  • freakzilla #41 2 years ago

    ICO and SoTC. NAOOOOOOOOOO!!! Oh man those pics look really good in comparison to the originals.

    Oh and someone please help to get this emulator running please? Please.

  • kaya08 #42 2 years ago

    I hope it not the future seeing as more obscure or less popular titles will never get ported.
    The future of BC is the past, or the present with everyone downloading an emulator for their pc.

  • davisorle #43 2 years ago

    Richard, really. So much praising and amazement for a resolution boost of the kind.. Really, are you thankfull and you find it a miracle that you paid ( the consumer in general ) for a game ( s ) that was ported with the only change in the coding of the output resolution? Do you find it so much achieving? I can understand you are a fun and you are excited but you get way too affected lately on your artticles and its just too much out there and affects your articles.

    Most of those games I have played all over on the PCX2 emulator so Ive had a pretty good idea of how they would look in HD for a while now. I remember ICO had issues with those till I changed half the damn plug ins I used for the rest of the PS2 games.

    If I find this the future of porting? Hell no and they better not even take your idea cause I bet they arent even such moneysucking bitches to think that way themselves. Why would I wanna repay the slightest for my colletcion of gaming? No way.. Thing is that the way PlayStations work there is no way , if there is a "PS4" in the future, that they will be emulating the PS3 games due to the technical aspects of the system unless they will be over charging the next console a fair ammount of extra money I suppose which will be even worst news I guess for ppl that play exgen games ( I never played older games all over cause I cant stand them visually. Have had that isue for many many years now ).

    MS also said that the future consoles will be supporting all games of the current xbox out of the box. I dont know if that was their first huge lie for this gen's entry neither I really care for the matter like I said of BC but from a technical aspect and API use they do, if the next console ( will do so by a 95% ) uses the same philosopphy its doable. I take it its like shoving a game on your new PC more or less ( I still find my PC + 360 controller my best option.. ).

    Anyhow, I dont know if i was understood. I was accepted on the APB betatesting. Im gonna check if its open to go check it out. Sunday morning!!! :)

  • Widge #44 2 years ago

    I actually quite like this idea of porting though. I like the idea of games getting a boost to run to its full capabilities, like people mentioning SOTC. The one thing I've read about it is people loving it but having to look past its framerate drops. The idea that these gaming greats getting a lick and polish to showcase their past greats in the best possible light is pretty nifty. Esp if you haven't played them in the first place.

  • funkateer #45 2 years ago

    Or port GT4 and call it GT5. Just kidding! ;-)

    I think porting over BC kind of makes sense. Most people buy a PS3 for PS3 games so adding BC makes the console more expensive while most people don't need use it anyway.
    On the other hand BC as a hardware option would be best though. I'd gladly pay extra for a more expensive PS3 Slim version with BC option if the price is right.

  • biru #46 2 years ago

    The problem with software BC is that if they follow the 360 model, there is absolutely no profit incentive to devote resources to it. If anything, BC means that already-bought PS2 games compete for attention with current-gen software, so Sony is potentially shooting themselves in the foot by working on it.

    What they need to do, therefore, is offer it as a product in itself. Sell it as a firmware 'add-on'. Devote some resources to it and have it as an on-going project. Of course, no one wants to pay for something they used to get for 'free', but if I had the choice between paid-for BC and no BC at all, I'll gladly pay for it (within reason). And at least if it's paid for, Sony has more pressure to make sure it actually works well.

  • LHH #47 2 years ago

    Love to see the Metal Gear games get decent support like the GoW games. Playing MGS1 on PS3 is atrocious. Playing it on epsxe with the res tramped to 1024x768, it's beautiful.
    Also, where's my seperate GoW collection and GoW3? I'd rather not spends >£60 on a game please, regardless of how many skins you package with it.

  • drumbaby #48 2 years ago

    A DMC collection, with unified/ adjustable controls? Yes please!

  • zedzee #49 2 years ago

    Glad to see that EG have been reading my comments on the official PS site:
    [link url=http:/ /blog.eu.playstation.com/2009/12/17/god-of-war-iii-ultimate- trilogy-edition/comment-page-3/#comments
    ]http://bl og.eu.playstation.com/2009/12/1...[/link]

    What Sony has realised is that if they take back BC from the gamers, ie. make it built into the game and not the console, they can then resell their old games once again. These appear with remixed graphics, as in the GoW trilogy.

    If they left BC in the PS3, it meant people will just dig up their old PS2 games and play them again. But if they take out BC and have it as part of a repackaged PS2 game, they can charge for it all over again.

    I would not be surprised if the emulation code is provided FOC to developers, so they can do the same in the future with their own catalogues.

    This strategy is alternatively known as greed.

  • Widge #50 2 years ago

    Its not emulation code though, insofar as that it isn't a "one emulator suits all" piece of code that sits on the machine. Each game is getting its own tailored package to not only emulate but to enhance appropriately.

    They get money, we get a favourite game made better.

  • drxym #51 2 years ago

    I like the idea of GOW1 & 2 on the PS3 but calling them "remastered" is putting it plainly, bollocks. It's a port pure and simple, with virtually all of the assets being the same, just rendered into a higher resolution buffer. The results look great of course, but I wonder where Sony are going with this.

    Despite what some have said there is still a huge incentive to pursue proper emulation - PSN. Not all companies are going to be fortunate enough to have the original source code or the ability to rebuild it. Therefore Sony really do need to work on 100% emulation. Target specific games and bundle the emulator up with the game for PSN downloads and €€€. Over time the effort of bringing in new games diminishes as the emulation becomes more robust.

    Assuming enough titles appeared it would even be possible to throw it open for general emulation even if they charged some money for the privilege. It would be nice if it appeared for free but I doubt it will and I don't see any valid reason that people should expect it to be free either.
    Edited by 2 at 29/12/09 @ 16:46

  • mungolikebeans #52 2 years ago

    SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS!!!




    Please.