After opening the floodgates at June’s E3 convention, Nintendo has (probably shrewdly) allowed 3DS news to diminish to a trickle. Developers working on games for the ambitious new device, which tricks players’ eyes into seeing 3D depth without special glasses, have been tight-lipped these past months.
But now Capcom has broken the relative silence to demonstrate just how ambitious their upcoming Resident Evil: Revelations will be – and give us a fragmented look at some of the things the 3DS is capable of.
It’s been said before, by us and by many others, that the 3DS’s graphical power far surpasses that of the PSP, more often entering the territory of the Gamecube, from what we’ve seen. Capcom thinks it can do better, though. According to Siliconera, they’re hoping Revelations will nearly match the look of 2009’s Resident Evil 5 on the Xbox 360.
They’ve provided side-by-side shots to prove their point and show off their MT (“multi-thread,” “multi-target,” “meta-tools”) Framework engine, the same version of which is being used on both the 3DS and home console games.
The MT Framework was originally conceived when Capcom determined that existing proprietary engines wouldn’t suffice for the development of Dead Rising and Lost Planet a number of years ago. Since then it’s gone through multiple versions, evolving as their games have evolved (after all, Lost Planet 2 hit this year, and Dead Rising 2 is right around the corner).
The engine allows the developers to add such graphical niceties as HDR lighting effects, color correction, self-shadowing, normal maps, depth of field, and motion blur to all kinds of games, including the 3DS’s RE: Revelations. Check out the screenshots to see just what these effects can do.
Some are more subtle than others, but combined, these effects and more are what separate a good-looking game from a great one. The 3DS’s price and release date will be announced September 29, though a November release has recently been rumored. More on that later – stay tuned to Kombo!
