Killzone 2 framerate can drop as low as 20fps
Killzone 2 is arguably the most technically impressive game of modern times, but its engine can come under pressure.
By now you must have played the Killzone 2 demo. A perfect showcase for the game, but if you can believe it, it doesn't hold a candle to latter levels. Particle effects and hundreds of dynamic light sources abound; the attention to detail is stunning.
The game's engine performs relatively well throughout, with Guerrilla Games already admitting that they use the PlayStation 3's SPU processors to make sure the 30 frames-per-second refresh rate stays intact.
As the game progresses the special effects (usually a description used for movies) go into hyper-drive and it's almost unbelievable that the PlayStation 3 manages to keep up with it.
However, with so many incredible environmental effects, your actions can negatively influence the framerate. I suffered one such occasion on the last level, when my guns blazing made the engine badly stutter.
Nevertheless, the game's use of motion blur and film grain does a great job at hiding the drop in framerate, especially when such drops only occur during huge explosions or incredibly busy events.
That being said, the engine can drop as low as 20fps, as illustrated by the research performed by the Digital Foundry. An example of such a moment can be seen in the following screen capture:
Digital Foundry will be stripping the game down in an in-depth analysis of Killzone 2's entire single-player; a game which they describe as the undisputed graphical winner and "the most important PlayStation 3 showcase since Uncharted: Drake's Fortune." And lets be clear, the game's framerate is for the most part steady, but being the best looking PlayStation 3 game does have costs.
The following video is a demonstration of Digital Foundry's framerate analysis, featuring Killzone 2's demo section. We highly recommend visiting the website itself when they post their full Killzone 2 analysis.
