By on 8 Jun, 2012 at 2:00 PM
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Luminous Vs. Unreal 4: Which One Wins?

Luminous Vs. Unreal 4: Which One Wins?

We’ve seen Unreal Engine 4 now, courtesy of Epic. Square Enix surprised us with Luminous, their next-gen engine. Both are defining what the future of games will look like, but the question remains, which one looks better.

However, before we dive head first into this heated debate, let’s just recall a few little details. First up, Unreal 4. Well, there’s nothing to this really. Epic love sharing their toys with everyone, so much so that hundreds of game utilized Unreal Engine 3 to deliver some awesome experiences. I would expect Epic to do something similar with Unreal 4, so expect a lot of next-gen titles to be using it.

Luminous on the other hand is quite exclusive. Square Enix have said that only they would be utilizing the engine, with their internal studios and developers being the only ones allowed to dabble with the tech. Not even studios that Square Enix publishes for will get their hands on it (Sorry Hitman, Tomb Raider, Just Cause, Deus Ex etc.).

So with that in mind, which one impresses you the most: Unreal or Luminous?

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Name: Alessandro Barbosa
Location: Johannesburg
Position: Editor, Tech

Alessandro has published 1241 posts. Read all of Alessandro's posts.
  • http://twitter.com/Weeman360 Pienaar Anker

    I don’t trust cinematics. So just because I saw Unreal’s tech walkthrough I go with Unreal until Luminous shows me some editor details

    • Alessandro Barbosa

      These aren’t cinematics? They are rendered in real-time, both of them. They;re just pre-scripted, meaning no one is playing while they are showing but that’s still real-time rendering.

    • http://twitter.com/Weeman360 Pienaar Anker

      I know that’s what they say but I don’t know how much of that is true. I would like to see some editor videos like the Unreal one. Then I’ll believe it.

    • http://www.facebook.com/ron.diu Ron Diu

      Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9xhFpuIMX4

      if they lie, wouldn’t gamers find out about this by actually trying out the games utilizing the engines? And besides, it’s Square, they’re always raised the graphical standards of games since the 8 bit era.

  • Adam Meikle

    I have a feeling that the Unreal 4 Engine will be easier to utilise for developers in comparison to Luminous, and from what I’ve seen so far I feel like I’m more sold on Unreal 4 at the moment.
     

  • GJ Ram

    Luminous was superb and Unreal Was UNREAL.. But a mere simple real time video will never suffice.. A full stage gameplay walkthru.. if arranged by these two companies are up in net.. then v would be able to decide in better.. as long as a full fledged game comes out.. its difficult to choose the winner..

    At present my vote goes for Unreal 4.. bcoz of the particle dynamics they render.. both fire and ice.. it was just magical.. tat touch was not thr in Luminous’ demo..