Asus 128mb PhysX Card Review/Preview

Cell Factor...."WOW!" factor

Published: 12th July 2006 | Source: Specialtech | Price: | Author: Matt Kemp

Cell Factor combat Training

Cell Factor is currently in its beta stages and Ageia have released a one-map playable demo beta. It has some very nice HDR effects and the graphics are pretty decent although once again slightly drab. Perhaps it is the genre?

The game is currently a multiplayer game that gives you a gun, a barrel mounted grenade launcher, a kind of "gravity grenade" that draws up everything near it in a big bundle. You also get some pretty cool "psi" abilities. You can psi-pull pieces of the environment towards you and psi-push it away again. This combines with a power-up that gives you some psi-flying ability and you have a game that really shows what Ageia's card can do to gameplay.

You can kill your adversaries with large objects and hurt them with smaller rebounding objects and you can certainly have fun playing around with all the exciting physics around you.

Gameplay

Just a small comment on gameplay at this time. It isn't amazing it has to be said and is actually a pretty strange game to get used to. You can zoom in your rifle but it has a lot of kick-back (think the AWP in Counter-Strike). The thing that has made me go back and play this game again and again is simply the physics in it: they are nothing short of awesome to play. It's fun to actually blow stuff up. It's fun to mess around and rip up cloth or blow up a barrel with some kind of toxic waste in it. I have spent quite a bit of time in this game just for the physics rather than the gameplay.

Remember though: Cell Factor is in beta so I am going to give Ageia the benefit of the doubt.

Screenshots and video's

I have rather a larger array of video's of Cell factor as I feel that this game shows off PhysX rather more than G.R.A.W.

First off I launched a grenade into a big pile of boxes:

Explosion sequence (three pictures)

The effects of a "gravity grenade"

Some Psi-Pull action (holding barrel like object in the air)

Some clever cloth effects after shooting a banner

Liquid effect

As you can see there are some pretty impressive physics effects in the game. To really show what I mean we are going to have to play some video's. Click on the hotlinks below:

Cell Factor Video 1

Cell Factor Video 2

Cell Factor Flying/explosions

Cell Factor Cloth effects Video

It's hard to think what else to say at this point apart from the fact that I actually recorded these on my PC. I cannot see how (as a gamer) you would fail to think that this looks fun, and it certainly is.

While cell Factor may not be complete and indeed may not be an amazing game it certainly shows off what the PhysX card can do and it will be interesting to see how it develops

Most Recent Comments

11-07-2006, 09:42:46

FarFarAway

We have the card you're all trying to win! We see if it's really worth buying into Physics technology

Click here for the full review

11-07-2006, 09:49:47

Dav0s

w00t, been waiting for this, lemme have a read

11-07-2006, 10:01:22

Raging

sweet reveiw

those physics look muchos tasty

can i ask a favour though?

would you mind checking if the card has the following ram chips on it?

and how many it has.

"Samsung K4J52324QC-BC20 16 Mbit x 32 GDDR3 500 MHz FBGA 136 M54P"

cheers.

11-07-2006, 10:08:55

FarFarAway

May I ask why? Pretty sure it has those chips on it but why?

11-07-2006, 10:09:37

Dav0s

nice review...didnt realise they were that expensive tho!

11-07-2006, 10:14:52

masterblaster

best review I've seen for ages.

well done

11-07-2006, 10:24:33

Raging

because it may infact have 256mb of memory and not 128mb

please check?:eyes: hehe

cheers J.

11-07-2006, 10:27:38

masterblaster

probably because it is 256mb but Aegis had some UK exclusive agreement on the chipset so they had to advertise it as 128mb to avoid being sued.

or so I'm told

11-07-2006, 10:29:02

Dav0s

thats why kemp

11-07-2006, 10:30:20

FarFarAway

OK

Lemme switch off and yank it out then

11-07-2006, 10:37:00

Jim

Yeah thats what i heard from somewhere too

11-07-2006, 10:45:37

Raging

indeed it is

,and thx in advance for checking

11-07-2006, 11:02:15

FarFarAway

There's 4 of the buggers on ther.

Info and nakedness on page 2

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?type=3&id=75&page=2&desc=asus_128mb_physx_card_review_preview

11-07-2006, 11:07:22

Raging

shame on ocuk though,they claim on their forums that they had the only 256mb ones because of a deal with asus,thats bad.

nice to see the addition about the ram chips on the reveiw-again a great reveiw matt

so it looks like all the asus physx cards are 256mb

now a 256mb physx card,graw and all those other extras is pretty good for the price now

cheers.

11-07-2006, 11:48:26

FarFarAway

So....4 x 32mb = 256??

How does that work?

Their single sided DIMMs

11-07-2006, 11:54:42

|3ourne

bloody nice review mate. Still doesnt seem like it deserves me money just yet. Im waiting for ATI's physix solution .

11-07-2006, 12:04:02

Raging

my mistake...oh well maybe they might have the only 256mb ones

are you sure though because the pics of ocuk ones has four and looks the same:eh:

11-07-2006, 13:05:58

FragTek

so does this mean that the card we are giving away is possibly a 256 rather than a 128 then?

ill check out the review when I get home, looks intense mate!

11-07-2006, 13:29:31

glocktodahead

That was a very well done review Matt. I am going to hold off purchasing one until Unreal Tournament 2007 comes out because if that game utilizes the physX card fully then I will definately go out and buy one

Lets hope new games continue to come out with support for them. I can just imagine how sweet games are going to look with DirectX10, PhysX capability and a sweet graphics card.

12-07-2006, 08:19:51

PV5150

w00tage, awesome review Kemp

I just wanted to ask a couple of questions if I may:

1)Do you believe that the PhysX card will add another level to future game immersion?

2)Did you find the game physics realistic enough; was it just as easy to throw a large object, as a small object?

3)Does the debris stay around where it fell after an explosion (like it should), or does it fade away like most 'console' games do?

12-07-2006, 08:35:23

FarFarAway

Quote:

Originally Posted by PV5150

w00tage, awesome review Kemp

I just wanted to ask a couple of questions if I may:

1)Do you believe that the PhysX card will add another level to future game immersion?

Yep I sure do if devs can implement it like it is in Cell Factor...and thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by name='PV5150'

2)Did you find the game physics realistic enough; was it just as easy to throw a large object, as a small object?

Physics are incredibly realistic and they interact as it seems they should do in real life as regards size/shape and weight

Quote:

Originally Posted by name='PV5150'

3)Does the debris stay around where it fell after an explosion (like it should), or does it fade away like most 'console' games do?

G.R.A.W. does not stay as stated but Cell factor the bigger parts stayed and general debris did too. Some did disappear but I imagine this would be due to an efficiency Algorithm on the PPU so that the GPU doesn't have too many game "objects" to rendor (which would reduce framerates to unplayable levels)

All answered?

12-07-2006, 08:39:16

PV5150

Excellent mate...thank you.

Soz I must have missed where you stated in the review, my bad

12-07-2006, 11:41:06

FragTek

Just got done reading the review and damn Kemp! That is a wicked little addition. If I still had a gaming computer you can bet the bank I'd have a PhysX card in it.

Absolutely killer review too mate, very well put together. A+

Asus 128mb PhysX Card Review/Preview

Cell Factor...."WOW!" factor

Published: 12th July 2006 | Source: Specialtech | Price: | Author: Matt Kemp

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