you do realise, bits of paper that pass through the character, unaware the character is there, is one of the very things Physx was supposed to prevent with its real time physx and interaction of models in a game. Scripted debrie blowing around is , well, used in games for years, upon years upon years. Its scripted, nothing more, something Physx/Nvidia/Ageia have been arguing is sucky and something physx can surpass bringing ultimate realism to games.
The chucks of wall that fall down, aren't any chunks, again they are basic chucks that fall off walls, something we've seen, again, for years upon years. Its nothing remotely fancy or unseen before. Fog, since we hit DX10 fog, and its poor clipping effects, have been irradicated more or less, Bioshock shows the difference in dx9 and dx10 mode. Fog/smoke looks great in dx10, it "blends" in with floors perfectly, while in dx9, it clips, you see distinct lines where the smoke/fog ends as it interacts with the floor. Please tell me what physx brings to Batman thats brand new and never seen before?
Do try and remember this simple thing, how the effects LOOK is down to the design team and graphical power, the PHYSICS BEHIND HOW THE EFFECTS ARE DONE, is what physx is supposed to improve. Better physics engine, better interactions, more detail, more realism. The EFFECTS and HOW THEY INTERACT, which is where ALL the power used in physx goes, it draws nothing, physx doesn't do anything graphically, how the effects work in Batman, offers nothing new at all. The way they work are like older physics in very old games, how they look has nothing to do with the physx team.
For instance, I'm not a fan of Mirrors edge at all, but the cloth, and windows breaking are newer effects that are marginally improved. But the glass itself, is drawn and designed by the team, the cloth is drawn and designed by the team. The MOVEMENT and the interaction of player with the cloth, or the pieces of window with each other as they shatter, thats the ONLY part physx is involved in.
Of course a game, out in the last month or two, looks better than a 5 year old game, again thats nothing even close to anything to do with physx. How the extra effects react, behave, move and work is what physx do, and it brought entirely nothing new to "game physics" at all.
