PPF on, definitely.
Like the reviewer said, though, 'ships on the horizon are a shifting mess of pixels'. With no FSAA, you just can't make out ANYTHING at any respectable distance.
I just hope we can get FSAA *and* keep the PPF.
As to "graphics don't matter, only gameplay" - then why not play pen-and-paper games like "Harpoon 4"? Oh, wait, graphics DO matter, that's why we play on PCs with 32-bit color monitors instead of black and white; buy expensive video cards and CPU upgrades instead of running off integrated video and budget processors, etc.
As to "The Black Cauldron"...yeah, but that was
twenty years ago (yes,
twenty). We also played on 4-color monitors at the time at 320x240 resolution if we were LUCKY. Do you really want to play Sh4 at those settings? Why even bring it up? We certainly presume that standards improve over time, why excuse developers when they hold us back? ESPECIALLY when they are holding us back from
the industry standard?