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Xbox 360 vs PS3 Face-Off: Round 19 Face-off
Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Face-off by Richard Leadbetter
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While our most recent Chronicles of Riddick face-off once again saw Xbox 360 emerge victorious in our ongoing comparison features, this more comprehensive roundup of recent releases suggests that maybe, just maybe, the balance of quality is starting to shift three years into the lifespan of the current-generation consoles. Taken as a whole, neither machine can claim victory over the other in this collection of games, probably the first time this has happened since our coverage began over two years ago. A sign of things to come, or just a factor of the specific games chosen? Only time will tell.
As is the norm, for the more interesting games you'll find embedded comparison videos. The combination of insane-level h264 encoding combined with slowing the video down to 50 per cent speed all but eliminates macroblocking, making for streaming vids that do actually show the difference. Couple that with our usual 24-bit RGB screenshot comparison galleries and you're all set with the very best possible assets to back up the critical comment.
Onto the line-up then, a seven-strong collection featuring the best of the most recent cross-platform releases.
- Tom Clancy's HAWX
- Battle Fantasia
- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
- Wheelman
- The Godfather II
- Wanted: Weapons of Fate
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3
Special thanks to my Digital Foundry collaborators MazingerDUDE and Alex Goh for their observations in putting this feature together.
Previous Face-Offs:
- Round One (Ridge Racer 6/Ridge Racer 7, Def Jam: Icon, Fight Night Round 3, Virtua Tennis 3, NBA Homecourt, Need for Speed Carbon)
- Round Two (Call of Duty 3, F.E.A.R., Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007, World Championship Snooker 2007, NBA 2K7, NHL 2K7, Enchanted Arms, Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII)
- Round Three (Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Sonic the Hedgehog, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Tony Hawk Project 8)
- Round Four (The Darkness, Spider-Man 3: The Game, The Godfather, Madden NFL '08, NHL '08)
- Round Five (Virtua Fighter 5, SKATE, Transformers: The Game, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Colin McRae: DiRT, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, SEGA Rally, FIFA 08)
- Round Six (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, NBA Live 08, Need for Speed ProStreet, Stuntman Ignition, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008, The Simpsons Game, Conan, Assassin's Creed)
- Round Seven (Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, TimeShift, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Blazing Angels: Secret Missions of WWII, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Clive Barker's Jericho, John Woo Presents Stranglehold)
- Round Eight (Burnout Paradise, Cars Mater-National, The Golden Compass, Beowulf, Ratatouille)
- Round Nine (Devil May Cry 4, The Club, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, FIFA Street 3, Juiced 2, Turok)
- Round Ten (Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Blacksite: Area 51, Army of Two, Conflict: Denied Ops, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Dynasty Warriors 6, Lost: The Video Game)
- Round Eleven (NFL Tour, Dark Sector, Soldier of Fortune: Payback, SEGA Superstars Tennis, MX vs. ATV Untamed, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Viking: Battle for Asgard)
- Round Twelve (Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Race Driver: GRID, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Overlord: Raising Hell, UEFA Euro 2008)
- Round Thirteen (Unreal Tournament 3, Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy, Top Spin 3, Iron Man, Battlefield: Bad Company)
- Round Fourteen (SoulCalibur IV, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, Kung Fu Panda, Beijing 2008: The Official Videogame of the Olympic Games, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, FaceBreaker, The Incredible Hulk, Madden NFL 09, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, NHL 09)
- Round Fifteen (BioShock, Dead Space, Pure, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed)
- Round Sixteen (Baja: Edge of Control, Mirror's Edge, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, Fracture, Guitar Hero: World Tour, FIFA 09, Quantum of Solace)
- Round Seventeen (Lord of the Rings: Conquest, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Prince of Persia, Saints Row 2, LEGO Batman, The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, Golden Axe: Beast Rider, SCORE International Baja 1000, Legendary, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, Shaun White Snowboarding)
- Bonus Rounds: (The Orange Box, Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3, Call of Duty: World at War, Far Cry 2, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, Street Fighter IV, The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena)
Tom Clancy's HAWX (4.9GB)
After writing the original Eurogamer review, and quite enjoying it, it was great to come back to HAWX to give it a second viewing on PlayStation 3. Ubisoft has worked hard on its recent cross-platform efforts, and while HAWX isn't quite up to the quality of the excellent Prince of Persia conversion, it does show that the company is continuing to make efforts in getting good performance from both systems.
As you might expect, game content on both systems is identical (even the DLC updates are like for like) and the only real differences are in terms of frame-rate and graphical bling.
Both versions of the game aspire to 60fps gameplay, both dropping frames significantly in the heat of the action. Based on like-for-like clips, the 360 game appears to have a small advantage, but when the engine is really tested during gameplay - where no direct like-for-like comparison is possible - the sense is that similar to Prince of Persia, the games have been optimised so that certain scenes will be rendered faster according to the strengths of the host hardware. One thing that I did notice in playing the demos, and which has made its way into the full game, is that the cockpit view on 360 introduces a substantial performance hit. It's unlikely that you're actually going to be using this in-game because it's hard to see anything, so not an issue, but a curiosity nonetheless.
In terms of the direct measurable stuff, the PS3 code has a longer view distance, resolving more scenery, but it's at the expense of 'pop in', whereas the Xbox 360 game gradually fades in the new environmental details. Other differences come down to lighting and anti-aliasing. The 360 release looks ultra-crisp, thanks to utilisation of its top-end 4x multisampling AA, whereas the PS3 game invokes a horizontal blur. It's a bit ropey really and does very little to actually smooth off the edges. Additionally, the impressive bloom effects on the 360 game are also significantly dialled back on the Sony console.
In all though, it's just graphical effects that separates the two games - and while 360 looks better, in terms of playability it's a score draw, and if I were reviewing the PS3 build today, it would still earn the same 6/10 score. It's a fun game, particularly online where you really do get the sense you're a small player in a massive warzone. However, the overall lack of depth remains somewhat at odds with the core values of a great Clancy game.
Are you excited about Wanted: Weapons of Fate on PlayStation 3/Xbox 360?
View Eurogamer readers most anticipated games
Related Games
Wheelman
Tom Clancy's HAWX
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
The Godfather II
Battle Fantasia
Wanted: Weapons of Fate
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Latest Screenshots
4 March, 2009 [0]
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Moonprince
01/05/09 @ 13:59
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Eurogamer: 'maybe, just maybe, the balance of quality is starting to shift...'
Reeves: '...for the loser now will be later to win, for the times they are a changin' |
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I would be interested in knowing why EG continuously put out these comparison articles.
Lowest form of videogame journalism. I would imagine that the majority of the adult readers of the site own multiple formats, yet the site continues to create content for the insecure teen fanboy out there. Not interested. |
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sizusizu - I think you're missing the point. It is aimed at gamers with multiple platforms. That's the point! It gives them an idea of which version would be the one to choose, OR to reassure them that it does not matter which one to choose.
It is a sad side-effect that it incites rampant fan-boyism on these threads.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 01/05/09 @ 15:20
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Collymilad
01/05/09 @ 14:20
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Sorry am I tripping here?
Reading through this, it's pretty obvious the 360 versions were the best? |
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Pac-man ate my wife
01/05/09 @ 14:23
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@ sizusizu
I'd be interested why there are people that feel the need to complain about these comparisons when we're on the 19th iteration of them. Surely you know to avoid them? And if not, surely you must realise that EG get lots of clicks on these articles (meaning more ad revenue) hence their continued presence? |
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M_of_the_sys
01/05/09 @ 14:28
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Cat poo fan boy! You must feel really insecure about your pet platform to come into a dog poo forum mouthing off about cat poo!
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Not the greatest selection of games there so the article doesn't make for very interesting reading this time round.
How come some multiformat games such as Resident Evil 5, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand and Wanted: Weapons of Fate run without screen tearing on the PS3 but not the Xbox 360? I always assumed that the Xbox 360 had the stronger GPU so why is v-sync often left off in its games? I bought 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand on the PS3 and not the 360 because I knew it didn't tear. I'd be interested to hear why that is from a multiformat developer, if any read these articles. Oh and good point about the poor quality of video footage on the PS3 in some games, there's really no excuse for it when the disc has 25 GB of usuable space. |
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TriggerHippie
01/05/09 @ 14:32
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If EG wanted to inform gamers which version of a given game was the better in order to help the gamer make a more informed choice, they'd include the information in the review. Instead we get to read about it months after release in these bloody face off articles where they serve little practical purpose at all.
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"sizusizu - I think you're missing the point. It is aimed at gamers with multiple platforms. That's the point! It gives them an idea of which version would be the one to choose, OR to reassure them that it does not matter which one to choose. "
Surely, if you own both systems, you would be showering yourself in all the awesome exclusives and not waste money on the shite games that are in this comparison? |
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George Roper
01/05/09 @ 14:57
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Well, for those who have all platforms (inc PC) these articles are absolutely worthwhile.
If anything, I wish they'd do them for each and every multi-platform release, alongside the review itself, so I can be sure i'm buying the very best version of the game I want. |
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farticusmaximus
01/05/09 @ 14:59
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@Collymilad
"Reading through this, it's pretty obvious the 360 versions were the best?" Yup, as always. It's nothing to do with 'getting to grips with the hardware', it's simply a fact that the PS3 hardware is less capable. The GPU and split memory are the PS3's achilles heels and will be so for the life of the console. |
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@swede - The PC version of H.A.W.X. looks a bit nicer than the console versions as it has better lighting in the form of ambient occlusion and DX10 effects otherwise it appears to be exactly the same in terms of contents and graphics from the demos I tried of all three versions. There is a PC demo you can download though so you check it out for yourself.
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BillyBrush
01/05/09 @ 15:25
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4.7 gigs on your harddrive to play wheelman?
if you have a massive hard drive wapped in your machine i'm sure this is fine, but i've gone through about 200 games on a 20gig 360....unbeleivable stuff but at this point i guess people are just used to it. |
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Mandatory installs on the PS3 should be abolished IMO so people have the *option* of playing them straight from the disc with slightly longer loading times. Killzone 2 and Uncharted are two of the best games on the PS3 yet neither require an HDD install so, on that basis, neither should any other game. Forcing them on people who only have small capacity HDDs like 40 GB and 60 GB is just downright stupid IMO but then it's not the only stupid thing Sony have done this generation.
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Darren: It's very crude to assume just because Killzone 2 can do something, others must be able to do it as well. It just doesn't work like that. For one, most dev's won't be able to tweak their game for 5 years with a custom engine that was build from the ground up with sony tech support deeply integrated. There are just so many reasons why a game could need an install. The 360 cheats it's way out of it because it has some technical advantages but that's about it.
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@pacman
I see your point, but the reason I posted was becoming tired and jaded with these comparisons. I always like to think that EG targets the more mature gamer, but these articles are hoovered up by the fanboys out there. Not to aid in making a purchase but to satisfy their need to justify their system and take uneducated pops at alternative formats. I am sure that the collective brains behind EG could come up with something of more value to the site than lazy comparisons of medicore games. They even have included Battle Fantasia. Scraping the barrel time. Some original and interesting content would do a fine job at increasing clicks and their ad-revenue.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 01/05/09 @ 16:59
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George Roper
01/05/09 @ 16:11
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You might be tired of them but I am not.
I find them informative and useful when making decisions on which version of a game to buy, if I don't make a day 1 purchase. As Pac says, if you don't like them and the ensuing comments, just don't read them. Leave them to people like me who get some benefit out of the analysis. |
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Ashen-Shugar
01/05/09 @ 16:48
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Camel dung, now that's where it's at! It's extremely efficient and frequently feeds the rockinest of all the beetles - the scarab!
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GamesConnoisseur
01/05/09 @ 17:16
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Wheelman: "Both games run at 30fps, but neither version is v-synced, resulting in some pretty ugly tearing. By looking at the like-for-like clips, we can see that the PS3 version of the game tears much more often, impacting its visual consistency more than the 360 release"
So how come X360 more often have v-sync off? Are the devs playing to the lowest common denominator ie 720p as the perceived ceiling of most gamers and 1080p being in a minority and thus screen tearings issues ignored? But then why PS3 nearly always employs v-sync? This is why I always leave consoles set at 720p as much preferable to view games with as little tearings as possible thank you! Agree that we ll wait until next gen for a more realsitic 1080p 30 fs, no tearings and with neat AA as a standard. |
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TheBrow: I know! Civility be damned! Basically, when even the trolls don't bother to turn up, it's time to stop.
And having been steeped in dog poo over the past few weeks, I'd say it knocks cat poo into a cocked litter tray. Cat poo is consistent. With dog poo, you have to expect the unexpected. Now, if we were comparing sick, then it's cats, no contest. |
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makeamazing
01/05/09 @ 17:34
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As usual i didnt see any difference in the videos... must be my age and my eyesight. Seems like fanbait, smells like fanbait, is fanbait!
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dominalien
01/05/09 @ 17:53
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@sizusizu
I always like to think that EG targets the more mature gamer(...) Funny, when I started reading EG I liked its casual approach to articles and reviews (as opposed to the serious and professional Gamespot, which I used to read exclusively at the time), where writers are not afraid to make (sometimes crude) jokes, give hugely subjective opinions and speak in very colloquial terms. Clearly, a site with a young demographic in mind. @GamesConnoisseur So how come X360 more often have v-sync off? Perhaps because the devs compare the tearing on both consoles and decide that the X360 one is still acceptable, whereas it's so bad on PS3 that they absolutely have to enable v-lock? |
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StooMonster
01/05/09 @ 17:54
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sizusizu: personally I find the technical comparisons interesting, quantitative analysis is much better than subjective "it just looks better" commentary one gets elsewhere.
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