EuroGamer and Digital Foundry have posted a lengthy comparison between the Xbox One, PS4, and PC version of Call of Duty: Ghosts. The game features 1080p natively on the PS4, while running at 720p upscaled to 1080p on Xbox One.
EuroGamer notes that out of all the version the PS4 version does in fact look the sharpest, with the Xbox One suffering from rough edges and choppy cut areas due to the console trying to upscale to 1080p.
Owners of Microsoft’s new console aren’t treated to the same level of quality in this area. 720p – also featuring the same post-process anti-aliasing – is confirmed, which is then upscaled to 1080p by the console before arriving on your TV screen. On top of that, a strong sharpening filter is also applied over the entire 720p image, encompassing both in-game imagery along with the HUD elements and even the main menu screens. Based on the fact that we’re seeing something very similar in Killer Instinct and Dead Rising 3, we have a feeling that this may actually be part of the Microsoft upscaling solution – and we don’t like it.
The end result isn’t a particularly pretty sight: harsh edges are further accentuated over the additional jaggies created by the upscaling, while fine details, foliage, and the surface of water all appear quite grainy in comparison to the PS4 and PC versions. It’s a crushing step down from the PS4′s much clearer 1080p presentation, taking away some of the finesse expected from a next-generation product, but thankfully it’s also something that you can opt out of.
In the performance analysis, the three versions are all locked at 60FPS, but both consoles do suffer from frame rate drops. At one point, the game hits a low of 30FPS on the Xbox One. The PS4 version suffers from occasional drops in MP and SP, but the lowest it’s hit is 40FPS.The end result isn’t a particularly pretty sight: harsh edges are further accentuated over the additional jaggies created by the upscaling, while fine details, foliage, and the surface of water all appear quite grainy in comparison to the PS4 and PC versions. It’s a crushing step down from the PS4′s much clearer 1080p presentation, taking away some of the finesse expected from a next-generation product, but thankfully it’s also something that you can opt out of.
In fact, some of the more graphically intensive stages see the appearance of noticeable frame-rate drops and screen tear – the latter coming as a particular surprise bearing in mind how the series has historically relied on the visual consistency of v-sync. At one point we even see the Xbox One game drop close to the 30fps mark, but this lasts for only a brief moment during a point where the player’s interaction with the game is limited.
On Xbox One, we only really see performance impacted during the heavier action scenes in the single-player campaign, mostly occurring when the player has reduced control, with regular fire-fights mostly going by without a hitch, giving us the fast, precise gameplay we expect. By comparison, stability isn’t achieved to quite the same degree on Sony’s next-gen console. This is particularly noticeable during a beach-front assault in an earlier stage, where we see a locked 60fps on the XO but several frame-rate drops on the PS4 along with pockets of tearing. These short but noticeable dips in smoothness result in some judder appearing on-screen along with a quick reduction in controller response, which can very briefly impact your ability to make split-second precision shots.
So, what’s their verdict? The PS4 version looks the best, but the Xbox One version plays smoother.On Xbox One, we only really see performance impacted during the heavier action scenes in the single-player campaign, mostly occurring when the player has reduced control, with regular fire-fights mostly going by without a hitch, giving us the fast, precise gameplay we expect. By comparison, stability isn’t achieved to quite the same degree on Sony’s next-gen console. This is particularly noticeable during a beach-front assault in an earlier stage, where we see a locked 60fps on the XO but several frame-rate drops on the PS4 along with pockets of tearing. These short but noticeable dips in smoothness result in some judder appearing on-screen along with a quick reduction in controller response, which can very briefly impact your ability to make split-second precision shots.
Each next-gen console version has its strengths and weaknesses, but clearly it is the PS4 game that offers a superior experience overall. The advantage here comes in the form of cleaner and sharper visuals that help to better realise the extra next-gen spit and polish on display over the 360, PS3, and Wii U versions of the game – something that Xbox One’s upscaled 720p presentation fails to do in quite the same way. However, the Xbox One version has its own charms in the form of a smoother, more consistent frame-rate.
SOURCE:*Digital Foundry*
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