ASSASSINS CREED (360 vs Ps3, comparativa de IGN)

Es un articulo para insiders, lo pongo para que todo el mundo lo pueda leer.

Supongo que nadie va a leerse todo el tocho en ingles asi que yo que lo he leido os cuento que para IGN la version de 360 es mejor simplemente por tener un mejor framerate y menos pop-in (objetos que aparecen de repente). Recomiendo que veais el video y las imágenes a tamaño grande que estan puestas en el blog. El video hay que verlo bastantes veces para notar diferencias (aparte de la instensidad en los colores), pero en la version Ps3 se nota un poco menos de fluidez, mas pop-in y un tearing mas pronunciado.

About The Head-to-Head

The Head-to-Head is designed to let gamers know which version of a multiplatform game is worth your hard-earned money. We break down each segment of a game, and then tell you which platform reigns supreme when the dust settles.

Today's subject is the much-hyped Assassin's Creed. Developed by the studio that brought us Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia this title has been whetting our appetite since it wowed us at E3 2006. The game was originally announced on PS3 as Project Assassins, but was later revealed to be a 360 title as well. Will the system it was originally announced for prevail or does the 360 take the cake? Learn all of the differences between the two versions of the game in our latest Head-to-Head.



Price Points

Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions retail for $59.99 but both have Limited Editions for another ten dollars. For the extra money you can be the proud owner of a miniature Altair figure, a small strategy guide, Penny Arcade comics, and a bonus disc of trailers, interviews, and behind the scenes footage. Maybe later this year we'll put together a Head-to-Head based on all the figurines that have been packaged with limited editions. My money is on BioShock's Mr. Bubbles for the win.

Features

Feature wise Assassin's Creed is the same game on both platforms. There is no online component or multiplayer option for either game so the usual note about Xbox Live's ease of use is irrelevant for this Head-to-Head. However the Achievement system does have more of an allure in regards to this title because of the numerous collection quests. There are flags and lookout points scattered throughout each environment sort of like the orbs in Crackdown. Find all of them and you'll earn yourself some bragging rights online.


Imagen en grande.

Like Call of Duty 4 there are no SIXAXIS controls in Assassin's Creed. The goal was clearly to make the game play identically on 360 and PS3.

Overall

1. PS3 and 360

Controls

This section is more personal to the reader (you) and often comes down to what you prefer. Lucky for us this game is not currently announced for the PC so we don't have to have another debate over the benefits of mouse and keyboard versus the control pad.
Something to know about Assassin's Creed is that it is not very control intensive. This means it does not require a large number of button presses to perform the seemingly complicated maneuvers in the game. The main character Altair climbs up and through the environments automatically, the player simply holds down a button and directs him with an analog stick. Even combat boils down to a single button for attack and one for guard. So no matter what your problems are with either controller, they likely won't manifest themselves very often when controlling Altair.

Both the PS3 and 360 control similarly. If we were going to split hairs (which is mostly the point of this feature) we'd only fault the SIXAXIS for lacking rumble.

Overall

1. PS3 and 360

Graphics

The Graphics category is undoubtedly the section that causes the most controversy. Fresh off of the Call of Duty 4 Head-to-Head in which the 360 and PS3 were evenly matched in this department we have another disappointing case of the PS3 coming up short. I will reiterate once more that this isn't due to some preference on the part of the editor (me) but a failing on the part of the developer to make this version perform as well as it does on 360. Infinity Ward proved that this is entirely possible last week when I witnessed COD4 playing extremely well on Sony's hardware.
There are two main problems with the visuals in Assassin's Creed. The game suffers from drops in the frame rate and visible texture pop-in. Both of these issues appear with more frequency on PS3 than on 360. We've included side-by-side video to illustrate our point, so download the movies below and see for yourself.

Bajar video.

If you've watched the video above you'll notice that the pop-in issue isn't nearly as obtrusive as the frame rate. If you get running at a decent pace in one of the larger cities like Jerusalem there are instances on both consoles where you'll see NPCs pop into existence a second after you enter an area and hi-res textures will frequently load a bit later. I never had this affect the gameplay in either title so it isn't a major issue for 360 or PS3.
The frame rate is not only far more noticeable, but you can see the difference between the two consoles at any point in the game, not just large open environments. Simply rotate the camera around Altair in the first town and the PS3 clearly runs a good 5 to 10 frames a second behind 360. This really becomes apparent when performing a quick move like the leap of faith from a building's ledge. What looks highly stylized on 360 only highlights the poor frame rate of the PS3.


Imagen en grande.

Sound
With the right equipment you can experience Dolby 5.1 on both the PS3 and 360 versions of the game. This is used to the best effect in the cities where the ambient conversations help to immerse you in the environments and point you toward certain quests. For example you can follow the sounds of an argument towards a "save the citizen" quest.

Overall

1. Tie between 360, PS3

Presentation

In this section we usually discuss the quality of any full motion video and the time it takes sections of the game to load.
When you first pop in the disc for Assassin's Creed there are two major differences between 360 and PS3. On Sony's console there's a lengthy initial load time that puts a chunk of game data onto the PS3 hard drive. This benefit of a console that comes equipped with a hard drive is that theoretically after this one-time occurrence, games can theoretically load faster from the hard drive instead of having data read off the disc.
Notice I said load times should "theoretically" improve. The problem is that I couldn't find significant load time differences across the two consoles. Loading occurs extremely often and the amount of time it takes varies with each instance. The good news is you'll never be waiting that long. For example, after you've entered a level, there's only a few seconds wait in between deaths.
Assassin's Creed has basically the same presentation on either console.


Imagen en grande.

Overall

1. PS3 and 360

OVERALL

In my opinion, smaller features like controller vibration and Achievement Points are not enough to give a game first place over other versions of the same title. However, in this case the frame rate issues on PS3 are enough to put the 360 version ahead. If you play each version in quick succession like I have, the disparity is obvious and does affect how enjoyable the experience is. As I stated earlier in the article, we already know the PS3 is capable of matching (and probably topping) 360's performance. We're just waiting to see it happen in more cross platform releases.

Overall

1. 360
2. PS3