GTA4

[RobertR1]

It's very obvious in that video that the 360 benefits from the higher res. Esp half way when they're driving through the streets. And if it's this obvious on what is still a small window, on a full blown 50inch plasma, sitting about 5ft away, it'd be much more apparant. So where did this pop in crap start on the 360? I see just as much if not more on the PS3 in the vid. The lightning isn't any better (despite what people are trying to convince themselves of either) and the framerate looks a bit better on the 360. This isn't to say you can't enjoy the PS3 version. Everyone should have fun with this game and frankly graphics aren't it's strong point anyway but since we're comparing graphics, it's pretty clear to me which version is ahead.

 

[Ben-Nice]

Only played for a little while so far. It's fun but I have no idea how this game is getting such praise for it's visuals. Yes the game looks good but it has a ton of aliasing. Definitely not a 10 for graphics but given the scope it's solid for sure.

 

[patsu]

It's very obvious in that video that the 360 benefits from the higher res. Esp half way when they're driving through the streets. And if it's this obvious on what is still a small window, on a full blown 50inch plasma, sitting about 5ft away, it'd be much more apparant.

Agreed ! But the reviewers also found the 360 dithering problems more obvious on their screen (Notice the wall patches in the beginning cut scene).
The biggest difference is probably the degree of aliasing (They both have).

So where did this pop in crap start on the 360? I see just as much if not more on the PS3 in the vid.

Because we only see a selected few in this trailer ? If you want to count the frequency and total number, you'll need to look at the entire game. Also, the pop-ins may be more obvious in the mid-air scene compared to regular scenes on-foot or in-car. I don't see so many (only once !) so far.

EDIT: The helicopter scene is hard to compare because they fly at different height. In 1:43, you'll also see larger patches of shadow being loaded on the 360 side (rail shadow on the road and on the right sidewalk). Then again, this is just one snapshot.

The lightning isn't any better (despite what people are trying to convince themselves of either) and the framerate looks a bit better on the 360.

In the trailer, the bridge shadow is more varied in the PS3 version (See 1:39 onwards), but that could be due to the difference in time of the day. The lighting does look similar. As for frame rate, I thought they are about the same.

 

[MonkeyLicker]

It's very obvious in that video that the 360 benefits from the higher res. Esp half way when they're driving through the streets. And if it's this obvious on what is still a small window, on a full blown 50inch plasma, sitting about 5ft away, it'd be much more apparant. So where did this pop in crap start on the 360? I see just as much if not more on the PS3 in the vid. The lightning isn't any better (despite what people are trying to convince themselves of either) and the framerate looks a bit better on the 360. This isn't to say you can't enjoy the PS3 version. Everyone should have fun with this game and frankly graphics aren't it's strong point anyway but since we're comparing graphics, it's pretty clear to me which version is ahead.

I agree. The lighting seems to be a case of people seeing what they want to see. I'm sure there could be a difference, but not one you could say is superior for one or the other.
The only facts that are obvious at this point are A) 720p 2xAA on 360 | 640p no AA PS3. B) Some sort of blur filter on the PS3 version | some sort of dithering on the 360. C) Different color palette which is a matter of taste. D) The PS3 version appears to have better explosions.

Until RS decides to give more insight into their engine we're just gonna be speculation and arguing about the rest.

 

[Kzin]

5) Camera. The problems here are very evident, but so easily fixable. First off, Niko's camera follows him too closely. It's very annoying trying to get a better view of the area and moving Niko ever so slightly and have the camera abruptly center over him again. The problem is the opposite for driving. The driving cam doesn't follow the vehicle closely enough, and takes far too long to center over the vehicle (you basically need to manually control the camera when making sharp turns). And then, the angle for the driving camera is not near high enough...I need to constantly keep it elevated so I can see ahead of me more clearly (especially on uphil terrain).

My first thoughts when i saw some driving vids was "You cant see whats in front of you!". The amount of the detail in the city seems insane, the atmosphear looks great, so i dont get why they have a camera you have to constantly adjust manualy when you drive. (Havent played the game my self yet, but from what ive seen and what you´ve written that seems to be the case). Shouldnt that be the first thing to get right? Do anyone else here have trouble with the camera while driving? Strange how reviews dont seem to mention this.

I neever got into any of the other gtas because i thought the actual gameplay was mostly anoying. I hated how you had to drive to were you get the mission and then drive to where mission starts eveytime you had to retry. I heard that there is a "restart mission" thing in the cellphone now, but if you use it you still have to drive a bit. Why not actualy fix it instead of half-fix it?

I realy want to like this game, but im afraid issues like these will prevent me from doing so =/

 

[Tap In]

the story is movie quality

as for the dithering, I can read any sign in the game very clearly, it in no way impacts the game, the enjoyment of it nor distracts from the graphics unless you are observing and not playing and are looking from a technical POV

 

[silhouette]

hey guys, we have already have a lot of other threads to discuss the difference in graphics. Let's stay with discussing other aspects of the game!

 

[Scott_Arm]

I heard that there is a "restart mission" thing in the cellphone now, but if you use it you still have to drive a bit. Why not actualy fix it instead of half-fix it?

Any time i've done restart it's put me right beside the mission start point.

 

[betan]

hey guys, we have already have a lot of other threads to discuss the difference in graphics. Let's stay with discussing other aspects of the game!

I disagree, gfx may be a make or break for some,
What is out of place is console comparison, defending your choice or trying to prove superiority.

 

[-tkf-]

One of the things that strike me as weak is the NPC´s and how they spawn. Several times i have seen a car and people spawn in Romans garage, uh? And the NPC´s really have a hard time when an object blocks their cars.

 

[betan]

This is about user reviews/views on this game, it´s not a VS thread. There is a thread about the Graphics engine somewhere else, and a thread about "what version to get" where you can point to 720p rendering as an argument.

Not to mention a "dither" thread.

You think I was asking a question?

 

[-tkf-]

You think I was asking a question?

Nope i just read it wrong, sorry.. fixing OP

 

[Dr. Meaty]

I still think it's weird how Niko leans so far to the left or right when he's running.

 

[betan]

I finally got to play decent amount on PS3, and retarded the checkpoint/autosave structure bugs me a lot (which if memory serves is similar to Vice City).

Almost every mission starts with driving to other side of the town, picking a car, giving a ride or something. Than you get to shoot or race, basically do the difficult part. By some stupid reason if you die or loose, you have to do the boring long part over and over again. Cab, while great addition, is not an option most of the time.
For people who likes driving around the LC, I guess the game is gold, but after so many missions, the lack of variety (or quality variety since I exclude things like drinking with a buddy or going to bowling) makes me question the review scores.

Streaming engine is awesome though. Especially the fact that I rarely see a loading screen more than a couple of seconds long is very welcome. And I use cab skips a lot between different boroughs of NYC. Even many linear games fail to understand importance of not loading the data that is already in memory.

Framerate is surprisingly good too, no tearing, and blur is not bad, I can live with the shadows, but flickery jaggies in motion are the real killer (again this is PS3 version). High density background geometry makes the problem more apparent.

Lighting has its moment. First person driving in chase or while being chased is really something. When you add shooting (while driving) to this you get possibly one of the best gaming experiences ever. I would recommend the game to anyone just for this experience: hitting the car you are chasing, forcing a turn and shooting the driver almost simultaneously.
Unfortunately, that's the only highlight for me, in terms of gameplay.
And this is probably the most linear sandboxy game I've played this gen. Especially interactions, be it parking somewhere or talking to someone feel so last gen. Cut scene transitions are old school too, but that seems to be the way this gen.

Story hasn't been oscar worthy yet. There are some funny dialogs here and there but that doesn't make most of the cutscenes bearable, it's like watching a boring crime drama that HBO would air, and Niko, for some reason, lost his initial smart mouth, funny alien character to a "yeah right" guy.

There are probably many things the game does right, but overall the fun factor has been very low for me, and some of the technology involved is underwhelming. Still I have greatest respect for Rockstar.

In the end, I agree with many here, if you really liked previous GTAs this is probably your game, but to me it looks like next gen version of more of the same.

 

[Arwin]

I'm not far into the game yet, but I'm inclined to agree with betan. I appreciate what they are doing but I'm not yet sold on the game. I'll give it some more time, but some of the stuff is really, really out of date.

 

[D3B]

I give it a 10+ after playing for a bit.

Best animation, physics and destructible stuff ever!!!! Really blows everthing away IMHO.

And you must play this in 5.1,sounds great

 

[Neb]

I give it a 10+ after playing for a bit.

Best animation, physics and destructible stuff ever!!!! Really blows everthing away IMHO.

And you must play this in 5.1,sounds great

Wha??? The vote says you gave it 9+!

 

[itch]

I gave it a 9. I've been playing on a 60GB PS3. I love the atmosphere, and the city really seems to be alive.

The NPCs seem to have improved AI. I haven't noticed any NPCs getting stuck running into walls. Anyone see anything yet? That's something that disappointed me about Saint's Row and I was hoping it would be taken care of this gen. I'm glad it's looking better now.

On the down side I really miss using L1 and R1 to look left and right while driving! I used that a lot and find myself wanting it in just about any other car driving game. I know I can use the right stick but using the buttons to flip the view was much, much nicer. Also the camera should stick to the car's view better when turning. it's too slow and hard to see where you're going (I think someone else mentioned this too.)

But overall I'm having a ball.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Use the bonnet view for driving, it's much better, at least for me... It has it's drawbacks as well, but I'm absolutely unable to get around with any of the other views.

 

[patsu]

I switched back to third person view and was able to master it over time (Try not to stop abruptly). I can see more of the surrounding better. But in general, the camera is disappointing compared to the rest of their achievements.