If there is one thing that gamers know will probably never change, it's the at-times venomous showdown between console gamers and PC fans. Since the first home console came with all the prepackaged technology that the layman would need to play the market's hottest titles, a line has been drawn in the sand. With as high profile a release as Battlefield 3 it was only natural that the debate would begin anew, but thankfully, someone has taken gameplay footage from both the PC and PS3 versions and spliced it together. The results speak for themselves, and are likely to surprise both crowds.
With DICE and the Battlefield series finding its roots firmly planted in the PC community, it was a safe bet that graphical differences and egos would be out in full force now that Battlefield 3 is seeing a multi-platform release. But it's dedicated fans like YouTube user 'teamPYR' who quiet the masses by actually find out the facts for themselves, and producing videos like this that silence critics and fanboys alike.
Some people may accuse us of being somewhat biased towards triple-A titles, with this being our second Battlefield 3 Game Rant Pick. But what can we say? Franchises like Battlefield just seem able to attract more rabid fans than many others. The amount of work that must have gone into perfectly synchronizing the two sources of video is more than just a fan service, so we thank the creators.
So if you will, put aside your console/PC bias and take a look at the real deal. Hopefully the similarities in the versions will be more important than the differences:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGbo50Ar420#!
As you can see, the claims from the PC crowd that their more powerful version of the game would put that of the PS3 to shame were highly exaggerated. Sure, DICE clearly had to slow down the frame rate and sacrifice some anti-aliasing horsepower for Sony's console, but the result is still gorgeous.
It's odd to think that the classic throwbacks that DICE has thrown in have gone unmentioned to this point, since seeing the two versions next to each other really provides a sense of nostalgia that you just don't get in cinematic trailers.
Console fans obviously have a truly varied experience ahead of them, from tank combat and shooting galleries, although the footage from the video doesn't seem to show off the apparently open-ended combat options the developers have been bragging about. Still, we know that the Xbox 360 version looks great, and that PC purchasers won't be getting any extra content.
Maybe some of you hardcore fans will be able to spot some noticeable differences by freeze-framing the above video, but they both look great to us. Hopefully the sacrifices made by DICE won't take away from the overall experience, and Battlefield 3 will keep true to its word of outdoing Call of Duty.
Battlefield 3 will be released on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 25, 2011.