Star Wars: Force Unleashed PS3 and Xbox 360 comparison
By Gieson Cacho
Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 1:24 pm in culture.
Unsure of which copy of Star Wars: Force Unleashed you should get? If you don’t care about achievements and the controller isn’t a deal breaker for you, perhaps you can take a look at graphics.
Now that the demo is out on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, we took a look at both version of the game and tried to do a side-by-side comparison. Would the game look better on the PS3 rather than the Xbox 360? Would the Xbox 360 run smoother than the PS3?
We did this at home so it’s a little rough but there are slight graphical differences between the two games. If you can pardon these less-than-ideal screenshots, you can see some differences.
First off, there’s the brightness and feel. In general, the Xbox 360 version, above, is darker than the PlayStaiton 3 version below. These screenshots are from the first part of the demo without touching the controller, and you can already see a slight difference in the ceiling light. The brightness lets you appreciate some of the graphical touches. On the other hand, the Xbox 360 version looks more vibrant. You have to admire some of the detail in the game such as the reflections of light on the floor and how it curves a bit.
Again, you can see the difference between the darker Xbox 360 version and the brighter PS3 edition. I tried to change the setting in the options, but couldn’t find the menu to make the screen brighter. At times, the brightness helped the PS3. In this part of the game, you can see parts of the exterior. Also, players can break the window and create a short vacuum in the corridor, but that quickly gets fixed with the blast doors.
I took this shot to note the difference in textures. I tried to get the Apprentice in the same spot in both versions and noticed that markings in the hangar are different. Although both have a case of jaggies, the Xbox 360 version stands out more while the PS3 version looks washed out and blurry. I was surprised to see it, seeing as how the PS3 version of the demo was bigger than the Xbox 360. It was something like 900 MB to 1 gig plus. I expected the bigger memory to be used on textures but I’m wrong.
This is the last comparison I’m going to do, but what struck me about these screenshots were the red lights going up and down the tower. Again in the Xbox 360, they seemed more defined and less blurry while on the PS3, they seemed less so. I’m not sure if it’s just a color issue or if the team wanted a blur in the background, but to me, the Xbox 360 version’s colors seemed more vibrant with sharper details while the PS3 seems brighter so that you can see more of the world.
In the end, the choice comes down to a matter of taste. To me both, versions looked similar and it was in the detail that you could tell the difference.
The differences between the two sound a lot like the differences between the Grand Theft Auto IV versions. In short, if you like vibrant colors and sharper detail, the Xbox 360 version seems to have this graphically. If you like brighter colors and softer look, the PS3 version will suit you.
But keep in mind, this is just looking at the demo, and I’m taking into account other aspects of the game such as control and gameplay.
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August 22nd, 2008 at 10:49 pm
The one thing I noticed on the 360 demo. That is not in the PS3 demo is screen tearing. I use hdmi connection and have tried 1080p and 720p resolution. Will be interesting to see if retail version has this fixed.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:27 am
I have to agree with ron and was surprised to see tearing on the 360 and not the ps3. This is the first game I noticed this on the 360 rather than the ps 3.
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:04 am
I noticed the Vsync problem as well, the xbox version tears all over when you quickly shift perspective. In general I think the Xbox version is running at a lower resolution and also there are fewer particle effect and enemies on screen.
Also take note at the number of joints visible in the swinging cables throughout the demo, more joints means more processing of physics. Overall you notice a few less of everything, perhaps this was necessary to keep the framerate smooth which is the first issue people are not willing to deal with.
On the PS3 version there seems to be at least another 2x anti-aliasing, the edges of the graphics on the ps3 version are much smoother giving the game and it’s enormous draw distances more cohesion. I thought the world had greater context and immersion as a result.
If you look at the xbox version (large open areas) you’ll see all the shimmering edges. As a comparison, the ps3 version is much less pronounced and in cases not present. I love my Xbox, but this one might just be a bit too much for the system to handle. Definitely going PS3 this September.
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:40 am
Well, after playing the game on both the PS3 and the 360, I will be purchasing the 360 version. I was a bit disappointed when I saw that the PS3 version had lower resolution textures, and not alot of detail on certain areas of the game.
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:22 am
Cacho… your question about the discrepency between the 900 mb size of the ps3 vs. 100 on the 360? Turn on your 5.1 . 360’s audio sounds like mp3 next to the PS3 uncompressed THX.
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 am
Arturo you’re full of it. I would choose uncompressed audio vs. mp3 for a virtually un-noticeabele texture difference. This is a third person adventure/fighter. Who’s zooming in on floor cracks playing?
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:36 am
Lol… props to ya…John. Who are you going to be showing your crack to arturo?
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:51 am
Thanks for the heads up there on the file sizes and I appreciate your comments but please keep this civilized.
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:34 pm
I played the demo on both the 360 and PS3 and noticed a HUUUUGE difference. It may sound like I’m exaggerating horribly, but I’m not. The R2 units in the 360 version didn’t make any noise when you messed with them, but in the PS3 one they did. That’s kind of a big deal, if you ask me. Also, the sound was much richer on PS3. I can’t really comment on the colors, because the TV I played the PS3 version on had a higher contrast ratio, but the graphics in general were garbage on the 360. The floors just looked awful, like they tried to make them reflective, but instead made them wet. All of the effects looked better on PS3 as well. Something else I noticed was that it was easier to tell the position of something you were levitating when it was far away on PS3, which comes in handy when you want a TIE fighter to crash into a Storm Trooper.
I know it sounds like I’m full of shit here, but that’s just how it was.
August 23rd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
John, you say I’m full of it… I don’t know what kind of TV you have, but on my 62″ LG 1080P tv the difference was very clear. Now if I had the choice between a console version or the PC, I would go with the PC, but I don’t.
From what I saw and played, the 360 seems to be the best choice. Now you say you would go for audio, that’s great and all. To me the audio sounded the same, so I based my choice on what system looked the best. The most important factor was what controller felt the most comfortable to me.
This is the same thing as when I chose the PS3 version of Devil May cry over the 360 version. The PS3 version seemd to look better and had a better controller for it. It’s all about preferences.
August 23rd, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Cell and RSX is maxed out its been done by several and even Kojima stated this. Seems it was true that xbox360 is stronger as Carmack said.
August 23rd, 2008 at 8:15 pm
ok, After more playing on the PS3 demo. I have seen screen tearing in the Tie Fighter hanger area. It is still no where near as bad as the 360 version. I hope they have enabled V-sync for retail. I would like to get it for 360. The screen tearing to me takes away some of the flow in a game.
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Look at the grid floor on the third comparison, it looks quite a bit different, I think the 360 version might be a little too dark this time.
August 24th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Played both on my pioneer kuro, had to look hard to see any difference. Can’t say there’s a noticeable difference in the sound, visually very little to tell them apart. PS3 not noticeably better, 360 not noticeably worse. Xbox definitely darker, not a bad thing, just different. Xbox controller suits me better personally, so that will probably sway it.
August 24th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I downloaded the ps3 demo and the floor texture wasn’t washed out. It looked exactly like the 360 and there was a brightness setting in the options menu.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Well done comparaison !!
Just need to add 1 more thing. i also own both systems, and i already noticed last friday the same difference in the graphic area, to me the PS3 version is a little clearer and we see more details. Also the demo sound of the PS3 plays in a more powerful DTS SOUND (if you have the required audio amplifier) its a lot clearer and gives more BASS LFE than the XBOX dolby 5.1. Which is another PLUS for the PS3 version in my opinion. As for the controls, i’m more use to xbox controller but the ps3 feels pretty much the same to me. You could add that to your comparaison
thanks and have a great day
August 25th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Xbox controller really isnt that great for games like this, it only has an advantage for FPS games, not third person.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Does anyone know if the PS3 version is going to have Trophies? At this point in time, this is the deal breaker for me. Why choose the PS3 version when you can get rewarded for your achievements with your 360. (I must admit, I’m an achievement whore)
August 26th, 2008 at 9:41 am
From what I heard, there doesn’t seem to be any. Last I checked, most of the first party Sony games will have them. The only third party game that will have them is Burnout.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
The brightness can be adjusted.(not a valid issue)
The Main difference I noticed was the reflective surfaces(floors and the apprentice’s shoulder things).
The 360 had a more glossy reflection and the shading was a bit more cinamatic which I think gave it a more authentic SW feel. Those Imperials love to buff!
BUT! the ps3 does look cleaner/doesn’t tear as much. But the lighting effects on ps3 kindof kill it for me. It looks plain.
It seems like the 360 trying to do more than the ps3.
Same old story.
Why can’t ps3 and xbox be combined to form a mega system.?!!
August 27th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I will definitely be getting the PS3 version, a games smoothness+graphics are where it’s at in todays gaming style
August 27th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
BTW I was wondering if someone could put up screen shots of at the beginning of the demo where the glass windows can be busted, when the door is closing and you just used the force to put another “storage box thing” in it so the steel doors close on the 2 box picked up and thrown. On the PS3 version the box gets stuck and wiggles with the sparks flashing…it keeps moving for like 3 seconds then quits, kind of looks cool. Just wondering how the comparison of this is between the two systems?
August 28th, 2008 at 10:49 am
the textures are good on the ps3
August 31st, 2008 at 12:38 am
Screen tearing on the Xbox 360 is because the system has been maxed out and cannot produce as smooth of visuals as the PS3. When the PS2 was maxed out with God of War I and II, screen tearing was happening because the system was so taxed. The Xbox 360 has been fully taxed and this is the first of many games to demonstrate that. Remember, this hardware is going on 3 years old in the market. (Basically a PowerPC processor, 512MB DDR memory, Radeon X1800/1900 equivalent GPU, standard DVD Drive and no hard drive in most cases.)
As for the PS3 version, the system is not being taxed as it is consistently running at 60 FPS while the Xbox 360 version is running at 24-30 FPS. The brightness issue is irrelevant because it’s actually a cover-up for less polygons and environment drawing. Turn up the brightness on your HDTV and the polygons simply aren’t there as they are in the PS3 version.
Fanboys will hate it, but this game shows the difference between the PS3 and Xbox 360 in graphical power, and it’s just the beginning. (Unless Microsoft rushes the Xbox 720 to market to compete.)
August 31st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Is the story the same for both systems?
August 31st, 2008 at 4:29 pm
The story is essentially the same for the PS3 and Xbox 360. The big differences is when you get into the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions. They were made by a completely different company. The folks at Krome down in Australia were in charge of the Wii/PS2 versions so there are differences.
August 31st, 2008 at 6:54 pm
The 360 demo the apprentice has facial animation but the ps3 demo does not. You will see it when he uses the lightsaber. Get the camera in front looking up at him.
September 2nd, 2008 at 7:38 pm
What people don’t see is that, while the PS3 has the more superior processor, no developer has figured out a way to make use of it take complete advantage. The PS3 is doing the same thing as the PS2. Just as developer were learning how to work with the PS2’s funky hardware set up, the PS3 was released. This is why games like God of War and Killzone were taking the PS2 to new heights and now devs have to learn all over again. Sony always chooses to use architecture that is not dev friendly. As Carmack says, “In Theory you could develop a more superior game with the PS3, but this is only in theory and no developer works the way Sony wants them to”. MS was smart in choosing a system that was so unified and PC-like, every dev knows how to develop for a PC, and the software development kits are another thing…the 360 uses XNA (same as PC), the Sony SDK is buggy and non-user friendly. You choose what you’d rather develop for, time is money.
Another thing, while, “in theory” the PS3 has the more superior processor, the 360 has the more advanced graphics processor…and no, “it’s not like an ATI 1800/1900XT” those GPU’s are only around 12-16 pixel pipelines, the 360 is more comparable to 48 pixel pipelines, which explains the better shader detail and lighting/shadowing…also, the 1900XT didn’t have 10mb of embeded ram on the GPU for free anti-aliasing without having to tap into the systems main memory.
More so, the 360 has the smaller operating system (will likely be under 30mb by the update this fall), the PS3 has a hog of an operating system (less gameable memory) but I’m sure they’ll remedy this soon.
In the end, I own both systems and will likely be getting the PS3 version of every game that exceeds the file size of a DVD9 format (like Rage)…because, Blu-Ray allows for uncompressed textures and the 360 version of future games will render the consoles graphics advantage useless because of this.
September 2nd, 2008 at 7:58 pm
You guys do realize what screen tearing is right? Tearing happens when the rendered framerate is uncapped and higher than the screen’s refresh rate. The PS3 may just be running at 30Hz, producing no tearing while the 360’s better graphics and overall more efficient architecture gives it a framerate of 40-50Hz.
For the PS3 demo being bigger, this likely has nothing to do with sound or anything like that. It’s probably just extra code for the full game that they didn’t bother to remove from the demo.
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:01 am
Ive got both consoles, connected to the same tv. Ive downloaded the demo’s on both. Totally unrelated, but the PS3 took hours and hours and hours to download, the 360 took maybe 30 minutes :S Anyway..
I only got my ps3 the otherday, totally for the blu-ray, but this has really got me in a dilemma. I agree that the 360 controller feels better for starters, but maybe thats only because im so used to it? I think that the 360 version is alot darker, and yes i know you can turn the brightness up, but i think doing this leaves objects looking even less defined than before.
I think the sound on the ps3 is better, someone said above about the droids making noises when you force them about. Try it, no such sounds on the 360.
I think that edges are more defined on the ps3, and that overall detail is much more crisp on the ps3. Im gonna be having this as my first game on my new beast of a machine
September 8th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
which ever version you choose, one thing is for certain. This Game Demo kicked major A$$. The developers really got there crap together and created an amazing experience. I played the demo 4 times through and every time I stopped and tried to do new things. I even managed to get such control of my force powers that I could easily grab a storm trooper and lay him on the ground while I just banged his head repeatedly over and over. You gotta love this one. I cant wait for the game!!!!
September 14th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Did anyone else notice that the play difficulty was slightly different? The PS3 version seemed to be more forgiving in using the force powers. I had to wait longer on the 360 for the force meter to fill. It made using the PS3 controller a lot easier…for once.
September 15th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I am wandering if these reviews ever setup the PS3 under its display menu. There are 2 options that will greatly change the coloring of the PS3.
The give BS comparison I saw was Armor cored. they shows how the PS3 is so bright and white… but they didn’t turn on the PS3 advance graphic settings, which make the graphics so much darker and richer… If you are a PS3 owner and a fair reviewer, you should know what display settings I’m talking about.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:53 am
I own both consoles, I usually buy 360 versions of games when I have the choice, especially multiplayer-heavy ones like Call Of Duty 4 as my mates have 360s.
Achievements also sell me the 360 versions, I know trophies have come along on PS3 but they arent in all games.
These factors make the minor differences in graphics and sound almost irrelevant, a game is either good or bad, its the enjoyment factor that makes or breaks a game not the fact that some cracks in the ground are richer on one console than they are on another
September 16th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
i have both versions of the demo and find the ps3 version better due to the smoothness and draw distance being very good, also the controller is much more responsive.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I don’t knowabout the rest of you but, This seemed biased….because to me the 360 version doesn’t look more vibrant at all, the darkness of it is killing it and takes away from the detail of the game especially on the tower, the tower is not more blurry I think what he was thinking of to say is that the color stands out less, the 360 has a more saturated red, but over all from what I hear from my friends is that the 360 version has quiet a few problems, for once its a buy on the ps3 version over the 360
September 19th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
i have both as well BUT in GRAPHICS in star wars there r alot of difference in textures nd colors PS3 stands #1 but in the end u deside wish console looks best .one last thing HARWARE wise is NOT what we r talking about cause in the END u s ALL WRONG about HARWARE. cause of reply like that how the WAR starts u want to talk about HARWARE go to IBM they will tell U who’s BETTER. LATER CATZ
September 20th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
reading some replys about the graphics some of you say that 360 is better i think that for 1 gived to the clear winner “ps3″. ONLY 1 guy has admit that been on 360 FAN says the truth. BUT you know what else is truth that not alll but in some games ps3 has been better as well even when its been 360 version and now that is ps3 version every 360 FAN will see the truth POTENCIAL HARWARE /GRAPHICS too .while ps3 ran on 360 version the PS3 was leatch that not counting that they havent learn the PROPER CODES …. i also owned ALL three /KNOW about HARWARES ALOT …………………. PEACE
September 30th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
The 360 retail version has horrible screen tearing and the music cuts out during loads sometimes.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:37 am
ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS? No one here has talked about the really big difference between the two systems.
The 360 version had stuttering everytime you tried to grab an object and move it or force push it or force attack it. There was no lagging in the ps3 version with fluid continuity in everything you did. I was really surprised because I had noticed the lagginess in the 360 so much so that I decided it was not worth purchasing. I’m assuming this has to do with the fact that the ps3 installs itself whereas the 360 version is played as is from the dvd.
Its shocking to see that noone here has mentioned it at all!
October 11th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Violento… maybe the first bit of hardware to master is a keyboard!!!! I have heard many good things about XBOX, and many about the PS3.. the XBOX has been around a lot longer than the PS3, and I think maybe now it might be showing it’s age a bit, having to cut out textures/polygons and sounds that all make the whole experience of this game really enjoyabe… I think this screen tearing and loss of sound/polygons is a dissapointment, when clearly the PS3 version can handle all that is required.