MoHasanie on 24 November 2014
First impressions of Far Cry 4 on Xbox One are positive. Image quality is very clean and the overall presentation compares favourably to the PS4 game. On close inspections, detail looks a little softer and less refined, but otherwise it holds up very well during gameplay. Pixel counting - not very easy here, for reasons we'll go into later - reveals a 1440x1080p framebuffer horizontally scaled up to full-HD resolution (1920x1080), although artefacts from the resizing process appear subdued compared to most sub-1080p games. In comparison we see a native 1080p image deployed on the PS4 that appears suitably sharp, and indeed clearer than the Xbox One game, but the Microsoft console is punching enough above its weight with a presentation that - by and large - defies its sub-native pixel-count.
What HRAA brings to the table is worthy of a Digital Foundry feature in its own right, but let's look at the basics. For Xbox One, the choice of resolution means that scaling artefacts are only apparent on one axis. On top of that, for every four horizontal pixels rendered, it draws upon three source pixels, an additional three from the previous frame plus accumulated data from previous frames. HRAA works nicely not just for anti-aliasing, then, but also in reconstituting something approaching the quality of a full 1080p framebuffer when it is working at its best. PlayStation 4 looks even cleaner, mostly because it appears to have access to more temporal data than Xbox One version of the algorithm and doesn't need to upscale at all.
In terms of console performance, 60fps is out of the question with the level of graphical quality on offer in Far Cry 4's detailed open world, with the developer targeting a 30fps update instead. Both PS4 and Xbox One deliver a fluid and responsive experience where drops in performance are rare and have little impact on how well the game plays - controls have a nice, twitchy feel allowing for quick and precise aiming in fast-paced shoot-outs. After the inconsistency of the PC experience, running at a locked frame-rate is like a breath of fresh air (we should also point out that capping at 30fps still causes stutter issues on PC).
Overall, performance sticks closely to 30fps on both consoles, but the Xbox One comes out on top, displaying slightly higher frame-rates during intense shoot-outs and generally fewer dips elsewhere.
Far Cry 4: the Digital Foundry verdict
In terms of the multi-platform comparison, the PS4 gets the nod here for its sharper native 1080p presentation and almost solid 30fps frame-rates. In comparison, the image quality isn't quite as pristine on the Xbox One, although frame-rates are slightly higher under load, but the quality of the presentation overall remains excellent. It's a great buy on either platform.
The PC version could have been brilliant - and in some respects it is - but we're surprised that the game shipped with obvious issues not found in the console releases. On the one hand, Ubisoft deserve kudos for the range of additions made to the game over its console counterpart. They're not game-changing as such - indeed, some of the ultra options show next to no improvement at all - but the overall impression is that high-end GPU owners do get a thorough work-out for their kit, and the Nvidia enhancements (TXAA apart) do help. At the same time, there's enough scalability here that those with entry-level enthusiast gaming hardware should get a decent experience. Unfortunately, the game features the same problem as Watch Dogs: genuine issues with background streaming resulting in off-putting stutter. We're looking into potential user-side solutions, but really and truly, Ubisoft must fix this before we can recommend the PC release.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-far-cry-4-face-off
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