First impressions of Alien: Isolation suggested parity between the PS4 and Xbox One versions, with both sporting native 1080p visuals while sharing an extensive range of assets and graphical effects. Performance is an issue though, with PS4 commanding a distinct advantage thanks to a more consistent frame-rate and a complete lack of screen tear.
On the basis of those results, it seems like a clear win for Sony's system, but with the game available across no less than five different systems we were also interested to see how Creative Assembly's game translated onto the ageing Xbox 360 and PS3, and of course what benefits the PC version brings. On top of that, there was also those stuttering cut-scenes: what was causing that judder?
To kick things off, let's start by taking a close look at Alien: Isolation on PC. Early impressions suggest a game that is extremely easy to run at high frame-rates while requiring only modest hardware set-ups, but exactly what kind of experience are we getting compared to PS4 and Xbox One? We start by selecting a 1080p resolution to match the console versions and opt for SMAA T2x, the highest available anti-aliasing preset in the game.
Surprisingly, image quality closely reflects the consoles, with only minor differences in the AA pattern at a pixel level, leading us to believe that all three share the same basic method of dealing with jaggies. Long edges and sub-pixel details suffer from pixel crawl and shimmering, while shader aliasing is commonplace across specular reflections throughout the game. Still, while there's nothing you can do to improve image quality on console, on PC it's possible to force other anti-aliasing techniques via the GPU control panel to clean things up further.
Alien: Isolation - the Digital Foundry verdict
Creative Assembly wanted parity between PS4 and Xbox One and on the basis of image quality, detail and effects work it has managed it, but while native 1080p sharpness may please Xbox One owners, it has come at a cost, because while the Xbox One version delivers the core Alien experience mostly intact, overall immersion is compromised by frequent drops in fluidity. Performance is obviously the deciding factor here and it's clear PS4 has a distinct advantage. As such the PS4 game gets our recommendation for console owners, even though we're left with the nagging feeling that 60fps should have been possible on Sony's hardware based on the game's PC showing.
It's worth noting that Alien: Isolation takes advantage of specific features in both consoles to enrich the gameplay experience. PlayStation Camera and Kinect offer head-tracking so you can physically lean to look around corners in the game, while the microphone allows the Alien to track you via real-world audio. The DualShock 4 speaker also outputs the pulse of your motion tracker, which is a nice touch. These features can be disabled if they aren't to your taste, but we enjoyed them.
The last-gen releases of Alien: Isolation feature all of the core elements found in the PS4, Xbox One and PC releases to successfully recreate the suspense and much of the atmosphere of the top-end versions. However, the experience is compromised by low frame-rates and a rough, sub-720p presentation that makes it much harder to remain immersed. Xbox 360 gets the nod here, although some detail is lost to black crush in darker areas.
In the final analysis, the PC game is the definitive version of Alien: Isolation. While the level of graphical quality is only marginally improved over PS4 and Xbox One, the game is easy to run across a wide range of configurations, so 1080p at 60fps is achievable on older GPUs without having to dramatically lower graphical presets, while the low system requirements of the game easily open up running at 1440p at high frame-rates. A key advantage of PC gaming is the ability to scale the experience to your specific hardware, and the headroom available in Alien: Isolation opens up a vast range of options. Oculus Rift, anyone?
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-alien-isolation-face-off
