Call of Duty: Ghosts - the Digital Foundry verdict
Each next-gen console version has its strengths and weaknesses, but clearly it is the PS4 game that offers a superior experience overall. The advantage here comes in the form of cleaner and sharper visuals that help to better realise the extra next-gen spit and polish on display over the 360, PS3, and Wii U versions of the game - something that Xbox One's upscaled 720p presentation fails to do in quite the same way. However, the Xbox One version has its own charms in the form of a smoother, more consistent frame-rate.
Indeed, the performance impact on PlayStation 4 is something of a disappointment, and those expecting a solid 60fps presentation that closely matches the glory days of the original Modern Warfare are sure to be let down in this regard. In that respect, from a purely gameplay perspective the Xbox One game has the edge, and this translates into a more fluid experience when playing online, with the hiccups seen on the PS4 title restricted to the game's campaign mode. It's an interesting situation considering that while the smoother frame-rate clearly benefits gameplay on the Xbox One, the resolution deficit makes it harder to consistently pick out enemies from a distance compared to the PS4 version - something that is also worth bearing in mind.
If you can throw enough horsepower at the PC version of the game, this offers the definitive experience - but in a world where even a GTX Titan can't run this game at a locked 1080p60 at max settings, it's clear that optimisation is a real issue. The strength of console gaming is that the onus in delivering the best possible performance rests squarely on the developer - and in this case, the PlayStation 4 version gets closest to delivering the high-end experience. While the frame-rate issues aren't fully resolved, the day-one patch improved things considerably, and online play certainly isn't the broken, stuttering mess it is sometimes portrayed as.
But with Battlefield now running at 60fps on console, and offering a raft of technological improvements into the bargain, we can't help but feel that Call of Duty is starting to lose momentum; that the graphical improvements aren't quite enough, and the gameplay formula is now a little too well-worn.
Ghosts comes across as good enough, but not spectacular - singularly lacking the next-gen foundations that DICE will only build upon after the successful deployment of Battlefield 4.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-call-of-duty-ghosts-next-gen-face-off









