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[Xbox-Scene]

Oblivion: PC VS Xbox 360

Posted by: Xbox-Scene  Apr 5 2006, 07:01 AM

Oblivion: PC VS Xbox 360-- Posted by XanTium on April 5 01:25 EST
From http://www.gamespot.com/features/6147028/index.html:

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is one of the best, most talked about role-playing games in a long time. This article assumes you're interested in learning what all the fuss is about but are having trouble deciding whether the PC or Xbox 360 version of the game is right for you. Here we'll break down the differences and help you make a decision, but the good news is, you won't go wrong either way.

In short, the PC version is better suited to power users with top-of-the-line gaming rigs, who like the idea of extending their game with a lot of downloadable user-created content. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 version is a safer bet that's recommendable to anyone, especially those who don't have a souped-up PC and aren't looking to upgrade, and/or have a home theater setup.

Read More (including some nice screenshots where they compare the Xbox 360 version with a low-spec, mid-spec and high-spec PC): http://www.gamespot.com/features/6147028/index.html

[hamwbone]

wow, i wrote a huge ass review and the forum crashed. lost a whole page of text. maybe my willpower will be replenished tomorrow to re-write it all.  

[unclepauly]

They didn't say how the framerates compared in the high range part. Plus the pc version can't do hdr + aa at the same time so how does it look better? Higher res I know, and a couple extra bushes makes the dif I guess.

[Altima NEO]

ehh, i posted some screens too

but yeah pc verison can do some things that 360 cant
not much of is is significant, only frame rate

interface, however, does really feel like it was meant to work with a controller, and not keyboard/mouse

This post has been edited by Altima NEO: Apr 5 2006, 08:56 AM

[bigbubba7373]

well i dont know what kind of tv set they had the xbox 360 on when takeing the pics,but on my soyo 32 inch lcd Oblivion looks 100 times better than the screens they showed.

[Deftech]

Id kill myself id I had to play this game with a kb/mouse, that would be worse than sitting at this desk for 500 hours. This is just one of those games that 2 me, is a console only game.

[Martinchris23]

IMHO if you have to spend more on a graphics card than a full console, it loses the right for comparison. Exactly how much would it cost to build a high-end PC to those recommended specs, not to mention purchasing the Operating System itself!

I think this outlines exactly how good VFM the 360 actually is, if it can compete at this level with a mid/high end PC.

[Foe-hammer]

The article was not technical or very specific at all, in terms of performance differences.

I was hoping they would have touched on some of these:

- No AA or HDR combined in PC
- No Self-shadowing in 360
- Quantifiable Frame-rate differences (numbers)  at same resolution

[Smilli]

Man, I just know I'm gonna get flamed on this, but as a long time lurker, I just gotta say a few things.

First, what's the big deal if Oblivion DOES look better on a high end PC?  Some people like to spend thier money in different ways.  Would ANY of you deny a ride around town in a Ferrari would be more fun than the same ride in a Kia?  It's not always a linear progression.  Sometimes you have to pay more than twice as much for even 10% increase in performance.

I've been checking out the Xbox 720(because a mate of mine had to buy TWO before getting one working one!) and it's a good system.  It's the closest the console market has EVER been to the PC, but if people seriously think the major component makers are going to alienate thier $400 video card buyers by letting a $400 SYSTEM trounce it, you've really got a lot of reflection to do.  ATI and Nvidia would face HUGE backlash if they ditched the PC market for consoles.  Why do you think MS and Sony are both having PC chip makers do up thier graphics solutions now?  They know that the PC will always be the cutting edge if only for the fact you CAN upgrade a PC to some extent.

Why not just say it how it actually is, rather than what people wish it was.  The Xbox is the winner, hands down, in the "bang for the buck" category, but like any console aimed at the mainstream(anyone remember Neo Geo and it's niche marketing scheme?) it is a compromise.  If you're willing to pay for the latest and greatest, you'll be besting consoles with ease.

The last note, lets not forget that some PC users(I know, maybe one or two) use thier PC for things other than gaming.  I myself get to write off most of my PC as a work expense, so I get a large HD, a gig of memory, OS, and a 3800+ for half price!  I can fork out $400 for a video card and I have a system that not only does all the crap I need for work, you know, spreadsheets, documents, VPNs to the office so I can work in my jammies, and I'm ahead of the game!  If I were to go on my own budget, well, I'd probably upgrade video cards every other year, but buy the top of the line.  You saw the "mid level" PC was a GF6600.  That goes for what?  $100!  Why not buy two and SLI them, now you're looking at $100 for the MB, and $200 for the video cards.  Drop in your two year old Athlon 64 and whatever memory you've got from your old PC, and you can upgrade your moderately spec'd machine to do better than the Xbox for $100 less cash to pony up.  

If you don't have anything to reply with but my number of posts, save yourself some embarassment and just don't reply.  We all start somewhere.

I'll don my asbestos underwear now!

[Foe-hammer]

Why would we flame you, you are 100% correct.

But.......if any are using oblivion as a bench mark for PC comparison, then your conclusion will be faulty.  Oblivion was programmed for PC's and ported to the 360 on beta (not final) dev kits.  We will not see true performance bench marks for the 360 until games have been programmed from the ground up on final 360 hardware, and when devs have had time to figure it out.

[Hannard]

What they don't mention is whether the game crashes more on 360 or on PC..

[lowendfrequency]

QUOTE(Hannard @ Apr 5 2006, 06:28 AM)

What they don't mention is whether the game crashes more on 360 or on PC..

Judging by the posts on the elderscrolls forum, the PC version is extremely buggy.


I thought that article was fair, and the comparison images were nice.    Sure I would have loved an extra 20ft of draw-distance on my foliage, but I'm running an ancient GeForce4Ti 128 card that would run the other direction if I put Oblivion in.   Plus, I have a nice 32" HDTV and a surround system in the living room.  I also prefer to play games like this in the reclining position, perhaps with a beer or two.  

[krims0n]

I don't get the whole PC vs Console debates. A good PC is going to cost around $2000, and cost you ~$500 every year after that in upgrades. An xbox 360 costs $400 plus a few accessories and will last about 5 years. The PC is pretty much always going to win these debates for "better graphics / games / whatever", but it's a totally moot point anyways because your comparing apples to watermelons.

[Rustmonkey]

Well, for the last few years, my theory has been "computer = work : consoles = play" mainly for the fact that I can get a console and buy games for it without worrying about upgrading and matching system requirements - while my p4 at 3.3 with 1gig of ram and a Radeon 9800xt run oblivion ok, its still a much better experience for me to sit on a couch playing it on my High Def TV with my Pioneer 7.1 system upscaling the dolby 5.1 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)  

But its all a matter of opinion... for compatibility sake, consoles are the way to go - for pure graphical muscle, computers will always win hands down.

This post has been edited by Rustmonkey: Apr 5 2006, 04:46 PM

[Foe-hammer]

QUOTE(Rustmonkey @ Apr 5 2006, 09:16 AM)

.... for pure graphical muscle, computers will always win hands down.

Whether i want to beleive it or not i beleive you are right, that no matter how good consoles get PC's will always have the graphical edge (with the latest PC hardware).