[chemgear]

Shots fired! "PC train-wreck?" OMGWTFBBQ!!

Details mainly for the (marketing) lead PS4 version but I'm sure they'll have more once they can chew on the Xbone and PC cuts.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/di...-tour-de-force


The launch of Batman: Arkham Knight may have been blighted by the arrival of the PC train-wreck, but let's be clear - Rocksteady's console game is a slickly presented finale to the saga that should not be overlooked. Based on early impressions, the game has already proven itself in the performance stakes, and that solid frame-rate and stability is backed up by a more ambitious approach to the open world gameplay pioneered in 2011's Arkham City.
Gone are the black screens that separated each level from the main hub; it's now possible to move between each directly, from indoors to out. The engine streams assets in behind the scenes with nary a blip - often through smart level design - with only one hiccup noticed when approaching the Police Headquarters for the first time. It's neatly optimised for PS4, and having the game's 48GB file installed to HDD by default makes a world of difference compared to last-gen's reliance on streaming from optical disc.

Gotham City is not only more intricately detailed, but better presented in general. At a native 1920x1080 resolution, the PS4 version pushes far beyond the 1280x720 with no AA of previous console entries in the series. The crisp image is backed by a post-process anti-aliasing technique too, tackling jagged edges well in most scenarios, with the exception of a pixel-crawl effect on distant objects. As an extra, we also get filters such as film grain (noticed in the Batmobile's battle mode), plus a light chromatic aberration pass that appears along the screen's edges.

The current controversy over the shockingly poor launch of the PC version is a terrible disappointment bearing in mind how solid the PS4 version is. Previous Rocksteady-helmed ports were worthy, accomplished pieces of work, but the outsourced Arkham Knight looks terrible to the point where reports suggest that even Titan X-equipped PCs cannot sustain 1080p60. We've only just received code, but what's immediately obvious is that even a Core i7 with a GTX 780 Ti can't sustain 60fps, even on the lowest settings.

After years in development, the controversy surrounding the terrible PC game obviously takes the shine away from what should have been a triumphant launch for Rocksteady's long-awaited trilogy closer. On PS4 at least - the only version we've tested in-depth so far - the finale to the Arkham saga is an absolute showcase. The huge scale to Gotham is just one part of what makes Arkham Knight work; the seamless movement between areas and cut-scenes, improved atmospherics and physics-based backdrops all combine to enrich the process of exploring the city. Going back to Arkham City on PS3 makes for a relatively barren, confined experience, and it's clear we needed newer hardware to bring this city - and the Batmobile in particular - to life.

Meanwhile, what of the Xbox One version? Rocksteady has turned in a gorgeous, well-optimised title on PS4, and early reports show an update is incoming to further improve its performance for the platform (assuming that those enhancements were not already part of the review code handed out to press). But for now, the resolution and frame-rate metrics on Microsoft's console remain a mystery - an enigma we hope to solve in a performance analysis once we have our hands on retail code.