Compared to the stock release of Crysis 2, it's clear that there have been no compromises where this sequel is concerned, to the point where even running in low settings on PC yields a vastly superior visual experience to either console. The downside is that you'll need a dual GPU set-up to max out the game using the 'very high' preset while running at steadily playable frame-rates (though Nvidia's upcoming single GPU Titan hardware might have something to say about that). Our Radeon 7870 test rig managed between 20-50FPS when running the game on its highest setting in 720p, although dialling back a few settings to medium or low, along with tweaking other options - such as motion blur - allowed for a ballpark 1080p60 without feeling short-changed on the quality of the visual experience.
As you may expect, there are some significant downgrades in the console versions of Crysis 3 as Crytek attempts to transplant the ambitious visuals to significantly less powerful hardware. Foliage is considerably pared back, the geometry complexity of the environments is reduced, and lower quality artwork is employed throughout the two maps available in the beta. The end result is that the world rendered on the consoles doesn't appear quite as organic and alive as it does on the PC, although the general atmosphere is retained.
The main point of difference between the console versions revolves around streaming and rendering resolution. In terms of the former, the PS3 has an obvious advantage (particularly at the beginning of each round and after respawns) in terms of more quickly streaming artwork, though during gameplay the two are more evenly matched. For its part, the 360 features improved texture filtering and slightly longer draw distances in general - particularly where shadow rendering is concerned.
Resolution remains identical to that of Crysis 2 (1152x720 on 360 and 1024x720 on the PS3) but the use of the firm's 'post AA' has been jettisoned in favour of what we believe to be shader model anti-aliasing (SMAA) which uses a different kind of temporal filter that features less double image 'ghosting' artifacts on fast-moving scenes and objects. Some texture blurring is apparent on both consoles, as are shimmering jaggies on more finely detailed parts of the environment, but the 360 game regularly comes across as the sharper of the two.
Crytek appears to be carrying out a fine balancing act in bringing the more ambitious environments to console hardware while still retaining a decent level of performance. That said, the inclusion of large locations fleshed out with more natural, organic detail does have some noticeable repercussions. The mostly solid 30FPS update found in Crysis 2's multiplayer modes is compromised by frequent drops in frame-rate, particularly during hectic scenes involving lots of players and transparent alpha effects.
Thankfully, the overall downgrade in fluidity here is less severe than the sub-20FPS drops during Crysis 2's campaign mode, although the dips in performance can be a little off-putting. Frame-rates are generally lower during matches situated on the museum stage, where the inclusion of water effects, environment reflections and foliage cause more of a performance hit. This is a much more significant issue on the PS3 in both maps, where the level of fluidity tends to drop even lower when the engine is heavily stressed. Both versions have their own performance issues, although we see the 360 gaining a small advantage with slightly higher frame-rates on average overall.
