-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
Times When a Console Game Outshone the PC Version
- Thread starter mindsale
- Start date
In general the mid 2000s was hell for PC ports, many were buggy messes missing features if they existed at all
Oh, I just remembered one:
Hyper Light Drifter only runs at 120 FPS on the iPad Pro.
The PC version was originally 30 FPS and later patched to support 60 FPS. They never released a 120 FPS update for parity with the iPad Pro version.
It has a couple of bugs you need to watch out for though: full-screen mode would result in a blurred output (borderless/windowed mode fixes this) and using MSAA would cause the grass to pop-in rather than fading in smoothly.
I think a lot of people in this thread have been confusing "bad PC version" with "worse than the consoles".
As an example: Dark Souls had console parity at launch. That makes it a bad PC release, when you're locked to 1024x720 or whatever it was; but not worse than the console versions. It still ran better in areas like Blight Town.
But the DSFix mod brought it more in line with what was expected of a PC release: high resolutions, higher frame rates etc.
It's far more demanding to run than it should be - it runs horribly on my Ryzen system with the draw distances maxed out - but not "worse than the console version".
It ran terribly on the 360/PS3 too. Much worse than PC.
Hyper Light Drifter only runs at 120 FPS on the iPad Pro.
The PC version was originally 30 FPS and later patched to support 60 FPS. They never released a 120 FPS update for parity with the iPad Pro version.
I have been one of the loudest complainers about how that game runs on PC; but it has, in absolutely no way, been worse on PC than console at any time. Especially not now that the "frame-pacing" issues have been resolved (if your PC can hold a steady 60/120 FPS).
Except for issues with FMV playback on some systems, the unmodded version of the game is still better than the console version.
It has a couple of bugs you need to watch out for though: full-screen mode would result in a blurred output (borderless/windowed mode fixes this) and using MSAA would cause the grass to pop-in rather than fading in smoothly.
I think a lot of people in this thread have been confusing "bad PC version" with "worse than the consoles".
As an example: Dark Souls had console parity at launch. That makes it a bad PC release, when you're locked to 1024x720 or whatever it was; but not worse than the console versions. It still ran better in areas like Blight Town.
But the DSFix mod brought it more in line with what was expected of a PC release: high resolutions, higher frame rates etc.
If you don't max out the draw distances (far beyond the console versions) it should run okay on most systems.
It's far more demanding to run than it should be - it runs horribly on my Ryzen system with the draw distances maxed out - but not "worse than the console version".
It ran terribly on the 360/PS3 too. Much worse than PC.
It's so bad that running it through a DX9 to Vulkan wrapper provides better and more consistent performance these days.
(also the z-fighting is horrible. I think they overlap LODs?)
That and the lack of AoE control are the worst parts for sure. But tbh I don't miss that stuff much! I probably don't play on a high enough difficulty for it to matter haha
Pretty much all Black Box developed Need for Speed games have something wrong with the PC version. Almost everything on this list has been fixed with fan made patches and mods, but it took years after release for that to happen.
- Underground 1: Controller settings delete upon quitting the game on anything newer than Windows XP. No widescreen support.
- Underground 2: Missing visual effects from console versions. Controller settings delete upon quitting the game on anything newer than Windows XP. No widescreen support.
- Most Wanted 05: Ported from 6th gen version and not the 360, so it has lower quality models and textures across the board, as well as extreme amounts of motion blur. Need to edit Windows registry to change certain settings. No widescreen support.
- Carbon: Missing visual effects from 7th gen versions. Various cars can't be used without mods. No widescreen support.
- ProStreet: Literally unplayable after online servers were shutdown. Lots of bugs and crashes. Didn't get the DLC cars. The 1.1 patch capped the framerate at 30 FPS and locked motion blur on.
- Undercover: Just a buggy, crashy mess. Steam version didn't get the 1.1 patch with the Challenge Series, either.
- The Run: 60 FPS and higher breaks various aspects of the game, such as sound and particle effects. Didn't get the Italian Pack DLC.
Most games that added Wii U gamepad functionality are more enjoyable on the Wii U for me. Unfortunately that list is pretty tiny, with Deus Ex: Human Revolution being the biggest standout.
I think that's reductive. There are probably plenty of examples that can fit the thread, that don't fall under the category of just being a bad PC port.
There are examples of games that came out later on console, and benefited from hindsight and further development. One such title, that's already been given, and I agree with, is Diablo 3. Not only did it benefit from newly implemented controller input, and local multiplayer, it also ditched the always online necessity.
There's also examples of fighting games and other titles, having platform exclusive characters, such as Kratos in Mortal Kombat, etc
Didn't they (the devs?) say that only on the 360 was it possible to do the realtime teammate-camera view? I think it was because of the multicore setup on the 360 CPU which wasn't common back then, so the PC version only ended up with wireframe views.
PC version had physx though, when it was still an Ageia thing.
Probably, but im referring more to the great control scheme. Game played like a dream with that setup.
Diablo 3 had it's mobs dumbed down to work on a controller. It's not a superior port objectively.
This and cutting visual effects is like, the double whammy of porting "WHYYYYYYY" cries.
I had the PC version of Wrestlemania Arcade. Better than the 16-bit consoles, but still had a lame midi soundtrack and washed out colors. The PS1 version was definitely better. I never played the Saturn version.
Forza Horizon 3 at launch. It performed terribly on my PC, not just in terms of raw performance but also in how it would handle sub-par framerates. Even months after release, busier areas of the map would cause this bizarre issue where time would speed up and slow down subtly, making precision driving all but impossible. And this was on top of a game that seemingly could barely maintain 30fps on my system when other games could do far better. I ended up finishing that game on Xbox One because the port suffered so much on my machine.
Forza Horizon 4 was a completely different story, and has thankfully redeemed Playground in my eyes. But I'll never forget having to literally stop playing Horizon 3 on PC because it was so bad.
Forza Horizon 4 was a completely different story, and has thankfully redeemed Playground in my eyes. But I'll never forget having to literally stop playing Horizon 3 on PC because it was so bad.
Going back a bit further here, the SNES version of Sim City was great. Added a ton of fun elements, including an end goal in the form of a Mario statue.
Also from that era: SNES Lemmings had fun little cutscenes, five exclusive new levels and local vs multiplayer.
Both also had a pretty smart control scheme so that absence of a mouse wasn't *too* much of a problem (though it was still missed).
Also from that era: SNES Lemmings had fun little cutscenes, five exclusive new levels and local vs multiplayer.
Both also had a pretty smart control scheme so that absence of a mouse wasn't *too* much of a problem (though it was still missed).
100% thisSpider-Man 2 comes to mind. It was a completely different game on PC and worse in every way imaginable.
🤢
Spider Man 2 Walkthrough Mission 1 Rhino's Rampage
CHECK OUT MY OTHER CHANNEL : https://www.youtube.com/c/SanoTiXyoutu.be
I didn't know that about the reboot game; I knew they updated the Lara model for PS4/Xbox One which you can unofficially mod into the PC version.
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation on Dreamcast has improved shadows.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver on Dreamcast has improved graphical effects in some areas, the DF Retro episode was very interesting.
Prince of Persia '08 is missing the Epilogue DLC, so I just watched that on YouTube but tbh I prefer the game without it.
Prince of Persia 3D was dogshit on PC, and Arabian Nights: Prince of Persia was slightly less shit on Dreamcast.
Well in my experience Dishonored 2 was a disaster at release - frequent crashes, low FPS even on Medium or even Low settings, taking a while to load the textures, etc., and for many the PC version at launch was way worse than the console versions .. I mean even Digital Foundry's verdict at the time of the game's release was that the PS4 Pro version was the best option then.. yeah, the PC version looked the best, but the perfomance was abysmal.. I don't know why, but even how the game runs on my PC worse than for example CP2077 on Ultra
Crashing in id Tech 5 games (which the Void Engine is derived from) generally means that your GPU is not running at stable clocks/voltage (yes, even if it only happens in that one game).
Being derived from id Tech 5 means that the game is extremely CPU heavy, and texture quality settings increase the CPU demands further.
But Digital Foundry did not recommend the PS4 Pro version over the PC one.
They complained about frame rate drops below 60 FPS on their Titan X system - though it was almost certainly on the CPU side rather than the GPU.
However the console version of the game was 1080p30 with drops below that (even on the PS4 Pro) and it had awful controls.
Though it took until the final patch, released something like nine months after launch, to fix many of the performance issues - it was still better on PC from the start.
Cannot deny. GC version had effects etc even the PC version couldn't have until recently iirc.
Witcher 2, for a little while at least. The 360 version contained a bunch of quality of life fixes and artistic changes to the graphics that overall made the game look quite a bit nicer. If you were happy playing at 720p/30fps (perfectly fine for the game in 2011, I'd say) on a console much cheaper than would be necessary to play the PC version at max at the time, it was fantastic. Eventually all those changes made their way to the PC version of course, but it was a phenomenal port.
also seconding spider-man 2. it sucks so bad they never brought the "real" one to PC
also seconding spider-man 2. it sucks so bad they never brought the "real" one to PC
I think of recent, it would probably be L.A. Noire. Consoles got that Remastered Package, which have slightly better textures and effects than the PC version. You could Unlock the framerate to 60fps, and even run Ultrawide with Flawless but it takes some tweaking to get it running. It's a bit shit on Windows 10, but it can work. I think Silent deserves so much praise for all the old Rockstar games - his work with Bully, and that of thirteenAG did wonders for Widescreen res fixes and enhancements on so many older games.
Probably Arkham Origins? It just crashes for me on two different configs now and my friend had crashes throughout his playthrough. Only issue is there's no console version that does 1080p60. So there's no real best version. I guess your best bet for solid performance is BC on Xbox One, but it's disk only on xbox fsr.
There is tons, almost universal better PC versions started being a thing with the 7th gen.
5th/6th gen had awful ports, sometimes it wasn't even the same game in the case of Spidey 2 & Nightfire 007, most recent example would be DMC5 SE i suppose, since it wasn't released on PC.
Diablo 3 is another big one, but the multiplayer is ruined by hackers while the PC version is all server side, however local co-op is where D3 shines.
5th/6th gen had awful ports, sometimes it wasn't even the same game in the case of Spidey 2 & Nightfire 007, most recent example would be DMC5 SE i suppose, since it wasn't released on PC.
Diablo 3 is another big one, but the multiplayer is ruined by hackers while the PC version is all server side, however local co-op is where D3 shines.
That original port of Dark Souls was downright rancid. It was as if FROM's knowledge of how a pc game should control was from the early 90s. The game controlled worse than System Shock 1.
Problem is, if you have a controller, it was still a better way to play the game, since while it was 720p30, you'd at least more often get 720p30 than you would with the other systems, which weren't even 720p and much of the time not at all 30 fps.
Too many times, especially in pre 8th gen era. Lack of content, lack of proper controls, lack of polish, generally lack of care.
I agree. Levels had reduced detail on console, but the lighting and music were amazing. I use mods for PS1 lighting and music on PC Doom.
The interesting thing is Doom PS1 feels like a horror game with it's music/sound effects, which is the direction the series went going into Doom 3, while the OG PC version is created by people who listened to master of puppets about 60,000 times.
Arkham Origins was rough on console too, I had a lot of issues on PS3. I'd argue Arkham Knight would fit the bill though. Game ran great on consoles and the PC port was pretty notoriously shitty.
I'd argue Super Street Fighter II for DOS, which was based on the SNES version. Close as we got until 30th Anniversary Collection dropped.
I played both versions at launch, and the PC version was still better than the PS4 even without the mod. PS4 had a ton of hitching and while the PC port was barebones, it still ran and looked better.
Sorry PC nerds Diablo on console is so much more enjoyable. Can't stand using KBM for those types of games.
Most of the single player Final Fantasy PC ports are absolute trash, even with mods. Only one that isn't is XV.
Interesting. Thanks! I was legit curious since I've only seen bad versions in videos etc.
