This video is brought to you by lynda.com.
Hey guys this is Austin.
So Watch Dogs came out today so I decided it would be a good idea to do a comparison
to see which version of the game looks best.
To start we have Watch Dogs running on the PlayStation 3.
Considering this is a nearly eight year old console it’s definitely at a disadvantage
but the results aren’t terrible.
It reminds me in some ways of Grand Theft Auto 5 as Watch Dogs really pushes the console
to the limit and you’ll notice that quite a bit.
For the most part the game stays around 30 frames per second but jump into a car and
things take a bit of a nose dive into choppiness.
You’re also dealing with fairly long loading times, especially with fast travel which only
takes a few seconds on the PS4 and PC but can take a minute or more on the PS3.
Jump over to the PS4 and things look much better.
Textures are a lot cleaner and there’s just more detail everywhere you look.
One of the big differences is in frame rate as the PS4 is able to keep Watch Dogs locked
at 30 FPS for the most part.
Every once in a while it’ll dip below, usually when there’s a lot of action onscreen but
the performance is miles better than on the PS3.
Watch Dogs on the PC is a little different.
If you have a computer that can handle the game on Ultra the graphics do look noticeably
better than on the consoles although it’s not a massive difference.
There’s significant pop-in of textures, especially with cars on both the PC and PS3
but oddly not really on the PS4.
Frame rate on a GTX 780 generally hovered around 60 FPS on Ultra at 1080p but sometimes
it dips quite noticeably down.
Okay we’ve got a bunch of dead bodies right?
We’ve got forty thousand people above us, we need a distraction.
I called the cops.
Put the PS3 and PS4 side by side and you can really see there’s a big difference in the
level of detail.
While Aidan is fairly similar on both consoles things like grass and trees are either nonexistent
or much less impressive looking on the PS3.
Compare the PS4 with the PC though and things are very close.
If you look at the road the difference between 900p on the PS4 and 1080p on the PC is easy
to spot but if you put all three together only the PS3 really stands out as the other
versions are very similar.
Pick a scene with a little more detail and again the PS3 shows it’s age against the
much more powerful PS4 however the PC looks significantly better here when you look at
details like the fence where the extra antialiasing and resolution come into play.
Jump into a car and if you put aside the FPS issues the PS3 doesn’t do too badly with
similar physics and shadows, mostly just giving up on the detail side.
The PC has some subtle improvements like better reflections and again more detail, especially
in far away objects.
Night time is where Watch Dogs shines.
Impressively the PS3 doesn’t fall too far behind here if you look past the slightly
overblown rain effect, especially when you look at Aidan’s soaked jacket.
Set the PS4 against the PC and the two look almost identical as the darkness hides a lot
of the little details that might have given the PC an advantage.
If you have a PS3 or Xbox 360 Watch Dogs is surprisingly solid.
You will have a few frame rate issues and it won’t look as nice as on a newer console
or gaming PC but it’s totally playable and looks fantastic considering what it’s running
on.
Move up to the PS4 or Xbox One though and you’re going to find the sweet spot.
It seems pretty clear to me that Ubisoft really optimized Watch Dogs for the new consoles
and it shows, with the PS4 delivering good graphics without giving up performance.
Watch Dogs for PC improves a few things but it’s not perfect.
Considering just how much more powerful a high end PC is compared to a console even
on Ultra there isn’t a huge difference.
Put that together with issues like pop-in and how poorly it runs on AMD cards and I’m
a little disappointed.
So what do you guys think about Watch Dogs, are you planning on picking it up?
Let me know in the comments below!
Also huge shoutout to lynda.com for making this video possible!
lynda.com helps you learn and keep-up-to-date with your software, pick up brand-new skills,
or explore new hobbies with their easy to follow video tutorials.
Odds are if you’re watching my channel you enjoy tech but with lynda.com you can really
learn how to get the most out of it.
There are detailed tutorials on how to shoot better pictures and video with your camera,
learn how to program apps and way, way more.
And if you’re interested in learning how to make video a great place to start is with
lynda.com’s awesome DSLR video courses.
There are a ton of other tutorials on the site too with more added every week and you
can get access to them all starting at just $25 a month.
For you guys though you can get a 7 day free trial when you go to lynda.com/austin.
Again that’s lynda.com/austin so definitely go check it out and help support the channel!
Anyway guys thank you so much for watching and I will catch you in the next one!