September 26th, 2011
Posted in 
A Chase Between Life and Death…
| System Breakdown | Xbox 360 Stats | PlayStation 3 Stats |
| Resolutions: | Up to 1080p | Up to 720p |
| # of Discs: | Single | Single |
| HD Install: | Optional | None |
| Metacritic: |  |
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| Watch / Download Video: |  |
Welcome back for another exciting Head2Head! This week we take a ride down the streets of Southern California with Ubisoft Reflections’, Driver: San Francisco for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Take those T-tops off, feel the wind blowing through your hair and hang on for one exciting ride!
Graphics: Things get a little hazy here, as both versions have their pros and cons. The first thing we noticed was how washed out the PS3 version looks in comparison to the 360. This is most likely due to different gamma levels and can most likely be remedied through brightness and contrast adjustments from your TV. Still we can’t help but feel that the 360 version is sporting slightly more detail in some spots of the environment in terms of making them pop more, but they are very minor. On the flip side we see the exact same difference in detail when comparing the textures on a character’s face close up favoring the PS3 instead. Refer to the third rollover below and notice how the crows feet around the eyes and the pores in the man’s skin look sharper on the PS3.
One distinct advantage that the PS3 version has over the 360 is how SSAO is implemented. Some spots of the 360 version seem to be missing shadows altogether while other spots just look more defined on the PS3. A perfect example of this can be seen in shots one and three below. Furthermore some shadows on the 360 version seem a little rough and less realistic by comparison. Shot nine on page one and shot one on page two can help clear the air on the PS3 version’s softer shadows. However where the PS3 has slight advantages on the SSAO side of things, it is the 360 version that claims the Anti Aliasing advantage. Most places are pretty close, but when it comes to over head power lines and such it becomes clear that the 360 is providing the smoother image overall. With so many distinct advantages on both versions, it is hard to declare a clear winner this time. With that said we are going to consider this category a tie and leave it up to the personal taste of the gamer.
Performance: On the performance side of things, we have a much clearer verdict. Both consoles tore a little during game play, but when you watch the video it is clear that the 360 version was worse in this aspect as it would sometimes have tearing up to seven percent more than the PS3 version. Furthermore while both versions managed to maintane a frame rate at or near the targeted 60 FPS, the 360 version suffered from drops during hektik situations while the PS3 remained pretty smooth throughout. Niether version can be considered to have “broken” performance as there are games out there with bigger issues than what is found here, but when you look at the video it is surely the PS3 version that comes out on top here.
| Xbox 360 Frame Analysis | PlayStation 3 Frame Analysis |
| Clip 1 info: Length of clip: 4910 frames Average FPS of clip: 57.47 Percent of torn frames: 8.05 |
Clip 1 info: Length of clip: 4910 frames Average FPS of clip: 59.69 Percent of torn frames: 1.55 |
| Clip 2 info: Length of clip: 4355 frames Average FPS of clip: 60.00 Percent of torn frames: 0.07 |
Clip 2 info: Length of clip: 4355 frames Average FPS of clip: 60.00 Percent of torn frames: 0.20 |
| Global percent of torn frames: 4.45 Global average FPS: 58.66 |
Global percent of torn frames: 1.01 Global average FPS: 59.84 |
Loading: The loading times were rather speedy on both consoles and neither of them will disappoint you in the end. There really isn’t much we can say on the matter as numbers these low pretty much speak for themselves. It is worth noting however that this tie was made possible WITHOUT a PS3 mandatory install.
| PlayStation 3 Load Times | Xbox 360 Load Times |
| Sample 1: 13 Seconds | Sample 1: 15 Seconds |
| Sample 2: 4 Seconds | Sample 2: 5 Seconds |
| Sample 3: 5 Seconds | Sample 3: 3 Seconds |
| Sample 4: 4 Seconds | Sample 4: 6 Seconds |
| Sample 5: 6 Seconds | Sample 5: 4 Seconds |
| Sample Average: 6.4 Seconds | Sample Average: 6.6 Seconds |
Rollover to see the Difference.
Move the Slider to see the Difference.
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Move the Slider to see the Difference.
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Rollover to see the Difference.
Move the Slider to see the Difference.
Rollover to see the Difference.
Mouse over the image to see through our “Lens”.
Mouse over the image to see through our “Lens”.
More Roll Overs, Conclusion, Technical Score, Videos and Staff Choice on Page 2.
Pages: 1 2
Tags: *To ensure color accuracy from the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U output, the PlayStation 3 has RGB Full Range set to "Full" and Super White "On", and the Xbox 360 has Reference Level set to "Expanded" and HDMI Color Space set to "RGB". Our capture card we have captured segments from the AVS HD 709 . Blu-ray, HD DVD, & MP4 Calibration suite.
As you will see, each system matches each other at the SOURCE LEVEL. No contrast or gamma settings are manipulated before or after capturing our images/videos. We strongly believe that these types of corrections are done on a individuals preference and should not be adjusted by us. Finally, washed out looking images that are due to contrast or gamma differences will not have any influence on our final verdicts. Please Read through our F.A.Q page if you have any questions or concerns.*
Cool PS3 win, but I’m still probably not going to buy it. Not a big fan of racers, and this doesn’t sound or look that good.
le sigh, you don’t even care about the game. You just care that your precious PS3 wins everytime.
Fanboy at its finest…
The PS3 deals the 360 another crushing blow. The 360 is defeated again by the almighty PS3, all hail the king of consoles!
PS3 = ballin!
It’s almost moving to see someone so fond of his console to the point of not being afraid in making a complete jerk out of himself each and every time he opens his e-mouth. I’d really like to see what will happen to you the first time you’ll fall in love for something which actually breaths!
@DIALGAMARINE
Lol! I’m gonna pick this game up. Congrats on a PS3 win!!
what the f*ck is wrong with u people?cant u see that it looks better on 360?it’s so clear that 360 is the winner here,oh my god,lot staffs have gone crazy.
Hooray ps3 owners! You have won the head to head of a game that sucks with graphics that brings memories back from early ps2 era.Seriously. Btw in gameplay the 360 version have less tearing. Look on eurogamer for example. In the comparison 360 version is better when you play. Ps3 is better in cutscenes where you don´t play. 360 win obviously in my opinion. lol I wonder what the ps3 elitists will say about this lol.
Actually, us PS3 owners really don’t care that much. I’m just waiting for the 360 to get destroyed in the Rage and BF3 H2H’s to hear Xbots kids like you cry that both those games suck and that H2H’s suddenly don’t matter. Have a nice day.
Yeah. BF3 will probarly be ps3 win. For your information DialgaMarine, I will buy rage on ps3 cause it might be better since carmack has given hints on it. I think RAGE and Postal 3 will be the best games on this year cause they both look simply amazing.
ahahahah, RAGE runs a lot better on XBOX 360. Carmack is always confirming that…
Lol, I can’t wait for the xbots to get destroyed in the BF3 H2H. Oh and mrxbot… Awhile back you were saying that xbox version of BF3 will be better no matter what.. May I ask what happened now?? Haha.. What did I tell you? Sooner or later all of you xbots will accept the facts. And you know what? You’re right.. I personally don’t give a damn about this game (Driver: San Fransisco) But it’s always nice to see the superior console get the victory it deserves. Idk about Rage though.. I won’t be buying it anyways.. Just not a game I’m interested in.. Looks kool though. Oh and FYI.. Battlefield 3 IS and WILL be the BEST FPS of the year. No matter what anyone says.. It’s common sense
Hey, doc, just in case you didn’t realize it by yourself, this thread is about Driver SF. Not going off topic with something about Battlefield 3 in every single comment you write should be part of the netiquette.
No matter what you say… it’s common sense
I think the game is pretty fun, I’m playing through it right now and The story is pretty good for a car game. Their is also a lot of humor in the game too.
“While the like-for-like tests clearly favour the Xbox 360 version, we see something quite different when it comes to action-packed gameplay – there’s a noticeable PS3 performance advantage.”
You have it backwards Mr. Xbot. This is a direct quote from Digital Foundry on the beginning of page 2. Where the 360 was in slight favor due to having screen tear on the video, the PS3 version has favor in the actual gameplay with 60fps and barely any screen tear compared to the 360.
While in a smaller car it performs fine, even with a few frame drops from the 360 here and there, because the camera is zoomed in. In a large vehicle or when the screen is panned out, the 360 version is ridiculously bad in gameplay. On the Digital Foundry video on page 2, just watch how erratic the fps is on the 360(as low as 38fps.) On the PS3 version it might make a small dip here and there, but runs almost the entire time at 60fps.
PS3 win.
I commented with only watching Digital Foundry’s video awhile ago. I just watched the H2H and holy crap. The frame drop on the 360 in the first video was massive, and stayed around 40fps a good bit of time.
Oh yeah. There’s also no mandatory install either. Or maybe I should copy it like TheTruthHurts like to say N O M A N D A T O R Y I N S T A L L(looks kind of like a crossword puzzle.)
Just wondering but why only 2 clips were tested for Frame Analysis Performance?
There’s a big disparity from a clip with 8% torn frames to a clip with just half a % which both just averages out to basically 4% of frames torn; which gives a +/- 3% disparity on both systems.
Usually you guys test 5-6 clips for this category not just two.
Anyway, for those trying to get the 360 look on the PS3, you can test it by just downloading both their demos. If you lower the gamma and bump at the contrast and sharpness on your TV for the PS3 demo, it kind of gives a similar look… well, not quite, just similar. Lowering the gamma causes the “shine” on your car to dissipate, which is the reason for bumping up the contrast, but doing all that causes a hazier look on the PS3 compared to the 360, so you have to bump up the sharpness, but that causes the jaggies to be even more noticeable, not much but noticeable around the edges.
Anyway still busy playing Need for Speed and Dirt 3 to think about getting another driving game for a while.
This was confirmed a PS3 win by Digital Foundry ages ago.
Damn, I really don’t know which is a win but I say Xbox 360 because I have an Xbox 360 ^_^
PS3 win, but pretty close.
I think people have, over time, lost sight of the point of these ‘Head2head’s. Just the fact that a game NEEDS such a comprehensive comparison proves that the differences are very minor, and playing the ‘inferior’ version of the game will not affect your experience (with a few exceptions, such as Bayonetta).
These are just meant to be a bit of fun/guidance on which version to get for those with both platforms.
The fanboy comments really need to stop, you’re arguing over insignificant differences like your life depends on it, and even if your preferred platform doesn’t ‘win’, the game will still be perfectly playable and, for the most part, indistinguishable from the other version.
(The PC elitist comments also need to stop, these comparisons are between PS3 and 360, they have nothing to do with the PC version which will ALWAYS be graphically superior.)
Pretty close? When the 360 version drops to 40fps two times for a decent length of time where the PS3 version doesn’t drop under 55fps and it’s only at the very beginning. Or in a larger vehicle when watching the Digital Foundry video the 360 version is constantly under 50fps, at one point dropping as low as 38fps. That’s not “pretty close.” It’s clearly not as much of a win as Bayonetta, but it’s not close at all.
Digital foundry said in their view the ps3 version just edged it.
Not much in it at all, better overall graphics on 360, better performance on ps3(with it’s worse graphics and all it’s not surprising the performance is slightly better)
Now onto another h2h race game F1 2011.
Currently riding high at 85% on metacritic(360 version).
I think anyone who has read gamespot’s review of it will know the ps3 version has major problems.
Obviously going to be a 360 win but all good popular games should get a h2h.
Too right F1 2011 has major problems on the PS3, Horrendous frame-rate issues and epic tearing made me return in after a couple of hours.
The lady asked me why I was returning it and I told her it was “Broken”. I turned down the offer of a replacement and paid the difference for Resistance 3 instead, which I’m enjoying very much.
Just out of interest- I play my 360 via an LCD Display and my PS3 via Plasma, LCD displays seem to keep in line with the washed out look on PS3 games, The Plasma negates the effect due to higher contrast and overall better colour image quality. But doesn’t seem to affect the 360 image too much. Maybe PS3′s like plasma better? Any Ideas?
On topic- Very surprised with the result here, Thought the stills looked better on 360, But performance > Graphics in my eyes, Stuttering mess ala F1 2011 is a NO-NO.
That’s pretty strange considering F1 2010 had a performance advantage on the PS3 version.
are you crazy? f1 2010 was a fiasco in the ps3.
xbox 360 won the f1 2010 h2h and will win the 2011 too…
It is strange considering it’s the same price as the superior 360 version, I got it for my PS3 because of my wheel setup. If you head on over to Codemasters official forums there are 30+ pages of complaints the same as I had so I’m clearly not the only one suffering these faults, I thought I was just being picky at first lol
Cry more truef*ggot. DigitalFoundry confirmed that the PS3 had a performance advantage on f1 2010.
@CERNAML
And I thought Suarez207 was the biggest f*g on LOT lol!
Nice name, Mrassbuster69. You clearly are irrelevant and lack the required IQ to even argue in a silly console war. Good day.
Ah… yet another story about the “code masters” and their “ego”.
Same old, same old…
By the way, I saw the teaser for the Vita version of F1 2011 yesterday, and it looks like a footage from an upscaled version of a PSP game. See for yourself:
It looks like utter dung next to the other Vita games. Truly, to be able to achieve such an accomplishment, it’s no wonder they’re the “code masters”.
That looks like utter crap compared to Uncharted.
I’m so sick of the console graphics war.
WE ALL LOSE!
Anyway, anyone who knows me knows why I’m not buying this title. To be truthful, I’m kinda glad it sucks… I never really had much interest in this game the entire time that I knew about it. It fees a lot like Burnout Paradise and I didn’t really like that game either (despite the semi-good graphics).
hmmm i’d say it’s a tie………
@Lens of Truth
I’m pretty positive that the “close-ups” on the characters’ faces are actually pre-rendered footage (cleverly used for cut-ins.)
By the way, will you guys consider working on a Head2Head for From Dust ? (I’ll keep asking until you guys give a yes or no.)
In any case, I might try renting this game sometimes (later next year perhaps) to see what’s so special about it that the folks in my class keep would keep telling me to try it out (I mean, I tried the demo, but it didn’t click…)
what is the native resolution of the 2 versions?
XBOX 360 clearly win!!!! As always…..
Lens of truth, when will the RAGE head to head arrive? I want it as soon as possible so people know which version to buy. Preferably before the release in Europe.
Dude PS3 will easily win RAGE. Lens only compare out of the box which means 3 discs on 360 uninstalled meaning loads of texture pop in + long load times. PS3 will have a mandatory 8 gig install meaning better load times and less to no texture pop in + one disc. That’s assuming PS3 version wiill perform as well more or less.
If you want an installed 360 vs PS3 vs PC then best check the DF comparison.
I think the AA is pretty identical actually! Still I don’t care this is another hillbilly game! How many racing games you guys need? You play one you’ve played them all!
have a look at Df and they highlight the aa differences, and they arent huge, but at times are very noticeable, especially electric lines.
I think 360 seemed to have the brightness turned down, or ps3 had the brightness turned up. As it looks right now tho I liked the way the 360 looks better….but performance wise ps3 was better.
But I rarely notice performance hiccups…idk y either because I play some of the games that LOT does H2H on and mention “its clear….” something bad performance wise and I never notice it.
where is f1 2011 H2H?
This I did not expect! Thank god you can adjust t.v. settings as PS3 looks overly washed out. But other than that I can’t see how android123 thinks the Xbox Graphics are better. Both have thier plus and minuses, resulting in a tie, but the PS3 performs better. Same could be said for Dead Island, better graphics on PS3, but better performance on Xbox. However the graphical differences on dead island were VERY noticable, but here on Driver, barely visible. As always, the big name games are superior on PS3. It might not be a great game, but its a big name nonetheless.
‘Xbox 360 has a noticeably higher image quality which we put down to a more refined post-process anti-aliasing solution’
Straight from DF’s face off regarding this game Samchez.
360 has the better visuals, ps3 has the better performance.
I’m fine with that.
lulz. well thank god for that. I’m sure the game developers breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing you are fine with it.
But mate, we are on LOT, not DF. Whenever a Xbox looses, why turn to DF with arms outstretched crying “please save us!!!”
LOT state “One distinct advantage that the PS3 version has over the 360 is how SSAO is implemented.” and….
“Some spots of the 360 version seem to be missing shadows altogether while other spots just look more defined on the PS3″ and also…….
“Refer to the third rollover below and notice how the crows feet around the eyes and the pores in the man’s skin look sharper on the PS3.” refering to the superior cut scenes.
Some parts look better here, and some there. It’s a tie mate. face it. It came down to performance and PS3 has it in the bag…..for once lulz.
In all fairness LOT didn’t point out some of the bugs prevalent on the PS3 version. Check out pic 5 on page 2. The chequered line is going straight across on the PS3 (instead of behind) as is the building detail going straight across the stairs. Still minor stuff as PS3 gets the more important performance win during gameplay.
I prefer DF’s analysis to the ones here on LOT, that’s why i mentioned it
I enjoy reading LOT h2h’s as well though, don’t get me wrong.
I was talking more about being fine with LOT’s results here.
The ps3 one does have the performance advantage after all.
Seems a fair enough result.
360 owners who want this will have make do with noticeably higher image quality
over framerate.
“360 owners who wants this will have to make do with fine tuned gamma and contrast over frame rate, while PS3 owners will need to do some manually gamma and contrast adjusting with almost twice the amount of framerate at regular intervals.”
Fixed it for you.
Not totally true tbh. If you read digital foundry analysis , there’s more to it than that.
They gave 360 visual advantage overall, mainly cause it appeared to gave better anti aliasing, although they reckon both are using an old form of fxaa, just 360 version is implemented better( runs off gpu I’m guessing, which is ps3 weakness).
DF did fail to identify the ssao advantage of ps3 though , so maybe tie on visuals is fairer than 360 win, as android claims .
whats DF?
give me a link or something 
http://www.eurogamer.net/archive.php?platform=digitalfoundry&type=face-off
i like the Xbox contras and color, but i like the PS3 frame consistency.
How many of you here own both consoles?
Just asking.
Yes Sir! i do, but have no interest in this game, so it’s just curiosity on my behalf, as to which wins.
@Lens of Truth
New details for Dead Space 3. Isaac’s next epic adventure will take place on the icy planet of Tau Volantis. Read more about it here:
youtube.com/watch?v=Kwli4VZR6CU&feature=player_detailpage
BF3 360 beta footage. I hope to god this is old code, as it’s kinda rough around edges, with texture pop in galore, screens tearing more than thetruehurts bum cheeks as he slides a giant vegetable up there, and is hardly mind blowing overall. pretty sure this is old code though, usually is in betas
thank god I have a ps3 too lol
That’s it. I am getting my eyes checked.
I cannot see why PS3 wins here. The graphics look like ass.
I mean I own both consoles and love them equally, but I need to speak the truth here and I do not see a PS3 win.
Sorry!
Then look at it on your own TV screen… Do they need to repeat it every time? It’s a gamma/contrast setting that can simply be adjusted on your own to match the colors of the 360 version. Besides, look at the performance. The 360 is pretty bad compared to the PS3.
Here we go again. All i can say is that ive played the PS3 version. Washed out?????, not on my TV, im lost by that thought?. Maybe my TV has solid gamma and screen detection for best image?… but i dont get washed out at all…For me, the game aint great either..
I think xbox is a has better AA & alot better range visual.
vote xbox