Xbox 360 vs. PS3 Face-Off: Round 13

UT3, Bourne Conspiracy, Top Spin 3, Iron Man, Battlefield: BC.

Image credit: Eurogamer

Face-off by Richard Leadbetter Technology Editor, Digital Foundry

Updated on May 1, 2009

Our groins suitably girded, we return once more to the great cross-platform console development debate with the latest in our ongoing face-off comparison coverage. As if you didn't know by now, the aim here is to supplement existing Eurogamer reviews with console-specific commentary, backed up with a range of 'assets' losslessly extracted from the hardware during our testing.

This is achieved with the now ubiquitous Digital Foundry TrueHD capture kit, the only equipment in the world capable of ruthlessly plundering the HDMI ports of the respective consoles at full 24-bit RGB precision. Literally every single piece of digital information pumped out by the hardware is ours - ours I tell you - and from there we can supply ultimate quality screenshots and comparison videos.

Flash's support for h.264 combined with Eurogamer TV technology allows for video comparisons that actually work, with as much detail retained as possible. One pixel in the video is one pixel on your HDTV, and we've manfully done our best to sync up the two versions of each game to provide the best comparison coverage.

There's a beautiful range of games to pick over this time around, including two Unreal Engine efforts, one of the best sports titles of recent times and the latest example of hardcore Nordic technical mastery.

Commence au festivale!

Previous Face-Offs

Round One (Ridge Racer 6/Ridge Racer 7, Def Jam: Icon, Fight Night Round 3, Virtua Tennis 3, NBA Homecourt, Need for Speed Carbon)
Round Two (Call of Duty 3, F.E.A.R., Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007, World Championship Snooker 2007, NBA 2K7, NHL 2K7, Enchanted Arms, Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII)
Round Three (Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Sonic the Hedgehog, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Tony Hawk Project 8)
Round Four (The Darkness, Spider-Man 3: The Game, The Godfather, Madden NFL '08, NHL '08)
Round Five (Virtua Fighter 5, SKATE, Transformers: The Game, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Colin McRae: DiRT, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, SEGA Rally, FIFA 08)
Round Six (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, NBA Live 08, Need for Speed ProStreet, Stuntman Ignition, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008, The Simpsons Game, Conan, Assassin's Creed)
Round Seven (Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, TimeShift, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Blazing Angels: Secret Missions of WWII, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Clive Barker's Jericho, John Woo Presents Stranglehold)
Round Eight (Burnout Paradise, Cars Mater-National, The Golden Compass, Beowulf, Ratatouille)
Round Nine (Devil May Cry 4, The Club, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, FIFA Street 3, Juiced 2, Turok)
Round Ten (Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Blacksite: Area 51, Army of Two, Conflict: Denied Ops, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Dynasty Warriors 6, Lost: The Video Game)
Round Eleven (NFL Tour, Dark Sector, Soldier of Fortune: Payback, SEGA Superstars Tennis, MX vs. ATV Untamed, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Viking: Battle for Asgard)
Round Twelve (Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Race Driver: GRID, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Overlord: Raising Hell, UEFA Euro 2008)
Bonus Round: The Orange Box
Bonus Round: Grand Theft Auto IV