Consoles
First impressions of Far Cry 4 on Xbox One are positive. Image quality is very clean and the overall presentation compares favourably to the PS4 game. On close inspections, detail looks a little softer and less refined, but otherwise it holds up very well during gameplay. Pixel counting - not very easy here, for reasons we'll go into later - reveals a 1440x1080p [on Xbox One] framebuffer horizontally scaled up to full-HD resolution (1920x1080), although artefacts from the resizing process appear subdued compared to most sub-1080p games. In comparison we see a native 1080p image deployed on the PS4 that appears suitably sharp, and indeed clearer than the Xbox One game, but the Microsoft console is punching enough above its weight with a presentation that - by and large - defies its sub-native pixel-count.
What HRAA brings to the table is worthy of a Digital Foundry feature in its own right, but let's look at the basics. For Xbox One, the choice of resolution means that scaling artefacts are only apparent on one axis. [...] PlayStation 4 looks even cleaner, mostly because it appears to have access to more temporal data than Xbox One version of the algorithm and doesn't need to upscale at all.
Away from image quality, both consoles share the same core set of assets and effects throughout Far Cry 4. [...]
In terms of console performance, 60fps is out of the question with the level of graphical quality on offer in Far Cry 4's detailed open world, with the developer targeting a 30fps update instead. Both PS4 and Xbox One deliver a fluid and responsive experience where drops in performance are rare and have little impact on how well the game plays - controls have a nice, twitchy feel allowing for quick and precise aiming in fast-paced shoot-outs. [...]
For the most part, both consoles offer up a highly consistent experience, with only a few short dips in more heavily demanding scenes. Explosions and vehicular gunfights see frame-rates briefly deviate from the desired 30fps refresh, but the engine is quick to recover and these blips in performance only happen on occasion - blowing up oil drums and letting off grenades don't always noticeably impact on frame-rate, and this leads to explosive combat sequences playing out smoothly on a regular basis. There are some mild interruptions to the otherwise solid 30fps update when driving across the environment at speed - usually at night - in the form of dropped and torn frames. However, these are generally mild enough to go by unnoticed when playing the game.
Overall, performance sticks closely to 30fps on both consoles, but the Xbox One comes out on top, displaying slightly higher frame-rates during intense shoot-outs and generally fewer dips elsewhere. It's likely that the difference in resolution between the two versions is the cause here, with the Xbox One rendering 25 per cent fewer pixels, and using a less refined version of HRAA into the bargain. That said, the difference doesn't stand out during a general run of play, and neither version suffers from performance issues that get in the way of enjoying how the unpredictable gunfights turn out.
PC
Tessellation is used exclusively on the PC to give trees a fuller appearance, although the effect is hard to pick up outside of still screenshots and direct comparison videos. [...]
Collectively, the extra layers of graphical polish give the game a more refined appearance, allowing natural details - such as the rough texture of brickwork and rock faces - to come to the fore, while the inclusion of HBAO+ and soft shadows brings more realism to how environments and characters are shaded. In comparison, we see the consoles operating using settings that appear to closely match that of the PC version's high preset. [...]
In theory, there's no problem whatsoever running Far Cry 4 on high settings and achieving a 1080p30 presentation on hardware as lowly as a sub-£100 GeForce GTX 750 Ti. In fact, the game even includes a 30fps lock tweakable (the 'sparse' v-sync option) though this introduces frame-pacing issues - using the frame-rate limiter in Riva Tuner Statistics Server is the better option. Scaling up, a GTX 760 handles ultra settings at 30fps well enough, while GTX 780 and higher should in theory give you 60fps in most scenarios with most settings at their max. Combined with the image quality improvements, Far Cry 4 should trounce the console versions - even with the omission of HRAA. Unfortunately, the game is plagued with stuttering issues that have a clear impact on the gameplay experience.
Even with a GTX 980 in play, we still see frame-rate drops as we move around the landscape - with 50ms stutter commonplace. It's particularly bad when driving vehicles, suggesting a background streaming issue. [...]
Conclusion
In terms of the multi-platform comparison, the PS4 gets the nod here for its sharper native 1080p presentation and almost solid 30fps frame-rates. In comparison, the image quality isn't quite as pristine on the Xbox One, although frame-rates are slightly higher under load, but the quality of the presentation overall remains excellent. It's a great buy on either platform.
The PC version could have been brilliant - and in some respects it is - but we're surprised that the game shipped with obvious issues not found in the console releases. On the one hand, Ubisoft deserve kudos for the range of additions made to the game over its console counterpart. They're not game-changing as such - indeed, some of the ultra options show next to no improvement at all - but the overall impression is that high-end GPU owners do get a thorough work-out for their kit, and the Nvidia enhancements (TXAA apart) do help. At the same time, there's enough scalability here that those with entry-level enthusiast gaming hardware should get a decent experience. Unfortunately, the game features the same problem as Watch Dogs: genuine issues with background streaming resulting in off-putting stutter. We're looking into potential user-side solutions, but really and truly, Ubisoft must fix this before we can recommend the PC release.
