Tweet
The Handsome Collection combines Borderlands 2, the Pre-Sequel and all of the DLC in one complete package for PS4 and Xbox One, targeting the sweet-spot 60fps experience frequently enjoyed by PC gamers. With Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of each title often delivering sub-optimal frame-rates during packed firefights, there's real potential here for a truly worthwhile upgrade, heightening the intensity of the brutal and intense action that makes the series so entertaining to play.Built using a heavily modified Unreal Engine 3 - dubbed the Willow Engine by Gearbox - the PC versions of the Borderlands titles scale well across a range of hardware configurations, preserving a high level of graphical quality while allowing for high resolutions and frame-rates, even for those who can't afford to keep up with the latest and greatest in the GPU arms race. In theory, this should allow for a relatively smooth transition to PS4 and Xbox One, but the quality of the conversion work isn't quite as impressive as we'd hoped it would be. Indeed, the experience comes across as quite uneven across both consoles: impressive PC quality visuals are joined by highly variable performance that fails to deliver locked 60fps gameplay when and where it matters the most.
The positive news is that the Handsome Collection hands in native 1080p visuals across PS4 and Xbox One on both titles, featuring image quality in line with the PC version operating with post-process anti-aliasing. An almost identical form of FXAA is in play on current-gen consoles, with texture detail featuring the similarly smoothed appearance commonly associated with this technique. Coverage is a tad spotty on the Xbox One in comparison to the other platforms though, with some scenes receiving more coverage than others. This results in small bouts of extra sharpness on occasion, at the expense of more noticeable jaggies.
Read more…
More...