Face-Off: Payday 2: Crimewave Edition

[Administrator]

Packing in all of the post-launch content added to the PC game over the past 12 months, Payday 2: Crimewave edition on PS4 and Xbox One has the potential to be the definitive version of the game. From a visual perspective, Overkill Software promise native 1080p resolution alongside upgraded graphics and higher frame-rates - the latter presumably in comparison to the existing 360 and PS3 ports. With that said, how does the Crimewave Edition of Payday 2 stack up against the PC game? Are we looking at any clear graphical improvements specific to these latest console ports, or simply a straight up conversion that delivers a nice upgrade over the existing console editions? More to the point, in an age where broken online games routinely hit the market, does Payday 2 present a robust, playable experience? Spoilers: Xbox One has severe problems right now.
However, in rendering terms at least, Overkill has delivered. Both console versions deliver a native 1080p framebuffer with all the benefits this brings over the game running on last-gen hardware. Image quality matches up exactly with the PC version, appearing fairly crisp, though quite unrefined - stair-stepping artefacts are clearly visible across long edges, and there are plenty of jaggies that frequently shimmer across the scene. A high level of post-processing softens smoothens over the presentation to a degree, with depth of field and chromatic aberration key in emphasising this effect. Initially a closer look at edges on a pixel level suggestions that some kind of rudimentary post-process anti-aliasing technique is in play. However, the PC game lacks anti-aliasing options in the video settings menu, and makes no mention of any edge smoothing modes in the game's render_settings.xml file, suggesting that any coverage we are seeing across all three platforms is perhaps just a side effect of the heavy post-processing in play.
Talk of graphical upgrades over the previous editions of Payday 2 sound rather enticing, with higher resolution textures and improved frame-rates touted as one of the main selling points of the new Crimewave Edition. However, are you've probably guessed, that's judged on last-gen console terms. As things stand, the PS4 and Xbox One releases look very similar indeed to the PC game running at its highest preset: the same core assets are deployed across all three formats, with texture quality, shadow resolution, reflections, and alpha effects all matching up nicely, though there are a several differences in the way some of these elements are handled across between platforms.
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