What is the difference between mass effect 2 on xbox and ps3

Though not as impressive as the improvements made to the first Mass Effect , ME2 still has significantly greater visual fidelity in the Legendary Edition. For starters, dependent on platform, ME2 can now be displayed in 4K and reach higher frame rates than before. All compatible consoles have 4K support. The Xbox Series X boasts an impressive fps while targeting 4K when running in the settings mode that favors frame rate, thanks to its more robust backwards compatibility technology when compared to the PS5.

HDR support for compatible displays will help players notice the lighting changes made to ME2. More shadows have been added to the game and multiple post-processing effects from ME3 have been retroactively added in ME2 's Legendary Edition in order to bring it up to par. Additional real-time reflections have also been added to the entire trilogy.

Legendary Edition PC players also have the luxury of now being able to play ME2 in ultrawide, provided they have a suitable monitor. Mass Effect 2 has also benefitted from its successor in more ways than just lighting.

The entire series had its more than 30, textures redone to be displayed in 4K, but ME2 also had many reverse integrated from ME3 where the more modern ones were better. The same was done with character models, since ME3 generally had the most impressive faces, though changes were also made to the reworked models in order to maintain continuity.

Certain details such as character age, scars, and outfits were given extra attention. The visual improvements to Mass Effect 2 in the Legendary Edition are by far the most noticeable and widespread. The unification with the other two games in the trilogy goes a long way in helping the series feel more cohesive, and the few combat changes are likely to frustrate players less. Even more so than the first game, Mass Effect 2 retains its identity while garnering some significant improvements in the remaster.

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Overall, performance isn't so different across the run of play between the two versions of Mass Effect 2: Xbox frame-rate tends to suffer when Shepard gets a missile to the face, while the PS3 game clearly has issues maintaining 30FPS in the initial clip where - once again - we see heavy use of alpha for the atmospheric effects.

The second clip, with the firefight in the wide-open warehouse, also sees a considerable hit on frame-rate on the Sony platform, once again suggesting that multiple enemies with plenty of action and not a great deal of occluding objects have an undue effect on performance.

The Xbox doesn't appear to have anywhere near the same kind of issues in the same section of gameplay. Having played well into the game, the overall feeling is that both versions have their ups and downs during the run of play, especially in the interactive cut-scenes, where the sudden jarring differences in frame-rate are perhaps most noticeable. However, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the original Xbox version of Mass Effect 2 has a performance advantage overall, especially during the exploration and combat sections.

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Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our policy. Jump to comments Technology Editor, Digital Foundry digitalfoundry. Rich has been a games journalist since the days of bit and specialises in technical analysis. He's commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future. Xbox quietly updates a handful of fan-favourite games. Digital Foundry Call of Duty: Vanguard - a tech marvel marred by bugs and stuttering issues.

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Digital Foundry Dell Black Friday deals include notebooks, desktops, and accessories. Premium only Ask Eurogamer: News. Even though the PS3 version was used to create Mass Efffect 2 , the differences are anything but mind blowing. There are key shading differences, sometimes making the PS3 version look worse. Overall it appears to be relatively the same engine with some minor tweaks.

A key difference is the new engine's attempt to maintain 30 FPS during cut scenes. Unlike the Xbox version, which would slow down in frame rate when too much was happening on screen, the PS3 version now compensates. This compensation does result in much more stress seen at the top of the screen, which seems a fair trade off for a consistent frame rate.

In conclusion, is there really much difference between the two versions? It doesn't appear so.