http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-need-for-speed-most-wanted-wii-u-face-off
Face off summary
By no means a straight port, the boat is being pushed out much further this time with its suite of unique GamePad features, improved PC-grade textures courtesy of the console's 1GB of RAM, and a greatly revamped approach to its night-time lighting.
Looking to the promised texture bump, a clear upgrade is in effect which gives us crisper-looking concrete roads, tyre patterns, hubcap designs and building fronts. These end up matching the sharpness of the PC version's higher settings, leaving the PS3 and 360 looking a tad smudged by comparison - especially during the cinematic sequences that roll before each race. However, the bump is only made to specific areas.
Reflection-mapping also benefits from an upgrade to a similar midway degree on Wii U, particularly where puddles are strewn across busy urban streets. Once again, only certain buildings are reflected on 360 and PS3 - the side effect being that floors appear brighter as a result of a more of the sky being revealed. On the other hand, the Wii U has more in common with PC by mirroring most geometry at a distance, which creates a darker and more natural look to glistening road surfaces. Again, the draw distance on these reflections doesn't quite extend as far as a high-end PC can, but it's an improvement over the other home consoles nevertheless.
Criterion Games makes a big point of showing off its revamped night-time lighting - once dusk hits it's clear the world is engulfed in a more intense pitch of black - a move that accentuates the glow from particle lighting, coloured sign-posts and street-lamps. The contrasts are more stark now, but the lighting ultimately sits better with the environment. However, the upshot is that streets now appear less saturated in colour, which puts an emphasis on using a car's headlights to navigate poorly-lit roads.
Elsewhere, the tweaks are either less obvious or non-existent. The Wii U puts out an equivalent quality of motion blur, particle effects and alpha to the PS3 and 360 versions. Car shadows still look blocky from afar, and smoke from screeching tyres continues to bring out a heavy sawtooth effect across surrounding geometry.
It's clear the Wii U version makes good on that promised 30FPS. Very good, in fact - rather than being bogged down by the extras, we're instead seeing a frame-rate that sticks to its target more diligently than either the PS3 or 360 versions.
Touching on loading times, the Wii U delivers a solid turnaround which holds up to the 360 version when installed to HDD
Face off summary
By no means a straight port, the boat is being pushed out much further this time with its suite of unique GamePad features, improved PC-grade textures courtesy of the console's 1GB of RAM, and a greatly revamped approach to its night-time lighting.
Looking to the promised texture bump, a clear upgrade is in effect which gives us crisper-looking concrete roads, tyre patterns, hubcap designs and building fronts. These end up matching the sharpness of the PC version's higher settings, leaving the PS3 and 360 looking a tad smudged by comparison - especially during the cinematic sequences that roll before each race. However, the bump is only made to specific areas.
Reflection-mapping also benefits from an upgrade to a similar midway degree on Wii U, particularly where puddles are strewn across busy urban streets. Once again, only certain buildings are reflected on 360 and PS3 - the side effect being that floors appear brighter as a result of a more of the sky being revealed. On the other hand, the Wii U has more in common with PC by mirroring most geometry at a distance, which creates a darker and more natural look to glistening road surfaces. Again, the draw distance on these reflections doesn't quite extend as far as a high-end PC can, but it's an improvement over the other home consoles nevertheless.
Criterion Games makes a big point of showing off its revamped night-time lighting - once dusk hits it's clear the world is engulfed in a more intense pitch of black - a move that accentuates the glow from particle lighting, coloured sign-posts and street-lamps. The contrasts are more stark now, but the lighting ultimately sits better with the environment. However, the upshot is that streets now appear less saturated in colour, which puts an emphasis on using a car's headlights to navigate poorly-lit roads.
Elsewhere, the tweaks are either less obvious or non-existent. The Wii U puts out an equivalent quality of motion blur, particle effects and alpha to the PS3 and 360 versions. Car shadows still look blocky from afar, and smoke from screeching tyres continues to bring out a heavy sawtooth effect across surrounding geometry.
It's clear the Wii U version makes good on that promised 30FPS. Very good, in fact - rather than being bogged down by the extras, we're instead seeing a frame-rate that sticks to its target more diligently than either the PS3 or 360 versions.
Touching on loading times, the Wii U delivers a solid turnaround which holds up to the 360 version when installed to HDD
