So let's start with image quality. The 360 puts on a very impressive show despite Black Ops 2 running at just 880x720 native resolution. The 2x MSAA in combination with an impressive upscaling filter does wonders with the process of clearing sharp edges on the cut-down horizontal axis, and the very worst aliasing we see is on 2D elements, such as blocky-looking foliage that can crop up in the earlier levels. By comparison to the PC version running at a native 1280x720 with 4x MSAA, we see only a very slight softness to the image on Microsoft's box - the decision to go with this setup is undoubtedly an improvement over Modern Warfare 3, which scaled both axes to a murkier effect.
There's clearly something amiss on the PS3 side though, and the cause is twofold: resolution and Treyarch's choice of anti-aliasing method. We find the game hitting the same 880x720 figures enjoyed on 360 in places, but this isn't a constant throughout the game. Rather, it appears to be more dynamic than first thought, where several tests of the first level's river scene gives us a reading as low as 832x624. Scaling these resolutions typically produces more pixel crawl on PS3 as a result, and looks a world away from the sharpness what we're seeing on 360, which remains locked at its own resolution.
A resolution drop of this nature isn't enough to account for the excess blurriness on its own, however. What we think is a heavy post-processing technique is used to clear up the sharp edges, and some of its characteristics appear a match for the long-neglected quincunx AA available natively on Sony's hardware. As a result, Black Ops 2's edge-smoothing on PS3 is generally more thorough than rival platforms, even with the PC running at 4x MSAA in our captures. The downside to this approach is the heavy residual blurring to texture-work, plus the muddying of foliage elements in the background.
Following our earlier blog entry, we've been informed that the blurring seen on PS3 can be alleviated by deleting the latest 56MB patch, listed as update 1.02. Sure enough, we find taking direct 24-bit RGB captures of the game patched and unpatched reveals a considerable divide in image quality. Textures appear more defined in like-for-like shots, and the rampant blurriness to bushes and grass tufts is lessened.
It's a step forward, but even with this fix, overall clarity is still clearly below that of the 360 version. This earlier iteration of the game also appears to run with the same range of internal frame-buffers, and we once again record 832x624 during the opening Pyrrhic Victory campaign stage.
A problem also arises for players focused on the online multiplayer modes, which demand that you run on the latest blur-inducing patch. It's not an ideal situation, as the blur can be a real impairment to visibility when scanning into the distance on long maps without a scope to hand.
Update: It's all change again, with another PS3 patch rolled out on November 17 restoring the look of the game to the unpatched original. Image quality still favours the Microsoft platform however: moving to the 360 version after a PS3 session is still like wiping away the grease from a lens.