A publication focused on gaming technology Digital foundry took a look at the recent remasters of GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo Switch family of systems and Xbox Series X|S consoles. Unfortunately, neither version is completely perfect and both run at 30 frames per second with crashes, but they’re playable and a pleasant experience to begin with. The Xbox version has higher resolution visuals and a more streamlined control scheme, but the Nintendo Switch version has better sound and includes online multiplayer, albeit with friends. Here are some of the highlights Recorded by Digital Foundry.
“The Xbox version aims for 4K rendering while the Switch runs at 720p – both are significantly higher resolution than the original 240p visuals, which is a problem when the artwork in these games is designed to be seen at 240p on a CRT. By increasing the resolution, the flaws are laid bare for all to see.”
“Furthermore, in the case of the Xbox version, the emulation highlights other issues – vertex flickering, visible texture joins, and lots of z-fighting. Now, you might be expecting me to criticize the emulation here, but in reality, this is actually more accurate than what’s used on the Switch. It’s a symptom you’ll notice with a low level of N64 emulation – meaning that Code Istics developers’ emulation work for the Xbox version is pretty robust.”
“There have been many performance complaints on Xbox with a 30fps cap and users reporting stuttering and slowdown. I’ve experienced this too, but the fps measurement results in an almost locked 30 fps – the fps cap seems to work, but maybe the distance your character travels between frames is more variable than it should be. This makes the game feel more inconsistent than it should, even though it’s light years away from the original game.”
“The Switch, despite first impressions, runs slower than the Xbox with frequent frame rate drops and unstable frame times. Again, it’s faster than the original N64, but it’s not as stable as it should be. This is especially annoying when the unreleased Xbox 360 versions offer a fully locked 60fps in all modes.”
“Ultimately, when it comes to controls, visuals, and sound, none of these new releases come close to perfect, and are generally disappointing. Each has its strengths – the controls are better on the Xbox and it runs faster, while the Switch has online multiplayer via the NSO service and better sound.”
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