Unit 2

Game comparison

The game I will be comparing on different platforms is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The two platforms that I will be comparing this game on are PC and Xbox 360. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios. This is the fifth game of the series, the game before was The Elder Scrolls IV:  Oblivion. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an role playing game (RPG). Xbox 360 sold many more copies than PC. The amount of sales of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the Xbox 360 platform are 11,959,300 and the amount of sales of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the PC platform are 2,937,800.

Similarities

Both platforms have exactly the same story and gameplay with the same characters within the game. On The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim there are similarities on the two different platforms, PC and Xbox 360. On both Xbox 360 and PC when there is downloadable content (DLC) both platforms get the same although Xbox 360 gets the DLC 30 days before. Not one platform gets extra DLC.  On The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim it is single player for both platforms. On PC you can put a USB Xbox 360 controller and use the controller to play the game so an Xbox 360 can be used on both platforms. On PC and Xbox 360 they both have the same Pan European Game Information (PEGI) rating and this is 18.

The characters on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are the same on both platforms. On both platforms there is the same amount of characters and the characters are the same throughout the whole game. They have the same abilities and the same talent tree options.

On both platforms you can install the game without a disk and just install it straight to your PC or Xbox 360. You can also use a disk and install it to your Xbox or PC and then play the game.  

The highest level you can reach is the same for PC and Xbox 360. The amount of XP you need between each level is also the same. Every time you level up you get a talent point to spend on the talent tree and you get to spend a point on stamina, magicka and health.

Differences

On The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim the graphics are very impressive. On Xbox 360 the graphics are fairly good, if you have a HDMI cable the graphics are significantly better. You cannot alter the graphical settings much on Xbox 360. You can only change things such as brightness. On PC before you go into the game you can change the settings on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim a lot. There are certain quality settings you can pick if you don’t know how much your PC can actually handle so you can try them all, these quality settings are low, medium, high and ultra. If you have a very good PC and can have all the settings on the max the game is very good to look at and very real. Even if the graphical settings aren't on that high, the graphics still look better than on Xbox 360. PC graphics can be far superior.

 

As you can see in this image the PC graphics are much better. There is much more detail in the buildings and floor and the shadowing is a lot more defined as well.

Although on PC you can use an Xbox 360 controller to play the game as well as on the Xbox 360 controller, you can also use a mouse and keyboard. Some people very much prefer to use a mouse and keyboard but some people prefer an Xbox 360 controller so they have to option to use one on PC. In my opinion this shows PC is more versatile and has more pros than Xbox 360. The Clickers on the mouse are the equivalent to the triggers on an Xbox 360 controller.

A difference with PC and Xbox 360 is that if you buy the game on disk for Xbox 360 you can put the disk in and play straight away whereas on PC you have to install it to your computer before you can play. Then you can play the game without using the disk.

On PC you can modify (mod) the game. There are different mods you can do such as Lighting and weather mods, these can put cool thunderstorms and make weapons have nice shines on them. You can also get texture packs that are mods; these can make armour shinier, nicer water and lush trees. Different texture packs make the game look different. A very popular mod is to get new equipment such as armour, weapons and new fashionable accessories. With mods you can also create things as new quest lines, so earlier in the similarities when I said that the story line and quests are the same. Mods can change this so that you make your own quests or ready set ones so there are more things to do.

In my opinion I think The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on PC is far better than on Xbox 360. It looks better, you can mod it and I also prefer to control my character on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with a mouse and keyboard but I like that if I want to change to controller I can. To rate this game on PC out of 10 I would rate it as a 9. This is because I very much enjoy the game play and the specific mods I like such as the one that adds new better looking armour and also where it is being displayed by PC it looks even better. To rate this game on Xbox 360 out of 10 I would rate it as a 8. This is because although it doesn’t look as good, have all the extra mods and not have controls more of my liking, I still really enjoy the game play and the story line to the game which I think is a great game.