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 Let’s step back for a minute and take a look at some of the greatest battles in history. Fights like David vs. Goliath. The Union vs. The Confederates. White vs. wheat. Well, today, we again see the struggle between two massive giants. Microsoft and Sony (sorry Nintendo) are in a heated battle for our hard earned cash. It's as simple as that.
In the green corner we have the Microsoft “No Red Ring” Xbox 360. In the black corner we have the Sony “Don’t worry; use the system as a BluRay player until we get more games” Play Station 3.
Your trusty friends here at Down in Front will rent, borrow, buy or steal (not really steal, but we will definitely take donations) games and compare them head to head. To give you an honest look at which game is better for each console. We will give you that “no holds barred” look at games and get back to you with our findings. If you don’t agree with us, feel free to voice your opinion on the message boards.
This week I took a look at EA’s recently released demo for Face Breaker, which for those of you who don't know is their new boxing game. Sure I will talk about the stylized characters and the simplified controls, but this article focuses more on the difference between the experience on the PS3 and the 360.
Round 1 - Download Times:
I started the download of the demo from the PS3 store and then switched over to the Xbox 360 and kicked things off from Xbox Live. I was able to download the demo from Live and started playing before the Playstation 3 delivery was even finished. Enough said…
10-9 For the Winner: Xbox 360
Round 2 - Installation:
Once the Playstation 3 demo finished downloading, I clicked the icon which then had to go through what seemed like an eternity of an installation process. I was able to walk around my house and cleaned up a bit. I got my laptop and started working on some photo retouching while Face Breaker installed. Hell, I even had time to catch up on some daily porn surfing (which to be honest, I really didn’t mine all that much)
As for the Xbox 360, I was able to start playing on the Xbox 360 immediately after the download completed.
10-8 for the WINNER: Xbox 360 - If I can go take a shower, do some Photoshop work, look at porn before I can play the damn thing, that’s a 10-8 round in my book.
Round 3 – Interface & Controller
The interface was fun and easy to understand. The punching sound and extra camera shake makes getting around the game a lot of fun. There are many options available, but one that really stood out was the ability to share your customized boxer with your friends. Although I have not had to chance to really do this yet, it seemed like a nice feature to have.
One of the other things the game has is a video tutorial section where they get you comfortable getting around within the menu system. It covers customizing your character and how to share that character with your friends online. That part was awesome. The animations were funny and informative. Kind of like your friends at DIF (Down in Front).
The button controls for each system are basically the same. High attack, low attack, and block. The difference would be in the controller itself, EA has no control over that part. I think the feel of the 360 controller is superior in my book so technically I’m giving the 360 the win. When I played it on the PS3 I kept pressing the left trigger instead of the left bumper therefore not blocking, therefore getting busted in the chops.
10-9 for the WINNER: Xbox 360 - it was a close one though
Round 4 - Graphics:
The characters in Face Breaker are a hilarious stylized collection of butt-kicking bad asses. The demo only has three main characters available though – Ice, Steve and Sparrow.
Ice is the smooth, well-built black guy that makes kicking your butt look as smooth as silk.
Steve is the chubby white guy that makes you laugh as he pummels you into unconsciousness.
Sparrow is the sexy female fighter that distracts you with her good looks just before she smacks you with a jab and makes your teeth click.
There are only two available fighting arenas which was kind of a letdown. The two were the trailer park and the cave. Both are nice renderings, but kind of boring if you ask me. I think they could have done a little better.
When I first played Face Breaker on both systems I could swear the Playstation 3 version had superior graphics but how could it be? For the most part Facebreaker is not ground breaking by any means; it’s just some cartoony looking characters so the detail in the artwork shouldn’t be that much of a difference. It’s not like its Killzone 2 or Gears of War for goodness sakes. I got to the point where I had the game running on both consoles and unlimitedly would flip between systems just to compare. I know the graphics are essentially the same, but the PS3 edged out the 360.
10-9 for the WINNER: Playstation 3
Face Breaker presents us with a simplified control system that gives this game the good old-fashioned button masher feel. There are some hidden button combinations that can release a character’s special move. For example, one guy kicks his opponents in the pebbles.
Overall, I found myself pushing buttons as quickly as possible trying to find and fire off a special move, but I admit I had a hard time finding them before I was flying through the air, unconscious.
I am not a huge fan of button mashers, but I did have a good time playing Face Breaker. The graphics and interface are really well done and the simple controls make for easy access to fun.
Wrap Up
Round 1 10-9 Download Times: Xbox 360
Round 2 10-8 Installation: Xbox 360
Round 3 10-9 Controller: Xbox 360
Round 4 9-10 Graphics: PS3
For the Winner 39 - 35, 3 rounds to 1 the Xbox 360
I know what you’re asking yourself what the hell is that, you can’t have a 4 round fight. Well damn it, it’s my article and this time around it’s a 4 round fight. Sue me. Anyway, be sure to keep an eye out for more of my head to heads as I plan on doing this a lot more often. Until then, C-Lo out.
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