Battlefield 3 Doesn't Look Very Good On Xbox 360 Without Install
DICE announced last week that if players chose not install the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3, they were going to have to make do with playing Battlefield 3 in “standard resolution.” They weren’t joking when they said that either, because WikiGamesGuides has released a new video that showcases the differences between installed and uninstalled copies of Battlefield 3, and the difference is substantial.

I don’t even know that “substantial,” is the correct word to describe it. Without an install, textures are blurred to the point where you can’t read an admittedly big label or can’t even make out what the object is supposed to be. If I’m being completely honest, I’d go so far as to say that these standard resolution textures remind me of the original Xbox and PS2 days, maybe even the N64.

(above image courtesy of enterbf3.com)
So, that’s what you get if you don’t install Battlefield 3 on your Xbox 360′s hard drive. I’m rarely one to put graphics before gameplay, but DICE and Electronic Arts have been touting the capabilities of Frostbite 2.0 more than any other aspect of Battlefield 3. Is it fair to bash Battlefield 3‘s graphics when people will undoubtedly be buying it for the multiplayer? Perhaps, but I can’t really see too many people enjoying the game’s multiplayer when they have to look at textures as blurry as this.
Maybe I’ve turned into what I hate, though – someone that puts graphics before gameplay in all circumstances. What do you think? Am I blowing this way out of proportion, or does Battlefield 3 on Xbox 360 without an install actually look terrible? Give the video below a watch, and then head down to the comments section below to share your thoughts.
Even if I am blowing this out of proportion, one thing is for sure: if you don’t have a hard drive for your Xbox 360 and have the option of going with a different platform, I would pick up a different version of Battlefield 3.
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i think that is just plain stupid, IDK why they did that but really? i was going to install it anyways but man in the SD one it looked horrible, something id see on the arcade, but not a big title that supposedly is trying to dethrone MW3, the only reason i bought this game was because of the multiplayer, i can give a crap about campaign when it comes to battlefield. but i also got it cause it looked like it was going to have the best graphics this year, people saying how amazing it looks, yeah if you install it. i feel bad for anyone who bought this and doesnt have the memory to install. a little let down, i got this cause its battlefield, i can care less that there trying to be mw3 ill get MW3 just cause. but i dont want battlefield to be a clone, battlefield should be its own unique thing, man i already pre ordered this game but i kind of want to get my money back already.
Seems reasonable to me, I think it mostly comes back to competition with COD…MW3 is being bashed mostly due to the lack of enhancements in graphics…so this narrows the margin quite a bit on the 360. Or you could just download the pack…I dont have a 360 so I’m not sure what that entails
the Xbox just doesn’t have the dvd space capabilities as a ps3. in the frostbite engine all the textures are streamed and they couldn’t fit it on the Xbox discs. i mean its a new engine and they haven’t mastered the coding completely so i give them credit for what they have achieved so far with the new engine. the download is free and its what you’re supposed to do so, it doesn’t bother me at all. i feel bad for anyone who doesn’t have a hardrive on their console.
Umm, if you played the beta, the graphics were just fine on consoles and also, what do you expect from consoles when they are little over 5 years old?? DICE doesn’t want to downgrade too much, so graphics had to be severely sacrificed
Wow this article is terrible in so many ways. First of all, the game will probably look just like the Beta textures if you don’t install the HD textures. Second of all, the HD texture pack is only 1.5 GB, so it really isn’t THAT big of a deal, third, I mean come on author, if you have a 360 as well as another platform to play this game, then you are obviously rich enough to afford a little 20 GB HDD for your Xbox, where’s the logic bro? So yeah, if you don’t have a hard drive for your 360, go buy a 20GB one off of ebay for $10.. Jeez..
Well said!
Hey man, I call it as I see it, and I’m calling those textures crappy. If that’s enough to make you rage, I can’t help that (but by the way, this N64 bit was a joke).
In any case, those 20GB HDs you’re talking about are for the old Xbox 360 models. They’ll work with the newer slim models, but you’ll have to take it apart in order to make it work. If you don’t want to go through the work of making your old hard drive compatible with your 360 S (that’s only 20GB no less), you’re stuck paying out the ass for one of Microsoft’s extremely overpriced hard drives just to play Battlefield 3.
Which is why I said that if you have the option of playing on a different platform , you should probably just buy the PS3 or PC version. You, however, are saying “if you have another platform, you obviously have the money to just buy a hard drive for your Xbox 360 so you can play Battlefield 3.” Spending more money to play BF3 on Xbox 360 when you could just spend the $60 to play it on PS3 or PC? Where’s the logic, bro?