BioShock: The Collection gets upgraded for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X - and the results disappoint

BioShock: The Collection returns! There's a Switch port on sale now (we'll have coverage on this soon) but meanwhile, the existing console releases have been updated to natively support PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X, with the promise of support for both consoles' 4K output modes. There are some improvements, resolution is boosted, but bearing in mind the vintage of the original games, we did expect to see a better turn-out.

Let's get the basics out of the way. With BioShock: The Collection, we're effectively looking at three separate games running on two different engines. BioShock and its sequel operate on a customised rendition of Unreal Engine 2.5, while Infinite leverages an enhanced UE3. This results in implementations for the enhanced consoles that directly relate to the engine used. So, for BioShock and BioShock 2, PlayStation 4 Pro renders at 1440p, while Xbox One X targets full 2160p - 4K. Curiously, with BioShock Infinite, 1440p is the standard for both machines. There's a further wrinkle though for PS4 Pro owners: if your front-end is set to 1080p and super-sampling is disabled, all titles run at 1080p instead of 1440p.

Looking at the first two titles to begin with, even with its lower resolution, PS4 Pro at 1440p definitely enhances the game's visual presentation by helping to bring out texture detail and reducing edge jaggies - it's just that the Xbox One X does this in a much better fashion when you look at them back to back. However, pure pixel count is only one part of the equation: The first two games have very simplistic anti-aliasing implementations in place, so specular shimmer in motion is an issue, even on Xbox One X.

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