Half-Life 2 On PS3 Is Slower Than A Garden Gnome

Well, there you have it. Those lucky enough to have a choice between the Xbox, PC, and PS3 versions of The Orange Box have just had that decision made a little easier, because according to a preview by 1UP, the PS3 port (handled by EA, nonetheless) is absolutely atrocious. Playtesters found framerates in the single figures in large parts of the Half-Life games, and a server issue which prevented them being able to test Team Fortress 2 at all.

Of course, this isn’t the final version of the game (1UP describe it as “near-final”), but as the game is from a company that are well-known for their dislike of the PS3, owners of the console shouldn’t get their hopes up. Couple that with framerate issues in many other PS3 games, and all does not bode well for The Orange Box, which is a shame really as it’s probably the best game of the whole year.

There is a silver lining to all of this, of course. Testers found that Portal was a near-perfect port and didn’t have any issues with it at all, so it’s nice to see that EA have their priorities in order.

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Update!

Well, it seems that IGN and Gamespy’s preview copies of the game weren’t quite so bad. While Half-Life 2: Episode 2 has some noticeable framerate issues, the game is more than playable and it’s not the end of the world for Half-Life loving PS3 fans.

From Kotaku:

“IGN’s Hilary Goldstein writes that The Orange Box for the PlayStation 3 “is still a fantastic collection and runs well for the most part, but there are some technical issues that put it behind the 360 version.” He then tempers that with a stiff upper lip, writing that the “technical issues aren’t going to be enough to deter anyone who wants to enjoy Orange Box on PS3.” and that “unless you require your games to never dip below 30fps, you should not strike The Orange Box off your PS3 holiday wish list.”

Gamespy is also forgiving, writing that the dip in framerate doesn’t introduce itself until Episode Two. Those drops “don’t rival a slideshow, but they’re noticeable” according to author Sterling McGarvey.”

Phew!

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