Last-gen Port Report | Alien: Isolation

UPDATE: Here's a video of a game-stalling bug which causes Ripley to fall through the floor, I'm not aware of any other instances but something to consider; this was recorded on the 1.0 release (skip to 4:50): 

I've now had my 'phat' 80GB PS3 for nearly 6 years, yet only now am I starting to realise it is not long for this world. It could physically last for years to come, but recent purchases have signalled to me that developers no longer care about last-gen machines, which are starting to receive below-par ports.

I'll say this first: Alien: Isolation on PS3 is a satisfactory port considering the age of the hardware and several other factors including the lighting effects and AI systems in this particular game. However, there are a few issues which I feel could have easily been adressed with some extra little attention to the hardware, which I can't imagine would have taken much effort considering the age of the hardware. 

The two main issues the PS3 version faces are the framerate and screen-tearing. For the most part, the framerate is nice and solid, but on occasion during a busy scene with lots of lights or geometry, the refresh can drop considerably to what I'd estimate to be around 22fps at its lowest. Initially when I started the game I also noticed that the pre-rendered cutscenes suffered severe frame drops and appeared to be compressed to utter shit for some bizarre reason. 

The screen tearing is perhaps less prominent to my eyes, although at its worst it can cause irritation and confusion, which is not pleasant when trying to run from the various enemies of the Sevastapol. This is again most prevalent in areas of higher lighting density.

One severe issue I noticed roughly two hours into the game was the way in which the sound decided out of nowhere to unsync itself with the on screen action, completely ruining the first encounter with the Alien and removing all tension.

Other issues to note: I fell through the floor within the first hour when initially following the Scottish man (can't remember his name) and had to restart a 10 minute segment, which could have been much worse had I not saved often. The last issue to note is a small one and probably a non-issue, but I'm cautious of it being a potential problem; some doors in the Sevastapol load their respective areas behind them like in Metroid Prime games, leading to a short delay when trying to get through them, which may or may not lead to a few accidental deaths along my journey.

So there you are, all the issues I have found within roughly two hours of Alien: Isolation. I'll update this page with the video of the disappearing floor trick soon (and posting new gameplay on my YouTube channel throughout the week) and I'll be back next week with The Evil Within.

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