Black Ops 2’s PS4 Version Has Better Image Quality Than the PS5 Version When Playing on the PS5 Pro
If you missed the news, Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 & 2 are now available on the PS4 and PS5, allowing a new generation of players to finally experience these all-time classics.
While neither comes with any significant improvements that would take advantage of either platform’s hardware, fans online have been spreading the news that the PS4 version of the game offers lower latency on the PS5.
While our ongoing testing suggests they are essentially identical, we can confirm one thing: the PS4 version actually has one advantage when played on a PS5 Pro that makes it even better than the PS5 version, all thanks to a backward-compatibility feature exclusive to the Pro console.
If Activision Won’t Bring Better Image Quality, Then the PS5 Pro Will
Now I’ve seen all the online claims and tutorials about how to improve the latency in Black Ops 1 and 2 on the PS5. It essentially boils down to playing the PS4 version instead of the PS5 version and turning things off like VRR, 120 Hz, and scaling the resolution down to 1080P. I’ve tested this out myself based on early results; I gotta say, this feels like a placebo effect.
Unless you have a Pro Controller that lets you fine-tune the dead zones, like the DualSense Edge, the latency difference between the two versions practically feels nonexistent. I’ll be more than happy to circle back to this once my tests show something noticeable.
What I will say is that I have noticed the PS5 version suffers a bit more from frame-rate stuttering than the PS4 version, but it’s not all the time, and it could be due to server lag.
But there is one area where the PS4 version is actually “improved” over the PS5 version: image quality. It’s all thanks to the “enhanced image quality for PS4 games” feature, though it’s a feature exclusive to the PS5 Pro. So, how much better is the image quality of the PS4 version when playing on the PS5? Well, let’s take a look.
This first comparison is between the PS4 and PS5 versions, with no system enhancements. Going to show off two comparisons, both zoomed-in images, with the second being a close-up shot showing off text texture.
As you can see, the versions are virtually the same, and any tiny differences are likely due to the particle and lighting effects happening in the environment. Such as dust and the ambulance light flickering on and off.
Now let’s take a look at the PS5 version of the game, going up against the PS4 version with its enhanced image quality enabled via the PS4 games feature on the PS5 Pro.
You can check out some close-up comparisons in a minute, but play around with the slider and really pay attention to the differences. It should be pretty clear that the PS4 enhanced version has a much cleaner image quality, as if a layer of Vaseline is being removed from the screen. Here are some close-up shots to better show the effect.
This isn’t to say the PS4 version is visually better than the native PS5 version, as one area where the PS5 version seems to perform significantly better is in shadows. Whether you’re using the enhanced PS4 feature on the PS5 Pro or not, shadows remain the same, with the native PS5 version rendering them much better.
Despite being the same ports, it’s interesting to see the shadows being a big difference between the two versions. Now, if you prefer better shadows, by all means stick with the PS5 version, but for those playing on a PS5 Pro, I think the clearer image quality (better visibility) of the PS4 version is a bigger advantage.
Of course, if you’re playing on the base PS5, then I would probably stick with the PS5 version of the game.
In related news, the “first phase” of updates has been rolled out to fix the XP glitch that’s been affecting players since the game launched. If you’re unfamiliar with it, I suggest reading our report to see how much of a nuisance hackers are to the online community.
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