Help with a PS3 library

[Spartacus]

I am often surprised, perhaps even stunned, by the number of times I have read less favorable reviews and comments for the PS3 version of multi-platform games. I don't recall reading anything about a significant hardware disparity between the two, in fact with the PS3 games being delivered on Blue-Ray discs, I would think there's always potential for the PS3 version to have a slight advantage for that fact alone.
There are toss-ups of course, where either version are practically identical, but far more often than not, I find myself choosing the Xbox 360 version over the PS3 version based on a quick scan of reviews. This is starting to create a noticeable lop-sidedness in my gaming library that I find somewhat puzzling, perhaps even disappointing.
I'm perfectly happy with the exclusive content for the PS3 and that alone justifies its purchase, but I often wish I could do better than having a library of exclusives. Since I don't play games online, any advantages in multiplayer gaming are not significant for me. I don't download content either, so that doesn't factor into my buying decisions, other than the fact that I would prefer a Game of the Year edition that has downloadable content actually on the disc instead of simply including vouchers for downloadable content.
Am I missing something? Am I reading reviews incorrectly? Other than Alone in the Dark: Inferno, are there any multi-platform games where the PS3 release is the more desirable version?
It doesn't hurt to ask and I figure other people might be finding themselves in the same quandary I'm in.

[Emperor Megas]

The PS3 version of Final Fantasy XIII is better than the 360.

I tend to get the XBOX360 versions of games because I like the 360 controller infinitely more than the Dual Shock 3.

[Cloud121]

Elder Scrolls IV is also better on PS3. I've read that Force Unleashed was better on PS3 than 360.

Also, wasn't Devil May Cry 4 better on PS3? The 360 versions of Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5 have slightly better lighting effects than the PS3 versions.

[Leo_A]

I've seen little evidence of this in recent years. During the first several years of this generation, there were tons of examples such as The Orange Box. But today, multiplatform games on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are pretty equal, with the most significant variation, if there is one, usually coming from the superiority of Xbox Live. And sometimes (Such as Birds of Prey), the Playstation 3 version these days is actually superior.

Using GameStop, for one example (IGN's sucky review list make it difficult to see all the reviews for modern platforms or even the most recent ones for a specific platform, due to the current design of the site, or I'd of also gone there), here are the most recent multiplatform reviews they have listed. Significant review variations as 2010 comes to an end are the exception, rather than the rule.

Deadliest Catch: Sea of Chaos - Same score on both platforms
TRON: Evolution - Same
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 - Same
nail'd - Same
Splatterhouse - Same
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - Same
Apache: Air Assault - Same
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 - Same
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit - Same
Monopoly Streets - Same
NBA Jam - Same
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Same
Call of Duty: Black Ops - Same
James Bond 007: Blood Stone - Same

And so on, and so on...

And checking a selection of random choices of recent releases on Metacritic (1 major AAA release (Black Ops), 1 major niche release (TRON: Evolution), 1 licensed game (Dealiest Catch: Sea of Chaos), and 1 shovelware release (Naughty Bear)), here are some of the results. I've included some unknown sites and some well known sites, but didn't go through by hand trying to cross referance 30-50 reviews for each platform. But here are the review scores I saw from a quick scan of each game that reviewed both versions of the game in question.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Average Score: 8.7 (Xbox 360) 8.8 (Playstation 3)
-Gameblog.fr - Same Score
-Game Chronicles - 100 (360) 98 (PS3)
-GamerNode - Same
-Cheat Code Central - Same
-1Up - Same
-GameSpy - Same
-Game Informer - Same
-IGN - Same

Naughty Bear
Average Score: 4.3 on both platforms
-GameSpot - Same
-Vandal Online - Same
-D+PAD Magazine - Same
-Cheat Code Central - Same
-IGN - 25% (PS3) 30% (360)

Deadlist Catch: Sea of Chaos (Not many multiplatform sites have reviewed this)
Average Score: 4.25 (360) 4.9 (PS3)
-Games Radar - Same
-GameSpot - Same

TRON: Evolution
Average Score - 5.9 (360) 6.0 (PS3)
-Strategy Informer - Same
-GameSpot - Same
-D+PAD Magazine - Same
-IGN - Same
-Giant Bomb - Same
-Worth Playing - Same
-Game Informer - Same
-1Up - Same

It's not 2006 and 2007 any longer. The Playstation 3 has a significant enough install base where it's not the after thought that it often was for developers and publishers early on and is even sometimes the lead development platform now. Multiplatform releases in recent years have generally been very equal, and there are several games that actually are better in their Playstation 3 form (IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, for example, includes PC joystick support and many other significant advances compared to the 360 version).

Elder Scrolls IV is also better on PS3.

The Xbox 360 version was better graphically in certain areas (Been years so I don't remember details, but there are tons of comparisons of both platforms for this game out there), and a few of the big graphical improvements the PS3 version saw were supposedly later patched into the 360 version.

It doesn't seem to be a huge difference in their ultimate forms. And the lack of much of the DLC (Such as the Mehrunes' Razor add-on) on the Playstation 3 makes it tough for me to think of it as the better version of the game, even if there are some slight performance and graphical improvements.

[heybtbm]

Elder Scrolls IV is also better on PS3.

For about a month maybe. Then the 360 version was patched. This was years ago.

The PS3 versions of certain games still suffer from being graphically less impressive. Yesterday Kotaku had an article about this very subject. I'm guessing it's lazy programming since the PS3 was supposed to be a little more robust in the performance department.

Deciding which console version to buy really comes down to multiplayer. My friends and I buy 360 games when it's a game that we're planning on playing together. The controller is superior for FPS's (IMO), XBL's party system is better than anything on PSN, and mainly...we all have 360's. Only a few of us have PS3's. If we want to all play together, it only can be on a 360. That usually decides it.

[Leo_A]

The PS3 versions of certain games still suffer from being graphically less impressive. Yesterday Kotaku had an article about this very subject. I'm guessing it's lazy programming since the PS3 was supposed to be a little more robust in the performance department.

It's not even finished and it's also using a new engine. And as that article says, it does look better in some ways. It could easily be equal to the 360 version by release or even look better if the engine improvements are that significant.

But it's too soon to call. Any real comparison has to wait until it's actually finished.

I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't end up looking significantly better since I'm only a few hours into the 360 version (Not to mention, the saves will continue onwards into the sequel and the third game) and don't want to feel like I'm playing a significantly inferior version of the game.

I'm not too worried, I bet it's pretty comparable in the end and have trouble picturing it being a big jump forward.

Edit - I didn't realize it was due in less than a month from now. I thought it still had another three months or so of development ahead. I guess this demo is going to be pretty representative of the final product unless it's delayed or they have a really productive next three weeks.

[Snapple]

I think whichever system a game is designed for first tends to have better performance on the average. If it's designed with the 360 in mind and then ported to the PS3, the 360 version will likely have fewer hiccups. And I think more developers do this than vice versa. That's why you hear a lot about the 360 getting better versions.

FF13 was developed with the PS3 in mind, and that's why it's better on the PS3, I would guess.

I don't think the PS3 is any less of a machine than the 360 in its ability to play cross-platform games.

[theclaw]

Early PS3 games lacked rumble. If nothing else that was a common 360 only feature for some time.