Starting the Wii U version's campaign in earnest, we get a sense that this extra pixel-perfect clarity isn't necessarily being put to best use. The absence of an install is a convenience, certainly, but flitting between each comparison screenshot shows texture quality suffers to the same degree as the 360 code minus its optional texture pack. Some bump-mapped surfaces appear comparable to those on PS3, such as character skin and most clothing, but environmental details also appear flattened or downright garish in spots. Taking on the Insurgent Stronghold mission, geometry pop-in is also an issue as we walk upstream through a valley, where trees and rocks swap out for higher-res assets as they're audibly read from the disc.
A lack of any such mandatory texture pack install on the Wii U version has other repercussions. Loading times are noticeably longer on Nintendo's platform, where if we select "skip" at the earliest opportunity during the initial briefing video, it takes the optical drive one minute 24 seconds to fully stream the prologue level and let us cut to the gameplay. This demands patience from players just itching to get to the action, and by comparison the PS3 takes just 22 seconds to load the very same mission, while the 360 clocks in at 24 seconds with its optional install.
