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Following Rockstar's warning to Xbox 360 users of sub-optimal GTA5 performance should both discs be installed to its hard drive, our attention has turned to the PSN digital release of the game. This edition is played in its entirety from the hard drive as opposed to utilising both disc and HDD, opening up the game to a variation of the 360's streaming issues when both discs are installed.In our testing we saw contrasts between the disc and digital PS3 releases, where the Blu-ray version has clear advantages that make it the preferred buy. To begin with, things seem fine. Installing the digital version to a PS3 with a freshly formatted stock 60GB HDD, the entire heist prologue section with Trevor plays out flawlessly across five separate playthroughs. There are no cases of abrupt pop-in for geometry or textures during gunplay here, and similarly the getaway drive across the snowy wastelands shows up no glaring issues either.
However, the opening montage across Los Santos' beaches reveals some glaring issues. Cutting rapidly across several areas, the digital version has ground textures popping in half a second late - plus delays in the drawing of shadow maps and objects like grass. For the disc release, these issues don't manifest to nearly the same extent, with the odd delay in rendering a plant or chair being the worst we see during several retrials. As compared to playing the 360 release with both discs installed to its HDD, the digital PS3 release isn't quite as nefarious with its object draw - but it's enough to take you out of the moment.
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