Battlefield 3's textures with and without the Xbox 360 install

Battlefield 3 has had a strange launch. From server downtime to the PlayStation 3 version's mysterious missing copy of Battlefield 1943, the game has been in the headlines for reasons EA and DICE most likely wish they could have avoided. And no version is without its own weird quirks, it seems - the Xbox 360 iteration of Battlefield 3 comes with an optional HD texture install, asking players to allow 2GB of textures to be loaded onto the hard drive.

What happens if you don't let the game install? Well, um... you might just want to take a look.

If you're planning on getting the Xbox 360 version you're going to want to clear off some hard drive space, or else you're going to be spending your time looking at a game looks a generation old. It's starting to feel like this current console generation is bursting at the seams, with developers struggling to fit their games to work within the limitations of 2005's hardware.

We wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see things like this continue for the next year or so, or at least until the next iteration of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is announced.

Hollander Cooper

Hollander Cooper was the Lead Features Editor of GamesRadar+ between 2011 and 2014. After that lengthy stint managing GR's editorial calendar he moved behind the curtain and into the video game industry itself, working as social media manager for EA and as a communications lead at Riot Games. Hollander is currently stationed at Apple as an organic social lead for the App Store and Apple Arcade.