Does greatness await?
by: Joshua Pruett
The Playstation 4 has finally launched. I went and picked it up at the midnight event my Gamestop was having. With all the hoot-n-holler surrounding some reported serious issues, I was a bit nervous walking back to my car after with my new PS4 in hand. (Which nicely sports a slim box and carrying handle!) Since the launch of Xbox 360, you could say there is a bit of skepticism and mistrust with anyone adopting new consoles, myself included. Disturbingly, a chunk of shipments from Amazon are causing the dreaded "Blue Pulse of Death" or "Red Line of Death". Some customers are reporting other issues too and with such a rush of problems all at once, a longer-than-wanted wait to get a replacement.
Gladly, I don't have a bricked console and my experience with the system has been surprisingly positive. (I had my doubts, also my sympathies to those who have a brick.) I was able to hop on, sign into PSN, update the firmware, jump on the PSN Store, use my $10 credit and download Flower, Resogun and Contrast. I didn't yet have any disc based games because I was awaiting my shipment of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4 and Killzone:Shadow Fall arriving Friday evening. (Thanks buy two get one free, Amazon!) As far as launch day though, I wasn't expecting much to fully function. Remarkably, everything I wanted it to do, actually did work just fine.
Well what about the camera and streaming functions? I logged into and linked my Twitch account, started up Resogun (which is awesome by the way), hit the share button and voila! The simplicity of it is magnificent, though I hope some more options and tools for tweaking will be implemented in the near future. Still, you can change the quality of your stream from low to best and choose to include your video feed if you have a camera amongst other basic options. You can see who's in your room and who's chatting too.
As for the quality, my upload sucks pretty bad, so I noticed some lag when checking my live stream on my channel. Now, this was via the same wi-fi network, but I still think it's because of my slow upload speed. The performance increased and latency decreased when I bumped down my quality to medium, but it didn't look as good obviously. I've seen some streams that look marvelous, granted they had the upload to get them there. On a side note, I would love to see some production features for editing added.
For meat and potatoes streaming, console gamers now have a way to get themselves out there and you don't need a camera or any other hardware / software to do so. Concerning the rest of the UI in general, if I could sum it up in two words: clean and fast. Nothing appears too cumbersome and everything from downloading games to jumping back to the home screen is nearly instantaneous. You could be in the thick of it, mid-game and hit the PS button and this would snap you right back to home in the blink of an eye. Compared to the both buried PS3 and Xbox 360 interfaces, this is very welcoming indeed. I'm definitely impressed.
As for the quality, my upload sucks pretty bad, so I noticed some lag when checking my live stream on my channel. Now, this was via the same wi-fi network, but I still think it's because of my slow upload speed. The performance increased and latency decreased when I bumped down my quality to medium, but it didn't look as good obviously. I've seen some streams that look marvelous, granted they had the upload to get them there. On a side note, I would love to see some production features for editing added.
For meat and potatoes streaming, console gamers now have a way to get themselves out there and you don't need a camera or any other hardware / software to do so. Concerning the rest of the UI in general, if I could sum it up in two words: clean and fast. Nothing appears too cumbersome and everything from downloading games to jumping back to the home screen is nearly instantaneous. You could be in the thick of it, mid-game and hit the PS button and this would snap you right back to home in the blink of an eye. Compared to the both buried PS3 and Xbox 360 interfaces, this is very welcoming indeed. I'm definitely impressed.
Speaking of impressed, the element of PS4 I am probably most impressed with is the newly designed Dual-Shock 4 controller. I will say this: after owning multiple generations of consoles, PC pads, joysticks and any other thing you use to control something with, the Dual-Shock 4 is the most comfortable controller I have ever put in my hands and is easily my new favorite. Everything just feels right about it and this is coming from someone who loved the Xbox 360 controller and not cared for the DS3 as much.
WITH ANOTHER GENERATION OF GAMES TO EXPERIENCE FOR YEARS TO COME, I AM GLAD I'M IN LOVE WITH THE CONTROLLER.
With the DS4, the quality is clearly there. Everything from the depressing/pressing of the face buttons to the swooping lip of the triggers, it's fantastic. Since I don't have a PS Vita, I am not able to check out the Remote Play functionality. Yet, that is. I am planning on picking one up, hopefully during a Black Friday sale somewhere. From what I have seen online of its performance, it looks to work quite well. I even saw someone playing Resogun in the streets of their city over an LTE network.
WITH ANOTHER GENERATION OF GAMES TO EXPERIENCE FOR YEARS TO COME, I AM GLAD I'M IN LOVE WITH THE CONTROLLER.
With the DS4, the quality is clearly there. Everything from the depressing/pressing of the face buttons to the swooping lip of the triggers, it's fantastic. Since I don't have a PS Vita, I am not able to check out the Remote Play functionality. Yet, that is. I am planning on picking one up, hopefully during a Black Friday sale somewhere. From what I have seen online of its performance, it looks to work quite well. I even saw someone playing Resogun in the streets of their city over an LTE network.
To Perform, Or Not To Perform
Now as far as games go, I finally got to jump into it a little bit last night. Let's talk graphics real quick. This is probably the main (if not the) reason why people are clamoring for a new console. I jumped into some KZ:SF and BF4 multiplayer matches and I am pleased to say they run at 60 frames per second and they look gorgeous. I did notice a few dips in frames with KZ:SF, but nothing too drastic. I would say BF4 looks somewhere between medium to high settings on a gaming PC.
BF4 finally gets 64 player servers too, however all of my attempts at jumping into them failed and got me kicked out. EA is aware of these issues and are supposedly releasing a patch early next week. Killzone is very much candy to the eyes and shows what the PS4 can do. It has a Crysis franchise look to it, but with a much brighter palette. I haven't had any issues online with it and not having played any Killzone prior, I'm finding it to be quite fun. I am looking forward to diving into its campaign.
ACIV:BF looks great but doesn't run at 60fps. At least the multiplayer doesn't. I haven't yet gotten a look at the campaign. Resogun, Contrast and Flower all look great in their own charming way and run at 60fps as well. That aside, I am curious to see how developers utilize the console's feature set. I am a little leery of the components being powerful enough to thrust us into a later cycle. From a cost stand point I understand, but concerning the future of performance, the jury is still out.
Time will tell and with consoles, time usually means increased optimization and graphical fidelity. I still think they should mandate 60fps. I guess it's in the developers hands and it's being done now, so let's hope more jump on that bandwagon. It's not the end-all-be-all for me, but it is nice to see silky smooth engines running on all cylinders. The graphical boost is clear from the PS3, however it's still too early to see the full potential of the system. You aren't getting a top-of-the-line, high end gaming rig of a PC here, but the added power is graciously welcomed and clearly evident in the launch lineup.
BF4 finally gets 64 player servers too, however all of my attempts at jumping into them failed and got me kicked out. EA is aware of these issues and are supposedly releasing a patch early next week. Killzone is very much candy to the eyes and shows what the PS4 can do. It has a Crysis franchise look to it, but with a much brighter palette. I haven't had any issues online with it and not having played any Killzone prior, I'm finding it to be quite fun. I am looking forward to diving into its campaign.
ACIV:BF looks great but doesn't run at 60fps. At least the multiplayer doesn't. I haven't yet gotten a look at the campaign. Resogun, Contrast and Flower all look great in their own charming way and run at 60fps as well. That aside, I am curious to see how developers utilize the console's feature set. I am a little leery of the components being powerful enough to thrust us into a later cycle. From a cost stand point I understand, but concerning the future of performance, the jury is still out.
Time will tell and with consoles, time usually means increased optimization and graphical fidelity. I still think they should mandate 60fps. I guess it's in the developers hands and it's being done now, so let's hope more jump on that bandwagon. It's not the end-all-be-all for me, but it is nice to see silky smooth engines running on all cylinders. The graphical boost is clear from the PS3, however it's still too early to see the full potential of the system. You aren't getting a top-of-the-line, high end gaming rig of a PC here, but the added power is graciously welcomed and clearly evident in the launch lineup.
Greatness Takes Time
We all know these new consoles already have their limitations. That's not always a bad thing, though. If there's anything about PS4 and Xbox One, we know what's in them and we know they aren't changing. This is actually one of the draws of consoles to me. Everyone (owning said consoles) runs the games on the same systems with the same results. I think it also enables developers to think outside the box and help them to focus more on what they have rather than what they don't. It becomes more of a "Let's squeeze everything we can out of this" mentality. This is clearly evident in the life cycle of the console. Games like Halo 4, GTAV and The Last of Us are testament and proof that even outdated hardware can still offer jaw-dropping visuals and a few other surprises.
BY FAR AND LARGE WHAT MAKES GAMING GREAT: THE GAMES.
As for the greatness, I think it's going to take some time, but not as long as the previous generation. While the next-gen lineup is pretty lackluster, it's what's on the horizon that counts for me. I am excited to see what new IP's are mustered up. Most of my favorite games of all time have been exclusives: Super Mario Bros., Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, Legend of Zelda, Halo, The Last of Us, Uncharted, God of War, just to name a few. I have to say that I became extremely overjoyed with the teaser of the new Uncharted. This is what matters to me more than frames per second: it's the exclusives. With all of these new games and possibilities coming soon to fruition, it's a great time to be a gamer.
Here's To Gaming
I wish we could all agree on that! Good God, there has been so much hate between all of these platforms. Between the childish brother wars of the Nintendo, Sony and Xbox fanboys moronically duking out which is better and the holier-than-thou elite master race of PC, why can't we all just enjoy games? I don't for the life of me understand the people who waste their time just wanting to watch something fail while getting off on crushing the joy of others. Good riddance to that. You could be playing games instead! Gaming is a luxury. It's something that a lot of people don't get to ever experience due to their circumstances. So, how about we be thankful for having the privilege of gaming to begin with? I think every platform has something to bring to the table. If you're disregarding that because of some staunch bias, have you ever stopped to think you could be missing something? God forbid we ever learn to cough up our pride.
GAMING IS EVOLVING. IT'S HARD TO THINK WHERE WE WILL BE IN TEN MORE YEARS EVEN, BUT THAT'S WHAT'S TRULY EXCITING.
Anyway, that rant behind us, I am supremely excited for ALL platforms. It just keeps getting better. Think about the possibilities of the future. With the addition of Steam Machines in development, the Oculus Rift movement, new announcements of new IP, Nvidia releasing their Maxwell cards next year and the arrival of Xbox One, I am excited to see everything unfold. There are plenty of games across plenty of platforms to enjoy and the best part is: you can enjoy them all. Well, unless you have gobs of money, you can at least respect them all.
BOTTOM LINE
PS4 has some good things going for it. While nothing is perfect, when comparing it to its predecessor, it's safe to say that it can deliver and surpass in almost every way. The game lineup is its current hindrance from that greatness, but what's there is a decent start and with a little hope, time will assist in achieving that. I am also very interested in seeing what role Gaikai plays in the PS4's life. We will have to wait and see, but I'm looking forward to it!
PS4 has some good things going for it. While nothing is perfect, when comparing it to its predecessor, it's safe to say that it can deliver and surpass in almost every way. The game lineup is its current hindrance from that greatness, but what's there is a decent start and with a little hope, time will assist in achieving that. I am also very interested in seeing what role Gaikai plays in the PS4's life. We will have to wait and see, but I'm looking forward to it!
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- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
- Battlefield 4
- Contrast
- Flower
- Killzone: Shadow Fall
- Resogun
Cheers!
Photo credit: Sony
