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| Impressions | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 16 2013, 03:54 PM (264 Views) | |
| hooflung128 | Nov 16 2013, 03:54 PM Post #1 |
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Level 7
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My great friend that also works with me picked received his Playstation 4 from Amazon.com yesterday. He went kind of crazy and got just about half the launch line up of titles. We had a launch party with me, him, his wife and one of our great gaming friends and made a night of it for about 6 hours. Here are my initial impressionis: The Hardware The only real criticism is that the damn wobble is truthfact. On his glass topped entertainment center if you push down on one corner the damned thing wobbles. I think this may be the first console I go verticle. And that is the only criticism I can really say. While this launch has been fueled by this so-called social media revolution and a lot of people who got burned by DOA, or posing as them - fucking console warrior bullshit - my friend's unit turned on without a hitch and played for hours once we got it up and running. I have to say this is a very sleek looking box with a lot of weight to it. I love the design and it really reminds me of the PS2 slim which is one of my favorite console designs. The Software The PSN dedicated to just the PS4 was so blasted last night we could not get the direct update to work. It would time out after getting like 80% done. It was... however really fast to get there unlike on the PS3 where you could name each ant in a line taking sugar back to an ant hill. After a few tries we got the update on a USB stick and it was actually pretty easy and pretty awesome to see such care taken to make safe mode such an intuitive interface. Granted I am a software architect and overall tech nerd so I may be a bit easier to please in that regard. Once in the OS we were pretty amazed at how easy it was to find things. Sony has taken care to make sure this OS is gamer-centric and intuitive. It is bright, fast and straight forward to use. Any question on a feature me and my buddy who didn't own the machine asked about, my friend with the PS4 (who unboxed it with us) could easily zip through the menus and show us. It is that easy. Believe. Two complaints I have with it. First off is that the the way it seemingly handles game grouping. That should read as... it doesn't. It reminds me of the 360 game panel. I don't like it there and I don't care too much for it here. Give me folders or give me death! The other complaint is the PS Store was down all night for us. So we couldn't get Rezogun. That sucked. One thing to note is that this OS has been created as the antithesis of the PS3 OS experience. We were actually allotting time to installs etc and planning dinner around them. Nope. No one on the PS3 could ever argue the jump-in and go gaming was anything more than a fantasy unless games got no support from the developer (whether it needed it or not). At some point you were going to get stopped for a system update or mandatory game update. Much like the Wii-U does in general, at least Killzone allowed us to play without updating the software, which it had prompted us it had. I would not be surprised if this worked like that for all games and if it did then Sony has a clear win in this regard. Also, I love the streaming to the HD that is short, and then you jump in. Knack worked the same way and so did Assassins Creed 4. You will see a progress bar under the game tile and icons that will show when you can and cannot start the game up. My opinion about the Wii's place in Generation 7 was always that it may not have had next-gen graphics but it had next-gen features such as Virtual Console, Motion Controls, Wireless etc. If anything outside of the obvious hardware advantages could be said about the PS4 is that Sony has managed to make the OS something next gen in and of itself. I won't even bother talking about the social integration except for this: it is there, it is deep and it seemless. The Controller I love the DS3. Let me make that clear. I love the 360 controller for some games it is THE controller to have this past generation. Dual Shock 4. Game changer for me. After playing knack and killzone I found myself in sheer awe. Something some people take for granted, and others will bring out the lynch mobs over such as a controller has been given the utmost respect here. Until the Xbone controller can jump into my hands and prove what I am about to say wrong I will say this: This is the best controller I have every used. It is easily the most precise controller I've every used for a first person shooter. While I wouldn't say I scoff at the idea at playing a FPS on a console, it is definitely not my first choice if I am around a gaming pc. That is where I grew up with FPS. I cannot wait to play KZ again on the PS4 and the controller doesn't make me apprehensive at all. The analog sticks feel good and the indention does wonders. The surface on the back is thoughtful. They didn't have to do it but it really helps with grip. The triggers are such a welcome addition. In KZ I got my buddies to the owl and handed over the controller to not hog it, but the guy who doesn't own a PS3 and is a PC/360 gamer loved it and my buddy who owns the PS4 and doesn't even like FPS was commenting on how accessible the game was to him. (he got it for that feel of next gen - and it was cheap after doing the cheapassgamer tactic at target). My buddies who do not play Dark Souls or Demon Soul's were getting wiped on Knack at normal. After watching them play and get somewhat frustrated after multiple restarts (they loved every minute of it btw) when my turn came I had 0% problem dispatching enemies in the forest and mountain. You know... your muscle memory thinks DS3 but then the little extra bits that look cosmetic really start dial in 11. Hell I had no hit runs at times where go up against a room full and not get touched. Needless to say, regardless on how natural Knack felt to me, the controller was surgical. The Vita Integration It works. It works well. However, I believe it is still in an infancy state but we did play Killzone with the Vita and I think they are well on their way to making their version of async play and off screen play rival Nintendo. Unfortunately, it is not as native as the Wii-U and it did show. While it was absolutely easy to set up you will notice that it requires you going through menus, instead of a simple button. My biggest gripe about it is that there is a lack of triggers and L3/R3 so it uses zones on the rear touch pad. While this is serviceable in some games I am not sure how I feel about intense games where these are primary button assignments. We didn't go into control configurations, if there were any, so I cannot speak on that. Maybe someone could come up with a grip that has an app that reeassigns touch to the grip buttons the situation would be better. I don't think I'd like to play KZ for too long with a vita in hand. The graphics did look good and the Turtle Beach M5's sounded excellent although there was a clear quality difference in color (buddies LG is very, very vivid while Vita wasn't as vivid). I can see this working when a game is designed with current vita controls in mind. The Games / The Graphics People expecting a revolution will find a mix bag in this department. I've read the reviews on many games good and bad (or out right slander). We played 4 games last night. Knack, Killzone, Assassins Creed 4 and Injustice. Any of these games could be considered games you would play on PCs. Killzone doesn't do anything that Battlefied 3 or 4 couldn't do even though its art direction is imo better than Dice's offering. If you were to tell me Injustice and AC4 were running on my PC, I would have believed you. They look great. Yet they don't look mind blowing unless all you ever play are consoles. Knack: Every negative reviewer missed the plot with this game. Check out Rev3 and Kotaku's review for a balanced opinion. This game does't offer the best of showcases for next-gen but what it doesn't offer in graphics(they still look damned good) it makes up for it in gameplay. This game is Crash Bandicoot. This game is an indie platformer. This game is Dark Souls. This game is a Dreamworks movie. While it may feel like many different identities one thing is for certain, it is fun. 3 of us were giggling while watching the other play. And once it was time to swap controllers... the intensity on the player's brow was something you don't see often. I'll come out and say it. Knack is my favorite PS4 game. I'd probably go fisticuffs with Polygon's douchenozzle that gave it such a low score if I met them in person. It is offensive to have read the review and played this game. I think the other low reviewers didn't let Knack become what it is... a puzzle driven game where encounter's ARE THE FUCKING PUZZLE. How has this been lost on the general game 'journalists'. Did they play this game on easy and expect to watch a pixar movie? I don't know but this game is worth EVERY penny. Sony... thank you. Killzone This is without a doubt a Killzone game going by the atmosphere, encounters and story interaction. The graphics ... 10/10. I haven't really seen graphics that good before in one place. But I haven't fully seen Battlefield 4 at Ultra either. Right now I'd say it is a technical achievement especially considering the game plays silky smooth. I didn't play MP, and I know Digital Foundry has busted the 60fps MP claim, but once thing this is not and that is sluggish. It felt like Killzone but it also felt light on its feet, something that has always been holding KZ back to the public. I liked it. I don't think it as a whole is a 10 but I'd say any review saying it is a 7 to 8.5 would be spot on. I'm looking forward to the MP. Assassin's Creed 4 I already watched the PS3 review on Classing Game Room so I immediately knew I'd resonate with this title. It doesn't matter where I play it I will play it. It might as well be on the PS4. And here it shows off one inevitable, and relevant conclusion: The PS4 is if anything a Gaming PC for the living room. I have AC3 on my PC. This game looks damn near identical, save for the obvious art assets. It also reminds me of how the graphics look on my PC with Tomb Raider. I am ok with this. One thing I noticed while the the cut scenes are in-engine you can see the resolution either upscale/downscale in a transition from cut scene to game. It could be slightly off putting if immersion is your life. I think Ubi nailed this game and the PS4 is a fine version from what we played. Injustice: Gods Among Us Meh. I played this when it was first launched to last-generation. It is ok and I had fun but its not my cup of tea anymore. If I cared about this game on any platform I'd own it on the Wii-U. But my buddy got it for his wife and we gave it a whirl. The PS4 cut scenes are garbage and Unreal 3 is showing its age at 1080p. I don't know if the frame rate is dropping or if its just judder due to an unlocked frame rate. But its nauseating at times. The PS4 is pretty much identical to the PC version of the games in terms of graphics and gameplay when in actual combat. If you can sit through, or pass through, the cut scenes than this is a very competent version. It plays silky smooth when fighting and the DS4 is very serviceable. Final Thoughts I really like what I saw last night. Last year when my friends had a Wii-U launch party I ran out and bought one as soon as I could find one. This year it happened again. Lighting struck twice so to speak. I just ordered a PS4 bundle from Newegg. I don't see a flawless product here as there is definitely room to improve on many fronts. One thing is for certain though I believe. I cannot wait to see the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect on this system. I cannot wait for Dust 514 to move over and Everquest Next. I may even renew my account for DCU (I am a launch purchaser of that game on PS3) to give it a whirl again. Hell I am interested to see Planet Side 2 in action. I cannot wait to see where gaming goes THIS generation. I hope this doesn't come off as fanboi-ish at the end. I am really giddy from last night and really exited about my personal purchase. I hope you find my opinions helpful. Greatness Awaits. Edited by hooflung128, Nov 16 2013, 04:10 PM.
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