Ladies and gentlemen, the next generation of video game consoles is
here! The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 had their long moments in the sun,
but it’s time for us to move forward, with both the PlayStation 4 and
Xbox One released into the loving and awaiting arms of gamers.
In
North America, Sony managed to beat Microsoft to market by a week, so
we’ve had that console in our hands for a little longer. Could that
extra week be the push Sony needed to take back the console lead in
North America? Time will tell.
Guess what? We have a PlayStation 4 and a copy of Killzone: Shadow Fall
to give away to one lucky reader! That’s right, you can bring the next
generation of video game hardware into your home for free! Keep reading
to the bottom to find out how to win.
Introducing the Sony PlayStation 4
Sony
is certainly no stranger to the video game market, after all the “4″ in
PS4 is not just a random number. This is the company’s
fourth-generation console, not including the various iterations of the
other consoles it has released. For gamers, this means the console comes
from a manufacturer they can trust.
Sony’s
new console exists in a space where there are only three major players:
itself, Microsoft, and Nintendo. The Xbox One launched a week after the
PlayStation 4, but the Xbox One’s $500 price tag puts it a full $100 over the $400 PlayStation 4. Nintendo’s Wii U
is on an entirely different level, with far less raw power and an even
lower $300 price tag. Still, it’s an option for gamers to consider,
especially with its latest Mario game hitting the market at the same
time as these two new consoles.
Specifications
Before we
jump too heavily into the actual review of the console, let’s take a
moment to talk about what the PS4 has under the hood. After all, part of
ushering in the next generation is experiencing just how much power the
console can put out.
- Processor: The PS4
comes with two quad-core low power x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” modules. There
isn’t much the processor can’t handle, but it will all come down to how
game developers use it.
- Memory: 8 gigabytes of GDDR5 RAM is included, which is the among the highest performing memory on the market.
- HDD: 500 gigabytes user-upgradeable hard drive.
- GPU: For graphics, the PS4 has a 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon processor. Like the CPU, there is nothing this beast can’t handle.
- AV output: The PS4 includes HDMI out and optical out for audio.
- Optical Drive: The drive can handle both Blu-ray and DVD (music CDs are not supported).
- Communication:
For connectivity, the PS4 supports ethernet and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. It
also has Bluetooth 2.1+EDR for communicating with its DualShock 4
controllers.
Essentially, the PS4 features a very high-end
gaming PC tucked inside of it. For anyone familiar with computer
specifications, it’s easy to see that the PS4 is fully-loaded.
First Impressions
The
PlayStation 4 comes in a surprisingly small box, especially when
compared to the Xbox One. In fact, it looks more like the box you might
find a laptop in, not a high-end video game console. That’s not a bad
thing though, as there is nothing wrong with conserving some cardboard.
Once
you open the box, you will see the documentation you need, a
controller, the console, a headset, the power cable, the controller’s
microUSB cable, and the HDMI cord. You will notice that, unlike the Xbox
One, the camera is not included and is available for $60 as a separate
purchase. Even with the camera, that still puts the PS4 $40 below
Microsoft’s offering, which is a very appealing proposition for gamers.
Overall,
I was very happy with what I saw when I first pulled the PS4 from its
box. The console itself is beautiful (which we will get to later), the
controller feels good, and it’s clear that Sony took care to make
everything exciting for gamers taking this home for the first time.
Design
Before
we jump too heavily into playing games on the console, let’s talk about
the hardware itself. To put it simply, the PlayStation 4 is the
nicest-looking first iteration of a new console I have ever seen.
Typically, the first iteration of a console is big and bulky (like the
Xbox One), leaving extra room for heat dispersion. The PS4, on the other
hand, is actually quite small and sleek, and it looks fantastic on the
entertainment center.
The
PS4 is 12 inches wide, 2 inches tall, and 10.8 inches deep. Next to the
Xbox One, it’s tiny. While not necessarily a deciding factor between
the two consoles, for gamers living in small spaces where room for
electronics is at a premium, it’s certainly something to consider.
The
slanted front and back create sleek lines, and the simple dark colors
look incredible. Just based on looks, there is nothing negative to say
about the PlayStation 4. You can clearly tell that Sony is a company
that specializes in building hardware, as it knocked it out of the park
with this console.
User Interface
Sony
has taken some great strides in improving its UI over the PlayStation
3. This is good, because myself and many other gamers found the PS3′s
interface to be a little clunky, and it certainly needed some
improvements. That being said, the new UI still has some glaring flaws,
and some aspects that feel a little disorganized for an interface
developed in 2013.
Let’s start with the good stuff: mainly just
how fast the interface is. Everything you do on the PlayStation 4 is
insanely snappy. Pressing the PS button in the middle of the controller
instantly suspends the current game or app and brings you back to the
home screen. I was blown away with just how quickly this happened. It’s a
small thing, but compared to the clunky nature of switching around in
the PlayStation 3, it’s clear Sony really thought about how to make this
work.
Finding the app you want is pretty quick on the PS4, at
least for now. However, the fact that it just populates a giant list of
everything on your console will make things difficult once more games
are available. It’s not really any worse or better than the PS3, but
with many gamers opting to go digital with their purchases, it could
make searching a clunky process, but as with the PS3 and Xbox 360, the
UI will go through plenty of changes and improvements over time.
One
thing I am really not a fan of is the store, which feels more like you
are browsing a website than a dedicated store on a $400 console. It
feels very poorly thought out. The layout hasn’t evolved much, and it
could certainly use some enhancements; especially since most gamers will
resort to buying new games from the digital store. Again, it’s
something that can be improved with a firmware update, but for the time
being, the store needs some serious work.
Sony offers the ability
to navigate the console using voice commands, either with the included
headset (which feels cheap and is not impressive) or through the
PlayStation Camera. While not anywhere near as robust as the Kinect
functionality on Xbox One, it works well, there is just a lot of things
you cannot do with it. For example, if something is hidden a couple of
menus deep, there is no way to jump to it with voice commands. Still, it
was a pleasant surprise, as Sony did not tout its voice functions up to
the release like Microsoft did with its Kinect.
All
in all, the PS4′s user interface is leaps and bounds better than the
PS3, but it’s still not great. I expect it to evolve in the next few
months or years, but as it stands, some aspects are a little too clunky.
I much prefer navigating the Xbox One, especially with the fact that
most of it can be navigated almost entirely without touching a
controller.
Media Player
The PS4 is an average media
player, supporting services like Netflix, Twitch, Amazon, and the other
big media streaming services. However, it cannot play MP3s or music CDs,
which could be annoying for some gamers. Instead, you may only use
Sony’s own music service, which is, of course, an effort to attract more
users to it.
When you compare it to the PS3, there really isn’t
much improvement. It’s clear that Sony is focused on games, while
Microsoft is aiming to take over the living room completely. Still, for
watching movies and TV shows, it’s a competent device; it’s just not
perfect.
Remote Play
One cool feature on the PlayStation 4
is the fact that it can stream games over a local network to the
PlayStation Vita. This feature is very much like the NVIDIA Shield,
which allows gamers to stream select games from their PC to the
portable gaming console. With the PS4, almost every game supports
streaming, which makes it feel a lot like the Wii U with its ability to
use the second screen as the primary display when someone else wants to
use the TV.
Of course, the PS4 does not include a PS Vita,
so a substantial extra purchase is required to take advantage of this
feature, and only a select subset of gamers will benefit from this.
Still, it actually works pretty well, with only a small amount of input
latency. Even in a game like RESOGUN,
which requires a lot of fast reactions, I did not find the latency to
be an issue at all. I actually walked all the way across my house, and
pushed the Wi-Fi range to the limit, and it continued to work very well.
There
is a problem with this feature, and it’s one that could be a huge issue
in certain games. The Vita is missing the R2, L2, R3, and L3 button. To
compensate for this, Sony has placed the L2 and R2 buttons on the back
touch panel, and the L3 and R3 button are on main touch screen. This is
fine for some games, but for shooters, where R2 triggers your gun, this
is less than optimal. It would be nice if Sony included options for
customizing the controls, but alas, it doesn’t. It’s a cool feature, but
with the control limitations, it feels more like a novelty.
DualShock 4
Sony
has developed a fantastic controller for its latest video game console.
As someone who has held the firm belief that the Xbox 360 controller is
the best video game input device ever created, I was shocked by how
much I liked the DualShock 4.
My
main concern with the DualShock 3 was the stiffness of the sticks,
which Microsoft perfected with Xbox 360 controller, The PS3′s controller
sticks were too loose, and Sony has greatly improved that in the
DualShock 4. In fact, they now have better resistance than the Xbox One,
which have actually loosened up compared to the 360. Also, the sticks
on the PS4 have been given a nice little recess to helps keep your
thumbs in place.
The
terrible triggers on the PlayStation 3 controller have been improved
tremendously. Now they feature grooves that keep you in place, which
makes a huge difference while playing shooters. After all, that R2
button, along with the sticks, are the two buttons that you need to
press the most with that genre, and Sony most certainly got them right.
An
interesting novelty on the DualShock 4 is the touch pad, which is not
really being used for much right now, but could have some interesting
gameplay implications down the road. For cross-platform games I wouldn’t
expect much, but for exclusives, it could be exciting. Right now, most
games just use it as an extra button, and Killzone uses different swipe
directions to choose options for the companion drone. It could easily be
done with the d-pad, but the touch pad works well, and can be very
accurate.
The
face buttons and d-pad are almost the same as the buttons on the
DualShock 3. If it isn’t, broke don’t fix it; Sony always had solid
buttons.
The
last notable thing about the DualShock 4 controller is the light on the
top. By default, it lights up to indicate which player you are on the
console, but developers have the ability to change the color to set
ambience for their games. The only issue with the light is that it’s
very bright, so if you have a TV that reflects light, you can see it on
the screen. It’s a small gripe, but when playing a horror game where you
turn all the lights off and try to set the mood, it could be an issue.
Playing Games On The PlayStation 4
When
you buy a PS4, you are buying it to play video games. As a video game
console, the PS4 is a fantastic device. While the launch lineup leaves
much to be desired, you can clearly see the potential, especially from a
visual standpoint. For PC gamers who have been playing games on Ultra
settings in the last year, nothing about this will be very new, but for
someone migrating from a PS3 to a PS4, the differences are immediately
apparent. That native 1080P resolution really does make a huge
difference.
As I mentioned previously, the DualShock 4 is a
fantastic controller that works incredibly well for playing games of all
sorts. It feels incredibly comfortable in your hand, which lends itself
well to long gameplay sessions.
For most of our game testing, we
played Killzone: Shadow Fall. It looks absolutely incredible. The amount
of detail like characters’ faces is insanely impressive, and when
things open up, and you get an extended view of the city, it looks
ridiculously good. As far as gameplay goes, well, it feels like playing a
shooter. That’s actually a complement, because I never liked playing
games in that genre on the PS3, and while playing on the PS4, I felt
just as comfortable as I ever felt playing on Xbox, which is as good as
it gets for me.
Side by side with the Xbox One, the PS4 is just a
more powerful gaming machine. A quick look at the specs and you will see
the difference. However, to the untrained eye, it’s hard to tell the
difference between the games. Sure, some Xbox One games don’t run at
1080p, but they still look incredible. Either way, you are getting a
fantastic console for playing games, but for people who want the best of
the best from their hardware, there is a difference, and the PS4 comes
out in front.
Online Services
As you would expect from a
modern video game console, the Internet plays a huge role in the
experience. Whether it’s playing games online or streaming games to
Twitch and Ustream, Sony has taken great strides towards improving the
implementation of its online functions. Of course, playing online is no
longer free, and a $50 PlayStation Plus subscription is required.
Starting
with playing games online, Sony has finally reached feature parity with
the Xbox 360 in that you can now join a friend’s game directly from
your friends list, and create game-independent party chats for up to
eight players. Microsoft, for its part, seems to have taken a huge step
backwards in terms of online gaming, but we will get to that when we
review the Xbox One very shortly. Overall, playing games online with the
PS4 just works, and there really isn’t much more you can ask for.
The
new “What’s New” section is also quite cool, allowing you to see, at a
glance, what is happening with your friends across the PlayStation
Network. Think of it like a Facebook news feed for you gaming life. It’s
a neat thing to have, but at the same time, it’s a little cluttered,
especially if you have a large number of friends. Speaking of which,
Sony has increased the limit for friends to 2,000, which seems
excessive, but for people in the games industry, this is a welcomed
change.
The problem with this massive boost in friends is that
there is no good way of organizing them. So if your list contains more
casual acquaintances than gaming partners, drilling down and finding
them will take a while. The addition of sharing your real name with
friends helps, but of course, they need to accept your name request to
actually show up on your list in this way.
One thing Sony
absolutely nailed is the functionality of its “Share” button. When
clicking this, users can quickly record a video clip of themselves
playing and send it to Facebook, capture a screenshot and share it to
Facebook, or even quickly start streaming. When it comes to streaming,
it doesn’t get any easier than on the PS4. Once you’ve stored your
credentials, it’s as simple as pressing “Share,” clicking stream, and
naming your stream. You can even pin the chat to the side of the screen
so you can interact with viewers. It’s incredibly well executed, and
Sony gets a huge leg up here in my book, as Microsoft pushed Twitch
streaming back to 2014 on the Xbox One.
All in all, PSN is not perfect, but it’s a huge improvement over the PS3, and it can only get better with time.
Wrapping Up
In the end, if the PlayStation 4
is one of the three video game consoles we are going to be using for
the next seven years, I am quite alright with that. Sony has laid a
fantastic foundation with which it can build on over the course of this
generation.
Its
UI has some clunky issues, but they will be fixed with patches. From a
pure hardware stance, Sony knocked it out of the park, and that’s really
all you can ask for from a video game console.
