I’ve had almost a week with my PS4 now and I thought I share some quick impressions with you guys. I’ll start with the games.
Killzone Shadow Fall
I really really like this game. I’m on chapter eight of the ten chapter single player campaign and I’m still really enjoying it. It’s pretty rare that I play the campaign mode of a shooter but this one is really holding my interest. Part of that is how amazing it looks I’m sure. I’ve streamed myself playing it a few times and everyone in the chat agrees it’s just a stunning game to look at. I also really like the story which is something I didn’t expect after reading some of the reviews. Finally it’s just a great shooter. The guns feel good and the environments make for some incredibly fun shoot outs.
I haven’t dug too much into the multiplayer but what I played was fun. I plan on investing some more time in there once I wrap up the campaign which should be tonight or tomorrow. It’s a fantastic launch game and one that honestly feels “next gen” to me when I’m playing it.
Need For Speed Rivals
Tycho talked about this game yesterday so I won’t go into too much detail here. It’s fucking awesome is all you really need to know. He calls it a caRPG which I think is pretty smart. Driving around taking quests, unlocking new cars and leveling up their powers is super fun. I personally prefer the cop side of the cops and racers gameplay they have going on. There’s nothing like tracking down a real live person, flipping on your lights and then chasing them chasing them all across the map. It feels incredibly good to smash their car into pieces or drive them off a cliff.
When I sit down to play the PS4 at night the big choice is so I play this game or Killzone and it’s not an easy decision. Lately I just end up playing both and don’t go to bed until after midnight.
Super Motherload
I had never heard of this game before but apparently it’s been around on the PC for a while. I grabbed it because I saw it was multiplayer and I was looking for something to play with my son. Much like the comic strip I honestly can’t describe why this game is so fun. Gabe and I played it for hours last weekend and had a great time. It’s got some puzzle elements that you can choose to engage with if you want to but you can also just dig. It’s a very relaxing game and you can lose a couple hours to it wasy without even noticing.
Knack
I picked this up as a game to play with my son but we both found it pretty boring. We tried it for a few chapters and it just never grabbed us. It’s a strange game. It looks like a kids game but it’s actually pretty hard. You die and restart a lot and the levels just aren’t cool enough to keep me coming back. I’d say skip this one.
Resogun
This is another winner in my opinion. It’s an arcade style game that will have you playing levels over and over again trying to get a higher score. It’s another great looking game and it’s actually pretty easy to get so caught up in all the amazing explosions and special effects that you lose track of your ship and blow up. I’ve played it single player as well as co op and both are great. I think the co op is especially fun as it has both of you trying to work together to maintain your score multiplier. It really forces you to try and work as a team rather than just tossing you both in the level and having you shoot shit.
Battlefield 4
I’ve been so focused on Killzone that I haven’t dedicated much time to Battlefield. I played the first mission of the campaign and liked it. I may go back for more after I beat Killzone’s campaign but I’m not sure. I tend to play Battlefield games for the multiplayer and like Tycho mentioned yesterday it’s kinda screwed up on the PS4 right now. The Conquest game mode which you could also call Battlefield doesn’t work so well right now. I haven’t been able to join a single match since I got the PS4. I’ve played some team deathmatch and a few rounds of Rush but Conquest is really why I would load up multiplayer Battlefield. Once they get that sorted I’ll give it another try.
The PS4
I loved my Playstation and my PS2. I’m going to go ahead and admit that I didn’t like the PS3. It felt like a blu ray/ media hub that you could also play games on. I hated their online service (or lack there of) and I didn’t care for the controller. On the other hand I loved Xbox Live and that’s where all my friends were. I pulled the PS3 out for the occasional exclusive but for the most part it just collected dust. If there was a multiplatform game I played it on the 360 every time.
I have to say after just a week with the PS4 sony has won me back as a fan. This is a box for playing games. It feels like the good old days of sitting down in front of my playstation and I could not be happier. It’s sort of like getting an old friend back. I love the new Dualshock 4 and the hardware itself is damn sexy. I like that I don’t have to buy a fucking camera with it and I like that they are finally trying to compete with MS when it comes to Xbox Live.
I didn’t care about the streaming stuff when they announced it but now that it’s here I’m a big fan. I’ve had so much fun streaming my games and chatting with people while I play. I’ve even spent some time watching streams and I love it. I can tell you right now I’m never buying another disc again. Purchasing games digitally is where it’s at. I can swap between games super fast and I never have to leave my house on launch day again. The way they let you play a little chunk of the game while the rest is downloading works great and I have access to my entire library of games whether I am on my box at home or the office.
TLDR: I love the PS4 and I’m excited for its future.
-Gabe out
