PS4 Review: 1 Year On…

After the overwhelming fountain of excitement that commenced from February 2013 at the reveal of PlayStation the 4^th to the highly anticipated launch of the new pristine face of gaming, I was more than excited to, for the first time in my existence on this earth, be one of the first adopters of the next leap in gaming technology. I was over the moon when I opened that fateful Christmas present, I was delighted when I heard the calming but powerful starting tones of the system that have followed me around ever since, I was uncontrollably enthralled when I got to mess around and explore everything that this new piece of hardware had to offer, and I was in awe when I loaded the first gorgeous 1080p game that my eyes had the pleasure of experiencing. But now, 1 year on, am I still as in love with the system as when I first laid eyes on it? Am I still awaiting greatness or have I indeed found it within this new machine?

Well one aspect that obviously won’t change, of which I am very thankful for, is the sleek and almost futuristic aesthetic of the actual system. The PS4 didn’t opt for a generic boring cube to sit in your cabinet but in-fact created an elegant and visually pleasing system that you would happily show off as much as the inner workings of the system. The console is surprisingly light and small making it very easy to move or adjust at any given time making the physicality of the product very easy to handle instead of the potential inconvenience that could have been made if it was heavier or bigger. Another great addition to the look of the console is the Tron-esque light bar on the face of the system giving it more visual flare and making the system feel even more futuristic, while also functionally allowing you to easily know if your system is on, off, or in standby mode.

Another aspect that carries on the theme of the light bar is the greatly improved controller. With an improved size that fits so comfortably in your hand that it almost literally becomes apart of you, more easily accessible back triggers that are comfortably shaped around your fingers and are also helpfully more sensitive, a light bar that while for some could be a distraction, to me is a cool tech feature that does not only help functionally with the PlayStation Move-esque gameplay moments in games such as inFAMOUS: Second Son but also adds to the aesthetic sleekness of the product, greatly improved analogue sticks that comfortably maintain your thumbs grip of the sticks, and on top of all this a touchpad which while has been heavily underused this year shows great promise for convenient and inventive uses. Sorry for the long list but if you couldn’t tell this iteration of the Dual Shock has come a long way from the PS3, never mind the PS1, sorting many issues that had plagued the previous incarnations and becoming, in my opinion, the best way to interact with games.

The home screen menu has also seen a significant upgrade with a continuous line of blocks for all the apps and games you want to use on the system and above this small icons for your profile, settings etc, all to a default tranquil background that can be changed if you wish. While it is very easy to switch between the app blocks and icons above, even in game with the simple touch of the PS button which instantly switches you back to the home screen to reply to a message or take a look over your profile, the blocks themselves can become quite troublesome. This is because with every new game or app installed the line becomes bigger and it becomes harder to sift through all the content on your PlayStation. While a number cap for the blocks has been added, with any less used games that go over the cap conveniently going into a “Library” block, this still does not help the cluttered and disorganised feel of the menu that could easily be rectified by an option to add certain games to certain self made folders which would greatly ease my rampaging OCD, wanting games to be in a precise personal order as they are on my shelf. This problem however also hides any purely downloaded games from me as they start to fade into the “Library” block to sadly be forgotten and never heard from again, which for many of the downloadable titles available on the PS4 is a great shame indeed.

Do you remember the dark days where you’d start to download a game at 6 o’clock in the morning and throughout the day like an anxious student waiting for a university offer you’d check the progress of that snail like progress bar as it, millimetre by millimetre, struggles to gain just that one more percent and before you know it, it’s 11 o’clock at night and your download for the game you’ve been waiting in great anticipation for, for months is only at 80%. We’ve all been there in that frustration filled moment where your sofa feels like a waiting room but I am glad to say that those devastating days are finally over thanks to the amazing downloading speed of the PS4. Now when downloading a game from the store or installing a new game from a disk the rollercoaster ride of anticipation is over within a few minutes and your game is ready to finally be played. What makes downloading even more of a breeze on this new system is the added function of background downloading; allowing you to play another game or stream a movie or TV show while in the angst filled stage of waiting. This all turns what used to be a heated battle of enemies into a small speed bump on the road to accessing your highly awaited new game.

 

What is also very impressive, even from day one, is the wealth of apps outside of gaming on offer; making the PS4 quickly become my one stop shop for all my entertainment, be it video games, TV shows, or movies I usually always turn to the PS4 to facilitate my entertainment needs. While the Xbox One’s initial marketing heavily pushed this all in one media experience (enraging many gamers as it seemed the focus was in the wrong place) PS4 has covertly accomplished this feat; as in one day I can go from an online game of The Last of Us to marathoning Spartacus on Now TV and then catching up with Doctor Who on BBC iPlayer not only in a greatly user friendly way but also in a very fast and convenient fashion too. All this is accomplished while still keeping the focus of the system on gaming and trying to craft that aspect of the PS4 into the best it can be, really living up to the promise seen in all the advertisements on the line up to launch that “this is for the players”.

The newly improved CPU and enhanced 8GB DDR5 memory don’t only allow for a fast, user friendly operating system but also are accountable for the spectacular graphics this new machine is capable of. This has allowed for games to not only perform greater with higher frame rates but also leave your jaw permanently glued to the floor as you are in awe of the beautiful 1080p vistas that developers can now create with an almost photo realistic standard being achieved in some games; both through environmental creation (in games such as Killzone Shadow Fall) and the immaculately detailed characters that can now be created that leave you wondering if you are actually just watching actual people act out your inputs on screen (such as Delsin from inFAMOUS Second Son). 

While it is true the PS4 did launch with some features many players had come accustomed to missing from its initial tool box of capabilities to Sony Computer Entertainment’s credit with each update to the system, that now instead of a day long hassle to update is a simple 5 minute delay, there is always a new feature that either rectifies a problem or adds a new feature gamers have been craving for such as the returning feature to play MP3’s on the system, even when in game which allows you to tailor your play experience to your own soundtrack enhancing some already epic game time moments. On-top of this the updates so far have also been well paced bringing regular improvements to the still infant system and if any problems do arise Sony has been quick to quell gamers anger over the disruption to their gaming routines and has fixed the detrimental problems as fast as possible; as many saw when some players met devastating errors after downloading the 2.0 update a quick fix was hastily delivered with the 2.1 system update released soon after.

One of Sony’s main marketing pushes when reviling and publicising PlayStation the 4^th was the social capabilities of the system, allowing you to share many of your experiences while gaming with your friends or to the online community through services such as Twitch, allowing them to see your gameplay or progress in your game. When I first saw the share button and the promises of a fast and easy sharing ability I was not only sceptical of the functions ease of use but also importance overall. But I am happy to see that almost all that was promised from the February reveal and more has been successfully achieved. Not only can I simply see what my friends have been up to thanks to the new and convenient social column that is in view when first turning the system on but when playing a game on PS4 I am always finding myself saving screen shots of my newly customised character or video clips of gameplay to be later edited on the PS4’s simple to use and surprisingly good quality video editing app, the Share Factory, and then simply uploading them to my service of choice. This process can sound like a minefield for long out drawn loading screens between steps but thankfully the PS4 upholds its fluid performance throughout all of these stages in the process making it another fun, useful and easy to use aspect of the PS4. Making gaming feel even less of a solo activity and more of a social event where experiences can be shared and enjoyed freely.  

As a gaming enthusiast who does not fully understand all of the technical improvements to the CPU or memory of the PS4 I come away from this new piece of gaming technology not only pleased with this next piece of gaming history but excited for what is to come in the future as the system today is noticeably different from the one that graced our TV screens and living rooms only 12 months ago, so I am more than understandably excited for what the system will look and perform like in another years time. Overall the PS4 is a huge improvement over its predecessor; fixing many of the issues that plagued the last iteration of the PlayStation brand while making the whole experience even more user friendly in a sleek, cool and futuristic form.

PS4 = 9/10

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