Carl's epic review of the PS4

Welcome to my review of the PS4.

Meh....I feel underwhelmed.

At 39, I remember each "next gen" starting with the Atari 2600 moving all the way up to the PS4 and I've owned just about all of them worth owning like a lot of you probably. I remember some of the bigger upgrades like the PS2 and the first time turning on Mario World on the N64. While Battlefield 4 looks a bit better than the PS3 version, nothing else stands out to me right now although I need to buy Assassin's Creed 4 (and marvel at water effects?).....

I think it doesn't help that I have 4 games right now. Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Blacklight and Warframe. These 4 games together plus the manditory PS4 update blew my bandwidth out of the water and now I'll be owing an extra $80 or so on my internet bill for data overage charges. 80 GB standard (75 went to my PS4 alone) and the family still has the rest of the month to go with things like WiFi for phones and Netflix.

Maybe the fact I spent like $500 or so to play the 2 popular games (Ghosts/BF4) on next gen when I was already playing them for months on the PS3/360 impacts my judgement. I'm doing the same thing I did a few months ago but now my active friend list is a less than half because a lot are still waiting to get PS4's.

I have to be honest, I've barely played Ghosts on the PS4. My VERY FIRST 2 games involved a lot of lag and a number of "rubber banding" incidents that I had honestly never experienced on the PS3. The whole dedicated servers (sorry, bullshit lied to dedicated servers now combined with peer 2 peer for "next gen") discussion is best left for another day.

Battlefield 4 is another beast all together. I'm an average player but holy shit am I overwhelmed on the PS4. I like Conquest and Rush but it's like a whole new game where I'm the n00b for target practice when you have 64 players. It feels a bit like sensory overload. You think you always die from behind/side in Ghosts with the different style maps? Try Battlefield 4 with 32 enemies who are EVERYWHERE. This is the game where I need my friends on to stick with in a squad.

Blacklight Retribution is a free 2 play FPS with good review scores and is actually pretty fun when more than 7 people are playing and I can get into games....

Warframe is a 4 player co-op free 2 play game and is sadly my favorite PS4 game right now. I say sadly because it's a free 2 play game and the "best" out of 4 games for me right now. Anyone who played Defiance with me and loved doing the co-op missions (really the only fun part of that game) and that is Warframe. Problem with this game is that it doesn't recognize online friends right now so you can't play with friends, only randoms which defeats the idea of a fucking co-op game personally. Think of it along the lines of the PS3 Battlefield 3 release where EA touted teamwork and communication as keys to victory....except the VOIP didn't work for like 2 months so we couldn't talk to each other.

Launches are always a bit rought with glitches and issues but the only bug I have is the Warframe grouping. The rest is just leaving me feeling uninspired to play. I'd like to get Black Flag (again...could have had it on the PS3) but I still need to invest in a PS4 headset ($100?), a full year of PS+ ($50) and one or both Season Passes for BF4 and Ghosts ($40-$80).....all for what I could have had on the PS3 and graphically almost the same.

I guess I just wish that Destiny or Watch Dogs were ready at launch. I'd probably have even joined Vidz and Myt in Xbone land if TitanFall had been ready at release.

Welcome to the next generation of uninspired (and expensive) gaming. Infamous Second Son, Destiny, Watch Dogs and the new Skate game I dream someone is making can't come soon enough.

Well i can relate with previous systems (God mario 64 was a "holy shit" moment i wont forget) and you game choices.... I mean i see where you're coming from... but i don't think anyone expected a "jump" like two gens ago. I think those days are long gone unfortunately. Diminishing returns and all.

That being said... Killzone looks utterly fantastic on the PS4. Miles better then even BF4's gorgeous single player... and thats just KZ's multiplayer! It's that good. If you want that "next gen" feeling... KZ is the closest thing we get on the PS4 at launch. SP is pretty but 'meh'... multiplayer is epic fun. As long as you dont end up with tards on your team.

Blacklight is AWESOME! When it exits beta and they work on finding games... it will be my go to close quarters shooter. When the connection is good (most of the time) it plays MILES better than any previous COD title. It's faster, more reliant on player aim and headshots... and the vizor instead of a map... works nicely to prevent camping. I'm only a level 4 or 5 so i havent unlocked shit... but the amount of customization is unreal. I counted, i believe, 20 scopes for assualt rifles... even more in barrels, muzzels, mags, stocks, grips... new recievers... christ... even head chest and leg sections of armor for your guy. I'm in love. I just want more than a few thousand to play with on there.

Warframe is good and if you havent played AC4 it's a must.

I agree that Destiny should have been a launch game... but then id never leave the loft lol.

[You a skater or just a fan of the games? Was big into it. Runs i the fam... Uncle was a pro skater through the 80-90s. Dig that SC deck in ur sig]

Agree with both of you. I love the system itself but a few things are lacking and im sure it has something to do with money and big buisness.
im miss my youtube app immensely. It may be a coincidence but the day the xbone dropped, YouTube stopped working for me in the browser. The music app is awesome, love being able to do anything with it playing. I want more titles but i would rather wait until we get a polished, optimal product, rather than something rushed. So im good.
My biggest gripe. Where is the freaking blue tooth support? I know its Christmas and sony wants us all to rush out and buy expensive new ps4 compatible headsets but come on! Btw if u are a fan of beautiful graphics and puzzle type platform games you might want to look at Trine 2. Its an indie game, but dont be put off by that word "indie". Its pretty amazing.

I think you have some good points. I get asked by my friends if the PS4 is worth getting. I really don't know how to answer them. It's cool and all, and I get to say I got a launch one, but really? There are like 14 games for it, only one of which I play. I've actually logged more time on the PS3 since the PS4 launch since I only know a few people that have PS4's and I wanted to stop losing so much playing solo on Ghosts. Games do look better, but enough to warrant getting a new console? I'm not sure if it is for the regular schmo out there.

I guess I would say, we all should have known better. Any improvements from here on out will be incremental. How much more clear and life-like can a game get, in a way that actually makes game play better?

As for the launch titles, I read somewhere that launch titles for every console ALWAYS suck. Does anyone remember the launch titles for the PS3? I'm sure they were mediocre at best, especially when compared to games that came out in the last year for the PS3.

So am I glad I have it? Sure! It was free for me after selling the two extra ones I had and sold at a mark-up. Pays to be prepared! Would I be ok with it if I actually spent money on it? I think I'd be more "meh" about it. BUT.... we do get to look forward to other games coming out soon, so come back and let's revisit this in 6 months.

Do I have the same system as Carl?

COD BF4 AC4 all look night and day better.

DL are super fast and are done in the background.

Party chat is perfect. Twitch streaming and watching. The share button.

The apps are free and not locked behind a paywall.



Voice control works perfect.

Nely wrote:

Do I have the same system as Carl?

COD BF4 AC4 all look night and day better.

DL are super fast and are done in the background.

Party chat is perfect. Twitch streaming and watching. The share button.

The apps are free and not locked behind a paywall.

Voice control works perfect.

I just play games so I don't really care that I can share 15 minutes or whatever it is. The app/paywall thing was the same on the PS3. You are quoting video game sites comparing the PS4 to the Xbone services.

I agree DL's are fast..not sure "super fast" since that's dependant on your speeds. Games are now like 10-20 GB so it's all relative. Infact I think DC Universe Online is OVER 20 Gb although that probably includes up to date patches.

I've said I should play AC4 and while Battlefield 4 looks better, it wasn't personally leaps and bounds. The upgrade there is 64 player games.

CoD we will have to agree to disagree. While the first thing I noticed was the great looking characters for each person in the lobbies, the game moves very fast and it's hard to enjoy the roses. There is an upgrade but it's very small.

All I am saying is that I'm personally a bit underwhelmed. The usual upgrade emotions and excitment just arn't there for me. I'm not dying to get back to my PS4 each night. It's a combination of many things like amount of friends on, playing the same PS4 games that I played for months on the PS3 and the lack of those interesting big name, amazing next gen games we got to see teased all year. And as someone else said, diminishing returns on graphical improvments on each "next gen".

All I'm saying is I'm kinda "meh" on the PS4 after a week. Could have been doing all this on the PS3 (or Xbox if I still had one). The hype train kinda fizzled out for me.

I'm cool if people like Nely are excited and creaming thier pants and I wish I shared it. Not thier cream....

carlmuir wrote:

I'm cool if people like Nely are excited and creaming thier pants and I wish I shared it. Not thier cream....

Everything was fine until this. You just had to go there, huh? haha

I think a lot of it is the games. There aren't really any games that feel next gen yet. I'm personally waiting until at least Infamous to get a PS4 (although I might wait longer because of Dark Souls 2).

Wait until you get the true next gen games, like The Division, coming out. This game has me the most excited by far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_j9uKBmUEk

Imo I think you just need a game that is more than a graphics upgrade, and it doesn't sound like they are out yet. It's one of the downsides of early adoption. On the other hand, I got a PS3 at launch and it had some of the shittiest games ever. I only remember Resistance being any good. I got a Mobile Suit Gundam game as a gift, and it was by far the worst game I have ever played. At least this time around you have a couple AAA games to keep you going until more is released.

On the positive side I hear the controller is great and it sounds like the OS, features etc. are pretty good. Just gotta wait it out.

See link below - We're having a welcome party for new (and old) members or those that are curious about the 30's - PS4 GHOSTS ...

https://over30clan.forumotion.com/t10607-ps4-ghosts-fng-saturday-night-shoot-a-thon-900pm-cst#150234

Yep AC4's water effects really are very good, I just finished the game yesterday and can report that I have very much enjoyed playing it, just when you think you have seen all the kill moves the guy pops up with a new one!!!
As for the PS4, well I got mine on the 29th (European release date) and can hand on heart say I have had NO problems at all, some people have said it is noisy, but my one is anything but noisy, every hour or so I hear the fan speed increase for about 20-30 seconds and then it settles back down to it's usual low humm, also some people have reported that it runs hot, but again I have not found this to be true with my unit, yes it gets warm but hey thats to be expected,  one youtuber even recommended leaving the two cardboard shipping supports that hold the unit while its in the box on the unit (so they lifted the unit up off whatever surface it is on) even though there are no vents underneath the PS4, infact what he didn't realize was that he was blocking the side intake vents, and he wondered why it was getting hot!!!!
As for the games, well battlefield 4 looks nice but is full of bugs, AC4 Black Flag looks real nice and is a great game (if you enjoy that kind of game), as for Ghosts well it may be just me but I think the graphics look somewhat underwhelming (even though they are 1080p) and I like the bigger maps (I know, I know, a lot hate it becouse of the bigger maps) ohh and quick scoping is still possible,
Need for speed rivals looks great and plays great (lots of fun) though I think once "The Crew" is released I won't be reaching for it too often,
All in all I am very very happy with the PS4, But the future looks even brighter with such games as "the crew" as well as "Destiny" and many many more games on the horizon.

I gotta say this, but if there are 14 games for it but only one you play, then why not give the other 13 a go, I used to be a FPS kinda guy almost 100 percent, but I promised myself when I pre-ordered my PS4 I would give other types of games a go, and I'm glad I did AC4 Black Flag is brilliant simply brilliant, Need for Speed Rivals is so much fun (even someone who didn't normally enjoy driving games would enjoy this driving game, its so hectic when trying to evade the law!!!)
BF4 is great (60fps makes such a difference), ghosts is ok I suppose but pretty much just the same as BLOPS and BLOPS2, One game you should all try is RESOGUN, now theres a game thats addictive and fun, another game thats fun is war thunder, Warframe is as several have mentioned a really good game, the trouble is if you limit yourself to only playing FPS then of course at launch your choice is going to be pretty limited, to be honest (and I may be wronge on this) I think there are more FPS on PS4 than what is on Xbox1 and probably more than was on the PS3 at launch, sure it would have been nice to have had Watchdogs and drive club, but hey I would rather they delay them than release them full of bugs (like BF4) The games will come that we know for sure, but there are plenty there already if you widen your horizons a little,
And as for the future, myself I'm waiting for watchdogs, Destiny, the crew, drive club,the order 1886, and infamous second son, the witcher 3, and the division, dying light, and planetside 2 (people think 64 players on battlefield is crazy, try 1000 on each side in planetside 2)
To people who are thinking of buying a PS4 I would say do it (if you can find one) will games look better in the future, sure they will, will there be more choice of games in the future, sure there will, but you could say that at any time in the next 5 or 6 years, and if you'd held off buying one look at all the fun you'd have missed, and it's just the same now.

One other thing I forgot to mention in my previous post was that if you are thinking of buying battlefield 4 for the PS4 I would hold off of buying Premium for it, at the moment BF4 is still full of bugs (not as many) but they are still there, the first game I played for about 2-3 weeks crashed on me, this game really should have been held back like watchdogs is being, sure it looks nice but the bugs and crashes are just killing the game, why is it that the software industry seems to be one of the only industries that can get away with selling faulty goods over and over again, and we just accept it, if it was any other item we had purchased we would take it right back, but with software no we just accept it!!!

VxSoup wrote:

And as for the future, myself I'm waiting for watchdogs, Destiny, the crew, drive club,the order 1886, and infamous second son, the witcher 3, and the division, dying light, and planetside 2 (people think 64 players on battlefield is crazy, try 1000 on each side in planetside 2)

Agree totally with that list but what makes me cry is that a bunch ofo those games are getting (or have already been) pushed back. The big ones like Watchdogs, The Division and Destiny are now more end of 2014 than early 2014, so almost a year into the PS4 life cycle.

No word yet on Planetside 2 which I'm jacked for.

And hopefully Infamous does arrive in March when it's suppose to!