Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsMost Powerful Does Not Equal Most Fun!
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2014
Let me say, I was going to pass on the new generation of gaming consoles because, these consoles simply don't match up well with most of the mid-level gaming machines on paper. However, having played every generation of Console from the Atari 2600 to the present, made passing up the chance to buy one on launch day hard to resist. So, I got the email notification that the PS4 was now on sale and I pulled the trigger.
First, I'm not a hardcore gamer by any means and my consoles are reserved for platformers, sports games, and racing games with FPS and RPGs being pushed to the PC. To me, the console is supposed to be fun first and foremost and if for any reason it fails to live up to that billing then, it fails as a console. With that said, let me get right into my review.
ENGINEERING AND DESIGN
The console is slim, the graphics are fast enough, and the design is really sharp.
It is a pretty nice piece of hardware and it delivers some pretty nice image quality but, in terms of computing power, most mid-range computers with discrete graphics are as strong or stronger but, that's now why you would buy a console. You buy a console for simplicity and convenience and Sony manages to do fairly well with the design in these areas.
CONTROLS
You know, I never had an issue with the past PlayStation controllers outside of the fact that they were too lite and felt more fragile than they actually were. The PS4 Dual Shock controllers feel really good and have a decent amount of weight to them in your hand.
The touch pad on the controller is a little awkward in that it serves a function but, it was almost like they added it as a me too kind of feature when they saw the Wii U controller (it is better than people give it credit for). I guess we might see more use for it in the future but, I've only used it for Escape Plan (Indy Title) killzone Shadow Fall (Awkwardly too I might add).
The options button, does just what it says, it brings up a menu of features or options for every aspect of the system. It just works and I find no fault with this other than it is a rebadged select button.
The share button, I'm dumbfounded by this button, yeah it is cool but, really??? All I can do is share on Facebook or Twitter with it! It's baffling to say the least as I don't see either of those as being the place where people upload videos very often. Where is the YouTube or Daily Motion options Seriously, it is confusing at best unless you're going to live stream your game play (Let's not even talk about the added uselessness of the poor quality videos it records or the HDCP Copy Protection even when gaming).
This voice control isn't very good on this console. First, you won't even know it has the option if you don't plug the mic in to the controller or connect the camera. Second, there are all of like 8 commands and those only accept a limited number of variables. Third, I often had to say PlayStation twice even though the mic was literally right next to my mouth!
The controller is decent overall but, the voice controls are average at best.
The one caveat is that the Xbox One brought Kinect Interaction with voice commands in many 3rd party titles ad those developers actually left them in the Game for the PS4 versions of the games and these do work well.
INTERFACE
This is one area where Sony has learned from the PS3.
They broke the settings, messaging, and other features off to their own section of the main screen and that works great for me. This is a big plus over the previous generation.
The biggest downsides appear to be in their decision making process.
They gave you the ability to upgrade the drive so, you can put a 3 TeraByte drive into the machine but, all of your apps install to the center line on the console and that could honestly become huge and unmanageable (Even if the most recently used are in the front). What makes this even more bizarre is the fact that this very line has a folder called Library but, do they put everything in there? Nope, just the digital stuff! Why? Seriously, move all the apps to this folder and let us choose what's on the main screen!
Another flaw is in the Battery Meter implementation. When you first sign in to the console, the meter is in the upper right hand side of the screen and disappears... After that you tap the PS button and WTF??? nothing happens??? You then learn you have to hold the PS button in, go all the way to the log out screen and you find the meter again but, it isn't in the upper right as large as day!!! Nope, it is now a tiny icon in the lower right near your name. Not sure what they were thinking here but, this is poor design.
LAUNCH GAMES
This is a big area where I feel like Sony dropped the ball as most games are only slightly above average and none of them (even to this day) will blow you away or make you feel like you've gotten your money's worth from the system.
Killzone: Shadow Fall
This is pretty much a straight up FPS where the opening cityscapes look very cool but, the game isn't free roaming at that point so you can look but don't touch... As you get further into the game some of the visual quality degrades fast (The flowing river looks like it is from the Quake 1 days before the Monster 3D). For the most part, I've found the game boring to say the least even if it does look stunning in parts.
Knack
This is a pretty much a hack and slash 3/4 overhead platformer and honestly it has gotten mistreated by the media. The game is actually a lot of fun but, not as visually pleasing as its other launch siblings. This game represents the realization that good looking does not always mean most fun and to me, I'm relearning this with this generation of consoles.
Resogun
This was a PSN freebie and while it is cool, it is pretty much a copy of the Classic title Defender on Steroids so, if you liked Defender, you'll likely love this game. I had some fun playing it but, like Defender, I never really got into it.
PLAYSTATION NETWORK
The PSN has only a fraction of the servers that Xbox Live has and this was something I hadn't realized when I purchased the PS4. While this hadn't been a big issue since launch, it became a much larger issue with the opening of all those Christmas consoles as the past week has had a lot of lag when trying to play games online and even making a connection is sometimes a challenge.
The plus side to the network is that you can use Amazon Prime, Netflix, and other streaming apps without having a membership to PlayStation Plus where as Xbox requires a Live Gold membership to even use those apps.
Another benefit is the fact that you get free games that are yours as long as you keep a membership with PS+.
Also, game sharing is a feature of the PSN network but, you have to login to the other persons console to download the games to it is kind an awkward sharing feature that isn't very practical.
A PS Plus membership does allow up to 5 accounts to play games online but, only the primary member has cloud sync capability and this creates an issue when a company like EA screws up and writes all saved campaign data to the cloud. With the Xbox Live, you everybody gets access to your Live Gold service and all of its features so, everybody gets the cloud on Xbox One.
INTERFACE
The Sony interface is pretty straight forward and familiar to most.
There are two rows of icons where the first row is pretty much set and it will always be the same regardless of what is installed on the system. The second row is where your library and games are stored and honestly, this row is kind of annoying because you everything you install forms one giant horizontal row of apps and games and that to me is out of control!
Overall it is pretty simple to use, in some ways it is easier than Xbox One but, not in others.
For instance, they gave you the battery indicator but, it appears one place when launching the system and another entirely when using the system, that's really poor for continuity if you ask me.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Here's where the wheels fall off the console! The previously mentioned issues with NBA 2K14 are a big enough issue that I approached Sony for a refund as I bought the game on a digital download... Not only did they refuse to help with the situation, they pretty much didn't even see the connection between me buying the game from them and their level of responsibility with that.
I spent a good 30 to 40 minutes arguing with the Sony Support reps and pretty much left with the resolution that they're never going to help me and I'm not going to buy another digital download from them!
Sony Support angered me so much, I actually did sell the console about 6 weeks later and while this wasn't the only reason I sold it, it was a big reason why.
Of course, on a side note, 2K finally reached out to me and told me they would give me all my VC back if I delete my player and start over. That stinks but, it is either that or lose the money and the fact that it took them 3 weeks to even acknowledge my request with no help from Sony at all leaves me questioning Sony's commitment to their customers and I will never buy another digital item from Sony and I'll be passing on Take Two games in the future.
MISSING FEATURES
First, I had no idea the console didn't support 3D Bluray when I bought it and I also had no idea that DLNA and even playback of movies or music from USB Media wasn't allowed either!
Let me just say that both this and the Xbox One are incomplete consoles. However, this is a pretty complete list of things this console cannot do.
*No YouTube uploading
*No YouTube App #1 Video sharing service and no support at all.
*No Google+ Support (this affects YouTube or it wouldn't really matter)
*No Streaming or Playing of MP3 or MP4 files (not even from your PC or USB drive)
*No Support for external hard drives at all at this point (most of the list comes from Sony)
*No Sony Support for apps purchased from their digital store (so buy the hard copies)
*No Ability to rename your online account (MS does this but, it will cost $20)
*No Promoting a Child Account to an adult account, they get to start over
*No Suspending or Resuming Games or Apps
*No Support for 3D Bluray
Some of you might be okay without these features but, some will no doubt not like this at all.
CONCLUSION
I'm torn between love and hate for this console and its creator. I really do love the console but, I really hate Sony right now and unfortunately, you cannot have one without the other.
Overall, the lack of DLNA support, 3D Bluray, Removable Media Support, Poor Sony Support, Poor game library, and a console that is even less complete than the Xbox One are all factors as to why I decided to sell the unit.
Maybe some day I'll revisit this console again but, Sony has a real problem on their hands in my opinion because they have a console that lacks all the best features of their previous generation (and many of those from their competition). I know most people say, that Sony is really focused on gamin and they had better be because the Console doesn't do very much else!
What you really get here is a console that is focused on games and yet doesn't have a single game that would make you run out and buy it at the moment. Sony is presently selling these units based on a spec sheet but, when people start to realize it isn't very fun, those numbers might just drop off pretty fast!
I would say, pass on this console until they get more games out because, what they have now isn't worth it!
![PlayStation 4 500GB Console [Old Model][Discontinued]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/315zvYgE+tL._AC_US60_SCLZZZZZZZ__.jpg)
