Home » Reviews » Review: PlayStation 4
Reviews

Review: PlayStation 4

Sony Australia was kind enough to provide Stevivor with a pre-release PlayStation 4, and we’ve taken full advantage of the opportunity to provide you guys with our thoughts on the next-gen console.

The console and controller

The PlayStation 4 marks a return to a form factor more in line with the PS2 than the original design of the PS3. All angular, the PS4 looks like a piece of tech. Where the PS3 and its odd rounded design seemed alien, the PS4 oozes sophistication and quality. Easily appearing at home alongside other high end home entertainment devices, the PS4 is meant to compliment your setup. The unit features 3 USB ports (one at the rear and two in front), a digital optical out, an HDMI out, wired Ethernet port and of course a power slot. We’ve seen the power of the Xbox One’s HDMI in, whether the lack of this inclusion will hurt the PS4 later on remains to be seen, but it must be noted that with the Xbox One including it, its absence is all the more conspicuous.

Locating the power and eject buttons on the PS4 took a bit of doing. After a few fumbling moments I discovered they were above and below the right-hand side of the disc drive. Both buttons are recessed into the body of the console and aren’t really buttons in the traditional sense. They’re both capacitive and simply running a finger over them will give you the desired outcome. The console is separated into two sections by a strip of light. One section is matte and the other gloss. The strip of light is something of a curiosity. It pulses, glows and changes colours. Since first using the PS4 I’ve found myself oddly drawn to it whenever the console is on.

ps4-4

The DualShock 4 may be the biggest change to be undertaken for the PS4. The controller is larger, fits more easily in the hand and while being lighter than the DualShock 3, feels more solid. It’s a vast improvement on a much maligned controller (one which I personally preferred last generation). Gone are the rounded tops of the analogue sticks, replaced with recesses that neatly fit your thumb, The sticks themselves are stiffer and more responsive, instantly feeling like they’re providing more control. While the d-pad and face buttons are unchanged, the triggers have been given a total makeover. L1 and R1 are larger and feel more like the bumpers on the Xbox controller. L2 and R2 feature an upturned lip at their rear and now function like triggers. Instead of the odd positioning and inwards depression of the DualShock 3’s triggers, the DualShock 4’s feel satisfying and responsive.

The biggest changes are the touch pad and replacement of Start and Select with Share and Options. The touch pad is an interesting inclusion which so far hasn’t really been integrated in any games I’ve played with huge success other than Killzone: Shadow Fall. Sitting at the center of the controller, the touch pad is clickable and covers a large portion of the controller’s face. Swiping the pad in Killzone is intuitive and responsive, while navigating the map in Black Flag was rife with latency issues and lag. It will likely take developers some time before they come to grips with using the touch pad effectively, but the potential is massive. Hopefully, it’s used thoughtfully and with restraint, rather than becoming a gimmick like the Wii.

ps4-sharebutton

Options is the catch all button. It serves the function of Start and Select. It pauses the game, opens up additional options on the menu and like. Why both Microsoft and Sony are hell bent on removing Start and Select I’ll never know, but they have so we’ll just have to live with Options. The Share button is by far the best and shiniest weapon in not only the DualShock 4’s arsenal, but also the PlayStation 4’s. Hitting Share takes you to the Share menu and shows you recorded gameplay clips and screenshots. I go into more detail about Share down below, but suffice it to say that the button is a game changer. Now every cool moment in game that only used to live in your memory can be saved, shared and relived forever.

An external speaker and the top-mounted lightbar complete the controller. The speaker has a surprising quality and crispness to it and is quite loud. Thankfully it can be turned down via an options menu. The lightbar is used to differentiate players and also give feedback regarding gameplay. In Killzone, the lightbar would glow red when I was being fired at or chased by enemies and green when I was in the clear. It’s subtle, but once you realise what it’s doing it becomes invaluable.

The PS4 UI

The PlayStation 3’s menu was notoriously slow, convoluted and confusing. Thankfully, much of that has been rectified with PS4. The menu is fast. Really fast. Things load quickly even when hitting the PS button to return to the menu. The game/app in use is suspended instantly and the menu appears. The UI is divided into two main sections. The “What’s New” and feeds section and the utilities section. “What’s New”  and the various feeds are the main focus of the UI and where you’ll be launching games from. What ever disc is currently in the console appears at the far left for ease of access. Other installed appear to the right in chronological order of last played with your entire games library available at the far right.

ps4ui

The utilities section (as I’ve come to call it) is accessed by pressing up on the d-pad or analogue stick from the main (or What’s New) area. Here you have access to the PlayStation Store, notifications, friends, profile, messages, party chat, settings and trophies. Utilities is where the design ethos of the PS3’s menu comes into play somewhat as some of the options drill down into deeper levels.

It can sometimes feel as though some things are hidden or simply in the wrong location due to them being included as a sub-option. Notification for example includes all information about downloads. If you want to see what your PS4 is currently downloading you need to go to notifications and then select the downloads option within. It’s not terribly inconvenient, but in some cases it feels as though somethings were bundled in with others on a whim, without rhyme or reason.

Social media integration pervades every aspect of the PlayStation 4, with Facebook being front and center. Upoon first signing into PSN, the PS4 asks if you’d like to link your Facebook account. Doing so will replace your gamerpic with your Facebook profile picture and your gamertag will be supplemented with your real name (if you allow it). To be honest, you won’t notice the Facebook or Twitter integration unless you’re looking for it or until you want to share something. It’s not in your face, but it’s always there. In a world where we spend so much time on social media every day and Facebook is a part of normal life it makes sense for Sony to connect the PS4 in a meaningful way from day one. There are options to share everything you do on your PS4 to Facebook (if you’re insane and want to annoy all of your friends), but these are all customisable so you can share as much or as little as you like.

ps4-share

Unlike the PS3, the PS4 allows multiple users to be signed into the console at one time. Switching between who is the main user is as simple as pressing the PS button on the appropriate controller. Switching, like the rest of the UI  is quick and easy. When a disc is inserted into the disc drive the PS4 automatically begins installing the game and downloading any appropriate updates. Multiple updates can be downloaded at any one time even while the disc is installing. It doesn’t appear as though multiple installs can occur at once, but the PS4 queues them up and installs them in the background so you never need to worry.

Installing games is generally quick, but depending on the size may take up to several minutes. Most games allow some form of play to occur during installation with some having limited options until more data is installed whereas others — like Knack — allow you to experience everything as it installs. It’s obviously easier to provide for a story based, linear game to be played while installing than something like NBA 2K14 which includes a huge variety of options. One thing to note during installations is the loudness of the disc drive. I thought my PS4 was going to take off or explode the first time I put a disc in as the sound from the drive is ungodly. Thankfully, when playing an installed game the console is silent.

ps4-vita-remotepaly

Sony have very cleverly linked the PS4 and PS Vita by allowing the Vita to act as a second screen and for Remote Play. The second screen functions of the Vita work as expected. If you’re in close proximity to your router and have strong connection there is no noticeable lag. You’re able to use the Vita as a virtual keyboard in menus and text entry as well as for second screen functions in games that support it. There’s not all that much to be done with the UI and the Vita as everything it does can be done just as easily with the DualShock 4.

Remote Play is the real star of the Vita/PS4 show and so far it works quite well. I tested out Remote Play with several games and it was hit and miss. The control limitations of the PS Vita mean that games like Killzone don’t work quite as well as they should, but things like Knack and Resogun are a perfect fit. It totally depends on how comfortable you are with using virtual buttons on the Vita’s rear touch pad. I can’t really stand it, so it’s not for me, but the feature is welcomed. It’s less elegant than the Wii U’s off-TV solution, but as the Xbox One doesn’t have anything similar it’s a boon for the PS4.

PS4 apps

The PS4 comes preinstalled with Video and Music Unlimited which are functionally identical to their counterparts on the PS3. They offer a huge range of music, movies and TV for download, but I think the pricing is still off for some things. The PS4 unfortunately does not allow streaming via DLNA so you’ll either need to invest in Video and Music unlimited or find another way to stream your media.

ps4-3

Trophies are back and better than ever. Since they’ve been built into the system from launch (rather than patched in later) they pop quickly when you earn them and the app itself loads quickly and without issue. You’ll still earn a platinum trophy for unlocking every other trophy in the game, but now trophies have a rarity. Each trophy will tell you how rare it i based on the PlayStation community. So something that everyone unlocks will be common, but a really hard to unlock trophy that nobody has will be exceptionally rare. It’s a neat little extra that is sure to get trophy hunters even more excited.

Like trophies, the PlayStation Store has been built directly into the PS4 meaning it’s much faster and streamlined than ever before. Unfortunately, if you’re not a fan of the store on PS3, you won’t be a fan on PS4 either as it’s identical. I’m not a massive fan of the PlayStation Store layout. It makes things hard to find and like other facets of the PS4 they seem buried beneath endless menus. If you’re used to using the current store you won’t have any issues, but newbies will need time to adjust and learn.

ps4-2

The best app of them all is Share. Hitting the Share button on the DualShock 4 takes you to the Share app where you can edit video clips of gameplay and upload them as well as upload and share screenshots. The PS4 constantly keep the last 15 minutes of gameplay cached for you to edit and share. Editing is a simple process that allows you to set a start and end point and make a shorter clip. Video clips can only be shared to Facebook currently, but hopefully there’ll be YouTube integration at some point in the future. If you have the PlayStation Camera or a headset you’re able to record voice over for your clip to give it an extra bit of personalisation.

Screenshots are taken simply by hitting the Share button. They can be uploaded to either Facebook or Twitter and in fact most of the images used in this review were captured that way. Video footage can only be captured of gameplay so unfortunately I was unable to get any footage of the UI in action, but you’ll soon see it for yourself. To specifically record a certain section of gameplay, the Share button can be double tapped. It will record until you hit the Share button again and then your clip will be saved. Be careful though as recording this way deletes the 15 minute cache. The PS4 will only store one unsaved video at a time it seems.

Twitch and UStream are both integrated into the PS4 and allow you to Stream your gameplay directly to your own channel. It seems to work smoothly as long as you havea decent internet connection. I hope you’re all prepared for a massive wave of streamers to hit the internet in the next few months. If you have the PlayStation Camera you’re able to stream picture-in-picture for that real game streamer style.

Finally, the new and improved PlayStation smartphone app works brilliantly. It’s another form of second screen and allows you to use your phone as a virtual keyboard as well as navigate the PS4 UI. Navigating is easier using a DualShock, but there’s no deying typing on your phone beats using the keyboard with an analogue stick.

Overall

The PlayStation 4 is an incredible piece of hardware with a focus on gaming. Everything the PlayStation 4 strives for is in the interest of gaming. There are other functions of course, but the PS4 doesn’t want to be the all in one media device the Xbox One is. It is all about games and gaming. With the ability to save and share videos, screenshots and to stream gameplay, the PS4 is tapping into unexplored territory for the console market. With the explosion of streamers in recent years, it’s great to see Sony join in.

While the launch line-up may be a little anemic you can guarantee that games will arrive on the PS4 thick and fast. With the best line-up of first and second developers anywhere Sony will ensure that players have something to keep them entertained. The PS4 is most definitely for the players.

Tags

This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. Stevivor is an independent outlet and our journalism is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.

About the author

DeltaPhoenix08