Hands-on with the Playstation 4

Though it seems like it will be a long time before I have a Playstation 4 of my own – I’m convinced that every one that was made has been sold – I was fortunate enough to have a friend who picked up a PS4 on launch day last week and invited me over to try it out. The console launched last Thursday, November 14 and my friend picked up his on Friday.

I was super stoked to try out the new console. But as Friday wore on, news I read about people’s experiences so far with the PS4 was not very positive. Beyond the obvious news that the Playstation Network was buckling under the weight of all the new users with PS4s, I was reading some truly worrisome things about consoles being dead right out of the box.

Though Sony claimed that the hardware problems people were experiencing made up less than %1 of all the Playstation 4s sold (which is still a pretty big number considering Sony claims to have moved over a million consoles on launch day alone), the fact that brand new PS4s weren’t working right out of the box had me nervous – not just for my friend but for myself if I were to break down and get one anytime soon. Even the pre-release console awarded as a contest prize by IGN was unresponsive when it got to the winner.

Luckily, my friend’s console worked perfectly fine. I wish I could say the same for our gaming experience that night.

Hands on – the DualShock 4

The first thing I want to talk about is the new DualShock 4 controller, being that it’s the first part of the console I actually experienced. 

Though I had a PSOne and PS2, I also owned an Xbox and Xbox 360 and over the last generation, was much more comfortable with the 360 controller than DualShock 3. The DS 3 just seemed way too small and flimsy as compared to the 360 controller. It didn’t sit in your hands quite right and the buttons felt too close together. The rounded edges on the thumb sticks didn’t make for easy use and I’ve also grown more accustomed to the offset placement on the 360 controller, rather than next to each other on the DS 3. The shoulder buttons also felt narrow and slippery, like I had to make sure at all times that my fingers were resting in the right place.

I experienced none of that with the DS 4. It has a slightly larger design and is more ergonomically crafted to fit into the shape of your hands. The thumb sticks, while still set next to each other, feature impressions on top and give you much more control. The D-Pad buttons are still separate buttons and still quite close but have a distinct feel when pressed, as do the face buttons. The shoulder buttons also have more area and heft to them and the L2/R2 are slightly concave to give you fingers a spot to rest on. It also features a touchpad that doubles as a button in the center. I didn’t have a chance to actually use the touchpad in a game but it has an area about as wide a phone screen which should give you enough room to input commands.

I was pretty impressed with the DualShock 4. Sony put a lot of work into improving the design of the DS 3 while still keeping its signature look and feel. The small touch pad is an interesting feature and I’m curious as to just what game designers will do with it.

The interface

The console itself booted up pretty quickly and once it was awake, switching between screens, games and other menus was quick and responsive. I was thrilled to see that you can visit the PS4 home screen without needing to exit the game you’re playing. For instance, while playing Battlefield 4, my friend went back to the home screen, input a code for extra content, and went back to the lobby we were waiting in, without needing to exit the game and boot it up again.

The home screen itself was easy to navigate as well. All the icons were large and colorful, easily letting your eyes differentiate between the different sections of its interface.

All PS4 games will feature mandatory installations too, with the size of the installation needed for any particular game being several GBs.  Luckily, you can start playing a game while it is still installing. I didn’t see an actual installation myself, but my friend said he had to wait maybe 15-20 seconds after putting a disc in and starting the installation before he could play it.

The games and visuals

Even though we won’t be seeing truly astonishing visuals from the PS4 or Xbox One for some time, the visuals presented in launch games are incredibly detailed and polished.

One of the downloadable games I played, a side-scrolling shooter called Resogun, seemed simple at first but the longer you played, the more intense the action became which increased the level of detail and destruction seen. The game is set on a rotating board, going left to right flies your ship around what looks like some sort of futuristic cityscape. The goal of the game is to earn points by destroying enemies and rescuing humans by picking them up and taking them to special zones. It reminded me a lot of Geometry Wars in both the style of the art and the gameplay itself. The visuals are fairly standard at first but once you start facing larger enemies and causing bigger explosions, you start to notice how the world itself is being affected by the action as buildings crack and crumble and ships explode in showers of colorful sparks and particles. For a downloadable title, the visuals were really impressive. But more importantly, it was incredibly simple, addicting and fun. 

Resogun is a downloadable title for the Playstation 4 that will eat up as much time as some standalone titles

The next game we played was Battlefield 4. I’ve spent a lot of time playing Battlefield 3 and was looking forward to trying out BF4 more than anything else. Unfortunately, it seemed that most everyone else felt that same way. I can’t remember for certain, but it took numerous tries last Friday night to get BF4 to work properly. There was some unknown error (it had a specific code but I don’t remember it) that kept causing the game to crash before we could even use an option from the main menu. After numerous tries, we were finally able to access the menus and start a game.

Once we were playing, I was really stunned by the color and detail I saw in BF4. Now, I haven’t been a fan of the Call of Duty series since COD 4: Modern Warfare, but I have to admit that the COD series did always have an edge in visual detail and beauty. Well, that just isn’t the case anymore. Not only does Battlefield 4 offer the intense action and chaos its predecessors did, but now it looks every bit as gorgeous and detailed as its main competitor.

I didn’t get to experience any “levelution” moments but did get to try several new maps in the classic Conquest and Rush game types. For BF vets, the game is just how you’ve known it to be – just more detailed and colorful. Unfortunately, trying to pick a new game type or session often left us stuck trying to get back into games and before long, we just decided to try a different game all together.

I also got to try some of Assassin’s Creed IV. I wasn’t as blown away by the character models in this game as I was in BF4, though the scenery and environments were stunning. Everything looked incredibly lush and green and sailing the high seas is just as fun as it was in AC3.

Final thoughts

I was pretty impressed with the Playstation 4. I was most worried about liking the controller and was very pleased to find that Sony had taken steps to improve it while still keeping it unique from Microsoft’s design. The interface of the PS4 was clean and very user friendly though I was a bit offput by the numerous problems we had trying to play Battlefield as well as the reports of hardware problems in general. I’ll be very interested to see how Sony responds to the problems with its consoles and am unsure if I should try to pick one up before any changes are made to the hardware itself.

Overall, though, I’m definitely still sticking with the Playstation 4 for this console generation. Besides the fact that it is cheaper, Sony seems more concentrated on delivering a high-quality gaming experience, whereas Microsoft wants to infiltrate every aspect of your media viewing with the Xbox One. I don’t know if I’ll ever even get to play an Xbox One either, considering how most-to-all of my friends – even those with 360s now – are going to be buying PS4s once they are able. Sure I’d like to try Titanfall sometime, but honestly, as long as I have Battlefield, Destiny, Watch Dogs and Metal Gear Solid 5, I don’t need much else.

(Images from – Console: gamerheadlines.com; DS 4: launchgram.com; Resogun: penny-arcade.com)

State of Decay Breakdown DLC available November 29

Of all the recent games that have tried to capitalize on the recent zombie craze, none have been as entertaining to me as Undead Labs’ “State of Decay.” Rather than placing emphasis on merely killing zombies or in the act of trying to survive a single attack, State of Decay tasks players with long-term survival during the zombie apocalypse.

State of Decay is a single player only game and its original play mode told a story through a series of missions where your goal in between those missions was basically just to survive. But, being that the mode was centered around a story means that it would eventually end. To give players who completed said story, Undead Labs will soon release the first DLC add-on for State of Decay, titled “Breakdown.”

The purpose of Breakdown is to test players to see how long they can survive in State of Decay’s zombie apocalypse. Players start Breakdown as a Hero character, someone with higher/more desirable stats than any regular survivor that can be recruited. From there, Breakdown plays similarly to the story mode except the only goals are expanding your group and scavenging/surviving. Eventually, supplies will run out your group will need to escape to the next valley. To accomplish this, there will be an RV somewhere on the map that your group will be able to repair and use to reach the next valley. (It should also be noted that “the next valley” is just the same map and not an entirely new area.)

Escaping to the next valley comes with its own challenges, though. First, you’ll need to find and repair the RV before it can be used. It’s location changes for each map and the longer you take to find it/escape, the more difficult it can be to repair. Also, once the RV is ready to go, you’re only allowed to take six survivors with you (including your character). Your acquired loot chest comes along too but you’ll only be able to take enough supplies to establish a new base of operations in the next valley.

Advancing to new valleys increases the difficulty as well, meaning more zombies, more unique monsters and fewer resources to find. Knowledge acquired through libraries transfers too. According to Undead Labs, there is no limit to how many valleys/levels you can advance through in Breakdown. Basically, you can keep playing until it’s just too overwhelmingly difficult to advance to the next level.

I’ve been looking forward to Breakdown for a while now. I really enjoyed State of Decay but found little reason to replay it after completing the story. The promise of increasing difficulty and endless play is exactly what will breathe new life into the title. Plus, new characters, weapons, and challenges help extend replayability too.

If you read my “State of Decay Stories” series, you know how much it affected me when I lost just one survivor, so you can imagine how difficult it will be to have to leave people behind at the end of a level in Breakdown. I’m gonna have to learn to not be so attached, though, because it seems like death will be a regular part of Breakdown’s later levels.

Breakdown will be available for Xbox 360 on Nov. 29 and is priced at $6.99. Title Update 4 also goes live for State of Decay on Nov. 29 as well and will fix some bugs but will also revamp the loot distribution system. Undead Labs’ website doesn’t really elaborate on what will be new or different about the loot system so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Review: WWE 2K14 celebrates wrestling’s biggest spectacle

Wrestlemania, the biggest annual show for World Wrestling Entertainment, has become synonymous with events like the Super Bowl and the World Series in its 30 years of existence. The show is a spectacle of the highest order, with the WWE putting on a week-long celebration in the host city featuring all sorts of events with Superstars, autograph signings, shows featuring up-and-coming talent and more. To commemorate the upcoming Wrestlemania 30 event, this year being held in New Orleans, WWE included “30 Years of Wrestlemania” to its newest video game, “WWE 2K14.”

Similar to WWE ‘13’s “Attitude Era” mode, 2K14’s single player mode lets fans relive some of the biggest matches and moments in the history of Wrestlemania. Hogan vs. Andre; Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold; Punk vs. Undertaker and so many more epic contests are part of 30 Years of Wrestlemania. Along with each match, you’re treated to photos, videos and information retelling the story of the match and relating its place in the history of WWE. It’s a great trip down memory lane for older fans who have experienced many of the biggest moments in the history of the show and also a great way for younger fans to be exposed to some of the classic matches in Wrestlemania lore. 30 Years mode is also where players will unlock new playable characters, championship belts, arenas and more.

Along with 30 Years mode is another new single player feature called “The Streak” where you can choose to defend the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at Wrestlemania or try to achieve immortality by pinning the Phenom at Wrestlemania. Defeating the streak is an interesting concept that lets you create dream matches like Daniel Bryan/Undertaker or Goldberg/Undertaker. The difficulty is upped considerably when trying to end Undertaker’s streak though. Defending the streak is a bit of a weird mode, though, as it’s basically a gauntlet match that has you, as the Undertaker, facing Superstar after Superstar in what feels like a never-ending contest. I tried it once and defeated 12 or 13 opponents before I realized there was an achievement for defending the streak against more than 30 opponents and decided to call it a day.

WWE 2K14 is the first game published by 2K Sports since Take-Two Interactive acquired the license from a bankrupt THQ. The overall quality of the product has been improved as 2K Sports has a wealth of experience creating popular, well-made sports games. Character models have been improved slightly but the biggest enhancements have been made to the actual gameplay itself.

You can play numerous classic matches from Wrestlemania history, like Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold from WM 13

 In past games, it was far too easy for players to spam one or a couple moves over and over to achieve success. Changes to the engine in WWE 2K14 have made it easier to not only utilize a wider array of maneuvers but also to cut down on cheap players’ ability to spam moves. For instance, in past games, running at your opponent and hitting the grapple button would initiate a running grapple like a DDT or swinging neckbreaker. It was easy to abuse these quick, powerful moves as your character would usually pop right back up to his feet, allowing your opponent to line up yet another running grapple. And another. And another. Now, extra/extended animations have been added to reduce the effectiveness of spamming moves.

Striking has been sped up slightly and is now a more viable form of attack and is good to keep your opponent off balance, rather than just immediately looking to grapple. Grappling has also been enhanced thanks to an improved reversal system. No longer will advanced players be stuck in a never-ending reversal loop as countered maneuvers will often lead into a new position where the animation either ends with a strike or predetermined move or open potential for different moves. New OMG moments have been added as well and now you’re also able to perform catch or catapult finishing moves where you launch an opponent into the air before performing your finisher.

There hasn’t been much added in the way of new match types, but the list of available matches is already very extensive. The ability to host King of the Ring tournaments has been included, which is a very welcome addition.

Fandango and Summer Rae will soon be available in WWE 2K14 via DLC

 Universe Mode and Create-a-Wrestler also return and are both greatly expanded. In Universe Mode, you now have greater control over shows themselves as well as the progression of storylines and rivalries. It’s easy to track and control every aspect of your shows from tweaking the roster to custom championships and arenas. The new rivalry tool also lets you create feuds and control the length of each, giving you a greater feeling of control over the flow of your Universe.

You can lose hours creating just one custom wrestler, considering the wealth of options available in the creation process. Tack on the time it takes to create an entrance (now with a more options for both the Easy and Advanced creator tools) or creating a custom finishing move and you could spend several hours on just one wrestler.

Speaking of created wrestlers, the online component for WWE 2K14 is even better than before. While the layout and practical uses are the same, the title’s move to 2K’s hands has made a world of difference in terms of the strength of its user content servers. With WWE ‘13, it was a real gamble to even be able to connect to the user content server, let alone download anything. Now, the servers are faster and more reliable – I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem accessing the system. Not only that, but there is much more space available to save created content. The amount of created wrestlers you can save alone has been increased from 50 to 100.

My only problems with the game are somewhat superficial. A few times, it seemed like 30 Year of WM mode didn’t save a match that I had cleared and I had to replay it. Not sure if it was my error, that I didn’t save properly, but it only happened once or twice. Also, the commentary is still pretty terrible. Commentary still usually feels disjointed and out of place, often leaving what seems like minutes of dead air during a match. It’s great to hear Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler calling matches together again in 30 Years mode, especially since JR’s recent departure from WWE means we probably won’t ever hear them work together again. But even then it’s still odd to hear the duo call a match like Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant.

Overall, WWE 2K14 is a great product, especially considering that Yuke’s and 2K had to basically work from what THQ has already produced. It boasts a massive list of features and wrestlers as well as the ability to truly make the game your own with the extensive amount of customization possible in terms of both wrestlers and Universe mode. Gameplay has been refined and made much smoother around the edges. Even the loading times between menu screens and browsing Create-A-Wrestler options has been reduced, greatly streamlining your experience with the game. And with one DLC pack already available (the nWo pack) and more on the way, WWE 2K14 is only getting better.

(Pictures above from Wikipedia.org, Digitalspy.com and Pastemagazine.com)