PS4 Console Review

   

     So, here we are with the next generation of gaming upon us. Sony and Microsoft have put all of their time (and crap loads of money) into making the top notch consoles on the market, but right now I want to talk about Sony's new console: the PS4. Years in the making, the PS4 is a console that has been eagerly waited on by gamers. Hopeful that the next generation would deliver, I picked up my console at the midnight release full of excitement. But DOES it actually deliver?

     I can confidently answer that the PS4 is a true gaming system.

     Let's start with the scepter in which you rule the PS4 with: the Dualshock 4. Remember how awkward playing shooter games with the Dualshock 3 controller was? I'd want to use L2 and R2 to shoot, but the buttons were so uncomfortable that I'd end up using the front buttons instead. Having been accustomed to Xbox 360 controls, I found this frustrating. The Dualshock 4 controller takes some pointers from the 360's near perfect setup and makes L2 and R2 triggers that feel like actual triggers. In reference to the picture above, the handles on the Dualshock 4 are longer than the Dualshock 3 and the extra length feels so much better. It no longer has the awkwardness that the previous console's controller had.

     Several new additions have been added to the Dualshock 4 controller as well. The controller has a light bar on the front of it and is used in multiple ways. For instance, depending on how many controllers are being used the light will be a certain color. Player one's light is blue, player two's red, etc. Sony has also very cleverly used the bar as a health bar in certain games. In Killzone, full health is represented as green, middle health yellow, and low is flashing red. It's one of those things that's not necessary but is certainly a nice touch. Another nice addition is a touch pad that's extremely responsive. In Warframe, you can swipe up, down, left, or right to choose an ability that the soldier will use in combat. I have never had a problem with it misreading any gestures and it is definitely satisfying to swipe down and magnetize my enemy's bones thus crushing them into the ground. It definitely enhances the experience, which is something that has really paid off for Sony.

     Another feature is the newly added speaker on the control. Again its one of those little things that's a cool touch to the experience. Certain games have specific moments where audio will emit from the speakers (i.e. picking up audio logs), causing a greater level of immersion into the game.

Now the sexy part. The console. 

First - look at that picture. Just look at it.

    That is a sexy looking piece of hardware. It's sleek, got a nice rhombus shaped body, and it's actually smaller than PS3's slim console. With all the firepower that's in the new one, it's pretty impressive that Sony was able to still get all of that power in a nice compact box. Best part is that it still doesn't need a power brick (Microsoft you guys need to work on that...).

   PS4's user interface has been greatly updated and improved. I don't think I will ever get over how fast it is. I can be in the PS4's home screen and start up a game of Killzone or Resogun in (and I am not kidding) 10-15 seconds. It's that fast. Also, gone are the days of using a person's account that has PlayStation Plus on it to get free downloads. If one account has PlayStation Plus, all user accounts have it, similarly to that of Xbox One's Live program. All that is required is for the person who gets PlayStation Plus is to make that PS4 console their "primary console", which is easily done in the settings menu.

Last but not least, music and gaming can finally be played at the same time and about time too! Thanks to PlayStation's Music Unlimited app, any song you want can be added to your library or you can listen to one of their preset playlists. (classic rock, pop, R&B, etc.) It was quite satisfying taking out three guys in a row with head shots in Black Light Retribution while jamming out to Foreigner's Juke Box Hero.

Now, let's talk graphics.If I had to describe the sheer beauty of these games with one word, then it would simply be: Amazing. These games run at 60 fps and 1080p without skipping a beat (As far as I have seen). It is truly a sight to behold when playing. With Resogun, literally billions of tiny particle effects spark across the screen without so much as a nanosecond of lag.

   I have a couple of gripes about the console, though. For one thing, there are a lot of bugs at the moment. I understand that it just released, but it was really frustrating having the PlayStation Network go up and down throughout the day. Music Unlimited crashes randomly as well, and I have to put the PS4 in standby mode and start it up again for it to work. One other problem I have is it's sharing setup. Everything from taking a screen shot, to editing a video clip and uploading it to your Facebook is seamless and extremely easy to do, but when it comes to broadcasting,  it doesn't save the broadcast to your Twitch/Ustream account. I went to go view my Killzone broadcast on my computer after I had finished to see how good the quality was, and I was disheartened to see that it didn't show up on the website. I, personally, like to upload my videos to YouTube after for more people to watch, and until (or if) Sony fixes it, the only way people can watch my PS4 broadcasts is if they watch it live.

     All in all, Sony has really out done themselves. I have never been impressed with a console before but I honestly have to say....I'm impressed. Sony clearly listened to gamer's opinions and criticisms and created a gaming device that's user friendly, fast, and can run games with a hundred things happening at once without a hiccup. The best part is that there are so many amazing games coming out for the system in the future. I think everyone wants their hands on Infamous Second Son, and I'm eager to see what The Order: 1886 has to offer. Greatness has arrived, and it's only just begun.

I give the PS4 a near perfect 9/10.

Check back next weekend as I give my review of the Xbox One.  

              

Review: Outlast

     Let me start off by saying that I am very new to the survival horror genre. I started by playing Slender the Arrival only a couple months ago, but there was nothing that occurred in Slender that would prepare me for what I experienced in Outlast. With the bulk of the game in total darkness, I became terrified in ways that I couldn't previously imagine. This game is not for the faint of heart and even those with strong minds will have trouble sleeping after this one.

     Created by Red Barrels Games, Outlast puts you in the shoes of Miles Upshur, a brave journalist trying to discover what occurred at the broken down Mount Massive Asylum. Upon further investigation Miles finds that the asylum is by no means abandoned. Armed with your trusty camcorder, you have no chance of defending yourself, meaning you have three options: run, hide, or die. If anything, hiding is your weapon and I did A LOT of it while running away from the numerous creepers lurking around the mysterious asylum. 
Another aspect of the game is scavenging. To capture everything for your article on film (or to be able to find everything that you need in the dark) you must search batteries throughout the entire environment, which can make for some pretty stressful situations as I would find myself hurrying to find a battery as my last one was about to run out. 
The game is about 3 and a half to 4 hours long and I spent the entire time trying not to pee my pants. There are jump scares galore in this game, but somehow tastefully done rather than cheap overused tricks. 

     The game also looks gorgeous! The filter used with the camera creates a very realistic effect as if the player was actually experiencing the game through the eye of a camcorder making the experience 10 times more horrific. Really my only quip with the game is that in between all the intense scenes of running away from some of the creepiest enemies I've ever encountered, there are very tedious objective missions that seem to slow the pace of the game down. I felt as if the game could have been more about critical thinking instead of the monotonous "activate this switch" kind of objectives.

     Although this game made me crazier than I already was, I absolutely loved it. The story was intriguing, the dialogue was disturbing and gave me goosebumps, and at the end of it all I wanted it to keep going. Having never been one to play many indie games, I was extremely impressed by the work done by Red Barrels Games. They are a top notch crew and definitely a gaming team that I will keep my eye on. 



I give Outlast 8 used batteries out of 10.

- Eric

Should the horrors of Mount Massive Asylum be too much for you, here is a link to my streaming of the game: Outlast Playlist

OPRainfall

Anime Sky

Review: Fire Emblem

The Fire Emblem series is probably one of my favorite 'Under the Radar' games, mainly because most of its games were never released outside Japan, Fire Emblem: Awakening is the series' latest entry and is a 3DS exclusive.

While the game is short (take this with a grain of salt, I usually speed-play through my first playthroughs), there are still tons of side-missions and DLC's, unlockable characters, and a myriad of relationship options for all the characters.

The game gives you difficutly options when starting, Normal, Hard and Lunatic modes, I think the names explain them clearly, what the series used on Awakening from one of the Japan-Only Fire Emblem games, Fire Emblem: Hero of Light and Shadow, is the option to choose from Classic or Casual mode, Classic mode, as the series is probably most known for, is once a character dies, he/she is gone forever. Casual mode makes the units 'retreat' once they hit 0 HP so they become available again in the next battles.

Dialogue is very well written, considering there are tons of different relationship options. The cast of Fire Emblem: Awakening will certainly make themselves lovable in their own way that if you play in Classic mode, will kill parts of you as well as they die. You will be able to load a save file, yes, but that defeats the purpose of playing in Classic Mode.

Voice Acting is also fantastic whether you're playing on English or Japanese(Subbed), the Voice Cast is so star studded that you're bound to recognize one soon enough.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is an awesome addition to the series' already incredible line-up

It also might make you cry during certain points of the game, so get those napkins ready!

–

Score : 9 / 10

Platform : 3DS

By: Sephie

Review: The Next BIG Thing

I honestly wouldn't have bought this game if it weren't on sale, but the concept looked interesting and so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad that I didn't buy this alone and there are other games to capture my attention because, quite frankly, this game thoroughly annoyed me. 

Sure, it's a nice concept. The reporters following leads, finding clues, figuring out creative ways to use completely (and otherwise should be) useless materials, monsters (er... well this part is debatable); but the 1950's style wasn't pulled off to the best of its abilities and, I swear to god, if I hear another person say, "Ayo" I think I might just kill myself. 

I hated the dialogue. Hated. Liz does not need to repeat "Dan Murray"'s name every time she speaks to him. Liz also doesn't need to be a psychopath. Maybe this game wasn't meant for my age range... Maybe this was all a dream...

Nope. I actually paid for this.

Damn it.

On the bright side, at least some of the other games (one at least that I've tried) in the Pendulo Adventure pack weren't that bad...

Score: 3/10

Price: $2.49 (during the sale)/$9.99 (full price)

Site: http://www.thenextbig-game.com/index.php

Platform: PC 

P.S. What the hell? You can't even play this is windowed mode. Seriously, what kind of madness is that?