No more than a month ago, the entire gaming community was still buzzing with the anticipation of the “next-generation”, myself included. Some of this anticipation was good; people being excited about new gaming experiences they would soon be sharing and talking about. Though, some of this anticipation was bad; people were skeptical and concerned with the direction that this generation of gaming was headed. Either way, the next-generation of gaming is now upon us. And I have to say that, while I am content with how the next-generation has gone so far, I am also slightly underwhelmed.
My Playstation 4 arrived on release date from Amazon, and I will say that it was one of the more exciting days of my year. Hell, I stopped colleging for the day just so I could jump into the future of gaming without any distractions. I unpacked the system from it’s prison and set it neatly upon my shelf. I booted the system up and absolutely loved the UI, the controller, and the aesthetics; I was pleased beyond belief with my new console. That happiness, however, swiftly changed to frustration when I attempted to set up my shitty college campus Internet connection. This, of course, wasn’t the PS4’s fault, but it was aggravating nonetheless. Oh well, I digress. After I resolved the Internet debacle, I proceeded to the main course: video games.
The first game I put into the PS4 was Battlefield 4, and I remember thinking to myself that the visuals were obviously very nice, but the gameplay was essentially Battlefield 3. I switched over to Assassin’s Creed IV, then to Killzone, then to Knack, and so on. All of these games had the same thing in common: gorgeous graphics, but the usual gameplay. This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy these game because, believe me, I did. Other than the new console and controller, the allure of the “future of gaming” quickly began to wear off.
At first, I couldn’t accept this. I was angry that the next-generation of gaming was letting me down. Why wasn’t I in tears of happiness from how great the games were? How come these new ‘social features’ didn’t excite me like they seemed to excite everyone else? Why can’t I hold all these limes? Was I gaming wrong?! Then it hit me… I had set myself these unrealistically high expectations of what I thought the next-generation would be at its’ very beginning. I thought that it would be everything that E3 had made it out to be. I would have a plethora of games to play, software to use, and social features to enhance these things. Everything would be seamless, immediate, and entertaining. It’s because of these unbelievable expectations that I felt unsatisfied with the next-generation.
After all of this though, I am still excited about this, and the now previous, generations of gaming. For the most part, games that are in development for both generations of consoles look phenomenal. Features like live streaming directly from the consoles are great and actually quite useful. And features like Gaikai and “Command” -- the thing on the PS4 that lets another user take over someone’s PS4 for a limited time through live streaming -- that are just around the corner are innovative and where, I believe, the actual future of gaming lies. So, while I still stand relatively underwhelmed, I do think that there is huge potential for this generation, and it’s just a matter of time before we see whether that potential is reached.
Gary Green said: You’ll be forgiven if you haven’t heard of the Ar Tonelico trilogy. The previous two games arrived so late in the PS2’s life-cycle that they simply went unnoticed. While most were tinkering with their shiny new PS3s, Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia and Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica were being ‘returned to sender’ by your local Game stores. Luckily, you won’t need to have played them to understand and appreciate this third and final chapter, Qoga (pronounced k-yoga) tells the story of a racial war between humans and Reyvateils, a breed of biologically produced female cyborgs capable of reproduction, while still having a digital mind.
In our review of Remnant 2: The Forgotten Kingdom we look at the latest Remnant 2 expansion. Will it meet expectations, or was it better left forgotten? - IS
Stellar Blade is a visually stunning game with engaging combat and a variety of enemies. The game’s breathtaking design and challenging combat system draw inspiration from Sekiro.
Nice!
I wanted to ask someone a question about PS4 who is in the know. I've taken a lot of screenshots while playing games on my PS4 and I want to know if I sign onto another PS4 if my screenshots come with me? If not, can I put them on a thumb drive and put them on another PS4 to look at sometime on down the line in the generation? The reason for all this is I unfortunately have to sell my PS4 but I'm without a doubt getting another one in the next couple months and don't want my screenshots to disappear. Any help from fellow PS guys/gals would be great.
Coming from a college student myself I can honestly say I sold my PS3 for a 4, and haven't looked back. Yes I had some games I wish made it to the 4, however the way I look at it I'm already set for next gen when the games start coming out. What I like best is I'm not as distracted on the 4 as I was on the 3, especially with all the stupid SPAM and Home invites. I can game with confidence, and for long time frames without something silly going on. Cross game chat is a nice add however I have yet to actually test it since everyone is too busy playing games first, not talking.
One thing I commend Sony on, they did exactly what they said they would do - console first, features later. I know at least 4-5 PS4 owners complaining because they don't have mp3 playback, can't watch avi/mp4 videos, and no YouTube playback; yet these same people went on a rant about how they want a console to play games but all they keep going on is features that have little relevance to gaming.
Yes "next gen" was all hype and gamers fell for it.
HaHa, So glad I didn't buy into the hype. I was smart enough to recognize there was no reason to buy a next gen console yet, the PS3 and 360 currently have a much better library. There isn't one game on next gen that redefines gaming and makes me say, "I need that and I'm willing to spend $500 for a new console and game." Honestly, Dark Souls 2 has me more excited than anything next gen has to offer. I will buy a PS4 when Uncharted 4 or The Order: 1886 are available, a sequel to Demon's Souls exclusively for PS4 would get me to buy one also. Until then there's no major reason to upgrade, for me at least.