Exploring the PlayStation 4

I have had my PS4 since November or December 2017 which, as the mathematically-gifted among you will know, is getting on for 3 years now, and for pretty much all of that time I've been meaning to write this post. I've already made a 'new arrivals' post, itself coming some 7 or 8 months after the console found its way to me. This was basically detailing what I got, how I got it, and my first impressions, but this post was meant to detail my impressions after more prolonged use.

I guess 2 years could be classed as 'prolonged' but, typically, I still haven't actually used it all that much. This isn't because I've gone off it though. The main culprit is that one that causes me to miss so many other things, gaming-related or otherwise - time, or lack thereof. Another of the culprits for missing stuff - money - is also to blame for the ultra-lateness of this post as well though. I have amassed a reasonable collection of PS4 games as far as title-count is concerned, but most of them have been physical copies of indie games I like. I was planning on buying a 'Triple A' big budget studio game as well, to give myself a more well-rounded PS4 experience. The game I opted for was the apparently-excellent Horizon Zero Dawn but I just... haven't gotten around to buying it yet.

So, instead of putting this post off over and over until I finally buy and play HZD, I figured I should just post it anyway, before the pesky PS5 comes out! I really don't know why it has taken me this long either - I've got something like 30-odd games for my PS4 now - and while I typically haven't played all of them properly yet, I've had more than a passing familiarity with the console for a good while now

Most of the games I've bought for it have been the type of 'modern' game I play the most elsewhere too, namely retro-flavoured indie titles. I've been favouring physical copies of these games too, and have quite a few of them now, but I suppose there aren't many that really show off the PS4's abilities, and are therefore not really the kind of games that this feature is meant for. Sadly though (or not sadly perhaps, depending on how you look at it), there just aren't many Triple A titles that sufficiently interest me. A good many of them are of course the 'action adventures' or good old first-person shooters which have so saturated the industry for the last two or even three generations, and there's a chance I may well enjoy at least some of them, but the commitment required (in terms of time and money) as well as their limited lifespans puts me off.

So, despite spending most of my PS4 time on other titles so far (with one exception), this is the closest I can currently get to a selection of Triple A games that I've actually played. It's possible this may change over time (though doubtful since most will be too old and will therefore no longer have live servers) so keep your eye on my 'PS4 Purchases' posts, but for now here is my very-overdue look at the system.

FIFA '18 (2017)

I was going to say I haven't even played a Fifa game since the MD original but I don't think I played that one properly. I would probably never have bought this one either as I have no great love of football games, nor of EA themselves, particularly with regards to their minutely different updates of this game that people seemingly still fall over themselves to buy every year. Nonetheless, this series has become the benchmark for football games and this was, like most versions, considered splendid at the time. It doesn't seem to cater for complete beginners like me though. EA have clearly (and perhaps unsurprisingly) assumed players will be ultra-familiar with the controls and set-up and everything, and being a modern game there is no instruction booklet either, so I was pretty lost, particularly as it threw me straight into a match without me even selecting anything. It seems as finely-tuned as I expected though - I can see how people lose countless hours to it and I even had a bit of fun myself. I managed to score a goal somehow, too! How much more time I'll spend with it remains debatable, however.

Driveclub (2014)

This was the first game I actually bought for my PS4 - a bargain at a mere £10 I'm sure you'll agree - as I like driving games and it was the most appealing-looking of the few that were available at the time (unlike the online-based The Crew and the hardcore stylee Project Cars). It initially seemed as though my choice had been a wise one too. There were plenty of cars, although many were of course locked, lots of courses in some appealing locales, and it seemed like there was a ton to do - but I soon encountered two things that I found slightly irksome. Firstly, the 'arcade mode' is rather tough. Secondly, about half of the cars (including some of the best ones) can only be added to my collection by buying them from the PlayStation Store, and not particularly cheaply either. Aside from these two points though, it's a superb driving game. The graphics are fantastic and the actual driving is enjoyable - just arcadey enough to be fun while retaining a semblance of realism - so I'm sure I'll be playing it a lot more.

Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016)

I've already written about this one briefly since it was one of the five game recommendations made by my good friend Luke a year or two back, and it remains probably the most Triple-A-ish game I currently have (unless you count FIFA). It's definitely the most impressive from a graphical perspective. Lara looks amazing (and no, I most definitely have not spent any time looking at her ass) and many of the locales she finds herself in are jaw-dropping, at least to an old-fashioned gamer like me. The gameplay doesn't seem that much more advanced than the original though, from what I've seen so far. As I think I mentioned in the last post, it so far just seems to consist of lots of running, some jumping, and the odd QTE now and then (I haven't seen those since the Saturn days). That said, it does show off the PS4's power better than any other game I've got and, as far as this post is concerned, that's all that's needed - a spectacular ass to become entranced by. Umm, I mean atmospheric graphics with spectacular scenery to be wowed by!

Doom (2016)

Until recently I've never really been much of a PC gamer, so I missed out on the Doom phenomenon. In fact, I still hadn't played any games in the series somehow, although in my defence I've never been much of an FPS fan either. I have enjoyed a few though, and this reboot was another cheapie so I figured it was worth a shot (pun intended!). It quickly revealed itself to be exactly what I thought it would be too - kind of like a more fiery version of Quake (which I have played, albeit on the N64) with more monstrous monsters! I'm not very good at games like this and if I'm honest I probably won't play it all the way through, but it does seem pretty good to me, for a game of its type anyway. The decent graphics and soundtrack help create a suitably gloomy, foreboding atmosphere, and the action is fast-paced and satisfying. Unusually for a modern game, it even has a decent one-player mode too! I'll play it until I can't get any further at least.

Everybody's Golf (2017)

I've been a big fan of this franchise since the very first game back on the PS1 and I've played (I believe) every version since. I was slightly less excited by this version as the PS3 game was a little disappointing but happily it was quickly apparent that it was a return to form! All the usual stuff is present and correct here as well as a few new features such as the ability to create your own characters and go for a stroll around the courses. You can even drive a golf cart! The action itself is probably the best it's even been too, and obviously the game looks nicer than any previous incarnations. It's going to take an age of man to get through the game and it's many tournaments though - I've been playing for a considerable number of hours already and I've only just unlocked the second course! Games like this will always be an acquired taste but it looks nice, it's great fun, and is the perfect game to put on for the odd relaxing 30 minutes now and then.

Verdict:

Unlike the 80's and 90's, it's harder to have affection for or allegiance to any console over another nowadays. Nintendo seem to have stopped trying to compete and are apparently happy doing their own gimmicky things (to great success in most cases), so for the type of gamers that would call themselves 'serious' gamers there are basically just the three options - Sony, Microsoft, or of course join the mighty PC Master Race - and the two former options are pretty much just powerful PC's without keyboards anyway. With that all said, however, as I may have mentioned once or twice in previous posts, the PS4 has done a lot to earn my favour.

I wasn't really expecting that either, to be honest. I've never been the biggest Sony fan. I begrudgingly bought a PS1 several years after its launch, after the Saturn had pretty much died, I never really bothered with the PS2 at all, and as I detailed in my 'Exploring the PS3' post, I've mainly used that for Blu-Rays and Netflix. The only reason I even have a PS4 is because it was free with my last phone, I certainly didn't expect to use it much. But it might now be my favourite Sony console of all.

As should be obvious by now, it isn't because I've rediscovered my love of playing the latest big-name releases as I did on my various Sega consoles. I'm not completely sure why it is. My mind keeps coming back to the screenshot-grabbing-abilities of the console which is probably a minor thing for most but a pretty big deal for me - I love having cool screenshots of games I like anyway, something that has been notoriously hard for everything from the PS2/Xbox era onwards, but it's also a godsend for blogging about the games. I've grabbed thousands of shots already! I also like the console's menu/operating system though, and I've been particularly pleased with the amount of indie releases for it (many on physical media) which are pretty much the only modern games I play, aside from the odd racing game.

I doubt I'll ever again have affection or excitement for a console like I did in the 8/16-bit days or for my Sega consoles. I don't doubt part of it is nostalgia but I also genuinely preferred those systems/games too. I think I preferred almost everything back then in fact, but that's a subject for a different post. After some time owning it, however, I think I can say I've enjoyed using my PS4 more than I have any other system since the Dreamcast went down, and for that I'm grateful to both Sony and my wife who showed me the mobile phone deal with which the console was bundled. I guess, as usual, I've left it a bit late though, as some games are losing official support and having their servers turned off already. The perils of modern gaming, huh? Oh well, I can still enjoy my indies - that's the main thing! Let's hope the imminent PS5 continues the trends set forth by this excellent system.