Sony PS4 Review

Ding! Ding! The next round in the console wars has begun. Coming off a series of stinging losses to the Xbox 360, including an exorbitant $599 launch pricetag, lack of exclusives compared to the Xbox360 and a subpar member subscription service, Sony is turning the page with the PlayStation 4. Priced at a competitive $399, the PS4 shows that Sony has been listening to its users, overhauling the controllers, improving the interface and embracing social -- all in attempt to win back the fanbase it lost in 2006. But does the PS4 do enough to win us over--and just how much better are the games?

Editors’ Note: Several functions of the PS4 were not yet available to test as of the time of this writing, including video capture and livestreaming video. We will update this review once we can fully access the PlayStation Network from this console.

Design

The PlayStation 4 is one of the sexiest parallelograms we’ve had the pleasure of setting eyes on. We love the modern abstract design of the slanted box. It lends the device some showpiece status without taking away from the rest of your living room’s decor. Weighing 6.1 pounds and measuring 10.8 x 12 x 2.08 inches, it’s more compact than the 7 pound, 13.1 x 10.8 x 3.1-inch Xbox One.

The console is split into four panels: one made of glossy, fingerprint-prone, black plastic on top with the remaining three made with textured black matte plastic. Towards the rear of the top is a small gray PlayStation emblem. Along the front of the device sit the Sony and PS4 logos in the left and right corners, respectively.

MORE: Top 10 PS4 Launch Titles

The two halves are separated by a slim, horizontal LED strip that changes color depending on the status of the device. The light glows blue, for example, when the console is warming up and white when its ready to play.

The power and eject buttons are located on the front of the device, but since they’ve been made to mimic the LED strip, it took us a few seconds to realize that these tiny glossy strips were anything other than decoration. The optical drive slot sits between the two buttons. The slot is a little hard to see, thanks to the all-black motif. The console’s rear is loaded with ports and fan vents to help the components stay cool.

While the PS4’s designers intended for the console to lay horizontally, there is an optional $14 vertical stand available.

Setup and Ports

Setup for the PS4 is quick and painless. Once we hooked up the console to our 40-inch Samsung television via the included HDMI cord, we plugged in the machine and hit the power button. After the console booted, we followed the helpful prompts to set the language, time zone and Internet connection. (You can use the Ethernet port or Wi-Fi thanks to the built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi radio.) From there, we read through the Terms of Service, hit the agree button and were ready to start playing. From start to finish, the whole operation took less than five minutes.

The majority of the PS4 ports reside on the rear of the device. There’s HDMI-out, Ethernet, an Optical port, an Auxilliary port for the PlayStation Camera and a jack for the power plug. A pair of USB 3.0 are on the front of the console. That’s a fair spread of ports, but the Xbox One has even more: Three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI-in, HDMI-out, Gigabit Ethernet, and Digital Out.

DualShock 4 Controller

Sony’s PS3 controllers have undergone a much needed makeover. Measuring 6.2 x 2.04 x 3.85-inches, the DualShock 4 controller is slighter smaller than its predecessor, the DualShock 3 (6.3 x 3.82 x 2.17-inches). However, the DualShock 4 is slightly heavier at 7.4 ounces, compared to 6.7 ounces for the DS3.

Design-wise, the new controller is a lot curvier and streamlined than the previous generation. The shoulder and trigger buttons now sit comfortably along the top of the device instead of awkwardly jutting out on two sets of ridges. The face buttons on the DS4 are slightly larger and are more pronounced than the DS3.

MORE: PS4 Controllers Will Work with Windows -- Does It Matter?

However, the biggest improvement are the dual analog sticks. Instead of the rounded, somewhat textured, but nevertheless slippery knobs of the previous generation, the DS4 sticks have a center depression surrounded by a small bumper. After an hour of using the sticks in a few white-knuckle FPS action on “Killzone,” we never felt like our thumbs were going to slip off of the sticks. Best of all, they were nice and tight, affording us the precision needed to make a beautiful headshot.

Other additions to the DS4 include the clickable touchpad, light bar, speaker and Share and Option buttons. Borrowing from the PlayStation Vita, Sony outfitted the controller with a two-touch capacitive touchpad that can be used in-game with certain titles. In “Killzone: Shadowfall,” a simple flick upward on the touchpad launched our drone.

For additional interactivity, a large light bar is positioned between the bumpers and triggers. Comprised of a trio of LEDs, the bar will change color to keep players apprised of their in-game status. During “Killzone,” a green light meant that our health was good, but flashed orange and yellow when we took on damage. A red light signaled that we died and would have to start over.

The light bar also works in conjunction with the PlayStation Camera, allowing for some motion control action. Sony has beefed up the motion control experience in response to Xbox One’s Kinect2. During “The Playroom” app, our little AR robots realistically rolled from left to right as we rolled the controller from side to side.

The days of gamers needing a long headphone cord are over. The DS4 controller features a stereo jack next to the microUSB port so users can quickly talk to teammates about how to handle the next challenge.

Sony’s ditched the Start and Select buttons of the last-gen controller in favor of the new Option and Share buttons. The Option buttons launches in-game or in-app menus, and the Share button lets gamers take advantage of the PS4’s new screenshot and game capture abilities.

As with the previous generation, the DS4 controller has a built-in battery that recharges via microUSB. According to Sony, the DS4 will get battery life comparable to the DS3, so roughly about 30 hours. Like its predecessor, the Xbox One controller will utilize a pair of AA batteries. However, there’s no word on how much battery life we can expect.

PlayStation Camera

The

$59.99 PlayStation Camera is a much-needed improvement from the old PlayStation Eye. Gone is the squat little camera with the large microphone jammed on top, replaced by a slim rectangle of black glossy plastic that more easily sits atop flat-panel HDTVs. The PS Camera consists of a pair of 720p stereoscopic cameras, which are used for facial recognition and motion control. The device also has four integrated microphones for voice control.

When we ran the “Playroom” demo on the PS4, the camera scanned our face, panning horizontally and vertically. We were also impressed with the way the camera visualized the tiny AR Robot avatars on the screen. As soon as they were released from the controller, we could jostle the bots by moving our hand back and forth. When we waved, they quickly responded with one of their own.

The voice control was very responsive, we simply said PlayStation to begin using voice command. From there we said the name of the app we wanted to launch. For example, saying Internet Browser would launch a web search. We found that our normal speaking voice in a quiet room was enough to launch voice command. The four mics were good enough to pick up commands, however, when several people were speaking.

User Interface

Sony has updated the user interface on the PS4 to something that’s more agile and visually stimulating than its predecessor. Icons are larger with brighter colors, and hovering over one displays its name along with a brief description of what it does.

The homescreen on the PS4 features five tabs by default, including What’s New, Internet Browser, The Playroom, Live From PlayStation and Downloads. New tabs are added as games are installed. The tabs are arranged horizontally and are navigated from left to right.

MORE:What the PS4 Can and Can't Do

What’s New is the new social hub where users can check out their friend’s latest activities. Launching What’s New takes users to a landing page full of your friend’s pictures, trophies and other recent event complete with large images and videos where applicable.

If we hovered over one of our recently played games, a tab called Recent Activites would appear along with a tab for downloads or updates. The whole presentation is very clean and easy to navigate.

In case you need to search for a walkthrough on the web, there’s Internet Browser. The Downloads tab is a history of all the games you’ve purchased or downloaded.

Gamers bored with playing can watch other people game using the Live from PlayStation tab, which features live broadcasts from players worldwide. There’s also The Playroom, an interactive game designed to get users acquainted with the controller and PlayStation Camera.

Pushing up on left analog stick or the direction pad takes users to a smaller set of icons. Those familiar with previous PlayStation consoles will recognize the Settings, Notifications, Profile, Messages, Trophies, Friends and Store markers.

Social and Sharing

What fun is flawlessly dispatching the final boss on the hardest difficulty if there’s no one else to see it? The PS4 is remedying this problem with a heavy push into social. Now, when gamers are pulling off their best moves, they can capture it with a simple press of the Share button on the DualShock 4 controller.

Gamers can record up 15 minutes of game footage and share it on Facebook. You can also share screenshots to Facebook or Twitter. Once the video is captured, users can trim the video to show off the best parts of your exploits. There are a few limitations, however. Unlike video capture with external recording devices, players won’t have the ability to add voiceovers. Users will also be unable to share their video to YouTube at the time of launch.

Thanks to Sony’s partnership with UStream and Twitch, players can share their exploits in real-time, livestreaming their games for the Twitch and UStream community for maximum views.

Players can now view their friends’ latest activities, including games played, movies watched and game footage recorded in the What’s New tab in the interface.

Party Chat

Cue up the party line. Cross-game chat is finally making its debut on PlayStation. That means you can talk to your compadres even if you’re playing “Battlefield 4” and they’re playing “Knack.” The new feature will support up to eight participants chewing the fat on either PS4 or PS Vita.

While PlayStation 3 users have been left out in the cold with this feature, PS4 owners will have the ability to send the PS3 compatriots text messages. In addition to cross-game gossip fests, gamers will also have the ability to send each other 15-second voice messages.

Second Screen Experience

To further enhance your gaming experience, the PS4 offers two second screen experiences.

The first, called Remote Play, uses the PlayStation Vita and was used sparingly on the PS3. When both systems are on the same network, gamers can stream a select number of games from the console to the handheld or vice versa. This is great when you have to relinquish the television but still want to keep playing. Unfortunately, this confines you to your house as you have to be on a local network.

There's also the PlayStation app for Android and iOS, which grants players access to thePlayStation Network via their smartphone or tablet. Using the app, gamers can chat with friends. The app can also be used as a keyboard instead of relying on the main keyboard in the new interface. Players can receive game alerts, such as trophies friends have earned and livestreaming event invites. The best feature of the app by is the ability to purchase games from the PlayStationstore and push them to the PS4 for download.

Entertainment Apps

Although Sony is positioning the PlayStation 4 as a gamer-centric device, the console is more than a one-trick pony. At launch, the PS4 will feature 11 entertainment apps to kill some time until your next race or frag session.

There are a few familiar faces such as Netflix and Hulu Plus. But if that’s not enough streaming goodness, there’s Crackle, Sony’s free TV network full of original content. Also included areAmazon Instant Video, Redbox Instant by Verizon and VUDU, which boasts the world’s largest collection of HD movies and TV shows.

Anime fans should check out CrunchyRoll, which delivers popular shows such “Naruto Shippuden” and “Bleach” and other titles straight out of Japan. There’s also YuppTV, which hosts over 150 Indian television channels with over 600 movies.

Sony hasn’t forgotten the sports fans, adding NBA GameTime and NHL GameCenter Live.

Microsoft’s Xbox One entertainment app lineup features Crackle, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Redbox Instant by Verizon, CW, ESPN on Xbox One, VUDU. There’s also Machinima, MUZU.TV, a music video channel, TED, Twitch, Univison Deportes, Verizon Fios TV and Internet Explorer for Xbox One.

Sony Unlimited

In addition to the entertainment apps, Sony is also offering its Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited Services. Similar to Spotify, Rhapsody or Xbox Music, Sony’s Music Unlimited service lets music lovers stream their favorite music to their consoles. Boasting more than 22 million songs, the collection is pretty exhaustive, even featuring a Bruce Staines’ album.

Our favorite feature, however, is the ability to play our favorite jams in-game instead of a game’s soundtrack. We can’t wait for the opportunity to play cat and mouse with cops in “Need for Speed: Rivals” with Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’ Dirty” blaring in the background.

Music Unlimited is available in two tiers. For $5 a month, users can stream as much music as they want to their consoles. People that want to take their music with them will want the $9.99 plan which enables their collection on mobile devices.

The PlayStation 4 will also come with the Video Unlimited service that will let users rent video for varying prices. Depending on licensing, users can purchase some movies.

PlayStation Plus

PlayStation’s answer to Xbox Live, PlayStation Plus, enhances the PS4 experience, delivering the latest exclusive content to members. PS4 owners can join Plus for a $9 monthly fee or sign up for the year for $49.99. Xbox Live’s Gold memberships, by comparison, are doled out in three tiers: $9.99 for 1 month, $24.99 for 3 months and $59.99 for a year.

There are some serious perks to being a Plus Member. For starters, Plus Members receive discounts when purchasing media in the PlayStation Store. Members will also have up to 1GB of space allocated for game saves in Sony’s Online Game Save Storage cloud. Those who leave their consoles in standby mode will benefit from automatic game patch downloads. Sony is also continuing its Instant Game Collection program, which adds two free games to the member’s collection per month.

In a move that’s sure to upset many fans of mulitplayer, Sony made the decision to make online multiplayer access a feature of Plus. That means that last-gen gamers used to playing games like “BattleField 4” with their friends for free will be forced to pony up some cash for some deathmatch action.

Similar to PlayStation Plus, Xbox Live Gold members can expect two free games a month and access to online multiplayer. Playing into Xbox One’s entertainment focus, Gold members also receive access to the GameDVR feature which lets gamers record their best gaming moments and share them with friends. There’s also the SmartMatch system, which Xbox claims will provide faster smarter matches for online multiplayer games like “Call of Duty” and “Battlefield 4.”

Performance

A lot of fuss has been made over the PS4’s next gen specs: a 1.6-GHz x86-64 AMD "Jaguar" CPU, 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, AMD Radeon GPU and 500GB 5,400-rpm hard drive. Sony claims that its setup is considerably faster than the Xbox One, which features a 1.7-GHz x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” CPU, 8GB of DDR RAM, AMD Radeon GPU and a 500GB hard drive. But what does that mean for the performance? Navigating through the new interface was certainly more agile experience than on the PS3.

Game loads are much faster on the PS4, too, relegating the days of waiting for a 15-minute install to one of those, “back when I was your age” memories. Whether it was “Knack,” “Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag” or “Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition,” we enjoyed quick load times of no more than 45 seconds.

Graphically though, many of the launch titles look like they were made for PS3. Apart from prettier water dynamics in “AC4” and a host of beautiful particle effects on “Knack,” in many cases it didn’t feel like we were playing a next-gen game. “Killzone’s” lush forest scene certainly impressed with realistically flowing rivers and swaying trees. Hopefully as the system matures and more games are made, we’ll get more “Wow” moments.

Games

At launch, 27 titles will be available for the PlayStation 4. Our review unit came with nine launch titles: “Killzone: Shadow Fall,” “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag,” “BattleField 4,” “Knack,” “Just Dance 2014,” “Need for Speed: Rivals,” “Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition” and “Madden NFL 25.” Out of the titles scheduled for launch, three (“Resogun,” “Killzone: Shadow Fall” and “Knack”) are exclusives. Titles such as “Flower,” “Sound Shapes,” “Super Motherload,” “Warframe” and “Blacklight: Retribution” have appeared on PC or PS3.

Compared to the Xbox One, which is launching with 23 games, eight of which are exclusives such as “Forza Motorsport 5” and “Dead Rising 3,” the PS4’s first-party launch lineup looks relatively anemic. Thankfully, Sony has games like “Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeros” and “Driveclub” scheduled to bolster the ranks.

Xbox One vs PlayStation 4

As the smoke has cleared in the race to launch day, many gamers learned that Xbox One andPlayStation 4 were sporting similar specs. This has turned the next-gen console war into a battle of games and services. Targeted at gamers, Sony is making a big deal of its social features, especially the introduction of Party Chat, video capture and livestreaming games. The PS4 does offer entertainment apps, but its clear that the main focus is being a gaming console first, entertainment hub second.

MORE:PS4 vs. Xbox One--Console Comparison

Microsoft has taken the opposite approach, attempting to make its latest console the center of your living room experience. The Xbox One can plug into a cable box, allowing users to access their favorite shows via the console. You can also switch between games, TV and other apps via voice commands. Partnerships with NFL allow users to Skype with their friends on gameday, keep up on their favorite teams stats and manage their fantasy team -- all without ever leaving the Xbox One ecosystem. The Kinect’s camera can also follow you around the room as you Skype with friends.

Yes, the Xbox One can play games, but it’s the entertainment features that will likely sway buyers to pony up $100 more than the PS4.

Verdict

Sony is ready to play and is playing to win. The $399 PlayStation 4 is a gamer’s console focusing on cutting down load times, sharing your best moments with your friends and maybe catching a movie or TV show in your downtime. That being said, with the exception of “Killzone: Shadown Fall” and “Knack,” we’re a little disappointed in the launch title lineup. The third-party games are great, but we’re hoping Sony’s own offering improve in the coming months.

The PS4 revamped interface is more intuitive than the previous incarnation, as is the PlayStationcamera. The DualShock 4 controller is one of the major draws to the system. We can’t wait to see how developers will utilize the touchpad, lightbar and motion controls. The PlayStation Plus service is worth the investment as it adds some useful incentives. However, we don’t agree with the decision to place online multiplayer gaming behind a paywall.

Overall, the PlayStation 4 is the console of choice for those looking for a gamer-centric experience.

Pros
Cons

Stylish, compact design
Exclusive launch title lineup somewhat weak

Improved controller
Online multiplayer behind a paywall

Redesigned user interface easy to use

Faster game installs

Beautiful graphics

CPU: 1.6-GHz AMD Jaguar CPU
RAM: 8GB
Hard Drive Size: 500GB
Hard Drive Speed: 5,400rpm
Hard Drive Type: SATA Hard Drive
Optical Drive: BD-ROM/DVD
Optical Drive Speed: 8X
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon Graphocs
Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1
Ports (excluding USB): Ethernet, HDMI, USB 3.0
USB Ports: 2
Size: 10.8 x 12 x 2.08-inches
Weight: 6.1 pounds
Company Website: www.us.playstation.com/‎

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Xbox One And PS4 Incapable Of Functioning Properly

 

If you lack an internet connection and happen to own a next-gen console, you will quite literally be unable use them the way you would expect. 

In the Xbox One’s case, you will be unable to use it altogether, thanks to a DRM-disabling patch that renders your console unusable without a working internet connection for the update...

Accessing Any Xbox One Dashboard Functions Will Required The Day One Update

Microsoft director of product planning Albert Penello stated: "Functionally, you will be able to do very little without taking the day-one update." When the question arose of what you could do without the update, Penello stated "Nothing. You need the day-one update."

The update will "accommodate the differences between hardware and software manufacturing schedules," and will take up to 20 minutes for the average user to download and install; the update will also add entertainment applications.

Penello stated: “You’re going to need to take this update, It’s not going to be really an optional thing."

The patch is essentially required to negate the DRM  storm that blew up during Microsoft's press conference at E3. Presumably the consoles were too far along in the production process to accommodate Microsoft's u-turn on what many perceived to be anti-consumerist policies.

As we confirmed last week, the PlayStation 4 is also in a similar camp with the somewhat absurd day one update's, requiring a 300MB update that includes some necessary features and functions.

It adds Remote Play and second screen functionality through the PS4 Link app; for PS Vita, iOS, and Android. It also includes the much hyped share function, which enables players to share images and videos through PSN, Facebook, and other similar social networks. As well this the broadcast and spectate functions of Ustream and Twitch are found in the update, alongside the PlayGo Feature which enables players to start playing after downloading a certain portion of game data, though Sony stated not all games will support the feature.

The update also contains facial recognition, and voice commands, a background music player, party voice chat, online multiplayer, and the PS4’s Blu-ray/DVD functionality will not work until the patch is applied.

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Playstation 4 First Shots Of The Internal Design

Have the urge to pick up a Playstation 4 and disassemble it like some sort of grotesque silicon-loving Dr Frankenstein? Well have no fear, for a Sony engineer has assuaged your destructive desires with a teardown that gives you a peek inside its upcoming console.

We’ve waited months for a glimpse at the next-gen consoles tightly packed innards, but finally these pictures show exactly how and what Sony has crammed into this sleek powerhouse…

Yasuhiro Ootori - Purveyor Of All Things Playstation 4

If the sight of silicon chips bring you up in hot flushes then calm yourself, as Yasuhiro Ootori, the director of the mechanical engineering team responsible for the console, presents the first images of a deconstructed PS4.

Check out the video here on Wired for a sneaky look at all of the components that make up the system, including the much-vaunted 8GB of high-speed GDDR5 RAM that should give this fledgling console a significant boost over its predecessor.

From the pictures below you can see they’ve managed to fit a fair bit into a pretty compact device, the only question remaining is how well it handles the heat that it could be pumping out, particularly in comparison with the internal power supply that Microsoft saw fit to include externally for the Xbox One. Neither company wants to see a return of the dreaded yellow or red light of death, so it’s pretty paramount that this device doesn’t turn into a miniature oven.

Most impressive about the design of the product is how nearly every inch of the device has been used in one way or another, slotted together like a $400 game of Tetris.

Have a look at a few more pictures of it below and be sure to let us know what you think of the internal design of the PS4!

 

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Call of Duty: Ghosts Reviews

I’m not going to talk about the dog.

Well, I mean, obviously I am going to talk about the dog. I’m sort of doing it now. But what I mean is that I’m not going to fixate on talking about the dog. Because yes, there’s a dog, and yes, you get to control it thanks to an in-game system that actually tries to explain how you can be playing as a human and then suddenly you’re in remote control of your family pet.

And sometimes it’s played for laughs, and other times it’s used to grasp that low-hanging emotional fruit – because everybody loves dogs. Thing is, the dog’s really not that huge a part of the gameplay, no matter what the marketing guys tell you.

No, what I’m more interested in is how all videogames are drawing together, trapped within the event horizon of the ultimate videogame, a beige paste formed in large part from the Tom Clancy, Star Wars and GTA labels.

Ghost Dog

CoD: Ghosts takes the crazy-mad set piece nonsense of every Bond movie ever, and chucks in the OMG-worthy giant scenery destruction mayhem of Battlefield 4. The sheer variety of multiplayer modes and definable multiplay classes and loadouts is heading down the obsessive road of Paradox’s Wars of the Roses, and the alien-fragging co-op modes build on the proud tradition set out by games such as Left 4 Dead and Payday.

But yeah. Ghost Recon. I mean, there’s an obvious right there in the title, of course, and the feeling  that you’re not quite sure if it’s supposed to be a single-player-focused shooter or mainly MP. But the dog (which I’m not going to talk about) has the same kind of ‘guest star’ status (or gimmick status, depending on how mean you’re feeling) as the War Hound. The main thing has to be the name, though. It’s… well, it’s a little close, you know? It’s not even like they’re separated by much in the way of concept and design. Our heroes venture out from the relative safety of their base into the wilderness, and encounter an elite group of soldiers called the Ghosts. You sort of want one of the heroes to say “Oh yeah, I know you guys, from those Tom Clancy games, right?”, to which they’d have to say “No, we’re totally different. We’re a secret black-ops unit who focus on stealth and camouflage to defend American interests worldwide, and they’re…well…”

Gameplay-wise, you can’t shake the feeling that Infinity Ward just wanted to chuck everything into the pot. However, the ingredients shelf is the same one used by every modern shooter in recent history. So if you’ve seen it in another shooter, there’s bound to be a moment in Ghosts that does it again. It’s all done in a pretty enough way with competent voice acting, all glued together with plenty of wild gunfights that very much look like you’d expect from a game in late 2013, at the gateway between two console generations. There’s an episode set in space, another beneath the sea, and plenty of collapsing buildings and a soupcon of vehicle combat.

Time To Run And Gun, Ghosts

Actually, it all works very well once you get over the fact that the developers have just nicked everyone else’s ideas (or even rehashed their own). The stealth mechanic works much better than it has done in previous games and heavy weapons feel suitably meaty. Co-op missions can be played solo if you’ve a hankering for a little more offline action once you beat the campaign, too. In fact, there’s very little to really complain about. Infinity Ward are pretty good at this stuff.

There was a little worry that the campaign mode was going to feel too short, but it certainly took me longer than the touted four hours to beat, and I enjoyed returning to the OTT action movie vibe you always get with CoD games. The story – which revolves around a federation of South American nations who rise up and challenge the USA’s world dominance in an explosion-happy way – is surprisingly strong, with a decent focus not just on masses of gunfire and hairy men talking about their Lima Zulus, but on family and friendship. Which, admittedly, is something many other games have delivered too, but it’s done well.

So this time we wont crave constant innovation when our annual COD has all the stuff in it to make it pretty darn fun. But if you can't help but peal back the layers in search of it then you will find two new multiplayer modes in Ghosts. These are called Squads and Extinction. Extinction is a kind alien invasion cleansing scenario with some Left 4 Dead style trimmings but instead of zombies we are taking down Aliens.

COD Ghosts Extinction

CoD is often regarded as the worlds go to FPS. Because of that it will continue to walk the same ground that made it the biggest selling FPS, until everyone stops buying it. And that’s really the message here. Yes, it’s this year’s CoD. No, there’s not really anything here that you’ve not seen in other CoD games, let alone anything really innovative.

But there is plenty of it, and it is delivered to a high standard and it is fun to play. And this should really be the yardstick, right? If you think it should be changing and improving in new ways then you know what to do, but for now you will get more of that CoD formula that the world craves so much. Activision have a billion dollars on day one that says they know what they are doing.

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Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass And Gameplay Trailer Unveiled

Forza Motorsport 5 developer Turn10 has revealed the game's Car Pass.

The Car Pass is effectively a season pass, designed to add over 60 new DLC cars to the Xbox One launch title...

Forza Motorsport 5 will be releasing monthly car packs with ten new cars in each pack. Car Pass owners will be able to access all of these for a discounted price.

Each car downloaded will be fully customizable and will come with “a full Forzavista experience”. Players will be able to walk around the car, check out the interiors, start up and rev the engine, and learn all about the model's history and performance statistics.

Fans interested in the new cars on offer in Forza Motorsport 5 can check out the game's virtual showroom, which is updated every Wednesday with new cars that will be playable upon the title's November 22nd launch.

Last week, Turn10 also unveiled a new gameplay trailer showing the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta in action around Belgium's iconic F1 circuit; Spa. You can check it out below.

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Call Of Duty: Ghosts Full Weapon List Revealed

For those of you whose trigger finger is feeling decidedly itchy, calm your frayed nerves, settle down your deathmatch urges, for Call of Duty: Ghosts will be here for all to enjoy in a matter of days.

In the meantime, the full weapons list has been leaked by a Twitter user, giving us our first full glimpse at what we can expect to spend the next thousand hours of our gaming time with…

One Of Many Leaked Weapon Screenshots From The Banned Twitter Account

Being based upon near-future and fictional events gives the team at Infinity Ward a little bit of leeway to tweak what we’ve come to expect from these weapons, so not everything may be exactly as it meets the eye.

Of particular interest to many is the new Marksmen category and class. This is designed for those who enjoying dealing death from afar but prefer a faster fire rate, a solid entry point into what can be a pretty daunting sniping world.

Assault Rifles

SC-2010

SA0-805

AK-12

FAD

Remington R5

MSBS

Honey Badger

ARX-160

LMGs

Ameli

M27-IAR

LSAT

Chain SAW

SMGs

Bizon

CBJ-MSVector CRB

Vepr

K7

MTAR-X

Shotguns

Bulldog

FP6

MTS-255

Tac 12

Sniper Rifles

USR

L1155

Lynx

VKS

Marksman Rifles

IA2

Mk 14 EBR

MR-28

SVU Dragunov

Call of Duty Ghosts is set to launch on November 5th for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U, with next-gen editions launching beside their respective consoles.

Source : game-debate.com

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Huge PS4 Installs Could Spell Doom For Hard Drives

The Playstation 4’s 500GB hard drives are looking more and more like an oversighted waste of money for the core gamer, as huge file sizes have been revealed for Killzone and Call of Duty that could see your systems hard disc space used up in record time.

PS 4 launch title Killzone Shadow Fall is clocking in at a whopping 40GB when it launches next month, but that size is apparently paltry in comparison to what it could have been, according to developer Guerilla Games…

It Still Remains To Be Seen Whether CoD:Ghosts Will Even Look A Truly Next-Gen Title

Last month we brought you the news that Killzone Shadow Fall would clock in at a 50GB digital download, this has been lowered somewhat, the size will now still be a hefty 39.7GB in Europe, using up nearly 10% of the total disc space available to the user in one fell swoop. Thankfully Sony’s PlayGo system that was initially tested for use with The Last of Us will allow the game to be played after an initial 7.5GB download, streaming the rest as and when it’s needed.

Guerrilla's technical director Michiel van der Leeuw said in a press interview; "I think at some point the disc image that we were generating was around 180 gigs. If we would have put all the levels in, which we didn't, because then the disc image generator broke, it would have been around 290 gigs of data.

"So we had to completely re-architect how we deal with data. And we did a lot of work -- this is actually something I'm extremely proud of -- to optimise our disc access pattern. Sony made special libraries for us because we were the first ones hitting these sort of problems. I think it's something that a lot of people will need to be doing in future."

Of course don’t think you’re getting away with it if you’ve opted to go the physical route for your Playstation 4 purchases, as it’s our understanding that all games will need to be fully installed. As with the download route there will be a smaller install first, then the rest of the data will install as you play.

As if this wasn’t bad enough to early adopters, cross-gen title Call of Duty: Ghosts has had its jacket sleeve apparently leaked, indicating that the game will require a minimum of 49GB hard drive space. Them next-gen fish physics certainly seem to be taking their toll on our poor gaming systems...

If next-gen games keep up this rate then the paltry 500GB HDD is only going to be capable of storing ten full retail titles. Expect PS4 hard drives to be bulging at the seams in no time. Well, not that quickly of course, but our reckoning the average UK internet connection will take over seven hours to download these humongous titles, and that's without taking into account the inevitable server stress surrounding launch day fervour.



How well equipped do you think the next-gen consoles are to cope with a digital future?

Do you think the size of downloads will outstrip internet speed or will it become a negligible factor?

Source: game-debate more .

Battlefield 4 beta feedback: what’s changing before launch

Battlefield 4 beta players have done their jobs, according to a list of fixes and tweaks DICE plans to make before launch. Good job, Battlefield 4 beta players! In the blog post, DICE’s Vincent Vukovic thanks the testers and describes how the beta’s “key findings” will be addressed before October 29—several of the bug reports relate specifically to PC optimization.

Chief among the issues are low framerates and stuttering. “Rest assured that we’re using the information we received to optimize the performance for the launch of the game,” writes Vukovic. “We also released three game client updates and a number of game server updates during the Beta to address some of these issues and to gather more information to ensure a smoother launch.”

Also at the top of the list are bugs that cause stalls on the loading screen and unusually high CPU usage for dual, quad, and six-core processors. “This was a true Beta,” writes Vukovic, “And as such all the crash reports that were generated during this period will actually help us make a better game.”

A “true beta,” of course, being a real testing phase and not a demo in a beta’s skin—sounds like DICE senses that some learned cynicism needs to be massaged out. Along with technical fixes, the developer promises gameplay tweaks—largely adjustments to weapon stats such as damage and rate-of-fire—and says it’ll keep scrutinizing and tweaking after release.

The BF4 beta is now over, but only a little under two weeks remains before the release. Can DICE get it running smoothly in just two weeks? Will the word “levolution” stick? Tune in next time for the shocking launch conclusion!

Source: pcgamer.com

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