14 DAY TRIAL // Sony launched the PlayStation 3 many years ago, and the success of the previous PS2 made the Japanese company a bit more arrogant and confident that its new device would attract even more people to it, despite the growing popularity of rivals Microsoft and Nintendo.
This time around, with the release of the PlayStation 4, Sony has been greatly humbled and decided to give fans exactly what they wanted, at a lower price point and with lots of added benefits that should, hopefully, make the console more appealing than rivals like the Xbox One and, to some extent, the Wii U.
Did Sony achieve something great with the PS4 or is further work needed to make the next-gen console a success? Let's find out.
Hardware
As a company, Sony has always taken great pride in its design, but the original PS3 wasn't exactly the prettiest electronic device out there, to say the least, as it was big and weirdly shaped. Things got much better with the first redesign, the Slim, although the newest Super Slim made some controversial choices when it comes to its disc loading, for example.
The PS4, however, is a thing of beauty, having the traditional black color scheme but switching things up by dividing it into four portions, with three sporting a matter finish, while the fourth has a glossy one. The sloped angle in the front also makes the device rather attractive and quite worthy of a central place in a living room entertainment center, for example. Even in the rear of the device a style is kept, as all the different ports are hidden inside a plastic housing.
As another note of style, the console sports a big LED-powered line that changes hues from blue, at startup, to white, when it's running, or, theoretically at least, red, when the console is overheating. We, however, haven't run into such a scenario, despite running plenty of games for extended periods of time.
Unfortunately, while the PS4 is a compact and stylish machine, the glossy portion is a fingerprint magnet and quite prone to scratches or dust accumulation, so prepare to constantly keep it clean.
The console does get a bit loud but it's actually more quiet than the regular PS3, as we had a chance to compare it to the original console and the Slim revision. Once again, the power brick is inside the actual console, which is quite a feat considering how small it actually is.
The device features two USB slots in the front, perfect for charging controllers, for example. In the back, it has the regular HDMI output port, but also one for wired Ethernet connections, one for the actual power cable, and a special, slightly modified USB port designed for the PS4 Camera peripheral.
Speaking of the PS4 camera, we also had a chance to try out the really compact device and it works pretty well when it comes to facial detection of different users. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a challenge to make it stand in one position, especially since its cable is a bit short and quite rigid.
The main peripheral for the PS4, however, is the new DualShock 4 controller. After keeping the same controller design since the PSone era, Sony finally had the guts to try and innovate, and the result is quite impressive.
The new controller is slightly wider, in order to accommodate the new central touchpad, and its grips are a bit longer. These small tweaks work really well, especially when you couple them with the revised shoulder buttons. The triggers finally manage to keep from slipping and there's a bit more resistance when pressing down on them, so that you know when you're actually using them.
Special props go to the new thumb sticks, which now have ridges on top of them, making it much easier to keep them pointing into one direction without worrying that the thumb will slip, like it always happened with the DualShock 3.
The rumble function is present as standard and works pretty well. The new touchpad is definitely interesting; as of yet, not a lot of games have used it all that much besides asking for an occasional swipe or press.
The Start and Select buttons are replaced by Options and Share. While the first button basically does whatever the Start and Select buttons did on the DualShock 3, the new Share button enables the capture of screenshots or videos, but also the start of a live gameplay broadcasting session.
Another key addition brought by the DualShock 4 is the presence of a built-in speaker which can be used by games to transmit various messages, like in Resogun, for example. You also have a slot for your headphones in the controller. You can use the bundled mono headset with it or use your own wired headphones, as long as they have the standard 3.5mm jack.
Last but not least, differentiating between controllers is now done through a special LED lightbar that can display all sorts of colors. While it's a pretty nifty touch, the DualShock 3's 1 2 3 4 classification was a bit simpler.
Unfortunately, while the DualShock 4 is a great controller in almost all aspects, it fails in one critical one – battery life. While on the DualShock 3 you could game for tens of hours using a single charge, you need to recharge the new controller rather often as, after around 8 hours, its battery was completely dry.
Software
While the interface of Microsoft's Xbox 360 went through several revisions during the console's lifecycle, Sony's PS3 remained steadfast and continued with its XMB (Cross Media Bar). That was a great choice, as the interface was quite simple to navigate and included categories for most of the console's biggest aspects, from gaming, to pictures, video, or online services.
With the PS4, Sony dumped the old XMB for a new interface that, while still featuring some elements from the previous console, has a few new layers.
When you power on the console, after the user select screen, you're taken to the main portion of the interface, displaying a What's New activity stream, showing the latest accomplishments and actions of yourself and your friends. Right next to it, there are the games that are currently installed on the console, and afterwards you can check out other multimedia features, like streaming applications and more.
If you flick the controller's stick up, you're taken to a new portion of the interface that contains the more online-oriented elements, from the actual PlayStation Store, to your friends list, which has been drastically altered, your own profile, your trophies, or your notifications.
This whole interface, while featuring a lot of space between different elements, is quite confusing at first and certainly requires a bit of experience until you can actually master it and do all the things you could do with the PS3's XMB.
While its design may be a bit lackluster, the interface is quite responsive and there are very few loading times. Unfortunately, some errors are still happening even after firmware update 1.52, particularly when it comes to sharing videos or screenshots in quick succession.
The Sharing function, while definitely welcome, is a bit confusing and the lack of any batch functions makes uploading more screenshots online annoying. It's also baffling that a system to put them on a memory stick and then share them via a PC is missing.
Conclusion
The PS4 is a good next-gen home console. It has power, it has features, and it brings plenty of innovation over its predecessor. With that said, it's not perfect, as there are still plenty of things that can be improved, from the interface, to the DualShock 4's battery life or the reliability of the overall system.
