Ask PSLS: What Do You Think of the PS4 so Far?

With at least 1 million PS4’s in the wild already, and all but 1 PSLS staffer owning a PS4, we thought we’d ask everyone what they thought of the PS4 so far, before doing another similar Ask PSLS in the future, once the system is out in more countries.

Anthony Severino – Dig-Dug (@Sev_Anthony)

I really dig the PS4 itself. I’m loving that UI and the layout of the menu. It’s definitely missing some features, but that’s to be expected at launch. I can’t wait to see when the experience has been more refined.

As for the games, I’m totally underwhelmed. Because these new games are mostly dual-generation – meaning they’re available for both the PS3 and PS4 – I haven’t been wowed graphically by any game aside from Killzone: Shadow Fall. But that game, while blowing me away with its lighting, textures, and visuals, disappointed in gameplay. Overall, I’ve been left unsatisfied. But hey, that’s a new console launch for ya!

I’m getting an Xbox One, but I don’t expect to be any more impressed or disappointed than I am with the PS4’s software. I haven’t spent much time with the Xbox One, so I’m not sure yet who has the better hardware. Not having live-broadcasting on day one will hurt the Xbox One in terms of comparison of features. Good on Sony for making sure that was ready at launch.

Cameron Teague – Minun (@Cameron_PSLS)

So far, the PS4 is everything I had hoped it would be, minus a few issues.

The UI is extremely slick and easy to navigate, trimming off a lot of the fat that was present with the XMB. Switching from app, to game, to XMB is a smooth transition every time, and cross game chat is so, so sweet.

My biggest issue is kind of what I expected it to be, the lack of games. The F2P titles like Warframe and Blacklight are fun in short stretches, but really fails to hook me for too long. I still plan to buy Killzone and Knack when it goes down in price, but outside of that the pickings are a bit slim.

Chandler Wood – Plusle (@FinchStrife)

We’ll speak more to this on Morning Wood this weekend, but so far the PS4 has been great, with a few expected launch pitfalls. Being out for less than a week means that many features are not yet in place, but with plans to add these features, I can see the already great experience improving.There is virtually no loading during navigation, which means that it is much less of a chore to swap out to the menu for messages and trophies while playing a game, which was something I dreaded doing on the PS3.

The PlayStation 4 Camera is currently extremely impressive, but also absolutely unnecessary. The potential is there, but until it is really tapped into to improve the experience, I don’t see myself using it much except to show off when company is here for the holidays. I am enjoying the social features a lot more than I expected to and am eager to see how developers implement asynchronous social multiplayer into games, such as Knack’s social feature for choosing what treasure you want.

As already stated, the limited launch lineup is the only downside, as I can see myself getting bored before the next big title hits (inFamous in March!). Nothing currently out really defines the next-gen experience yet, and I expect it to be a year or so before we really see the power of the hardware tapped into.

Dan Oravasaari – Likeable (@FoolsJoker)

I really do like a number of things about the PS4, its looks, the controller, and the social features. But, I still find the lack of media functionality a giant step back in terms of it being a high-end piece of electronics.

Jason Dunning – Ewe (@Jasonad21)

So far, I’d have to say that I’m disappointed by my PS4. While I’m happy with the much faster and easier to use UI, odd things like not being able to pause a download, having all downloads download at once, the lack of dynamic themes, and more have me eagerly looking forward to future updates to make the experience even better.

Annoyingly bright light bar aside, I will say that the DualShock 4 is one of the most comfortable controllers I’ve ever used. I’m a little skeptical about how important the touch pad will be other than giving a couple more ‘buttons’, but nearly every other aspect of the controller has been vastly improved over the DualShock 3. However, a negative about the DS4 is that it is much more comfortable than using the Vita in Remote Play, so I haven’t found myself wanting to play any PS4 games on Vita for more than a few minutes.

As for the games, it’s definitely an underwhelming lineup for the first few months, though I will be getting Need for Speed: Rivals, Battlefield 4, and Call of Duty: Ghosts for PS4 at some point, which should turn my thoughts around. And Resogun as a free game at launch is brilliant (Platinumed it in a day!), even if it is a little short.

Louis Edwards – Boom (@ftwrthtx)

The PS4 is clearly the opening salvo in the next generation of console wars. While I’m not a fan of the current UI in regards to game management (I miss my PS3 folders), I am a huge fan of Remote Play. I can play a game on my PS4 while my wife watches TV. Media functionality and customizing the look of the UI is on my wish list, but it definitely doesn’t hold the system back from playing awesome games.

Sebastian Moss – Sad Face (@SebMoss)

Uh…

What do you think of the PS4 so far? Let us know in the comments below.

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