Before I attend the Xbox One midnight launch, I thought I'd share my thoughts of the PS4 with you guys, in case you were curious. I was really hesitant when I got home with my console. There had been all sorts of bad rumors, suggesting that the network would be a broken mess at launch. Thankfully, that wasn't my personal scenario. Setting up the console was very easy, and I got into it almost right away. I had trouble connecting to PSN for the first hour or so, but that was quickly resolved. Multiplayer works great, it's very smooth, and I encountered no lag. My most favorite thing about the console thus far is easily the user interface (named the Dynamic Menu). It's hands-down my most favorite console interface out there. It's faster, cleaner, and simpler than the 360 dashboard, or the PS3's Xross Media Bar.
Suspending games is incredibly easy, and going back to the Dynamic Menu mid-game is very simplified. You don't have to exit your game to go to the PlayStation Store or check friends and messages. You can also run multiple apps at once, such as games and Netflix. I'm shocked that Sony isn't marketing this machine as a multitasking device. Transitioning through menus on the UI is so fast, I couldn't believe it. There is no lag whatsoever, unlike the 360's dashboard and guide menu. Sony even fixed the dreaded PlayStation Store from the PS3. For once, it's blazing fast, and downloading new items is an enjoyable, and user-friendly experience.
Sharing gameplay was also a stand-out feature on the PS4. With a simple press of the Share button, you can broadcast to Twitch, take screenshots, or make a video clip from your last 15 minutes of gameplay. It's all seamless, and takes a matter of seconds. You barely have to dig through menus. Remote-Play on the Vita was also a neat feature, but I don't see myself using it all that often. Remote-Play was easy to set up, had no lag for me, and was supported by every game I played. The Vita preserves the PS4's visuals, but simply scales down the resolution to match the Vita's OLED screen. The frame rate also gets scaled down to 30 fps.
Finally, let's talk about the games. Killzone Shadow Fall was all fine and good, but I was shocked at just how amazing Resogun and Battlefield 4 were (more on that in a second). Shadow Fall is easily the best Killzone game in the series, despite somewhat mixed reviews. Resogun is easily PS4's most addictive game. It's a side-scrolling twin-stick shooter, that you'd have to play for yourself to understand. Battlefield 4 fixed EVERYTHING I disliked about BF3. It's the prettiest game on PS4, has a MUCH better campaign than BF3's, and the multiplayer is very well-polished. Unfortunately Conquest mode is currently not working on the PS4 version of the game. I don't know how it will be on Xbox One, but EA has acknowledged the issue, and is planning on fixing it eventually.
All in all, as you can see, I'm quite satisfied with the console. The Dynamic Menu is perfect, the controller goes toe-to-toe with Xbox One's, the console runs quietly, and the software lineup is great. The launch of the PS4 is as smooth a console launch as Sony could've hoped for, and I'm very surprised at just how different it panned out compared to the PS3's launch.
