Next-Gen Review Thread (PS4 & XB1 Hardware)

Craterloads

Craterloads

Craterloads

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Thought I'd set up a thread including all reviews on the PS4 and XBone (when they are up) to allow for a broader range of viewpoints, rather one dedicated to MS's stooges :D

If you have others, just post and i'll update OP.

PS4

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/14/sony-playstation-4-review/

After a marathon week with the PlayStation 4, we feel confident in saying it will be worth your hard-earned money when it goes on sale tomorrow. For $400, you're getting a speedy, powerful little PC with an extremely friendly user interface -- and it doesn't look like a PC, which is a nice bonus. We may not review game consoles every day, but we know a good one when we see it. This is just the beginning with PlayStation 4, and it's a hell of a start.
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http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/21-reasons-to-buy-playstation-4-20131113

The PlayStation 4 is undeniably an impressive piece of hardware. It's been engineered from the ground-up as a machine built for the modern gamer, and while "future-proofing" is of course a relative term, it feels like a console that will remain plenty capable over the years to come. It's not quite the ultimate living room hub, but the sharing features are smart and intuitive, and a newly invigorated Sony seems committed to listening to its userbase and evolving the experience over time. This fact, combined with the sheer power under the hood, should make for a bountiful next-gen PlayStation.
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http://www.stuff.tv/playstation-4/review

Without a final Xbox One sample it's impossible to know whether the PS4 is the runaway winner of the next-gen console battle as many are proclaiming. But what we do know now is that it's an absolutely cracking console. Delivering on the next-gen promise of 1080p gaming and digital distribution are the core things, but that's backed up by a super-slick UI that feels 'live' and interactive, and delivers the content you want with a degree of snappiness that the previous generation couldn't get close to.
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http://techland.time.com/2013/11/13/...eback-console/

When I reviewed the Wii U last November, I wrote that Nintendo had “a lock on the future of big-idea gaming.” But sometimes big idea gaming isn’t what captures imaginations (or hearts, or wallets). Sometimes refinement’s enough — taking an imperfect idea and perfecting it (or further trying to). That’s what $400 for a PS4 buys you this time around: a system that feels like something that’s been around the block off the block, instead of a feature-incomplete, overpriced collage of half-baked apps and feature hypotheticals. You’re still buying a promise, but for once it feels like a promise made on solid, well-trodden ground.
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http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/di...-playstation-4

We usually conclude our hardware tests with a verdict, but until we've spent more time with the user interface, and tested more of the key features - like Vita Remote Play - we can only offer up some preliminary thoughts.

There's some stand-out technology here for sure. Sony has handed in a high quality, traditionally console-sized box that runs a cutting-edge processor with bags of graphics power and has done so in a well-designed enclosure, that may not be ultra-cool, but dissipates heat well and remains fairly quiet in warm ambient temperatures. However, the first order of business once we have the kit in our offices will be to ratchet up the heating to see if the unit remains as quiet during the summer months. The only doubt we have here comes when the system is pushed to the limit - the extra 20W consumed by the UI in combination with the game sees fan noise increase significantly.
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http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/13/re...on-4-f2c91e51/

The PlayStation 4 appears to deliver on most of these commitments but, like the Wii U last year, the brunt of the console's most highly-lauded features are coming in hot. In fact, nearly every feature other than the ability to play retail games was enabled via a system update only a few hours before this writing.

That makes a detailed, timely review problematic, but we've done our best to delve into the PS4's big ticket features and answer as many questions as we can. Given the circumstances, we'll be updating this review as we dig further into Sony's slanted console.
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http://reviews.cnet.com/ps4/

The good: The PlayStation 4 serves up dazzling graphics, runs on a simplified and logical interface, and boasts a fantastic controller. It's also $100 cheaper than rival Xbox One and has the upper hand on indie and day one digital-only offerings.

The bad: Triple-A titles are lacking at launch, and the PS4 won't come close to matching its predecessor's gaming or software library for months -- or possibly years. PS3 games aren't compatible, though Sony is hinting that its Gaikai game-streaming service will open the door to retro gaming in 2014.

The bottom line: The PlayStation 4's beautiful graphics, blazing interface, and near-perfect controller make it a worthy successor to the PS3, but it would be wise to wait for more titles and features before you buy.
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http://www.techradar.com/reviews/gam...1131803/review

For

Powerful internal specs
Cheaper than the Xbox One
Less used game restrictions
No internet connection required
Controller feels great

Against

PSN subscriptions needed for multiplayer
PlayStation Eye camera sold separately
Still the potential for third-party DRM
No exact release date or launch lineup
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/techn...ticle15393427/

While casual games on smartphones and tablets have captured some of the game industry’s dollars, consoles aren’t going anywhere. They’re still the best way to enjoy immersive, interactive escapism, and the PS4 represents a new high-water mark in delivering that experience.

There will inevitably be hiccups with the PS4’s online functions at launch – it’ll be a minor miracle if Sony manages to avoid major problems – so early-days buyers should be prepared for delays.

For serious gamers, it’s not really a question of “if” they’re going to buy a PS4, but “when.” Despite the massive install base of the current generation, developers are shifting their resources to the newer, more powerful machines. It won’t be long before all of the good games are coming out exclusively on next-generation consoles, with the PS3 and Xbox 360 eventually resigned to the same dustbin filled with Famicoms and Sega Dreamcasts of eras gone by.

And one final note: unless you’re a PlayStation loyalist there are other choices in the console market you might consider. So stay tuned, next week I’ll have a review of the PS4’s main competitor: Microsoft’s Xbox One.
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http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2013/11/13/playstation-4-ps4-console-ui-hardware-review/

With the PS4, not only do games look, perform, and play so much better than on its predecessor due to the new processor and 8GB of RAM, but thanks to the easy-to-use design of the UI, interacting with the PlayStation Network services and features, or with friends socially is simple and seamless—exactly how it should be.
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http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/son...ry?id=20874050


The Playstation 4 is a solid video gaming system, even without any comparison to the Xbox One. There's no one feature that could be called the Playstation 4 selling point, but instead, it's several smaller upgrades, like better graphics and improved controllers, that together create a gaming experience greater than the sum of its individual parts.
Mashable (Part 1 of 2)
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http://mashable.com/2013/11/13/plays...review-part-1/


After seven years of waiting, we have finally experienced next-generation gaming. Sony's PlayStation 4 gives us hope for more powerful, jaw-dropping video games, and leaves a lot to the imagination for the future.
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http://penny-arcade.com/report/artic...-talks-playsta

The PlayStation 4, in contrast, is a simpler system, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s smaller, easy to set up, and doesn’t come with anything you don’t need. It focuses on games and, at least in the initial batch of games, it’s delivering more power. You need to pay for PlayStation Plus to play online, but Sony refused to hide other features behind a pay wall, and you get Resogun and Contrast free on day one with your subscription.

I've been playing games, interviewing developers, and traveling for the past 48 hours, so expect more stories from now until launch covering many of the features and games of the PlayStation 4. If you have questions, please ask in the comments. Sony wanted to focus on games, and by God they've succeeded in that goal. This is a hell of a system.
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Xbox One
 
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I'm happy for all the console reviews to be in one place. Quite surprised the Polygon review isn't in here, too negative for you Crater? ;) :p
 
Second half of the mashable review listed above (but with the actual conclusion that somehow got missed from the above quote, along presumably with the Polygon review ;) )

Mashable

http://mashable.com/2013/11/15/playstation-4-review-part-2/

The Full Package

What do you want your console to do for you? The idea of a strictly gaming machine was proposed at least a decade ago, as consoles added social and entertainment features to meet gamers' demands. But Sony's PlayStation 4 doesn't excel at all its bells and whistles.
Some functions, like sharing, work perfectly, but other entertainment features and web browsing were clunky at best. While the company's messaging may be all about the games, the PS4 still has a weak launch lineup and not many extra features to gloss over that. Many of these complaints can be fixed with firmware updates, and the console's evolution is far from finished. It's just hard to ask early adopters to get excited when some pieces are half-baked, even at a lower price point of $399.
The Good

  • Beautiful new console
  • The best controller Sony has ever made
  • Easy-to-use sharing features will push gaming forward
The Bad

  • Underwhelming first-party launch games
  • Cluttered menus
  • Some entertainment and online features are not worth your time
The Bottom Line

Sony's PlayStation 4 is a great taste of what next-generation gaming means, but some of its rough edges make the whole package hard to swallow.
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msmalls74 said:
Well from most of the reviews its a great bit of hardware but doesn't have as good as games as the PS3 :confused: Being a reviewer must be easy if all you need to do is state the obvious lol.
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Only to be followed a year later with some sort of vague update review saying something like "As we said in our initial review the potential was there for great things in time, we're pleased to say that it's now living up to our prediction and the initial rough spots have been smoothed out and software is now making the most of the hardware's potential". The same review with a few words changed will apply equally to X1 when it comes out, it's not easy being given free stuff and having to go on press trips you know. ;)

Is it just me or do a bunch of the links in the OP not work? :confused:
 
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Ars Technica

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/11/playstation-4-hardware-review-off-to-a-mixed-start/3/

Arstechnica said:
So where does this all leave us? Well, it leaves us at the beginning—a messy beginning for a system that's liable to grow and change a lot over the next few years. The PlayStation 4 has an excellent controller, decently powerful hardware, some intriguing, well-executed new features, and an interface that shows belated acknowledgement of some of Sony's most user-unfriendly past designs. It also has a lot of features that are half-assed, missing, or downright bewildering at this point. Still, overall, it's a good starting point for a system that's meant to last a long time.
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Polygon

http://www.polygon.com/a/ps4-review/conclusion

polygon said:
The PS4 hints at plenty of other possibilities. Local network play via the PS Vita has an enormous amount of potential. The PlayStation App and even the Playstation Camera may provide opportunities for developers to broaden the appeal of the PlayStation 4 beyond the hardcore audience it currently seems so intent on courting. Unlike the PlayStation 3, Sony's latest effort was built to evolve.
But the PlayStation 4's focus on gaming — and only gaming — is undermined by a distinct lack of compelling software. That failing is sure to improve — better games and more of them will appear on the PlayStation 4 — but right now, this is a game console without a game to recommend it. Early adopters of the PS4 this fall are buying potential energy. We're just waiting for a place to spend it.
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