Well... I wasn't going to, but I did

[Mendon]

I had both an Xbox One and PS4 pre-ordered thru Amazon but decided to cancel both of them in August because I just couldn't justify spending money on either new system when I already had so many 360 - PS3 games to play and my Wii U & 3DS were filling most of my gaming time.

 

Fast forward from August to Dec. 6th. A friend of one of my son's is getting into classic video game collecting in a big way and was aware that I have an extensive collection of systems & games. He called me up and told me that he had an extra unopened PS4 that he was about to put on Craig's List but wanted to know if I might be interested in doing some trading. I really wasn't very interested but told him to come over anyway as who knows......

 

To make a long story short..... after a couple hours I ended up trading him a couple of boxed systems & games that I hadn't taken out of their storage boxes in YEARS and now have a PS4.

 

 

I've only played around with the PS4 a little bit and quickly discovered that I have MUCH to learn about the system and controller. To me, it just looks and feels very different than gaming on the PS3.

 

A couple things I've learned in my short use of the system:

 

First thing, I had to read the Quick Start guide just to find the Power button....LOL... man, they hid that and the Eject button very well.

 

The system update went quickly; actually I didn't even know it was updating until a Notification popped up that it was ready to install.

 

Yep, the system has the PS4 wobble but its not really noticeable unless you push firmly on the front left corner.

 

The PS Store is pretty empty of PS4 goodies. I downloaded a couple freebies (very quick downloading, BTW) but haven't had a chance to try them.

 

I have no idea what the touch pad on the controller does... LOL. But I like the feel of the controller; very, very nice.

 

I have no idea what games I will play on it. I bought Killzone and played thru the opening where you are a kid.... looks very nice but not far enough into the game to get a feel for gameplay/story. But looking at the rest of the launch library, there are really no other games out at the moment that interest me.

 

The media bar... I know its not called that on the PS4 but I can't remember what they do call it.... is very, very plain looking. I need to find some good themes or pictures to liven it up.

 

 

Like I said, I have much to learn and explore about the system. So far, I'm pretty impressed with the system but until some games are released for it that I'm interested in, I'm not sure how much use it will get.

 

 

[cimerians]

Whoa you got one sweet! I think it blows away the PS3.

 

Neither have many games to choose from that are really must have's. I think Killzone and maybe Dead Rising on the Xbox are the best games. I have Black Flag but I'm a closet Assassins Creed fan.

 

Resogun is a fantastic game, if you have PSplus it's a free game but if you don't it's totally worth the money IMO. It's an addictive defender clone that's very well done.

 

Another game I haven't played but my some of my friends swear to it despite "critic reviews" is Super Motherload it's a digging type game where you can also co-op.

 

I picked up Flower for free since I had the PS3 version already and you will also get Zen Pinball 2 and all the tables for free if you already have the PS3 version. It's nice some developers are giving away these games if you already own them on your last console but I don't think every developer will be doing it.

 

The PS4 controller is now my favorite controller that exists.

 

I just picked up Skylanders Swap Force for PS4 really cheap this black friday sale. I'll be trying that out soon...still trying to finish up Knack and some other games and I just got Zelda on 3DS. If I got the new Mario game on Wii U I would be playing that too.

 

Too many games! The PS4s and Xbox's can take their time. I have my hands full.

[Mendon]

So what are your thoughts on Knack? Most reviews weren't very favorable, but many player reviews/comments are very positive for the game (sort of like Ryse not getting favorable reviews but a lot of players love the game). I wish there was a downloadable demo for it on the Store.

 

There are some upcoming titles I'm really interested in..... Thief, inFamous, Elder Scrolls Online, Evil Within, The Division, Uncharted 4.... but most are quite a ways off (a lull in game releases right after a system launch isn't unexpected, though).

 

I haven' linked my Vita up with the PS4 yet, but are there any games out now that take advantage of Remote Play?

[+wood_jl]

 

I don't blame you. The PS4 is the first one (by a long shot) that I'd be interested in, and it was the reverse in the previous (360/PS3) generation.

[KrazyKaiju]

I really didn't care for Knack. I played about an hour total and took it back to the Redbox kiosk. It's just a dull platformer with mediocre gameplay. The thing is, graphically there's absolutely no reason it couldn't have been a PS3 title. It feels like Sony knew it'd never sell well so they forced it to be a PS4 launch title to get some sales while there wasn't much else to compete with it.

 

Black Flag is still my favorite so far. Everything I'm really looking forward to won't be out until next summer. I really want to try Watch Dogs.

[cimerians]

So what are your thoughts on Knack? Most reviews weren't very favorable, but many player reviews/comments are very positive for the game (sort of like Ryse not getting favorable reviews but a lot of players love the game). I wish there was a downloadable demo for it on the Store.

 

There are some upcoming titles I'm really interested in..... Thief, inFamous, Elder Scrolls Online, Evil Within, The Division, Uncharted 4.... but most are quite a ways off (a lull in game releases right after a system launch isn't unexpected, though).

 

I haven' linked my Vita up with the PS4 yet, but are there any games out now that take advantage of Remote Play?

 

 

I really didn't care for Knack. I played about an hour total and took it back to the Redbox kiosk. It's just a dull platformer with mediocre gameplay. The thing is, graphically there's absolutely no reason it couldn't have been a PS3 title. It feels like Sony knew it'd never sell well so they forced it to be a PS4 launch title to get some sales while there wasn't much else to compete with it.

 

Black Flag is still my favorite so far. Everything I'm really looking forward to won't be out until next summer. I really want to try Watch Dogs.

 

 

I'm just about done with Knack and have collected almost all the items in the game with the help of the Knack app on Android which my wife is playing and helping me. (Its a match 3 game where you can unlock items in the game faster than by playing it through over and over....and it syncs with your PSN account and Knack automatically)

 

That being said, I have mixed feelings about the game....as I mentioned in the 10 thoughts thread I dont think this is a launch worthy title but its not a bad game. Extremely simple to play and a bit repetitive which means many will find it boring or just tedious. Jump, run and punch are the only buttons along with 3 super moves you can launch if you have enough power.

 

It's basically a platform\beat em up and the thing that kept me playing is finding and unlocking all the items in the game. Thats probably where most people get hooked on. The game is definitely geared towards kids kind of like Skylanders so if you didn't mind the simple gameplay and characters of Skylanders then this is along the same lines although I found the puzzles in Skylanders more engaging. There are very few puzzles in Knack other than moving from one area to the next, beating up bad guys and looking for hidden secrets to collect items. Also the characters are cookie cutter and again geared towards kids.

 

I guess this game will get a cult following of sorts cause I can see the appeal in looking for and collecting all the items in the game.

 

I can't recommend it but it can be relaxing to play and just beat things up. It's not complicated in the least so it can be played between games. I don't know...for 20 bucks or less it may be worth it but as is right now its not. I definitely felt that I spent wayyyy too much on a title that really offers very little.

 

I linked up my Vita finally this past weekend but I dont know what games may use it. I think Knack does but I'm not sure about others.

 

I'm looking forward to:

 

The Order 1886

Elder Scrolls Online

Thief

Infamous

Evil Within

....and any Uncharted game or anything by Naughty Dog.

 

The Division looks really cool and also I'd like to see how Zen Pinball 2 looks when compared to the PS3. I bet not much different but I'd like to see.

[Mendon]

Well, after playing around with the PS4, I've decided its a nice system but I could have waited quite awhile before adding one to my house.

 

For me, there is just nothing available that I care to play on it so the system just sits there. I've got Killzone but I'm not impressed at all with it (guess I've never been a big Killzone fan anyway). Not interested in sports games; not interested in another shooter so CoD & Battlefield are out; Knack doesn't really appeal to me, especially at $60. Not much available at all on the PS Store and nothing that intersts me. My only alternative is to see if I can swap my unopened Wii U version of Black Flag for a PS4 version at Walmart so that I have at least one game to play.

 

I'm sure by June or July there will be several incredible games available for it. But right now, I can't imagine people paying a couple hundred dollars over MSRP to eBay & Craig's List sellers for a system with so little software available for it now or in the next few months (a re-release of Tomb Raider & Rayman doesn't excite me either).

 

Nintendo caught a lot of flak for what many considered a poor launch lineup of Wii U games and not much coming during the first 6 months of its release. I really see nothing different with both Sony's and MS's release of their systems.

 

Again, the PS4 has some nice features and a promise of more, but there is really no reason to own one right now.

[cimerians]

There's no reason to own any new system including the Wii U last year but I'm a sucker for new consoles for the most part and I cave in after a while. I never follow my own advice but I've been telling everyone I know to hold off. It's a huge improvement over the PS3 but it can wait. One reason I jumped on it from day one besides just wanting it....is I'm a PS plus member and I dont want to miss out on the freebies. They usually dont make it back on the free list.

 

Last week was Borderlands 2 and its really cool to have a copy without needing the disc.

[KrazyKaiju]

It's gonna be quite a dry spell until summer. I really wish Watch Dogs had been a launch game. That as well as Dying Light will probably be the biggest system sellers next year.

[Mendon]

There's no reason to own any new system including the Wii U last year but I'm a sucker for new consoles for the most part and I cave in after a while.

 

Speaking only for myself, the Wii U made a lot of sense for me as a launch purchase: there was Super Mario U & Zombie U as brand new releases that I really wanted. There was also Assassin's Creed and Batman since I hadn't played them before but had a high interest in them. And I had a mild interest in Mass Effect 3 which I also hadn't played before. So right out of the box, I had 4 new titles to play and 5 titles if I decided to try ME. Plus, since the Wii U was backwards compatible, I could play all of my backlog Wii games on it. And there was the Miiverse community to take part in. For all those reasons, I've always had a interest to fire the Wii U up and play it.

 

With the PS4, I'm finding it hard to discover a reason to turn it on. I'm not faulting the PS4 hardware, only saying that I could have waited for quite some before buying.... errr, I mean trade for it....... and that I'm glad I didn't pay over MSRP like many people are doing currently on eBay and Craig's List.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Mendon

[Mendon]

A sort of dilemma I face is that I really want to play Walking Dead Season 2, which is out now on the PS3. But since I have a PS4, I'd rather get that version but haven't heard a word if it will be released for either PS4 or Xbox One.

 

Anyone heard anything on this?

[cimerians]

Most publishers will still support the 360\PS3 since thats the biggest install base right now another reason why I only buy most games on PC these days.

 

But here's some Walking Dead news on PS4:

 

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2013/11/01/the-walking-dead-season-2-wont-be-on-ps4xbox-one-at-launch-telltale-will-be-on-the-new-consoles/

 

"With Season 2 of The Walking Dead now officially confirmed and pegged to begin later this year on PS3, PS Vita, and “additional platforms”, Telltale Games Community Lead Laura Perusco answered what the status of a PS4 version is:

We haven’t announced any plans for next gen, but everyone here at Telltale is pretty excited about the possibilities that PlayStation 4 offers!

As for whether the PS3 and PS Vita versions would release on the same day, Laura added, “We’re still working to finalize release dates for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, so look out for more news on that!”

In addition, Telltale Games Founder Dan Connors and Kevin Bruner held a Reddit AMA, with Dan talking about which IP he’d choose if he could:

Coming from LucasArts, we have so many people here that love Star Wars and have worked with the license so that would be a great fit and very cool. In addition we will be working on a few licenses that definitely fall into our dream IP scenario and we can’t wait to announce those.

Kevin touched upon the subject of new IP by saying, “I’ll also say a Telltale Star Wars game would make me VERY happy! We’ve got some IP coming up that pretty much checks all of my personal favorites, which absolutely amazes/honors me.” Better yet, you can expect Telltale to announce their new IP “very soon.”

[cimerians]

 

Speaking only for myself, the Wii U made a lot of sense for me as a launch purchase: there was Super Mario U & Zombie U as brand new releases that I really wanted.

 

Yoshida thinks so too:

 

http://kotaku.com/playstation-exec-owns-two-wii-us-loves-the-new-mario-1486307061?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Twitter&utm_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow

[Mendon]

Sounds like a PS4 version of Walking Dead is quite a few months away, if I'm reading the quote right. What I'm thinking I might do is just go ahead and download the PS3 version, play it, and hope a PS4 version is released on disk with some extra's.

 

Thanks for the info!

[cimerians]

and hope a PS4 version is released on disk with some extra's.