Ben-DutkaIt's in the single digits out there but I'm one of those weird people who vastly prefer the cold to heat. 😉
PlayStation 4: The only entertainment device you need?
You know, I really never bought into Sony's constant claims of a new PlayStation console being the only "entertainment hub" you need for your living room.
I mean, the PS2 being a DVD player was indeed a huge deal but we were still missing the TV angle. As time has gone on, though, I'm starting to see more truth to these claims, and the PS4 might end up being a true-blue, all-in-one device that covers all my needs. It plays all my movies and although it isn't backwards compatible, I can still play lots of older games via the PlayStation Network. I still need a PS2 hooked up so I can play my PS2 and PS1 games, but they're saying PlayStation Now will eventually support those titles . I'd still prefer my library, of course, but I also like the look and potential of PlayStation Vue .
As for price, I pay $50/year for Plus (an absolute steal, as far as I'm concerned) and that alone gets me a ton of games, movies, and TV. Toss in Vue, which might allow me to ditch my stupid high cable bill, and PlayStation Now for $20/month , and I think the PS4 could be a very reasonably priced, all-encompassing video entertainment device.
Uncharted 4 can have multiplayer, so long as…
I think we all know how I'm going to finish that sentence.
This past week, developer Naughty Dog confirmed what we could've guessed: The upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief's End will have a multiplayer mode . In point of fact, I've always thought the multiplayer in this franchises has been underrated and under-appreciated. And despite the erroneous belief that I want multiplayer to disappear, or that I think it ruins games somehow, I have zero issue with a multiplayer option in Uncharted . I would only have a problem if it somehow impacted the campaign. If I thought the team put more effort into improving the multiplayer experience, or if I thought they were trying to force multiplayer and connectivity options into the campaign (ala Assassin's Creed Unity ), I'd be annoyed.
A game's focus is what matters. If a game has a multiplayer focus, go nuts. Have a blast. If the focal point is the single-player experience, that's where the focus needs to stay . Other options can – and perhaps should – exist but they should always remain exactly that: Options. When I play Uncharted 4 , I don't want to feel as if I'm missing out on a portion of the game because I don't wish to "connect" with other players in some way.
Personal gaming update
I'm close to finishing off Unity , mostly because I'm tired of dealing with the Companion App and the co-op missions. I'll finish off the story and get all the collectibles and then I'll be done. I've been fiddling around with some new digital games on the PSN, too; Loadout was entertaining for a while but kind of a disappointment. Now I'm playing Super Mega Baseball , which is super mega fun . I'm really surprised at how much fun I'm having with this one and while I think it's a tad overpriced at $20, it's going to come highly recommended in my review.
January is pretty dead in terms of new releases, although I am looking forward to trying out Dying Light . Techland's latest presentation was pretty encouraging.
We just use Netflix for our TV needs. If I've got my Star Trek and MacGyver I'm happy tv wise.
Speaking of fully focused multiplayer games I have to say I really loved Titanfall. There's something about it that I really like. I tried CoD AW and couldn't get into it. I've tried Destiny and it was pretty okay. But Titanfall really got me. I so hope it comes to PS4 some day. It's fine on my PC but it's hard to compete with a soft couch at the end of a day.
I'm sure Uncharted 4 will be great. I look forward to more of it. I'll even try it's multiplayer mode.
PGU: I had to end my Gamefly sub to save money so my Dragon Age had to go back. I put in near twenty hours and it's been a good play. I may return to it again some day.
Other than that I've been playing Ratchet 2, DOA5 U, NG3 RE, and mostly Drive Club.
I was also happy to get my Phong and Gouraud shader working in a OpenGL/GLSL program I've been coding in. If anyone wondered what my stupid looking avatar was about.
Titanfall was a solid game except that it was little more than a demo. I mean, I put it in the same category as Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeros – what was there was *really* solid and a lot of fun. It served to get people excited for the full experience later on.
Except MGSV:GZ knew what it was and was priced accordingly. Titanfall? They had the audacity to charge full price! FULL PRICE! That's just crazy to me. It was one pillar (multiplayer) of the three pillar package (Campaign, MP, and Co-Op) you usually get with most multiplayer focused games. And don't tell me what they had was a campaign, because it wasn't.
Yeah, I got some serious beef with Titanfall. I hope Titanfall 2 is a full game.
I logged 18 hours into Titanfall and had to yank myself away because I felt it becoming too distracting. For me, highly competitive multiplayer based games aren't content driven the same way a single player game like Ground Zeroes is.
And I would like a campaign in a game like Titanfall. THat would be quite nice. But even without a campaign I'd still want Titanfall 2 and would likely get plenty of great and lasting value from it.
Similarly I could say the same thing about Tekken 7 (or Mortal Kombat or DOA or whatever). Sure, Tekken 6 had some brawler style campaign story that spanned many hours with lots of cutscenes (not all that impressive) but regardless, I come to Tekken for the multiplaying aspect. Same goes for something like Titanfall.
EDIT: Btw, on my first post about Destiny I was referring only to the Crucible aspect of it.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 1/11/2015 12:16:01 AM
I hear you. I get into those multiplayers and have really gotten into CoD:AW in a way that I hadn't since CoD:MW2 (and didn't expect to). But Titanfall just seemed barren as far as content for me. A ton of fun, just barren. I was hungry for more – I wanted more to customize, more to unlock. Without it, I lost my motivation to keep playing, no matter how fun.
And fighting games for me are all about the one-on-one competition. Mano-a-Mano. It's about the mind games. Spacing. A ballet of wits and execution. Very different than the multiplayer of Titanfall or CoD.
But I enjoy them both! 🙂
I'm very interested in what Titanfall 2 will bring. I'm hopeful they will add to that solid foundation they built.
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 1/11/2015 12:37:24 AM
rachet 2 still good aye i was playing through it at the end of 2014
I don't need anything else except for rabbit ears to watch sports. Otherwise the PS4 supports all my other needs via hulu, netflx, and amazon prime tv. So yeah its an all in one fix all.
Why is there some sort of concern about how ND is developing their games? First it was the article about TLOU being to action oriented, which is a crazy thought all things considered. And now we are talking about how ND handles the mp? Has this ever been an issue? Not even close. ND is the premier developer over the last 8-10 years. They've produced arguably 4 of the best games ever in that span, two of which are different ip's. A developer with those credentials and yet this is being brought up? Why? Let them work their magic and enjoy it.
PGU: I'm enjoying Shadow of Mordor still. I took a little break to catch back up on The Walking Dead. I purchased it again for PS4 During that unreal sale Sony recently had on PSN. I've caught up to where I left off on PS3 so I see myself finishing at least season 1 before returning to Shadow of Mordor.
I got rid of cable YEARS ago and supplanted it with Netflix, Hulu, and (more recently) Crunchyroll. Turns out to be better content (for me) and cheaper so it's a win-win. The PS4 really has been serving me as my all-in-one entertainment device.
For PS Now, I wish I could do the $15 month to month instead of buying it in bulk to get that rate. The $15 charge feels just right – something I wouldn't even think about adding. But $20? hmmmm….
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 1/11/2015 12:18:27 AM
All of these wonderful advancements to PSN and nobody thought to make our Download Lists somehow sortable or searchable. It's just this horribibel long record of what we've downloaded in lengthy order. I hate it.
Lol no freaking kidding. This is a feature I've wanted since my downloads reached 100. Now it's nearly at 1000. Still no way to organize or search.
Yeah,i know that there are gamers who like mp,but as long that it has no impact on the sp i'm fine with it,sp is for me the hart of the game.
PGU:i'm playing The swapper,and it is a great puzzle game,if you like puzzle games then you should try it!
It would be nice if we could visit an alternate universe where Sony doesn't have any pressure to join the jack of all trades theme. One where ND doesn't put any % of there efforts into a multi player. Here we could see if there really is a difference. Would the games be that much better being the sole center of attention? If not then fine. I don't care much for any thing on TV right now and the multi-player in U2 and U3 was awesome. So many different modes. Each with it's own personalty.
PGU: Life has been kicking me in the teeth lately so gaming has been my number one go to at the end of the day. I've kept it down to two games. Rainbow Moon and Dishonored. I almost gave up on RM but couldn't quite figure out what was wrong with it. It's a true blue turn based indi JPRP. Bright colors and everything.
Dishonored is as good as everyone said it was. It's almost a steam punk version of Deus Ex. And there's nothing wrong with those words being used in that order.
I enjoy owning multiple devices too much to make one my only one. Never been into cable. Netflix provides enough TV. I likely won't sign up for Now but I may give Vue a try depending on the content.
I finished GTA5. Crazy that I actually finished it. I usually get board with open world games but I really dig this one though. I started a new game. I uninstalled the game and reinstalled minus the updates so I could take advantage of the life invader stock glitch. Maxed out my cash for each character as soon as the stock market became available. Haha I didn't make any money my first play until the story was over. Kinda sucked since I couldn't buy anything.
Also picked up Kirby Tripple Deluxe. I wish I had picked it up sooner. It's a charming little platformer. It makes me want to go back and play Epic Yarn and Return to Dreamland. I bought them for my wife but I never got around to playing them.
Last edited by Jawknee on 1/11/2015 6:20:41 AM
I've blatantly crapped all over PSNow. It's still too much money for what is being offered; rentals. This is why Netflix trumped Blockbuster. Pricing that doesn't drain the wallet. Then again, the offerings on Netflix were sodomized by our favorite evil – cable companies, yay!! Now isn't offering anything special, IMO. The price just doesn't seem to make sense.
Here's why I don't get the pricing. You buy a PS4 primarily to do PS4 stuff. Tack on PS+ (the greatest deal ever) for $50/yr. Where does PSNow fit in there? To me, it doesn't take the limelight. So you primarily focus on PS4 games from, both, PS+ and retail purchases. Now you're throwing in PSNow, but how many games will you really play on it within a month? One? I mean actually play. Not just try out and give up on because you don't like it. Streaming = broadband bottleneck. Shareplay is already limited to 720p. It looks alright with two strong connections, but that's not always the case. That won't be the case for PSNow, either. If you need to up your broadband, then it effectively increases the cost of PSNow. I don't understand the logic nor will I subscribe to the service. Probably never will.
PS Vue will be awesome if it's competitive. Knowing our beloved cable companies, it'll take little work to cripple it with their hefty contracts and leverage. This one, though, is one that I HOPE will succeed. Then, I'll only need to cross my fingers for FIOS! Otherwise, it would need to cost $10 to spare me $$$ over Comcast. Because Comcast, those bastards, charge $70/mo for Internet alone.
I'm dreaming of the successful candidate Sony will offer. Dreams will probably be the most of it in the long run.
PGU: Done with DA:I with the clock at 116hrs. Man, that was FUN! The ending left me in limbo. I'll keep it vague, so I'll shut up about it… Perhaps another play though in the coming months.
Just Dance 2015 with the ps camera (present for the gf) reminded me how much I, a rocker, suck at dancing… And how unfit I am after all my injuries and lack of physical activity. Yeah, she loves it. I played along for the giggles. What in the hell am I supposed to do, exactly? Haven't figured that out! Haha
AC:U is proving to offer a different touch, which is very welcoming to the series. Still haven't invested much time into it, but I do enjoy it. Admittedly, the controls are a bit frustrating and confusing. Really hoping that practice will settle some of the frustration and all of the confusion. Very few glitches so far. This week will be the true test!
GTAV has yet to be unwrapped! That'll wait until I can get a better grip of AC.
@Ben Dutka:
What is your total sync percentage in AC: Unity? I just finished the story campaign earlier and I'm 95% on my total sync on the game. I'm still missing some collectibles and the murder mystery missions, and I don't think that I will complete them due to the fact that I still have some backlog games that I need to play.
And by the way, the ending of AC: Unity is rather disappointing for me and I think that you'll be disappointed also once you have finish the last mission on the game.
i'm not all that fused on all the streaming stuff but its one of those things for people its nice to have the option avavlible evenif you won't use it cos its like that old saying which i've heard quite a bit as the family and i have been away on and off to the beach in different places for the last 2 or 3 weeks and is that "its better to have it and not want it than to want it and not have it avalible.
as for everything else here um with unchartered i'd like to try both modes to see what its like.
and on a personal level i've been playing through lego marvels on the vita nearly finished i think and also start going through alpha sapphire on the side when the battery rand out on the vita up to the 3rd gym. and on the console front i tried a bit of watch dogs on the ps4 which was dissapointing which i mentioned awhile ago but on the ps3 still maxing out everything as best i can on rachet 2 just wanted to add that in
happy gaming
Last edited by Rachet_JC_FTW on 1/15/2015 10:37:25 PM