PS4 / Xbox One console war

[Cuilan]

After using both the PS4 and Xbox One quite a bit over the past couple of weeks:

PS4's interface is good. Way better than the PS3's, and reminds me quite a bit of the Vita's in terms of speed and function.

Xbox One's interface is neither bad nor good. I've gotten so used to the 360's current interface that the One's takes no effort to use and learn. But at the same time, it doesn't really feel like it's improved much. This might be because I've only had the chance to try the console out at the local MS store, which doesn't have any of them set up with Kinects.

Xbox One controller is overall better than the 360's, the PS3's, and the PS4's. The one exception is the analog sticks, which feel way too loose, and the grips they have around them don't actually feel as comfortable as they looked in photos. MS pretty much stole the Vita's d-pad, and it's really unfortunate that they didn't steal the analog stick design in the process. The controller still has the same design flaw it inherited from the Dualshock: analog sticks with shafts that scrape against the controller casing and wear down over time. The Vita's sticks took care of this by making the shafts smaller, and adding an extra rim at the bottom of the shafts so that the shafts don't hit the casing. It's an even bigger shame that Sony didn't reuse their knowledge they gained from designing the Vita when designing the DS4. Still, the analogs on the DS4 do feel better in terms of movement and shape than the 360's, the PS3's, and One's.

Resogun is pretty good. It's kind of hard to see where the next active human is located (wish there was a mini-map at the bottom of the screen). The multiplier system could use some tweaking. The art style is kind of bland, the graphics are good on a technical level, and only impressive when the screen is full of explosions.

Killzone Shadowfall looks and plays like a prettier/smoother current gen game. The story is interesting, and the art direction looks like it's further following the path of Killzone Mercenary (this is a good thing). Though it seems to be missing some of the more interesting elements of KZ Mercs, like alternate play-styles for every level. I didn't get a chance to play any of the MP unfortunately.

Killer Instinct was more fun than I was expecting. It feels very Capcom-ish, but doesn't seem to offer much to distinguish itself from most of the other good fighters out there, so I don't know if it'll be able to carve out a sizable niche for itself among them. Then again, I'm pretty sure I haven't learned how to play it properly.

Forza 5 is just more Forza at a higher res. I'm not much of a fan of racing sims, so nothing about it really grabbed me. More cars on the track at once is a good improvement I guess.

Crimson Dragon I played quite a bit of. I played through 4 levels and played around with the dragon customization. I completely agree with Destructoid's review, and not so much those who gave it less than a 7/10. It's a lot of fun to play, and I actually like the RPG-ish customization elements. The levels have some really nice art direction (some more than others), and the music is good too. I really don't see the microtransactions affecting anyone who plays these types of games regularly (and by that I mean most of this forum). The only really hard part is getting used to moving the dragon and the reticule separately, but the barrel rolls work very well for avoiding most incoming bullets. The story doesn't seem very interesting, and the menus/interface don't really match the rest of the game, but those are minor complaints. The biggest issue is the framerate, which is ~30. They should have pulled a Killer Instinct and dropped the resolution in favor of framerate. Still, I enjoyed my time with the game enough to buy it via the online marketplace, even though I still don't plan on picking up a One for a while. I hope this does well enough for them to make a direct sequel or a Crimson Dragon Saga. Regarding the latter, I'd be very interested in seeing a full-blown RPG with these kinds of gameplay elements, I think it would work very well (they'll really need to improve the story though).

[Friendly]

The face buttons of Xbone's controller are still convex; as such it fails. The bumpers (L1/R1) aren't good either. How nice that they also screwed up the sticks, and it cost them merely $100,000,000 to develop. Go mismanagement.
As for Crimson Dragon getting a sequel: Fat chance. I fully expect to see a rerun of how MS funded externally develpoped Japanese games on 360.

Forza 5 is just more Forza at a higher res.

Except with much fewer cars and tracks. And while it's a full-priced game, they sell you half of it via DLC, and they based the in-game economy on micro-transactions (=grind or pay).

[Cuilan]

Xbone's face buttons are still convex; as such it fails.

They feel fine to me. Never had any issue with convex face buttons.

The bumpers (L1/R1) aren't good either.

They worked well when I tried them. I think I prefer them over the 360's bumpers and the Dualshock's L1/R1 buttons.

As for Crimson Dragon getting a sequel: Fat chance. I expect to see a repeat of how MS funded externally develpoped games on 360.

We'll see. A direct sequel is probably more likely than a Saga-esque RPG, since the former would be a lot cheaper to make. I'd expect that they'd reuse a lot of assets either way.

[antares]

What? Crimson Dragon is already out and there is no thread where people go crazy about it? It's indeed a sad world we are living in :/

[brentsg]

The face buttons of Xbone's controller are still convex; as such it fails. The bumpers (L1/R1) aren't good either. How nice that they also screwed up the sticks, and it cost them merely $100,000,000 to develop. Go mismanagement.
As for Crimson Dragon getting a sequel: Fat chance. I fully expect to see a rerun of how MS funded externally develpoped Japanese games on 360.

Forza 5 is just more Forza at a higher res.

Except with much fewer cars and tracks. And while it's a full-priced game, they sell you half of it via DLC, and they based the in-game economy on micro-transactions (=grind or pay).

Regarding the controller, it's down to personal preference. I'm sad that the PS4 is the more powerful of the two, as I would rather use the Xbox One controller over the PS4 controller any day.

And regarding Forza 5, I still don't get the outrage. Yeah you can pay for cars if you wish. If you don't want to pay for cars then you simply play the game in the exact same manner as you would, had they not included the pay feature. It's not like this is some massive multiplayer game where your opponents are buying an advantage. It's really a single-player centric game.

[Casey120]

Except with much fewer cars and tracks. And while it's a full-priced game, they sell you half of it via DLC, and they based the in-game economy on micro-transactions (=grind or pay).

Meanwhile at Sony

Gran Turismo 6 microtransaction pricing confirmed

Buy 7.5 million in-game credits for $50.

Full pricing details are listed below.

500,000 credits - $4.99

1,000,000 credits - $9.99

2,500,000 credits - $19.99

7,500,000 credits - $49.99

Pricing details for individual vehicles was not provided. However, a video leaked to YouTube shows that one of the most expensive vehicles--the Jaguar XJ1--will sell for 20 million credits, or more than $130. This information is based on early code of the game, meaning final pricing may change.

[Friendly]

While microtransactions are shite no matter what, the important difference between Forza 5 and GT6 is that the game's economy (earning rate of in-game currency, pricing structure) of GT6 is the same as in GT5, meaning that if you buy "credit packs" via "micro"-transactions, you are basically paying so you don't have to play the game the way you are supposed to. Sounds like cheating for real money.

[Specineff]

My kingdom for a Gameshark.

[ZellSF]

What? Crimson Dragon is already out and there is no thread where people go crazy about it? It's indeed a sad world we are living in :/

It, like a lot of Xbone titles, is heavily microtransaction based.

I might be excited for it when I can buy a budget GOTY edition of it... for PS4.

[Fudoh]

I was extremely excited about Crimson Dragon. Got a XBO just this title. Unfortunately I can't play it. On all other rail shooters I've played so far (from Panzor Dragoon Saturn to Orta on the old XBox to Child of Eden on the 360) you controlled the cross hair with your left thumb, while you were firing with the right front buttons.

In CD you navigate your dragon with your left thumb, control your cross hair with your right thumb while firing with the right trigger. They basically put a FPS control scheme on Crimson Dragon. Not a single review complained about that, but it completely killed the game for me and a bunch of friends. I really would like to be able to control it, but I just can't. I never played a FPS on a console for the same reason. And I'm not even angry about the developer, but I really am about all the reviewers who failed to mention that. Many reviews read like "well, I fondly remember playing Orta or CoE, ....." - remember my ass. If they remembered them this well, it would have been quite obvious that CD completely reversed the controls.

I made it to the level 1 boss of CD, not being able to shoot down even half the popcorn enemies or even vaguely killing the first boss. I sold the XBO a few days later.

[antares]

Thanks for the info Fudoh.
Well, that sounds indeed weird but I would have to experience it myself I guess. I have no problem with twin stick shooters like Geometry Wars so maybe I could get used to it.

Oh, and Child Of Eden was soo good, one of the best games of this last generation

[null1024]

In CD you navigate your dragon with your left thumb, control your cross hair with your right thumb while firing with the right trigger. They basically put a FPS control scheme on Crimson Dragon. Not a single review complained about that, but it completely killed the game for me and a bunch of friends.

I remember one review that slaughtered the game for the controls being like that, but I can't remember from where. Really disappointing, since it could have been really cool...

[system11]

While microtransactions are shite no matter what, the important difference between Forza 5 and GT6 is that the game's economy (earning rate of in-game currency, pricing structure) of GT6 is the same as in GT5, meaning that if you buy "credit packs" via "micro"-transactions, you are basically paying so you don't have to play the game the way you are supposed to. Sounds like cheating for real money.

You mean GT6 is a sucky grind like GT5 was, with Polyphony being forced to backpedal a few months on a patch that stopped people trading high value cars due to the outcry? To be honest I think they all need to take a step back and make all cars usable without upgrades in online unranked races. Too much content in racing games is locked behind a long, long grind and frankly it gets boring really fast.

[system11]

Posted my opinions after a week of being a PS4 owner:
http://blog.system11.org/?p=696

[Fudoh]

I have no problem with twin stick shooters like Geometry Wars so maybe I could get used to it.

me neither, but in a twinstick shooter I just have to use the right analogue stick to point in a direction, not to exactly navigate across the screen to chain/aim at the enemies. I've played Geometry Wars for years. If you want to try the CD control scheme without getting a XBO, try Yar's Revenge on the 360. I think they used the same control on this one.

[Cuilan]

I made it to the level 1 boss of CD, not being able to shoot down even half the popcorn enemies or even vaguely killing the first boss.

I didn't have such issues when I played it (I was playing on Classic difficulty). I was able to clear the first two levels (lava and ice stages) on my first try, and I was even able to take down the bosses (just barely). The hardest part for me was the beacon-collecting portions, and I did get hit a few times because I'd forget to move/roll. The levels after the first two were a lot harder, especially the one in the underground lake with the two giant eels. I had to use a continue in order to make it through the underground lake and forest stages, but I wasn't able to defeat the boss in either level. I did come very close to beating the boss in the forest stage with the help of a wingman. The one option I did change was to disable Kinect functionality since it wasn't connected, so perhaps that altered some aspect of the gameplay. While the separate dragon and reticule movement doesn't seem like that big of an issue to me, I think they really should add an option to control both with the same stick.

Thanks for the info Fudoh.
Well, that sounds indeed weird but I would have to experience it myself I guess. I have no problem with twin stick shooters like Geometry Wars so maybe I could get used to it.

Oh, and Child Of Eden was soo good, one of the best games of this last generation

You should watch these two videos. They show off all the major game mechanics and explain the controls:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZiAdztdIE0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxazvD15BXg

[antares]

Again I don't know if to laugh or cry:

http://www.nottinghampost.com/Warning-s ... story.html

In a nutshell:
Someone auctions off a photo of an XBox One
Despite clearly saying it's only a photo in the description a 19 year old student pays 450£ for it and thinks he will get the actual console
After receiving the picture he reports the auction to ebay customer service
They give him back the money and ban the seller from ebay
The 19 year old says he just wanted to buy the XBox One for his 4 year old son as present


This is also nice, empty PS4 box (without actual PS4) sold for 450€

http://m.ebay.de/itm?itemId=281217397397

Again the description (in german) clearly states that this is for the empty box only.

[Friendly]

There's so many things wrong with this. 19 year old with a 4 year old kid. Chooses Xbone over PS4. Supposedly wants to buy it for a 4 year old (terrible if true). Bids despite reading that a photo is offered for sale.

The guy sounds like mensa material.

[Damocles]

Meh.

That same crap happened with the 360 and PS3 as well. At least then the sellers had the smarts to take the money and run.

[system11]

Pro-tip - this actually fucks up the console into an irrecoverable endless reboot.

[Jonathan Ingram]

LOL
Too bad the Bone hasn`t launched here or I`d try that trick on a demo unit.

[Friendly]

Assassin's Creed IV comparison http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digit ... n-face-off

In addition to this, the PS4 version runs at a steady 30fps while the Xbone version occasionally drops below.

Well, it's not like Xbone-buyers weren't warned long in advance (eg here), they simply chose to ignore the facts.
You get what you pay for. Oh, wait.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

In addition to this, the PS4 version runs at a steady 30fps

Are people actually happy about this nowadays? 30fps is so fucking slow, I'd rather play a game that makes some graphical compromises but runs at a nice 60fps or than one that looks shiny but runs at half the framerate decent games do. Low framerates suck ass. :/

[Skykid]

Well, it's not like Xbone-buyers weren't warned long in advance (eg here), they simply chose to ignore the facts.
You get what you pay for. Oh, wait.

So you're saying we should all just invest in a good PC?

[replayme]

In addition to this, the PS4 version runs at a steady 30fps

Are people actually happy about this nowadays? 30fps is so fucking slow, I'd rather play a game that makes some graphical compromises but runs at a nice 60fps or than one that looks shiny but runs at half the framerate decent games do. Low framerates suck ass. :/

It's why prefer Cod to BF.

Killzone on Vita also gets a few points knocked off as the framerate is off. And I don't even want to talk about the horrendous framerate for Perfect Dark on the N64.

[Friendly]

Well, it's not like Xbone-buyers weren't warned long in advance (eg here), they simply chose to ignore the facts.
You get what you pay for. Oh, wait.

So you're saying we should all just invest in a good PC?

And where am I saying that? And before you ask: No, I'm not saying anyone should buy a sauna, a pool or a helicopter either in this thread. However, I'm pretty clearly saying people should not invest in an Xbone.

[Skykid]

However, I'm pretty clearly saying people should not invest in an Xbone.

No shit.

[Moniker]

Getting a WiiU + NSMBU/LU + 3D World for Xmas. Huzzaah!

[Friendly]

I'll probably get a Wii U sometime next year (there's no way to circumvent the region-lock of Wii U, is there?). PS4 + Wii U seems like an excellent combination for the new generation.

[system11]

http://www.igameresponsibly.com/2013/12 ... -the-past/

Sigh. At this point indies should be encouraged to not release on the Xbone at all.