What is the last video game you played?

[King Mark 3,631]

For once I'm going to give up on an optional boss.

I'd have to grind way too much just to beat Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) in the Kingdom Hearts arena.,And he seems harder than anything in recent games including Dark Souls. It doesn;t help that the Kingdom Hearts controls aren't the most responsive

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'm only really arsed about Killzone, BF4 and The Crew, the latter of which has also been delayed, but that's okay. My backlog is groaning at the waist.

You're getting Battlefield 4 on console?

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah on PS4. Still considering buying a cheap Origin code off eBay for the PC version as well, just to tide me over till the PlayStation hits in my territory (Nov 29).

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Surprising! Thought you were a near PC convert, particularly with games such as Battlefield. But I guess since 30fps is almost entirely dead you'll be on console more often.

I managed to save $20 from my launch day total. Amazon gave me a $10 off promotion for select PS4 games since they changed my Watch Dogs console bundle to just the console. I wanted to apply it to Killzone but since it can only be used during the checkout process, I just chatted up customer service to see if they could apply it directly to my existing order. The guy said no but that he could edit the price. He did that, but i pre-ordered COD again and the promotion was still active on my account so I managed to snag $10 off that game too.

[Red 75]

Picked up Telltale's new The Wolf Among Us. It keeps up the level of excellence they brought with The Walking Dead. Fascinating world and characters with superb writing and art style.

[King Mark 3,631]

I wonder if I'll cave in and buy a PS4 right away.

[Quintus 5,399]

I don't think there's much in its launch lineup for you, is there? Or is it a case of the desire for shiny new graphics being too much to resist ;)It's a bit of a shame that I'm not really arsed or excited about better looking console games, because years ago I would have been REALLY hyped at this point. I've spoiled that this time though after moving over to PC gaming pretty much exclusively this year - so I already know what amazing visuals look like and have even gotten used to it now. I keep seeing the new console games trailers and I'm just like, yeah, looks pretty decent, and that's about it. I could not go with Xbox anymore though because I'm pretty sure that machine's next gen visual capabilities will underwhelm anyone who's played recent stuff on a half decent gaming PC. Even the much vaunted Titanfall (which appears to have great gameplay) looks visually dated before its even come out. The Xbox One is going to struggle to output 60fps at 1080p, which imo is unacceptably pathetic - after a nearly ten year wait for a hardware refresh.

Surprising! Thought you were a near PC convert, particularly with games such as Battlefield. But I guess since 30fps is almost entirely dead you'll be on console more often.

Well I was always gonna get one of the machines either way because I'm a console gamer first and foremost when given the choice. I like sofa and plasma screen gaming (I play BF3 PC on a controller), I love online multiplayer with friends in Party Chat (which is finally coming to PlayStation and about time too) and I know where all the best exclusives typically are. I only ditched the current gen at the end of its cycle because I was bored of devs pushing the hardware for better fidelity at the cost of frames. Notice how games got prettier but jerkier? Then when I saw BF on PC I thought WOW, I gotta have that.Speaking of jerky new games, I was watching my cousin play GTA V online deathmatch on his PS3. Holy shit it looked unplayable. Can't wait for the PC (or PS4) version next year.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I haven't even touched online in GTA V. Single player is smooth as butter. Fantastic game.

I think it's a mistake to be looking just directly at graphical improvements for a next-gen console. If you go back to when PS3 launched, what really made my jaw drop with Resistance: Fall Of Man was not just that it looked better overall, it was the amount of small details that you would slowly uncover while playing, like shooting a window and the glass breaking in pieces. That was a big thing back then. Personally I think the current PS3 graphics are great, but what I'm excited about for PS4 are no loading times, higher frame rates, and more environmental detail. All of which combines to create more immersive gameplay. It's the stuff you don't immediately notice that makes the difference, to me.

You also have to consider that this console is going to be around for at least another 7 years or so. Compare the first PS3s game to the last PS3s games. The difference in quality is monumental. I'm excited for where developers will go throughout the next few years.

[Quintus 5,399]

I know how it works, I understand the considerations. I've been gaming long enough to have seen every single games hardware refresh there has been. I simply expected a greater, more cutting-edge leap this time - as we did with older generations. This time the hardware update feels more like a modest incremental upgrade rather than a truly next-generation evolution - especially compared to affordable gaming pcs which are already more capable than what MS are bringing to the market. It used to be the case that a new console would match or even surpass the latest pc hardware for the first year, but not any more. I'm just a little disappointed up to now, that's all.

But the closed-box nature of these new machines does as you say at have its advantages; which is just a well considering the relatively old tech powering them is supposed to be seeing us gamers through to 20 bleedin' 20.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Sony has some of the best gaming ads out there. This is great:

[King Mark 3,631]

I know how it works, I understand the considerations. I've been gaming long enough to have seen every single games hardware refresh there has been. I simply expected a greater, more cutting-edge leap this time - as we did with older generations. This time the hardware update feels more like a modest incremental upgrade rather than a truly next-generation evolution - especially compared to affordable gaming pcs which are already more capable than what MS are bringing to the market. It used to be the case that a new console would match or even surpass the latest pc hardware for the first year, but not any more. I'm just a little disappointed up to now, that's all.

But the closed-box nature of these new machines does as you say at have its advantages; which is just a well considering the relatively old tech powering them is supposed to be seeing us gamers through to 20 bleedin' 20.

I still don't want to deal with the hassle of a gaming PC.

[Jay 37,373]

Sony has some of the best gaming ads out there. This is great:

I thought it was kinda boring

[Wojo 2,453]

I know how it works, I understand the considerations. I've been gaming long enough to have seen every single games hardware refresh there has been. I simply expected a greater, more cutting-edge leap this time - as we did with older generations. This time the hardware update feels more like a modest incremental upgrade rather than a truly next-generation evolution - especially compared to affordable gaming pcs which are already more capable than what MS are bringing to the market. It used to be the case that a new console would match or even surpass the latest pc hardware for the first year, but not any more. I'm just a little disappointed up to now, that's all.

But the closed-box nature of these new machines does as you say at have its advantages; which is just a well considering the relatively old tech powering them is supposed to be seeing us gamers through to 20 bleedin' 20.

I still don't want to deal with the hassle of a gaming PC.

You mean you don't want to buy a top of the line video card so long it interferes with the SATA cables near your southbridge, so you swap your cables around to put right angle connectors there, but you don't take heed of the cable routings and end up pairing a RAID 1 mirror with a data drive, which overwrites the 1 TB data drive to have 100 GB of Windows XP and 900 GB unallocated space, likely irrecoverable, which also corrupts the boot sectors of both XP on the RAID and 7 on the SSD? Goodbye every FLAC you ever ripped for the last five years, goodbye every CD you ripped in the last three and didn't tag yet, goodbye every piece of software you downloaded in the last two years, and likely goodbye a lot of photos.

I can't really blame you when you paint that picture.

[Quintus 5,399]

I dunno, I just play games on mine.

[Johnnyecks 33]

Anyone hear about this:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/20/retron-5-console-plays-nes-snes-genesis-and-more-for-99

Sounds awesome! I would then just need to hook up my 2600, 3D0, Turbografix, and N64 and I'll have every system I ever had hooked up and ready to use! Been wanting to have all my old systems around, I get awfully nostalgic with video games.

[Wojo 2,453]

If you still have the cartridges handy, that's a neat device, if you fondly remember blowing into them. I stick with emulators, if only for the ability to save games.

[Johnnyecks 33]

I actually have a ton of cartridges still. I don't think I ever got rid of anything. LOL

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I still have all my old systems and games. Something like this doesn't interest me, I would just play it on the console it was meant to be played on.

[Wojo 2,453]

That's well and good, if the console still works. Not everybody's original consoles do, or they don't want to hook multiple old machines to the TV at once, which ties up outlets and space. This device is targeted to those people.

[Quintus 5,399]

My brother loaned me GTA V for the PS3. Wow, utterly unplayable at this point. And I am not being a snob here.

It was an unresponsive jerk-fest which STILL had that SHITE Rockstar sticky aim I hate so much. What is WRONG with them?!

Definitely waiting for the PC/PS4 version instead.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

You mean the auto-aim?

[Quintus 5,399]

I tried all three aiming settings. All of them were sadly as woefully inadequate as I expected them to be. Felt like going back in time.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I never messed around with the settings. I don't play GTA V for deep shooting mechanics.

I saved another $10 from my launch day total. If you pre-order DriveClub right now Amazon sends you a $10 promotional discount off Knack or Killzone because it was delayed. So I just reordered Knack. Only paying $50 for each of my games now!

[Quintus 5,399]

I never messed around with the settings. I don't play GTA V for deep shooting mechanics.

That's just as well, because they don't exist - ironic considering the game is almost entirely about shooting.

Imo a game which predominantly fearures mass gun murder on a city scale should have excellent shooting mechanics. It's criminal that Rockstar keep getting a pass for their one major shortcoming in gameplay design. For me, all that ambition in open-world expansiveness and breath of possibilities goes straight out the window when it plays like shit. Heck, even Just Cause 2 did combat better, and I won't say a thing about the brilliance of movement found in Sleeping Dogs. Look at Batman: see how he elegantly flows through the world on foot and in the air, before seguing into combat effortlessly - notice the responsiveness and reliability of the controls: they're completely invisible. As they were in the modestly praised Sleeping Dogs.

Gameplay > Ambition

With that said, my hope is faster refresh rate will mean much sharper control response times and far less sluggish frustration. It is my understanding that the smooth PC version of GTA IV did much to alleviate the poor on-foot mechanics.

Sorry for the rant btw. It just irks that they keep getting away with it, plus I'm disappointed because I would have liked to play it on my PS3, especially after the fantastic The Last of Us.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I can't remember how the shooting mechanics were in IV so I can't really delve into it. I know reviewers have praised them for changing it. I thought they were pretty crappy straight from the first mission but it doesn't nearly bother me as much that I've gotten used to it.

I loved Sleeping Dogs, but that also featured a heavy dose of melee combat.

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah I loved that Kung Fu shit! It was like Batman's melee only a little less polished but still really well done - especially for an open world game.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It was very well done. I recall reading recently that it made enough for them to move forward on a sequel. I'll be looking forward to that.

"A man who has never had pork bun is never a whoooollle man."

[Quintus 5,399]

Oh I wish I could live your life, just for one day...

[crocodile 8,020]

So anyone got a chance to check out the new Batman game? From the reviews it seems like a step-down after the excellent Arkham Asylum...

I'm not a gamer in any way, but I've played the previous game three or four times, it was so enjoyable to just immerse yourself in the world.

Karol

[Quintus 5,399]

The critics are miserable bores (understandable I suppose given the amount of dreck they have to plough through); the new Batman is brilliant, of what I've played so far. Basically, (as the critics have said) if you love the franchise you'll be happy. I can't even tell it's not Rocksteady to be honest.

I like the cool new dimension added by the nature of it being a prequel - EVERYONE is terrified of Bats, including the good guys. People have only heard rumours about him at this point, he's still a bit of an urban myth. Makes him feel even more badass.

[King Mark 3,631]

I guess this really locks the PS4 for me:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-resolutiongate-the-fallout

[Red 75]

Will the score just be comprised of a guitar and recorder?

[Faleel 5,359]

I think thats a sort of in game "jukebox" system, sort of like the phonograph in Minish Cap.

[King Mark 3,631]

I've finished the Kingdom Hearts gamepack. It's weird how the story went from kiddie Disney-like to extremely convoluted with alternate realities and characters created from memories (not sure I understood all of it).

Ok now I think....Farcry 3

[Red 75]

I've finished the Kingdom Hearts gamepack. It's weird how the story went from kiddie Disney-like to extremely convoluted with alternate realities and characters created from memories (not sure I understood all of it).

Ok now I think....Farcry 3

It has one of the most convoluted, ridiculous stories in all of video games. It's actually sort of impressive in an industry that regularly has narratives of comparable quality like the Metal Gear Solid series. But considering the basic premise of the game perhaps it should be expected.

[Wojo 2,453]

I'll start FarCry 3 sometime next week, if State of Decay doesn't suck me in first.

[King Mark 3,631]

I tried a Demo PS4 with Knack. The game looked very underwhelming for "next gen" (seems like a top-down perspective action game/slasher) but I like the PS4 controller

[Wojo 2,453]

Turns out my video card reward code wasn't good for FarCry 3, or else they had X number of keys to give out and I missed out. Either way, I ended up getting Blood Dragon instead, but I'm in no hurry to play that, because since having to format my SSD and reinstall Windows 7 with minimal programs reinstalled so far...New Vegas works in Windows 7 this time! So I'll be able to start a fresh game and hopefully beat it. I am not upset about starting a new character because I honestly left so much loot scattered around the place, I'd never find it all again.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I've got everything I need for the next-gen except the PS4 console itself.

I managed to snag 4 games for $150 from Amazon, the last of which will arrive tomorrow, and I have my extra DualShock 4. Now we play the waiting game.

[King Mark 3,631]

The graphics are awesome on Far Cry 3 on the xbox360. Makes you wonder why Dead Island had such shit graphics by comparison. It's like some game developers don't even try to use the machines to their full potential

I hope the games on PS4 don't all look like they could be last gen (Knack didn't look great)

[Koray Savas 2,251]

KM where's your logic? Compare Resistance to Uncharted 3. This is just the absolute beginning, where most if these games are just ports from PS3. The best games will be made in 3-4 years.

[Wojo 2,453]

Compare a late current generation game like FarCry 3 to an early game like Oblivion, which looks like ass now. That's the kind of improvement you have to hope for.

[King Mark 3,631]

Far Cry 3 is fairly hard. I'm not great at shooter and I'm dying a lot just trying to explore.

I'm starting to learn the mechanics but crafting better gear is essential at first

[King Mark 3,631]

I was diving for a treasure in Far Cry 3 and got attacked by a shark. Scared the shit out of me

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Irrational took forever with the BioShock DLC. Played a bit of Burial At Sea and it was nice to revisit that world.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Can't fucking wait to get home to my babies. Also found out I don't have to come in until 10am tomorrow. Making sweet love all night!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

PlayStation 4

The PS4 launched this past Friday, and sold an impressive 1 million units in 24 hours. For comparison, the Wii U has only sold 1.75 million to date. It'll be interesting to see how Xbox One fares this Friday, with the $500 price tag and lesser hardware.

Anyway, the console looks great. Sleek, but not overly shiny like the original PS3 was. The disc tray is solid. When ejecting the disc from the PS3 it felt like the disc might fall or wasn't held firmly by the console, while here it is snug without being tight. A weird thing to talk about, probably, but it's something I noticed. Its standby mode is most welcome, allowing controllers to charge overnight or when not using the system itself. The new XMB takes some getting used to, but after spending a weekend with it I'm starting to adjust. I feel like issues of comfortability regarding the DualShock 4 and the menu layouts is really only something to blame on muscle memory. Spending 7 years with the same thing on a regular basis will make anything else feel weird by comparison. The PS Store is a little more refined and loads much faster than the PS3 counterpart. Overall system response time is good. Updates start downloading immediately upon putting the disc in the system, and installs take no time at all. That's a serious issue with this next gen though, the data installs are massive. I've already used up 100GB of my allotted 400, and I only have 4 games.

The Share button is a fail. It supposedly is always recording your last 15 minutes of gameplay, but after trying to post a couple short videos I've learned that it'll record your first 15 minutes and that's pretty much it. Not sure how to work it, but something cool or funny would happen and I'd hit share to go do a quick edit and upload and it'll have the 15 minutes of my loading up the main menu from 2 hours ago. Not sure what's happening there, but for now all it does it take up 1GB of hard drive space at all times.

Not a fan of the DualShock 4's extended handlebars, but everything else is fine. Battery life is less than the 3 but understandable since it functions with more refined rumble features, and doubles as a Move controller. Not to mention the touch pad, which is admittedly pretty cool. It's pretty much a big replacement of the Select button right now, as Killzone is the only game I've played that utilizes it, but it's not overly complicated and feels intuitive. Love the speaker on the controller too. In Killzone, audio logs will play through it instead of from the TV speakers or whatever your set up is. Scared the shit out of me the first time. Resogun uses it to great effect too. It'll blare shooting noises and computerized vocals that really makes you feel like you're playing an old school side scroller on an arcade machine.

Your friends list is tucked away under it's own section for some reason. I shouldn't have to click twice just to see who's online, and worse yet they separated all your offline friends to another section in alphabetical order. Much preferred the "last signed on" order of things on PS3.

I bought 4 games: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Call Of Duty: Ghosts, Killzone: Shadow Fall, and Knack. Resogun and Contrast are two great PSN games that are free right now for PS+ members. Warframe is a free-to-play game available on the PSN as well, but I haven't touched it yet. I find it interesting that the two games I've played the shit out of for the past 5 days are ones that aren't exclusive to the PS4. Black Flag and Ghosts are both excellent. The former is the best in its franchise thus far, and the latter's campaign is the best since COD4, though the multiplayer leaves a lot to be desired. Killzone's campaign is not engaging me at all, so I've put it on the back burner until I've finished my other games.

In terms of graphics, there is no difference as of yet, and in the case of Ghosts, multiplayer looks worse than Black Ops II on PS3. I have yet to play Knack, but it's clearly known that it's not utilizing a lot of graphical capabilities. Right now most of these games were developed for both the previous and current gen, so this doesn't come as a huge surprise. I'll be looking at next year's games with more scrutiny.

[Jay 37,373]

So they have no launch title that really shows off the graphical capabilities of their new system? That's pretty dumb.

Yea, audio coming out of the controller is cool... Nintendo had that 7 years ago with the Wii

[King Mark 3,631]

Well, at least there's nothing drastically wrong with the PS4. Xboxone reviews I've read are a lot worse

[Wojo 2,453]

Yea, audio coming out of the controller is cool... Nintendo had that 7 years ago with the Wii

The Game Boy had it 25 years ago.