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State of Play: PlayStation 4

We take a look at the fortunes of Sony's new-gen console, and consider whether it's well placed to continue its strong start to life.

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Part re-evaluation, part updated buyer's guide, we take a look at each platform in turn, framing it through the most recent announcements and what they mean for its future, as well as considering what the system offers as of right now and whether it's worth picking up, and giving our own personal recommendations for must-play games.

Now & Tomorrow

PlayStation 4 was unveiled at an exclusive New York event in February of last year and ever since the console has been building momentum, putting tremendous pressure on its competition. The most recent sales figures (from April) puts PlayStation 4 at 7 million sold units worldwide, but at this point we're expecting the press release announcing the 10 million mark has been reached any day (perhaps they're holding off on that for the Gamescom presser). It's difficult to gauge which is the fastest selling console given the staggered launches that used to be the rule, but PS4 is definitely in the top bracket, or perhaps even the fastest selling console of all time.

State of Play: PlayStation 4
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Early on Sony made a wise decision to focus (at least initially) on PS4 as a games platform. Sure the console is a Blu-Ray player, there's Music Unlimited and various other apps, but for the most part PlayStation 4 is simply a very powerful and affordable home console.

In what would appear a Herculean effort, Sony, over the course of the last years of the PS3 era, managed to turn their third-party and indie relations strategy into a real ace in the sleeve. If we look back just five years, there were virtually no independent developers who opted to go first on PSN over XBLA - today the scene is completely reversed. And while it may not be the kind of content that pulls punters in (big explosions, realistic sports, epic adventures tend to do that), it has meant that even with the drought there's always been new quality content hitting PS4 during the launch period.

One negative that Sony have had to deal with is a distinct lack of exclusive triple-A titles. The delay of Driveclub hit the launch hard and with The Order: 1886 pushed to next year, you could certainly make the point that this autumn also lacks a little punch. There is, however, plenty of the horizon. The aforementioned The Order: 1886 is joined by Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture in 2015. Media Molecule and Quantic Dream have yet to reveal their next projects and there's that elephant in the room that is The Last Guardian.

Another cloud on the horizon is the overall poor financials of Sony. While the PlayStation is turning a profit the overall wellbeing of Sony could impact PlayStation 4 down the line. That said, PlayStation 4 looks on track to put Sony back in the position the company once held during the PlayStation 2 era.

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Exclusives

The exclusives for PlayStation 4 are certainly less enticing than those on the Xbox One, at least as far as shipped games go. Obviously there's the remastered version of The Last of Us, which is the best game to have been released on either new-gen platform. However, when you scratch under the surface, there's less to write home about.

Launch title Killzone: Shadow Fall was fairly well received, but the reception for Knack was lukewarm at best. Infamous: Second Son threatened to get pulses racing, but ultimately didn't turn out to be a modern classic. Sony has had to rely heavily on third-party support to flesh out their lineup, at least as far as triple-A titles are concerned.

State of Play: PlayStation 4

Where Sony's latest console shines is in the focus on indie games. The list of available titles is already impressive, and there's more coming down the line. However, few of these are exclusive. They're simply coming to the console first thanks to a mystifying and draconian policy over at Microsoft that has seen indie studios flock to Sony with open arms. Still, Xbox's loss is most certainly PlayStation's gain, and there's plenty of great experiences out there for those who go looking for them.

Indies don't sell consoles though, and it's the big hitters - Driveclub, The Order: 1886 and Little Big Planet 3 - that are going to attract new-gen adopters. But when you look at that list of incoming exclusives, with the exception of perhaps Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, it's hardly brain-melting stuff, and once again Sony will be looking to the third-party publishers to supplement their lineup and bring in the punters.

Apps & Interface

PlayStation 4 offers a sleek interface, that may not be perfectly adapted to playing host to several dozen games. The improved navigation thanks to the PlayStation button is a nice little perk (jump in and out of a game with the press of a button), but we're not sure about the rather crowded activity space and whether anyone actually finds it useful. In many ways it feels as if scale has not been taken into account in all areas - and that's especially true of PS Store, even if there have been improvements to the store since launch.

State of Play: PlayStation 4

The console launched with a bare minimum of apps - Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Vidzone, Twitch. Sky Go and Now TV is joining this summer. Expect the range of apps to grow as the PS4 grows as a platform.

The most interesting app or service moving forward is probably PlayStation Now - the streaming service that will start offering PS3 titles as rentals. While the pricing during the US beta has been on the expensive side, it's going to be interesting to see how Sony roll this out in Europe and what kind of prices they'll settle on.

Peripherals

Forget Kinect and the Wii U GamePad, Sony has got the best console peripheral. It's called the PS Vita, and it's also probably also the most expensive. It's so good that it was on the receiving end of its own State of Play just a few weeks ago, and the whole GR-UK team are fans of the handheld. If you've got a PS4, getting a Vita to keep it company just makes sense - that is, if you've got the shekels spare.

Not only are there increasing amounts of crossbuy games that can be played on the go via the Vita, but there's also the option for remote play, whereby you can stream your game directly from your console to the handheld. The picture scales perfectly to the Vita's screen, and although some of the controls change around and are remapped (for example, to the touchpad at the back), it's a fantastic second screen option to have.

Beyond that it's less exciting. The DualShock 4 is probably the most comfortable controller that Sony has ever made, but the rubber finish on the analog sticks is rubbish, and continued use will see it falling into disrepair at an alarming speed. The battery life is also less than ideal. These shortcomings wouldn't be such a big deal if the controller was affordable, but it's an expensive piece of kit.

State of Play: PlayStation 4

Then there's the PlayStation Camera, which has made little to no impact since it was released. In hindsight, Sony's decision to marginalise the device has proved a canny decision, as Microsoft has since taken similar steps to ditch the Kinect after the lukewarm reception from the gaming public to new-gen cameras.

Then there's PlayStation TV (originally launched as PS Vita TV in Japan). While a Vita at its core, it's capable of streaming PS4 games to a second TV, say in your bedroom. Mighty convenient if you ask us. PlayStation TV should launch before the end of the year.

Finally, there's Project Morpheus. We're not even sure that it's going to be released as yet, but Sony seem intent on bringing VR to their platform, and we're keeping our fingers crossed that they follow through and deliver the product further down the line. It's certainly a tantalising prospect, and if they can deliver a decent product, the gaming landscape might change irrevocably and forever. The efforts by Oculus over on PC will only help Sony's cause here, because if they do bring virtual reality to the console space, there'll be a selection of VR-ready games waiting to make the leap over to PS4.

Recommendations

Call of Duty: Ghosts vs. Battlefield 4

State of Play: PlayStation 4

These two shooters scored the same on Gamereactor, and we're not going to choose between them here either. You know which side of the fence you fall on, and we can only recommend you continue down that path and jump aboard your preferred franchise rather than deviating away, at least while both games are still finding their feet on new-gen. Neither game stands apart or above the other. Call of Duty: Ghosts, as per the norm, is all about arcade thrills and twitch-based action, while Battlefield 4 is the more expansive experience that's therefore less toned than its rival. Both are good games, but perhaps both have shortcomings. Call of Duty feels like it's on the wane and is in dire need of some innovation, while Battlefield 4 shipped full of bugs and glitches. Ghosts is probably the tighter of the two, but there's more emergent possibilities to be found in Battlefield since they've fixed the issues that plagued the game at launch.

TowerFall: Ascension

State of Play: PlayStation 4

If you're after local multiplayer thrills and spills, then TowerFall: Ascension is the best option currently on PlayStation 4. Originally shipped on Ouya, the game has reached the audience it deserves since releasing on PC and PlayStation 4. PS4, however, is the best place to play the game thanks to big screen + controller combo. Four characters run around static platform arenas, firing arrows from their finite collection, grabbing boosts and bonuses, and generally doing their utmost to grind their opponents into the dust. The controls are wonderfully weighted, and there's a ton of nuance in the character movement, so much so that it's fairly straightforward to get to grips with the game and start having fun, but mastering it will take some time. There's single-player shenanigans in there as well, but the major draw here is the stellar multiplayer. If you've got some friends coming over and a few controllers spare, get it downloaded now.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

State of Play: PlayStation 4

If you're after a solid single-player shooter then look no further than Wolfenstein: The New Order, the latest entry in the long-running series that kickstarted the FPS genre was back in the day. There's no multiplayer modes, which is a shame, but perhaps that omission allowed for additional polish in the campaign. And what a campaign it is. There's moments where the experience lulls, but for the most part it's frantic action and explosive gunplay set across the backdrop of a compelling alternate universe. The tone of the whole feels a little inconsistent at times; it's not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination. It is, however, good fun. If you're looking for a single-player outing to while away a few hours, The New Order is certainly worth your consideration.

Killzone: Shadow Fall

State of Play: PlayStation 4

As a launch title it may have been overshadowed by the excellent Resogun, but there's still plenty of positive things you can say about Killzone: Shadow Fall. The campaign is uneven at best, but visually it's a stunning game, and a real advert for the capabilities of the PlayStation 4. Some of the missions frustrate, but there's also some really nice set-pieces in there that linger in the memory long after the controller has been put down. The startling visual language of the single-player game melts into a decent multiplayer offering, with some nicely decorated maps complimented by canny design decisions. All told Killzone isn't the best game on the platform, but it is a solid title. It can also be picked up for a reasonable price if you shop around, and as such it's an easy recommendation to make.

The Last of Us: Remastered

State of Play: PlayStation 4

Arguably the best title on the system right now happens to be an upgrade of the PS3's grand finale, The Last of Us. While you can take issue with generational transfers filling up the console's catalogue rather than titles originating on the platform, it's hard to sniff at a game that's as good as this (and you can speculate whether its appearance on PS4 was planned from day one anyway). The survival horror has - rightly - had numerous column inches dedicated to it since the original release. The brilliantly executed story doesn't come at the sacrifice of great gameplay. The stealth mechanics feel smooth, the combat uncomfortably brutal (never have gaming takedowns twisted the stomach so) and throughout your journey across wasteland America there's a low-level panic that you're continually out of your depth. A must play if you haven't sampled it before.

Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition

State of Play: PlayStation 4

A year on and still we wonder if we should have notched our Tomb Raider score up by one. Though the locations were small, lacking the scope of exploration from pre-reboot titles, they were dense and wonderfully designed. Their interconnectedness also reinforced the illusion of this being one sprawling island that you journeyed across with a younger Lara. We still love the combat and traversal mechanics. Context-based cover felt just right, and enemies exchanged what they lacked in AI smarts with numbers to make you feel constantly in danger. The game looked good on old-gen; it looks spectacular on new-gen. Another generation port that earns its right to be on the platform.

Trials Fusion

State of Play: PlayStation 4

After a generation of being exclusive to Xbox, the time-sink puzzler/racer/platformer Trials Fusion migrates to PS4, losing none of its fiendish design and adapting it to a far-flung future setting that actually adds to the experience. Individual stage leaderboards sit enticingly under each level select menu, and ghost data during races are a cruel monitor of how poorly you're doing against friends. The game's worth your money, but be warned that on downloading it, you may not see the outside world for a few days.

Resogun

State of Play: PlayStation 4

A distinctly digital voice saying "Save the last humans!" may not be a sound you want to wake up to, and as we played Resogun in the wee hours following PlayStation 4's launch, with headphones on, unaware of the sounds coming from the controller, it landed us in some hot waters with our loving significant others. The addictive nature of the game, the exact arcade controls, and the sheer beauty of the voxels are what made this into our most played title at launch across the Gamereactor network. And the new Ship Creator allows you to save humanity while piloting some of sci-fi's greats.

Transistor

State of Play: PlayStation 4

There is something dark and captivating about Super Giant Games' titles. While Transistor continues in the footsteps of Bastion in some ways, it's also treading new ground. The deep combat system had us scratching our heads at first and it wasn't until mid-way through our first play-through that we felt really comfortable. It's definitely a game you need to check out if you're looking for a distilled RPG adventure with lots of replayability.

Child of Light

State of Play: PlayStation 4

Ubisoft's beautiful RPG - Child of Light - is like a fairytale come to life. There's a clever turn-based combat system, some of the most gorgeous backdrops you've ever seen, and a cute little story that may be borderline cliché, but also manages to poke fun at some clichés. It's yet another example of the great work that has come out of the UbiArt Framework initiative that allows art assets to be turned into games more directly than ever.



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