Hardware tour: The next generation is now!

So, I bought a PlayStation 4 and a Xbox One...

...yes, both of them! And I'm enjoying both of them, very much! So, without further to say on my huge shopping spree, let me share my thoughts on the hardware, controllers, operating systems and a couple of games.

Comparing the hardware

PlayStation 4

The hardware inside the PS4 is, as many are aware of by now, a little more powerful than the Xbox One. It has a better CPU and faster memory, to mention a couple of differences. It's impressive then, that the PS4 is the smallest physical size and requires no external power supply! Sony have outdone themselves here and made a great hardware platform at a forgiving price tag.

We all remember too familiar the ridiculous high pricing of the PS3 and the media functionality focus. It's as if Sony have learned from Microsoft's Xbox 360 launch and really aimed directly to the gamers and making the console a pure gaming platform.


The PS4 looks like a Blu-ray player, only rebelling slightly in it's design with an angular front and rear. It's fairly anonymous, much like the Xbox One and I personally like the consoles to be this way. There's a thin light strip along the middle of the console top, that neatly lights up when the console is powered on. At the end of this light strip resides the power and eject buttons on the front panel. Both buttons are touch sensitive, but somewhat on the tiny side.

Xbox One

Microsoft has had a rough start following up their success with the Xbox 360. Despite all the initial scepticism of their "always online policy" and used game policy, they've actually listened to the consumers and turned around on their decision, thus making the Xbox One more like it's predecessor.

Some of the features they'd initially announced weren't all that bad in my opinion, it's not like customers are getting much value for their money reselling used games at stores anyhow and let's face it, the all digital future is coming. PC  gaming has been there for years already through Steam.


The Xbox One hardware is a huge upgrade from the 360, but not as powerful as people maybe had hoped for. The result of this can be seen in multi-platform titles, resulting in lower resolutions than on the PS4. Just like it's rival though, the console is X86, PC architecture, based and making development easier.

The Xbox One has a large physical size and a very box like design, but luckily with an anonymous presence in your TV stand. It looks like a typical cable TV unit. There's a simple circular Xbox logo that lights up on the front, serving as a touch sensitive power button.

Disappointingly, the power supply is an extra unit, although this makes the XB1 the absolute most quiet console. Usually, I can only tell it's on because of the Xbox light on the front, it's dead silent.

Infamously, the Kinect follows along in the box when you purchase the console. It's optional to use, outside of the few games that require it for play. I've only used it for voice commands personally, but I guess children will love some of the Kinect based titles. Bundling it mandatory is a strange decision though.

Conclusion hardware

The PS4 takes the lead here. It's a cheaper and more powerful solution. It's the platform to choose if you are planning on playing all the multi-platform games. If you have strong preferences in exclusive games though, you should check out which console offers your preferred titles in it's library.

For families with small children, wishing for a family orientated experience, then the movie store, the Kinect and the TV recording options and auto-login that the Xbox One offers makes this console the choice for you.

Gaming purists will probably prefer the PS4 platform, it's taken to heart the easiness of just going online and playing with friends that the Xbox 360 so cleverly did last gen. The hardware edge will ensure the best multiplatform ports til end up on the PS4 too.

That said, both are amazing consoles, offering different approaches to the new generation, although i suspect the PS4 has taken the most popular path. I would personally have preferred them both to have even more power under the hood, especially on the CPU side, and could have tolerated them to be priced higher as such.

I'm glad they're both out on the market though, both developers and gamer were getting frustrated of the long 360/PS3 lifespan and the constant degrade in graphics compared to the PC versions of multiplatform games.

Comparing the controllers

PlayStation 4

The PlayStation controller finally gets an overhaul on it's design, something that's been needed for many years now. PS3 simply used the design from way back on the PS1, when the DualShock launched. In every possible way this new PS4 controller is superior to it's predecessor, the DualShock 3. I personally thought the DS3 was a bad controller, and it was miles behind it's competitor, the Xbox 360 controller.

Good:

  • Proper shoulder triggers, though they have shorter travel than even the Xbox 360 ones, it's a nice addition. It was time Sony jumped on the trigger idea Sega made a reality all way back in the Sega Saturn era!
  • Concave thumbstick tops, finally Sony are bending them the right way.
  • Large, ergonomic controller shell, makes for a nice grip for bigger hands and the rougher texture on the back enhances the grip.
  • Dedicated share button for screenshots and videos, finally a console gets the benefits that PC gamers have had for decades!
  • Built-in speaker and gyroscope, making way for originality in game controls.

Bad:

  • D-pad is still in primary position in this day and age, why? Makes my thumbs feel stretched towards the centre of the controller for the sticks. Again, Sega made this switch in 1998, why aren't Sony following?
  • Very short battery lifespan, I seem to be charging them daily. For an evening of play you're using over half the power. You'll need a micro-USB power adapter nearby.

Summary

The PS4 controller is the best controller Sony has made yet and it beats the hell out of the previous DualShock 3. It finally puts itself up there with the Xbox 360/Xbox One controller. I like it's size and shape.

Xbox One

I've felt for years that the Xbox 360 controller has been one of the best controllers made for 3D gaming, and with the new SE versions that fixed the stiff d-pads, it kind of perfected itself. Advancing it's design with something better is a hard task for the Xbox One controller. Does it succeed?

Good:

  • Large and soft-springed triggers, that are formed after the fingers. With haptic vibration inside them!
  • D-pad is now much improved, with a cross shape.
  • Nice shape and size, lends itself a lot to the shape of the 360 controller, but even more refined.
  • Battery pack bulge is removed and makes room for fingers underneath the controller.
  • Excellent battery lifespan, you'll be playing for countless evenings with one set of batteries.

Bad:

  • The thumbsticks feel a loose from the get go, I liked the stiffer 360 ones.
  • Strange icons for the "start" and "select" buttons.

Summary

Feels like an evolution of the Xbox 360 controller, which already was amazing. I absolutely love the new triggers for racing games, Forza Motorsport 5 with haptic feedback is just amazing. Though I could press the triggers more rapidly on the 360 controller.

Conclusion controllers

All things considered, the Xbox One has the edge on the PS4 controller. It's taken a close take on a design perfected one and kept it's quality. It feels like better quality than the PS4 controller too. The layout is just what modern 3D games need.

Comparing the Operating Systems

PlayStation 4

The PS4 OS is fast and responsive. Menus have a simple and stylish design to them, though they're somewhat lacking in content and options. The designers behind them seem to be a little too worried about keeping some the PS3 design and so the whole layout is literally divided in two: top level being a PS3, XMB menu style, replica and the bottom something new, lending itself slightly to the PSN store.

Disappointingly, the PSN store is still not integrated into the OS, it simply boots into a separate application with it's own design.


I like the options for sharing things via the controller and streaming gaming sessions on the PS4. It's easy to learn and do during gameplay. The game chatting functions seem to be largely improved with a dedicated lobby outside of the actual games.

The PS store looks slick in it's design but remains one of the worst organized places I've seen. Orientating yourself to certain categories or finding stuff is a nightmare.

The updates for games are a pain, the game informs you there's an update, yet lets you boot and continue the game. Then the game itself will inform you that it requires the latest update. You have to force the application to stop, wait for the update to download and manually start the game again when the update is completed. Why no automation?

Xbox One

Microsoft have continued their Windows 8 design over from 360 onto the Xbox One. It's in general a console aimed more at multi-tasking than the PS4. Here you can snap in a small window during a gaming session for checking something on the web or start a Skype conversation for instance.

There's a lot to customise on the console itself and I must admit I love the automatic user detection through the Kinect. Simply by recognising your face, the console logs into your profile.

Users familiar with Windows 8 will feel at home instantly. The great functionality only shines through after some direct usage. T
he welcoming screen gives you all the gaming options, the next gives you the movie store, then the game store, then a music store. Each category has a distinct purpose and is categorised clearly.


The Xbox store is great as always with pleasing navigation. Things are separated in clear categories and displayed orderly. It's a far more enjoyable experience than the PS Store and there's no separate store, it's simply integrated in the operating system menus.

Conclusion Operating System

The Xbox One does the better job on an OS level. It simply is a better multi-tasking experience, aimed at making it your own familiar space. It gives the impression that the team behind it have great design and usage ideas behind everything, with a clear goal.

The PS4 gives the impression of a slick experience at first, but feels like an empty shell after some time. The PS4 feels like it's still at a trailing level and trying to find out how it's supposed to look, like they haven't quite made up their mind on one clear design.

Just like the previous consoles (360/PS3), I'm sure we will see updates in the future changing the look of these OS's. For the time being though, Xbox One is the best one.

Some game reviews

A couple of games I haven't got around to trying so many games on each console yet, I'll be reviewing one game on each console this time around. However there aren't that many unique games to choose from at the time being; each console has a small number of exclusives that are only on in this new generation.

Multiplatform games are still available on the previous generation, however they look far better on the new platforms. As such, the most impressive game for me has been Forza Motorsport 5 on the Xbox One, it truly feels like the biggest leap graphically from the previous generation. Kind of a paradox, considering the PS4 is the most powerful of the consoles!


Review

Played on: PlayStation 4
Released: 2013

I know this is a multi-platform game. I have yet to play the main PS4 graphics gun; Killzone: Shadow Fall. However, this version is the best one of the console versions; running at 1080p@60fps compared to Xbox One's 720p@60fps. This huge bump in resolution from the previous consoles, which ran at 600p, makes the picture quality seem razor sharp and clear.

A technical leap, like this, is especially important now the average TV size is growing in everybody's homes. The last generation began with the move from CRTs to flatscreens, mainly being 720p "HD Ready" ones at 26-32 inches in size. Now TV's are popular in the 46-55 inch category with 1080p resolutions.



Apart from the 1080p picture, the increase in particles, shiny surfaces and advancement in lighting is the most noticeable. Call of Duty never looked better before, despite this series being a rather conservative series graphically. The game handles all the small details incredibly well and it's the inside locations that makes this game shine. That being you are playing single or multiplayer; the outdoor and large areas don't do the game so much justice. Inside, however, there's tons of details. Unlike the rather empty look of it's competitor, Battlefield 4, CoD Ghosts truly shines when it wants to give a convincing look of cluttered and worn down building interiors.

Once again the singleplayer is a fairly standard CoD affair; lots of action and hectic "from A to B" layout. I did enjoy that this game focuses more on smaller operations though, with a lot of stealthy missions. The whole post-apocalyptic setting of a defeated USA is really impressive and the variations in locations is great. Some of my favourite moments were; rappelling down a skyscraper at night and the shoot outs in outer space! The storyline itself though, gives no surprises and is not a very strong or convincing one sadly. I appreciate the setting and smaller scale of the fights leading up to a huge battle towards the end though. A tank warfare level is a nice welcome and a nod towards the early days of the series!



Multiplayer is much the same as previous games. The increase in graphical detail actually makes it hard to spot people from just scenery detail! The winning CoD formula, that is the 60fps, once again proves that framerate is really important in fast games that require quick responses. There's a nice set of varied MP maps to engage online warfare in. I love the smaller multiplayer maps in CoD, simply because it doesn't do the large ones in the same scale and quality like the Battlefield series.

As a whole, Ghosts isn't as bad as the impression I got from reviews in general, but it never leaves it's comfort zone to try out daring new ideas. It's a CoD game through and through. The advancements on the new console are definitely apparent and breathe new life into a series that has perhaps been overstaying it's welcome on the previous generation. A safe buy if you enjoy FPS games and online gaming!



Review

Played on: Xbox One
Released: 2013

The Forza Motorsport series enters it's third generation. It's been Microsoft's answer to Sony's Gran Turismo series since the first Xbox. On the Xbox 360 the Forza series really proved itself and I have enjoyed and been far more impressed with it, than what the GT series has had to offer on the PS3. The focus on delivering a very realistic, content-packed and excellent racing franchise to Xbox owners has been an impressive one.

The series even received a street racing spin-off, which was an amazing open-world racing game, Forza Horizon in 2012, read my review of that game here.

So, Forza Motorsport 5 finally arrives to my fingertips and eyes. How is the leap to the brand new Xbox One hardware?



Right from the very first race, which is a test lap showcasing the stunning new Prague track, I was amazed at how incredible FM5 looks. It runs at a super sharp 1080p and rocks a solid 60fps, with so much detail. The textures are amazing and the amount of road side scenery is truly impressive! No wonder they showcased this track and game when promoting the Xbox One!

FM5 is even more realistic than before, much thanks to the advancement in hardware, and is actually more tricky to master when played in simulation compared to FM4. It's a game that takes time to truly master but feels so rewarding when you're driving smoothly and controlling each type of car perfectly. The damage system seems very precise too, breaking down parts if you hit other cars or walls.

With 16 cars on screen, the competitors A.I. is based on real players racing data on Microsoft's cloud servers, the races can become a ballet of manoeuvring safely past and not damaging your own car. These A.I. "driveavatars" are a great idea, though sometimes they seem to drive a little too aggressively for my taste. Not that I don't do so myself, I must admit.

There's a decent amount of a few hundred cars in FM5 and the tracks are completely rebuilt and redesigned for the new generation. I love the detailed textures in them and the sheer amount of buildings along the road side. They really look spectacular. Prague and Bernese Alps are the most graphically impressive ones and offer an incredible flow to the racing line.

The amount of tracks is slightly disappointing though, 14 locations. It makes the large set of leagues to race, a somewhat repetitive affair. You'll find yourself driving the same race circuits over and over. Luckily, they're adding new tracks, free of charge, in up and coming updates. Road America and Long Beach being two examples.



I like how the game has leagues, presented by the Top Gear team, that are categorised with specific types of cars from powerful speed cars to certain time periods in car history. I just would have enjoyed it better with more race circuits to mix up the variation with.

FM5 is one of the most impressive launch titles in years and it's in my case the best looking game on my new consoles. The content of the game should have been larger to make this a true classic. However, the great advancement in physics and the impressive graphical upgrade make this a must-buy for any new Xbox One owners or racing fans!