Josh Falcone – General Assignment Reporter
Late last month, Sony and Microsoft reignited the age old console war with the release of their next-gen systems, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and those gamers that take the plunge really cannot go wrong with choosing either system.
First the designs of the two systems could not be more opposite. The PlayStation 4 is a small, sleek, and asymmetrical box. While the actual box is pretty cool looking, the power and eject buttons on the PlayStation 4 are tiny and hard to differentiate.
While the Xbox One is, well, big, like the size of an old VCR. The Xbox One has a more normal range eject and power button setup but the power button is touch sensitive and an errant graze of the button can lead the user to accidentally powering the system down.
Sony and Microsoft’s latest systems both aim to be more than just a gaming console, and the integration of media is prevalent on both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The PlayStation 4 offers users the ability to use apps such as Netflix and Hulu to watch movies and television shows. The PlayStation 4’s media capabilities at this point are very similar to the PlayStation 3.
The Xbox One though, is the media monster it strives to be. Just as the PlayStation 4 and its predecessor the Xbox 360, the Xbox One gives users the ability to watch stuff via Netflix and Hulu, but then it goes even further in the spectrum of media playing. The system can take the user’s cable box’s audio/video signal and give the user the ability to switch between the TV and a game or app without losing their progress in a game and without having to press the TV “input” button. The Xbox One offers a channel guide for your cable lineup in the OneGuide. OneGuide offers an in-depth program guide as well as giving the user the ability to call up their favorite channels with a few taps of the Xbox One controller or their voice.
The Xbox One definitely wins the battle for media integration with the options it currently offers and the fact that for the most part, they work without any hiccups.
Both Sony and Microsoft redesigned their controllers for the next gen. The DualShock 4, the PlayStation’s controller, is nice. The controller’s shape causes your hands to hug the controller better, which for me, means a more comfortable feeling when using it. The DualShock 3, the PlayStation 3’s controller would sometimes cause my hand to cramp with its elongated handles.
The Xbox One controller sticks closer to the Xbox 360 controller, which is great because I loved the 360 controller. There are some minor changes to it though; the triggers have been redesigned with a more forgiving spring action. The thumb sticks have been elongated, which some have found annoying to use, but I enjoy them, they give me the feeling that I have more precision in my control.
Both Sony and Microsoft have improved their controllers and I honestly like both and do not think either really has an edge.
Now to the most important aspect of any console launch, the games. In regards to first party releases, the Xbox One smokes PlayStation 4. Xbox One has “Forza Motorsports 5,” a beautiful looking game that is a car lover’s dream. The highly entertaining “Dead Rising 3,” a massive game that will give you hours and hours of fun. The shallow but nice looking and fun “Ryse: Son of Rome.”
The PlayStation 4 has “Killzone Shadow Fall and “Knack” as their major first party titles. “Killzone” did not wow me as much as I had hoped. It looks pretty, but the gameplay just wasn’t that much fun. “Knack” I played for 10 minutes and honestly I could not wait to eject it from the system. It was boring as all hell.
While the Xbox One wins the first party battle, the PlayStation 4 takes the prize in the game titles that are present on both systems. “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” “Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag,” “Battlefield 4,” and “NBA 2K14” all look better on PlayStation 4.
So if you are looking to upgrade to the “next generation” you really cannot go wrong in choosing either system. If media integration is important to you, go with the Xbox One. If graphics and only graphics are important to you, go with the PlayStation 4. Either way, the future looks bright for the latest generation of consoles.
