ps4 impressions from an xbox gamer

i mentioned this in my doa stranding post that i bought a ps4 console recently. very late to the party but hey. i'm an xbox gamer. i got into console gaming with the 360. i love that console and played on it even when the next generation consoles were released. then i decided to get the xbox one instead of the ps4 because a) i already had a bunch of 360 games that were backwards compatible with the xbone. b) didnt like the ps3 or ps2. c) it was cheaper than the ps4. d) i had an active xbox live subscription and friends online on the service. e) i like gamerscore, not trophies

i dont make a lot of money and consoles are expensive, so simply buying a second console is not that simple. anyway, i have been curious about some of the exclusives and i got a good deal on a slim bundle lol. here are some observations about the ps4 'experience' from a long time xbox gamer.

what i liked:
- the controller has a nice premium feel. it feels solid and oozes quality. analog sticks also feel pretty good, i hated to ps3 controller sticks.
- the console is nice and thin with no power brick. probably similar to the xbox one s but i dont know, i still have the phat xbox one with the power brick.
- dashboard graphics, images and font are nice and sharp.
- you can make simple offline profiles. you cant do this on the xbox one, each profile requires a microsoft account. you can play as a guest but nothing is saved.
- game install sizes do seem to be a lot smaller than xbox one. some games dont even require installations in order to play them.

what i didnt like:
- the console is quite noisy, which was a surprise.
- the options button placement/size on the controller is really awkward. with a game like death stranding, you need to use that button a lot and it is small and too close to the touchpad. i have to actually concentrate when i want to press it, where with all other button press it flows nicely.
- controller battery really doesnt last long. even with a dimmed light bar and no sound output, i think the battery only last about 10-12 hours. by comparison, on aa batteries my xbox controller easily lasts 4 time longer. so you have to charge it very frequently which links into my next annoyance...
- the usb controller charge cable supplied is waaaaay to short. why the hell couldnt the have made the charge cable long enough so that i can still game while my controller is charging? now i have to buy a usb extension cable in order to do that or wait for my controller to charge before playing.
- the wireless audio streaming to headphones from the controller sometimes crackles or stutters. xbox one has the same feature but i dont recall ever losing audio or experiencing issues with audio playback like it get with the ps4.
- i do not like the speaker in the controller. i dont want it and it freaks out my dog.
- the dashboard software looks like the psp dashboard that is almost 15 years old. i mean really, it looks so basic and boring and has apparently not changed at all since launch. and i find the notifications really annoying for some reason. even the store looks pretty much the same as the basic slow one from the ps3.
- no backwards compatibility. no streaming through ps now is not good enough.
- power and eject buttons are too small and not clearly labeled.
- the console enclosure is too tight around the usb ports. this makes it impossible for most flash drives to fit, and plugging in the charging cable is very awkward.
- download speeds from the playstation network is pretty slow when compared to xbox one and/or pc.
- the game prices on the south-african playstation store are on average a lot higher than the local xbox store.
- the ps4 does not play well with my hdmi hub. i get no output from my ps4 when being passed through the hub. i dont have this issue with any of my other hdmi devices.
- what is the point of the touchpad on the controller? nothing seems to make use of it besides the button functionality.
- what is the point of the light bar? it doesnt seem to have an actual purpose and can be quite distracting while playing in the dark. also wastes battery power.
- the onscreen keyboard is ass.

all in all i'm a bit underwhelmed with the ps4. people were making it out like the ps4 is soooooo superior to the xbox one. i mean a lot of it is subjective but the xbox one will stay my primary console, even if the ps4 is technically a bit more powerful.

doa stranding

death stranding. a strange game made by some big shot japanese man and his studio. this man was the creative mind behind the metal gear games. as some background, the only metal gear game i've played was a bit of mgs 2 on the ps2. it was ok but i thought the gameplay was boring and one dimensional. many years later when other mgs games were released, they looked interesting so i looked up a story recap of the metal gear series. turns out the story is so complicated and convoluted, i just decided not to bother. the other reason why i wasnt interested enough was the very strange comedy in those games, i remember a video of one mgs game where there is this soldier taking a dump under a barrel in the middle of an active warzone. wat?

fast forward to 2019. because of my lack of interest for the metal gear series, i did not pay much attention to death stranding. however, when the reviews and launch trailer came out, i was really intrigued since it looked like something new, a game that is different than the hordes being released. as mentioned in a previous post of mine, i was even considering buying a ps4 in order to play the game. well i actually did, thanks black friday. truth is that there does seem to be some nice exclusives on ps4 and i got a bundle with a couple of games included, so at least i didnt really get the console for just one game.

anyway, lets cut to the chase... do i like death stranding? if the title didnt give you a clue then here it is, no not really. best way to explain is to describe my experience (so far). i fired up the game and was treated to a game that starts off like a movie, with sound and visuals that are technically brilliant. i'm interested, thrilled and start to play. i sit through some pretty cinematics and the game throws some beautiful scenery at me, followed by some music that sets the tone for the game very nicely. i'm blown away by the magic and polish of it all. finally i'm off to make my first proper delivery. turns out you have to keep your character balanced, manage your center of gravity, since your cargo can make you fall over. i thought 'ok this is cool but kinda annoying' and carried on. i then realized that my shoes have durability and that they wear out. i thought 'ok, why would they make that a thing... kinda annoying' and carried on. i was introduced to the Like/Social system in the game. alright, that seems interesting but i'm not sure i like where this is going. then i get introduced to my bb and the bt's. this was exciting the first time because it is so intense and you don't know what is going on and it gets all crazy and you panic. so i carried on, and on, and on and then after many hours i decided that i was going to retire as a delivery man and not carry on with this boring, social media experimental journey of a game.

but why you may ask? like most of my posts, lets make some lists. first i would like to start with the pros of this game:
- amazing visuals
- amazing sound & camera work
- great story
- interesting new game mechanics and concepts
- highly polished

now onto the cons, which is unfortunately what this is all about:
- you play a glorified delivery man. pretty much all you do are fetch and deliver missions.
- everything is overly complicated. your shoes wear out, you craft items and structures but in different ways. sometimes you can do things, sometimes you cant. many buttons are contextual and it gets confusing. i consider myself a fairly intelligent gamer, hardly ever struggle in games. but there is one mission where i was introduced on how to build a bridge. it took me 20min to figure out that what i had to do was to complete someone else's bridge using materials that i apparently have on me (sometimes) through this confusing interface instead of trying to build my own bridge like you would normally do. your cargo gets damaged by impacts, rain & snow but you can repair it using repair spray... wtf? you can pee for no reason whatsoever. and it took me hours to figure out that i can actually quickly unequip stuff by tapping the corresponding button on the dpad. the game never tells you this or maybe i just missed because it got lost among the other hundreds of text messages, emails, prompts and dialog lines that pop up constantly. you have to manage where on your body you put different pieces of cargo. you can wear sunglasses but they dont seem to do anything. you have to manage your stamina and rest every now and then, some equipment uses batteries and have to be charged or stored. vehicles have durability but there is no number or gauge to see what the level of wear is. sometimes you cannot build a structure because there is no network coverage even though you brought all the stations in the surrounding areas online. there is this whole email system that seems to be a complete waste of time. etc etc.
- your bb is annoying af. every time you fall over, it gets submerged or make a mistake your bb (baby strapped to your chest that helps you see the bt ghosts) gets stressed and starts crying. this is already fking annoying and the crying sound comes FROM YOUR CONTROLLER. who the hell thought that was a good idea? but now you have to stop whatever you are doing and sooth the baby by rocking you controller back and forth. is this a parenting simulator? and no, i do not find a half developed fetus in a jar cute in any way. it is creepy as hell.
- too many weird visuals and suggestive things. for example, when you die and resurrect yourself. the camera proceeds to enter norman reedus' mouth, goes down his throat, shows a baby in his stomach (which sometimes has his naked butt to you), gives you a thumbs up and the camera then goes through the baby's mouth. why? maybe it is just me, but this imagery churns my stomach and i hate it. another character eats bugs the whole time (and so do you). another character gets into the shower with you and gets way too close. you create various grenades from your poo, pee and shower water. your blood has special properties and your employer harvests it from you while you sleep for other people to use in r&d weapons. the list just goes on and on.
- too many mini cinematics. here i'm not talking about the cinematics that progress the story, i'm talking about all the mini cinematics during gameplay. when it starts to rain heavily, stop everything and show mini cutscene. when you enter a bt area, stop everything and show mini cutscene. make a delivery, show hologram cutscene where people just wont shut up. enter private room, show 2 mini cutscenes. take a shower, show 3-4 mini cutscenes. exit private room, show 2 mini cutscenes and a full cutscene. after a while it becomes so frustrating to have to skip these things constantly and some of them you cant. if i have to watch the cutscene with norman connecting a place to the chiral network again, i'm going to scream.
- bt area encounters. in the beginning of the game these encounters are really annoying because you try to sneak through this field of enemies you can't really see. or you try to drive through the area with a vehicle in a hurry, just to have a bt appear right in front of you and halt you in your tracks. later in the game you start to realize that the most efficient and fastest way to get through a bt area is to simply stand still, let them drag you down, bt monster spawns, you just run to the edge of the area where the floaty bits are and then everything disappears and the area is free of bt's for the foreseeable future. or just let the monster eat you, you die, resurrect yourself and carry on.
- hipster music. the first time a song popped up as i was travelling on foot i was like 'hey that is kinda cool, we get some mood music while we traverse'. you soon realize that all of these moments in the game use songs from the same hipster artist and they all sound exactly the same to me. later in the game, these music bits do not even remotely convey the mood that the character would likely have and actually breaks immersion. and there is no option to turn this music off! ugh...
- it feels like you are the only person in the world doing anything. you are the one delivering all the packages, doing all the work, convincing people and just getting orders from people that are sitting comfy in their offices back in the capital. and the people you bring stuff to, cant even be bothered to come and greet you, just talk to you via hologram. you get treated like an annoying postman and just receive a little pat on the back from the company every now and then saying 'good job little buddy, no do it again over there'.
- the world is lifeless. the whole game world basically looks like iceland with a few minimalist corporate buildings here and there. there are no animals, you hardly ever encounter other actual human beings (and when you do they don't speak), no birds, no insects (beside the health bugs).
- the social aspect (multiplayer) sucks. i get the feeling that this was supposed to be this game's big unique draw. it is the thing that most reviewers seem to praise. the game has this theme of connecting people, working together for a better tomorrow etc. it is there, it works, i get it. i just hate it. i don't like social media. i don't get the point of twitter. putting yourself out there, desperate to get likes and retweets. seeking other peoples approval and measuring your own life, successes and failures against others on the internet. it disgusts and bores me. death stranding's world currency is Likes. you deliver packages, you get likes. you put up signs or build structures and hope that other players on your server give you a bunch of likes. characters in the game give you a thumbs up and some like in cringy fashion during cutscenes. you come across a timefall shelter or other structure in the world and you see they go 1500 like from other players. wooohooo how trendy and pathetic can we get. it feels like i picked up the facebook edition of the game by accident and should have gotten the regular one instead. after a while i just couldnt stand it anymore and carried on playing offline. yeah i know it would help to find a bike, paved road, safe house or generator left there by other players that you could benefit from but in all honestly it just makes me feel bad. cant help but feel that these other players have all these resources and stuff that they can just give stuff away and build cool things but i cant and have to leech off others to get anywhere.
- prepping and planning for journeys are a waste of time. the game does its best to try and convince you to prepare for your journeys, plot routes, take equipment to traverse difficult areas, build structures out in the wild. it is all a waste of time and in most cases will make your journey more difficult. you see, everything you take with you has weight that you have to carry. so if you carry some ladders, pcc's, anchors, weapons and materials with you to "help" yourself, you make running harder and slower and you are more likely to fall over, damage your cargo or even lose it in a river. you dont need any of it. just grab an extra set of boots and maybe a blood bag. i already explained how you wont need to fight the bt's and during boss fights, they literally just give you everything you need in the battle area. there is always an easy way to get up or down a path without ladders of anchors. if you use long range trikes you are unlikely to need a generator between stops, just rest in a private room. you dont need to build bridges across rivers/streams, there is always a shallow crossing nearby. and you dont need to plot routes, you can pretty much just bee-line to the marker on your compass.
- vehicles vs on foot. another annoying thing about the game is that the route to some destinations are fine for vehicles and others really, really arent. but you never know ahead of time. so what ends up happening is that sometimes you decide i'm going to take a vehicle for the delivery and the terrain ends up being so rocky that you have to either leave your vehicle behind (losing values resources you spent on making it), take it back to your garage and return on foot taking a lot time or you tough it out, bumping/scraping/smashing your way up the path over the rocks with your vehicle. this of course ends up taking soooo much longer than if you were just on foot and you will probably end up wrecking the vehicle anyway. not fun at all. of course it also happens that sometimes you are convinced a vehicle is not good for a particular route and then about midway realizing that a vehicle would have been a much better option, so you just hate yourself for not bringing one.
- the game frequently forces you to backtrack long distances for some bullshit reasons. feels like they were really just trying to pad the game time.
- the main antagonist is not threatening and kinda silly. higgs, the main badguy is just not much of a villain. he wears this silly gold mask which serves no purpose other than he thinks it makes him look badass i presume. he summons these bt's which you can in most cases simply run away from and they disappear. the actor that plays him looks and sounds like a scrawny beta male.
- norman/sam. the main character is kinda stupid. he hardly shows any expression, doesnt seem to have any interest in what he is doing or what is going on around him. doesn't talk much, doesn't like to be touched and is not interesting. everyone around him seems to be smarter than him and they have to explain every little thing to him. also during all my time in the game, very little was revealed about the character. norman reedus also seems to play the character as if he is half asleep or stoned the whole time. i think they were trying to go for silent and broody but it just falls flat. he ends up not being enough of a character to care about and identify with, and too much norman reedus to act as a silent "you" character like master chief is for example.

what ended up happening was that after about 15 hours of playing the game, i still really wanted to see the cinematics and how the story turned out but i couldnt bear to endure the grindy gameplay loop for another 20 to 30 hours. i simply felt that the gameplay was not worth the time and effort. it wasnt fun, more like a chore with the reward being story development now and then. so i did what i've never done before. i gave up on playing the game, and watched the rest of the cutscenes on youtube instead. and i gotta tell you, it was great! overall i really enjoyed the story, even if some of it makes no sense and it is rather weird by my standards. i dont really have the intention of playing the game any further but never say never.

so yeah, i guess some people will love the game, some will hate it, some will just give up like me. my recommendation is borrow or rent it first if you can, try it out and see. or just watch it on youtube. of course i'm disappointed but i'm glad i tried it, it is something different. but perhaps a little too different for my taste.