The PS4 has won the Console War!

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With over 13.5 million units sold according to Sony’s official figures, the PlayStation 4 has already crossed the finish line. That is around 40% more than the Xbox One according to ArsTechnica. The Wii U is a mere spectator. It is time to end the debate once and for all. Sony’s beast from the east was already a clear winner from the start.

Early last year, we had seen it coming. Sony blew everyone away with what the PS4 can do. On E3 2013, we saw the big reveal of the console itself. The sleek and sexy monster was powerful, according to ExtremeTech and screamed next-gen. Microsoft kept hyping up the Xbox One as the all-in-one entertainment machine with Kinect 2.0. PR blunders galore on used games and always-online nonsense, the Japanese juggernauts knew they had won the war before it even started.

Both consoles sold a million units in 24 hours on launch. Microsoft went back on their ridiculous DRM policies but it was already too late. I personally could not find a PS4 in stock anywhere but Xbox Ones were not hard to find. Despite price drops and Kinect-less SKUS, the Xbox One had lost the momentum. The PS4 was designed for success. Not only was it more powerful, it was developer friendly.

To be fair to Xbox One, ‘Titanfall’ was a major exclusive that kept consumer interest. Sony had ‘inFamous Second Son’ and ‘The Last of Us’ remaster. Both consoles relied exceptionally on third party titles on launch for sales but gamers had made their choice. They chose the more powerful console. Now I know, there will be a few who will debate about launch glitches. I will be honest, I knew people with BLOD errors on the PS4. But which recent console launch has not been plagued with glitches and console-killing bugs? Xbox 360 had the RROD and PS3 had YLOD. Xbox One had disc drive issues.

Lot of excellent exclusives and third party titles will be released on both consoles, but it does not matter. The war has been won. New console buyers would want ‘Assassins Creed Unity’, ‘WWE 2K15’, ‘Grand Theft Auto V’, ‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ on the better system. We can talk about ‘Sunset Overdrive’, ‘Halo Master Chief Collection’ and ‘Forza Horizon 2’ for the Xbox One in the same way we could about ‘Bloodborne’, ‘The Order 1886’ and ‘Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’ on the PS4.

The case is closed. Sony’s PS4 is the undisputed champion!

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Infamous Second Son: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility!

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Sucker Punch Productions brings the Infamous series on to Sony’s latest tech toy PlayStation 4 (PS4) in the form of ‘Infamous: Second Son’. Infamous 1 and 2 were both runaway hits on the PlayStation 3 (PS3). Cole McGrath’s electric powers were a blast to play with even though the storylines were a mixed bag.

Without going into spoiler territory, ‘Infamous: Second Son’ puts you in control of Delsin Rowe. Your enemies this time are the Department of Unified Protection (DUP) that clearly does not have a liking for your kind. They want to wipe out conduits who they call bio-terrorists. Since you become one of them, you are their enemy. However, your agenda against the DUP is rather personal.

Unlike McGrath, Rowe’s powers are purely smoke-based as opposed to electricity. Initially, you have a limited set of powers and as the story progresses you earn new moves and skills.

Rowe has the ability to self-heal but if you are stuck in heavy combat situation, you will eventually die and re-spawn at the last checkpoint. If you take cover you can regain health.

New moves can also be earned by defeating certain tough enemies and absorbing their powers. Mobile command centers are scattered throughout the maps that allow you to gain blast shards and reduce enemy control by destroying them.

At the same time, you need to replenish yourself with smoke otherwise you will be powerless against tougher enemies that definitely pack a punch. Melee moves will not work against larger enemies which mean you will need to take cover and attack from distance. You have the ability to move into buildings or using open vents to get to higher areas with smoke dash.

Smoke can be replenished quite easily from cars or wherever you see fumes. Another power-up item is glass shards. These are small flying saucers that you can take down with your ‘smoke attacks’ and go near them to earn blast shards. Blast shards also allow you to buy new powers and skills.  

Like its predecessors, it is an open-world game with a main storyline and side-quests. Maps are divided into zones with varying levels of enemy control. You can abandon missions if it gets too hot for you. The one thing that has stayed in all three games is the karma feature. Basically, you decide to be a Good Samaritan or a bad boy.

The decisions you make in the story affect later missions. For example, you can either kill or subdue your enemies. I actually enjoyed doing both depending on the situation. By filling your karma meter, you can use an explosive attack in one go.

The touchpad on the Dual Shock 4 comes in handy several times especially when absorbing elements and opening doors. The controller also gives out certain sound effects which are really cool. Delsin Rowe can be a bit annoying at times, but that does not take much from the game. The graphics look brilliant and are a massive step-up from previous titles. It is one of the games to get if you have just bought a new PS4. 

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Wii like to Move your Kinect

I know the title does not make sense, but for anyone familiar with videogaming, they would instantly recognize that I am speaking of the new motion control gaming fad that has exploded in the last few years. It was in 2006, when Nintendo launced the Wii to great critical acclaim and the sales proved it was possibly the company's biggest hit console since the Nintendo 64 launched in 1996. Wii brought back the classic gaming of yesteryear where it was all about family entertainment. It was the 1980s and early 1990s, where the family would always get together to play video games. Anyone remeber Duck Hunt? the classic shooter, in which one would aim a light gun to shoot virtual ducks. The Wii brought all that back with their new take on motion controlled gaming, where with just an infra red device that corresponds with your motion controlled remotes: Wii-mote, you can become a golf player, bowler, Pete Sampras and even a Jedi Knight. The remote could basically be used for any thing like a golf club, tennis racket or a light saber. The idea behind the name was simply "We" because it brought back party gaming for all ages. It did not require big HDTV sets like the Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 to utilize its full potential.

The Wii became a phenomenal success upon its launch, eclipsing Microsoft and Sony's next gen game console powerhouses in sales and popularity. The rival consoles were more powerful and could show the best graphics if you had a HDTV at home. Realizing the popularity of motion gaming, Sony and Microsoft decided to bring out their own rival consoles to compete with the Wii. However, these would simply be add on devices to their current consoles. It was news that Sony had apparently been working on similar technology before the Wii launched and it was even highlighted in the new PS3 dual shock 3 controller, which was known as Sixaxis initially because for certain games, one can tilt the controller using it as a steering wheel or a fighter jet throttle. Eventually in 2010, Sony launched the Move add-on to their PS3 console, which basically used similar Wii-mote styled motion controllers with a glowing ball that corresponded to a webcam set on top of your television set. It was said to be more accurate than the Wii backed by the awesome power and graphics of the PS3. Move was followed by Microsoft's X360 add-on device codenamed Project Natal launced as simply Kinect. This took motion gaming one step further. It made the gamer, the controller. A rod style attachment on top of your TV would accurately via a digital camera and possibly infra red would capture all your movements, similar to motion capturing in movie and video games. Basically there would be no controller, but your own body and hands would be used to play Kinect games. It allowed the use of voice commands, as well as the ability of using one's hands to change menus in the XBOX 360's main menu/ GUI interface.

At this point, Wii has also improved their own console with the addition of Wii Motion Plus controller. The Wii still leads the motion gaming market because of an established library  of games since 2006, while their rivals have launched their add - ons only less than a year ago. At this time, we will need to wait for newer titles from Nintendo's rivals and see an eventual winner of the new console wars. It is also important to note that Nintendo has announced the new WiiU to be launched next year which would improve on motion controlled gaming and include the capabilities to show high definition graphics that would rival the PS3 and X360. It is an exciting time for gaming, especially for me since I have literally grown up with a  joystick. Clearly, a gaming revolution is about to happen, and its definitely going to be for the best. 

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