PlayStation 4 (PS4) Hardware Review

Fast and User-Friendly

I have to be honest with you; I hated many things about the PS3 when it first came out. One of the things I hated the most was the mandatory installations. I had never been a PC gamer so mandatory installations was new to me. The worst game was Metal Gear Solid 4 because you had to install the game every time you played a new chapter. Not to mention it took ages for the game to install every time you played it!

Thankfully, the PS4 does things right as mandatory installations still exist, but you can play your game in mere seconds. I was amazed at how fast it took the PS4 to install games. This is mainly because the game now installs (fully) in the background as you play. Those long mandatory installations you had to suffer in the past is now gone thankfully. Downloading things also feels faster too. This might be different depending on your internet connection, but I noticed downloading content felt faster on the PS4 than on the PS3.

Remote Play On PS Vita

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Personally, this is my favorite feature on the PS4. As a PS Vita owner, it’s great that I can now play PS4 games on a portable system. Setting up the two devices was super-easy and all you need is a stable internet connection for it to work. Bear in mind, you will have to use the same PSN profile in order to play PS4 games on the PS Vita. I tried using my friend’s PSN account on the PS4, but remote play wasn’t possible because both machines only interact with the same account.

Another thing you will have to know is that remote play only works if the PS4 and PS Vita consoles are pretty much in close proximity with one another. I left the PS4 in the lounge and tried using my PS Vita in my bedroom across the other side of my house. The gameplay on the PS Vita started to lag and distort when I was away from the PS4.
Still, I think it’s rather neat that you can play PS4 games on the PS Vita. It’s really helpful for me if other family members are hogging all of the other TVs in my house. If I want to play a PS Vita game, I can easily play them on the PS Vita. The PS Vita’s rear touch screens are used as the R2/R3 and L2/L3 buttons in most games for those that wanted to know.

Sharing is Caring

One of the more unique features of the PS4 is the ability for you to share your gameplay with your friends. You can share any screenshot by simply pressing the Share button on the DUALSHOCK 4 controller. From there, the screenshot can be shared via your Facebook or Twitter accounts. You can also share videos too that last up to 15 minutes. The PS4 will automatically record your gameplay so you can share your best achievements at any time. Sharing content is easy and very fast which makes it even better.

Another thing you can do is broadcast and stream your gameplay too. The streaming video will be broadcast via Twitch or Ustream. The only downside right now is that you cannot share or stream your gameplay via YouTube yet. Hopefully this is something Sony will be working on in the future.