• PS4 is for the players.
• XB1 - The best console of new generation on display.

Click to expand...

• The PS4 controller was very comfortable to use. The analogue sticks were surprisingly small, and the L2/R2 triggers were definitely better. The new D-pad felt better as well.
• Killzone: Shadow Fall, Resogun, Knack, and Assassin's Creed 4 looked noticeably better than the current gen games, particularly KZ's city view, AC's water, and Knack's textures and the game character itself. The same goes for XB1's Forza 5 and Killer Instinct.
• Resogun's effects looked marvelous, and it was fun to play, at least for a short period of time. It remains to be seen how long a shoot 'em up like that will be interesting to play though.
• The XB1 unit looked smaller in person, than in the pics I had seen.

• No PS4 unit on display.
• Many of the games had visible aliasing and flickering, particularly Forza, and low res textures here and there. The latter goes especially for Injustice: Gods Among Us, which was somewhat expected though, as it's a cross-gen title.
• Knack felt like just another 3D platformer (which aren't really my cup of tea), albeit prettier than the current ones, and it was quite challenging even on normal. It took me three tries to get past the first foes.
• The sensitivity setting was too high in KZ:SF, which made aiming harder than it should have been. Looking around started to make me a bit dizzy, and I've never felt motion sickness before. Hopefully that'll be adjusted in the final product, or the settings can be changed by the user. I hope the sensitivity isn't caused by the DS4's new analogue sticks themselves. I didn't have any problems with the other games though. The weapon fire was mapped to R2 by default, which felt odd as I've grown accustomed to using L1/R1 as primary inputs with the DS3 controller, and I think L2/R2 work better for secondary options, especially in fast-paced games where you can use the triggers with middle fingers. Hopefully there'll be different controller configurations available in the game.
• The small 18-rated room in the PS4 area had only 32-inch screens, whereas the other areas had at least 40-inch screens. It would have been better, if games like Killzone could have been played on a larger screen, as sub-40" screens aren't the best option for 1080p content.
• Killer Instinct had either too dark image quality, or the TV settings were screwed. One of the darker looking characters seemed to blend with the background at times.
• The game area in general was far smaller than I expected. Most of the exhibition area was reserved for Hi-Fi entertainment devices, and sports (bleurgh).
• The Oculus Rift line was unfortunately far too long for me to wait my turn.

• Bang & Olufsen area had massive subwoofers blasting music with such power, that small parts of the ceiling's insulation fell down on us.

Shadow2222 said:

Excellent write up! Thank you for that.

Other than the occasional low textures, did Injustice seem to play alright? We have seen almost nothing from the PS4 version, and the fact that High Voltage is doing it is slightly worrisome.

Click to expand...

silver.tongue said:

Very detailed impressions. Thanks, man.

EDIT: Did you get to see the UI to know if it was retail units or devkits?

Click to expand...

Melchiah said:

Dead Rising 3, and Ryse anywhere, eventhough they were listed on the FB pages, and I circled around the areas several times. Perhaps they'll be presented there during the next two days?

Click to expand...

PixelPeZ said:

They were in the weird box/booth next to the Forza station. DR looked nice, Ryse, not that great. No Kinect demos anywhere.

But overall I agree with all your points, was a first event of this kind for me. Perhaps some more impressions tomorrrow.

Click to expand...

Melchiah said:

• The Oculus Rift line was unfortunately far too long for me to wait my turn.

Click to expand...

Lord Error said:

Another poster, vrln, commented on most of the games. He said that KZ:SF was particularly jaggy and had visual glitches, but Forza was much better in those regards. Good to know that they both now have jaggies and glitches (lol)

How's it even possible that a 1080p game on a 32" screen looks jaggedy as it would be the case with KZ on that setup? I don't think I've ever seen a 1080p game even on my 50" TV where I thought aliasing was a problem.

Click to expand...

ethomaz said:

I didn't see jaggies or glitches in KZ... maybe I had luck but Forza seems to not use AA at all.

Played both in 32" too.

Click to expand...

Many of the games had visible aliasing and flickering, particularly Forza, and low res textures here and there. The latter goes especially for Injustice: Gods Among Us, which was somewhat expected though, as it's a cross-gen title.

Click to expand...

vrln said:

I was there too Only played Killzone and Ryse though, but I watched others play almost all of the games on both booths. Already posted my impressions on two other threads, I ended up liking the Xbox One more. The XB1 games felt closer to release quality to me, but obviously it´s a question of opinion.

Both consoles were indeed a clear step up compared to previous generation consoles, but a modern gaming PC easily wins over both. The dream of 1080P with high quality AA on all games isn´t going to happen, maybe next next gen!

By the way my guess is also that there was something off with the TV settings on multiple booths: gamma settings in particular seemed pretty odd sometimes.

Click to expand...

plexcide said:

You can try Oculus Rift on any of the three Verkkokauppa.com stores (Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu). I tried it myself and boy it's just as amazing as I thought. Thanks for the impressions

Click to expand...

Lord Error said:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure F5 has no AA, and KZ has post-proc AA of some kind. Strange that vrln through the opposite, but with badly calibrated TVs and unfinished demo builds anything is possible.
KZ also has flickery self-shadows which can get really jarring sometimes if you pay attention to them. I think they had that from the very first build they've shown and still happens in the latest one I've seen.

Click to expand...

Grimløck;88288843 said:

Thanks for the impressions. I'm guessing these builds are from Gamescom?

Click to expand...

Melchiah said:

[*]The sensitivity setting was too high in KZ:SF, which made aiming harder than it should have been. Looking around started to make me a bit dizzy, and I've never felt motion sickness before. Hopefully that'll be adjusted in the final product, or the settings can be changed by the user. I hope the sensitivity isn't caused by the DS4's new analogue sticks themselves. I didn't have any problems with the other games though.

Click to expand...

Lord Error said:

Another poster, vrln, commented on most of the games. He said that KZ:SF was particularly jaggy and had visual glitches, but Forza was much better in those regards. Good to know that they both now have jaggies and glitches (lol)

How's it even possible that a 1080p game on a 32" screen looks jaggedy as it would be the case with KZ on that setup? I don't think I've ever seen a 1080p game even on my 50" TV where I thought aliasing was a problem. I guess plasma for the win, as usual.

Click to expand...

vrln said:

Yup, I felt the Killzone demo was glitchy and jaggy. Forza 5 displayed some aliasing, but nowhere near as much in my experience. Perhaps the KZ level (no idea why they chose a bland skyscraper corridor one for a demo) had an art style that showed aliasing issues easily, plus it was probably an old build.

Click to expand...

vrln said:

The indoor view in Forza 5 had some aliasing, the third person view looked very clean. I felt it looked like maybe 2x MSAA or at the very least a good motion blur implementation. But yeah, hard to say at this point and with beta builds it´s all just enjoyable theory-talk at this point. The retail games and the inevitable Digital Foundry etc comparisons will soon show the real truth (tm).

I didn´t notice any sort of AA on KZ, but the current version should have at least a post process one. It looks much cleaner in recent high quality videos than what was on show at DigiExpo.

Click to expand...

Melchiah said:

Are 32" screens usually even 1080p nowadays?

Click to expand...

Melchiah said:

Are 32" screens usually even 1080p nowadays?

Click to expand...

vrln said:

Actually I don´t think there are many! At least most of the 32" screens I´ve seen out in the wild have been 720P ones. Maybe it wasn´t running in 1080P at all... That would explain my impressions at least. Knack for example looked so much sharper and they are supposed to both be native 1080P? Knack was being played on 40" TV´s though... And they are almost all 1080P

Click to expand...

Melchiah said:

Are 32" screens usually even 1080p nowadays? I just remember, that they used to be 720p before. Although it would be an odd decision to use 720p screens to display 1080p games.

Click to expand...

vrln said:

Actually I don´t think there are many! At least most of the 32" screens I´ve seen out in the wild have been 720P ones. Maybe it wasn´t running in 1080P at all... That would explain my impressions at least. Knack for example looked so much sharper and they are supposed to both be native 1080P? Knack was being played on 40" TV´s though... And they are almost all 1080P

Click to expand...

ethomaz said:

Most 32" HDTVs today are 1080p.

The HDTVs Sony used here I have certain to be 1080p because I checked the specs with the model number... the HDTV used by MS was LGs with back tape over the model/info so I tried to find one that match with what I saw and all LGs that locked close are 1080p too (unless it is a way older HDTV).

PS. I noted Forza aliasing in 3rd View too.

Click to expand...

vrln said:

As for Killzone gameplay, some of the videos (especially the forest level) have a nice almost Crysis vibe to them. The level on display at the exhibition was a straight linear one that didn´t let any of the new mechanics like the promising flying blue spy drone thing show. I hope they select a better level for the inevitable PS4 store demo version, this one was such an odd choice. I hated Killzone 2, Shadow Fall is the first KZ I´m (still, despite the negative impressions) looking forward to. Luckily us EU folk get to read all the US reviews before the console is out

Click to expand...

TimeEffect said:

So glad to see Octodad wobbling its way into these events.

Game looks so fun. Hope it ejects into popularity

Click to expand...

Parsnip said:

Would have probably gone and checked them out if I lived a little closer.
Thanks for the impressions fellow countrymen.

Click to expand...

vrln said:

Edit: Did you see the Knack underground cave level? That had really nice graphics! Sharp, extremely high resolution textures and not much aliasing due to the background colors (the city part had more visible aliasing).

Click to expand...

TimeEffect said:

So glad to see Octodad wobbling its way into these events.

Game looks so fun. Hope it ejects into popularity

Click to expand...

Skidd said:

I'll be there tomorrow, glad to hear that there's some great stuff to try out. I think I'll be there all day, especially if I wanna try out Oculus Rift.

Besides trying out the new consoles, a 30 minute Ratchet & Clank: Nexus showcase is what I'm also looking forward to.

Click to expand...

Melchiah said:

Huh? I think I used a drone of some sort, accidentally, as I had no idea which button activated it. You're right though, the beginning of the level inside the building wasn't really that impressive.

Click to expand...

vrln said:

It was there, but the gameplay didn´t really support using it. After the first Helghast saw you it was all standard corridor FPS. No stealth, no planning. The forest level videos have some really cool stuff like distracting guards with the drone etc

Click to expand...

vrln said:

Edit: Did you see the Knack underground cave level? That had really nice graphics! Sharp, extremely high resolution textures and not much aliasing due to the background colors (the city part had more visible aliasing).

Click to expand...

Melchiah said:

[*]Many of the games had visible aliasing and flickering, particularly Forza, and low res textures here and there. The latter goes especially for Injustice: Gods Among Us, which was somewhat expected though, as it's a cross-gen title.

Click to expand...

Lazer said:

It kind of blew my mind when I realised that I actually don´t care much about any of the launch games. And the fact that ACIV is something that I´d like to play most is even more crazy. I haven´t liked Assassin Creeds before that much before but something about the pirate theme and cool environments makes me want to have it.

I´m kind of disappointed hearing about KZ jaggies and Forza´s lack of AA and so on. Maybe I am expecting too much and/or the games will improve over time - I don´t know. I still think that these games will look really good played at home but the generational leap is not that evident this time. Though I am aware why but still I´m a bit unimpressed. Resogun and other smaller/indie games will probably be "WOW! This is Next Gen!" experience for me.

I want to want next-gen consoles so much but right now I don´t have the uncontrollable urge to buy neither of them. Yet.

Melchiah: did you see the Dog in CoD: Ghosts ?

Click to expand...

Replicant said:

Yuck. I guess they sacrificed a lot to achieve that 1080p/60fps.

Click to expand...

Melchiah said:

AC4 looked pretty good, but somehow the series just haven't ever drawn me in.

I was also disappointed by aliasing/flickering and the occasional low res textures, but I still think that most of the games looked noticeably better than the current ones. They didn't look as different as the past launch games have looked, when compared with the games of the preceding gen. I suspect that's because we've already played HD games (even some 1080p ones) for the last 7-8 years.

I'm also holding hope for the games to look better at home, when I'm playing three meters away from the TV, instead of having my face stuck on the screen.

Heh, I missed COD:G completely. It wasn't presented in the PS4 or XB1 areas, and I skipped the PS3 and EA ones. No big loss, as COD isn't my thing.

The low res textures wasn't pointed at Forza though. I didn't watch the game being played for that long, and I skipped GT6 altogether, as driving simulators don't really interest me. Too bad I couldn't watch KZ from where I was standing while I was waiting for my turn, as I could have paid more attention to the visuals compared to when I was playing the game myself.

Click to expand...

nelsonroyale said:

I think it is quite similar. I don't think any games last gen at launch really impressed me that much with the visuals. In fact I would contend that KZ is more impressive for its time than Resistance ever was. It took me until Heavenly Sword to be impressed with current gen visuals I think.

Click to expand...

sankt-Antonio said:

I have a feeling that KZ will get lots of hate for not having auto aim. Whatever GG do they are fucked.

Click to expand...

Skidd said:

Everything looked so much better than I anticipated. I played some AC, KZ, Resogun and Knack.

Lately I've had less and less interest in the new consoles due to the already inferior hardware (when compared to PCs). But now I can honestly say I can't wait to get my hands on a PS4. The games look really sharp and nice on a good TV and the controller is heaps better than DS3. They've really improved every aspect of DS3 and taken it to a whole new (more comfortable) level.

Resogun was fun to play but was no more mindblowing than what Stardust HD already is. A new artstyle and a ton more particles, that's how I felt about it.

Killzone felt like worst of the bunch. Must have been the settings because I was aiming all over the place and overall it felt like a very visually busy game. Again, I just might have had a bad experience because of how the controls were set up. With more adjustments I bet it's a great game to play. The new sticks are awesome and felt more natural when playing a FPS. I've always been a bit skeptical about the pad but it works surprisingly well with gameplay. Quick thumb swipes in the middle of the action was easy and intuitive.

I thought AC Black Flag looked great on a PS4, so I'll be happy to pick that up as a launch title. Better textures, fidelity and smoother framerate can make a huge difference.

Knack is as bland as it looks. It's pretty and colorful and certainly good for kids. It's just that the levels feel kinda empty and there isn't an awful lot of debth to the combat. One thing I do have to say is that Knack had pretty tight and responsive controls. Better than what the pre-alpha/alpha code of R&C Nexus had at least.

Click to expand...