Sony PlayStation 4

If you were there Nov. 15th, 2013 (here in America) like I was for the release of the PS4, then you know how awesome the experience was. If you were one of those people who picked this up or received this for Christmas, then you already know about the excitement this console holds. But if you are one of those people who are on the fence or were on the fence about this console or didn't get a chance to get one (or the other console, with review coming soon), then this review maybe able to help you out. With over 4 million consoles sold (as of yesterday) and nearly impossible to find, this is the Sony PlayStation 4.

Let's just get this out in the open so you don't think I am biased or in favor of one machine or the other. This console, the PS4 is by far my favorite console...of the next gen consoles. Until you have actually played one it is hard to describe how easy it is to navigate to menus and the PS store and things like that. This thing just flat out flies. If you were a PS3 owner like I was (or still are) and you go to the PS store or view trophies or go from one thing to the other, you know that on the PS3, it almost seemed like a chore to go from one to the other. On the PS4, that is a thing of the past. This machine takes navigation smoothly to a whole different level. But that's just one thing. I don't even know where to start because there is so much to say about it.

On the inside of the PS4, it houses an 8-core AMD Jaguar/Kabini x86-64 CPU, a Radeon 7870-derived GPU with 18 compute units (vs. Xbox One’s 12 CUs), and 8GB of unified GDDR5 RAM. The best thing is the RAM which provides both the CPU and GPU with 176GB/sec of unified (shared) memory (can see more here). The design of the system is what gets me though. Its black (shiny and matte like Xbox One) (who designed these consoles?!) and very oddly shaped. Think of it as a rhombus. The measurements, which are 275 mm x 53mm x 305mm, remind me of how the PS3 first came out with the huge block/dome looking design, meaning its odd. The controller also got a revamp and is by far the best of the DualShock's and I find it better than the Xbox One's. It's almost like the 360's controller passed the torch to the DualShock 4. I say that because it is a no brainer that the 360 had the better controller as far as feel, hand placement/hand ergonomics, and the overall weight of the controller. This time around the PS4 controller is top of the class other than the share button placement. 

In my honest opinion, and this is just how I feel, but I feel like the games look better on the PS4 vs the Xbox One. I can't put my finger on it, but the games run smoother and are just overall better looking. For those of you who have both, I know you can agree with that a little bit. NBA 2K14 (you knew I would get it) looks and runs smoother on the PS4....to me. Same with FIFA 14 and Assassin's Creed Black Flag. The features of the PS4 are awesome as well. Being able to stream live gameplay is really awesome via Twitch and Ustream. I ended up signing with Twitch and have broadcast a few NBA 2K14 games. I also streamed Killzone as well. The one thing that I don't like is the fact that you cane share video (that I do like) but not to anywhere, it has to go to Facebook! I personally hate BookFace (if you know what show that came from you are awesome) and hate the fact that you can only share your video with them but pictures go to Twitter. Sony does a lot with Android and Google, why can't you share with Google Plus? C'mon Sony get it together! But anyway, that is a small gripe for such an awesome machine. 

Don't Fear, COD: Ghosts Never Came Out of The Plastic!! COD=Terrible

When I got the system, I picked up NBA 2K14, Injustice: Ultimate Edition, and Killzone Shadow Fall. I went with these games because I had Battlefield 4 on and instant upgrade for $10 and all the free games I got for being a Plus member. Resogun is a BEAST!! Love that game. But I wanted a fighting game, and 1st party FPS. 2K was a no-brainer. There were so many deals going on around that time, it was really easy to stack up on games. So I got to try a lot of next gen games and I can honestly say only a handful of them are worthy of next gen labels. Games like Madden 25...first why does it look like that? All the commercials they showed made the camera's close and really nice (not great) detail. But when you play, well you will see it when you play, its not next gen worthy to me. Killzone looks ohh so delicious!! But that's the difference when you actually spend time making a game and just not putting something together just to make money *cough couch EA cough cough NBA Live 14 cough* just saying. Also, why is NBA Live 14 still $60? They came out and said that it was trash but yet they still sell it for $60?! Anyway, The PS4 has all the basic streaming people like Netflix and Hulu Plus and things like that (not as many as Xbox 360 and still a bit under Xbox One) but its a console that you can tell is all about gaming. I mean it took me about 15 minutes from the first start up (after the problem I had) to actually being able to play a game. I had to find WiFi and then connect and then enter PSN credentials and then put in 2K and let it install for about 4-5 minutes and I was playing right after that. Granted it was only the exhibition mode, but I was playing it none the less. 

PS4 is the console you want to own that has a no nonsense attitude and the system you want for pure out games. I bought a game console to play games. I don't need my system to play Netflix and all that other stuff, I have a smart TV for all of that. Even id you are a person who does not, the best Roku player or an Apple TV (and other options) can all be had for about $99 (some Roku's are starting out at $49). But some people like to have everything in one convenient place and I get that and for that, the PS4 does all the major players just right. It doesn't do the TV thing like Xbox One (yet. more on that HERE) but looking towards the future, I think PS4 might be this generations console winner. They have to keep the games coming and those games have to be good, not great but good. They have to be San Antonio Spurs good, not Miami Heat great. I say that because they don't need the heavy hitters, they just need a basic consistency of good games like the Spurs have players. I don't know how they turn average to below average guys into good/great players but they do and it works. I think the Heat will phase out (no doubt they are great) like a trend. And that is how I see the Xbox One and the PS4, Heat and Spurs. To bad the Spurs lost to the heat but the Spurs will continue to be good consistently and the Heat will phase out or lose the luster behind them. The PS4 has a bunch of small features that make it the best thing going like the Spurs as well. And its only going to get better with what they announced at CES 2014 with PlayStation Now (game streaming service) and their take on TV with streaming TV to your console to watch live TV just about anywhere. The PS4 is a beast to be reckoned with and again it is my favorite system of the next gen war. 

I have not been playing it for awhile but there were other things I was testing out and really just wanted to get the feel of the other things I was testing and using. The PS4 should be in your life rather you want it or not. It is a system that people be able to just pick up and play and I really think its trying to make its own lane. What I mean is, when Apple came out with their stuff years ago up until iPhone 5, everything they made or others made went through that 30-pin connector. People had accessories galore. But the new iPhone 5 used a different connector and people went nuts! So what I am saying is PS4 has nothing to do with PS3 or PS2 or even PS1 like the other versions did. PS2 allowed you to play PS1 games on it and even the early versions of the PS3 let you play some PS2 games and PS1 games. Heck even Xbox 360 played some Xbox games. The point is, PS4 is its own thing. Its a gaming console first and everything else second. It does however have something to do with the Vita but we all knew that when they were making project Orbis or NGP. The PS4 will stand on its own two feet and take us into the future. 

The last thing I will say about the PS4 is the PS Vita function. The PS Vita and the PS4 work together as a second screen experience or work perfectly well without each other. If you are familiar with the the Wii U, then you know you use the Game Pad to do a lot of the functions and when someone wants to use the TV, you can just keep playing your game on the Game Pad while the TV becomes free. Well same concept with a tad bit better execution. I say that because the screen on the Wii U is 50/50 at best while the Vita's screen is awesome. The controls are nice, touch screen and a rear touch pad as well. They both can act as a second screen but I think the biggest difference is that you can play your PS4 anywhere in the house (as long as there is wifi) and not just up to 20 feet away. So on nice summer days you can go lay outside in the back yard (hammock action) and just play away. Man that sounds so peaceful. Also the Vita Plays just about every PS4 game so you can really stop playing on the TV and switch it right to the Vita. Its a great companion. And some games come with cross buy. So that means if you buy it for PS3/PS4, you can get it free on the Vita. Like how iOS/Android work, buy it on one device and its free for the other devices you own that run those OS'es. 

Overall, the best system period. We are in a new year and I waited so long to give out a review because I wanted to actually play it and experience it. A lot of reviewers get these systems and new gadgets and just use it for a week or two tops. People in the real world can't just keep using these new devices every chance they get like some of the tech people out there because they are using their hard earned cash to pay for these things. So because of that, they tell you a system or phone is good today, maybe even great but they never tell you how that device is 3 months after or even 6-7 months either. A lot of people didn't get a PS4 or Xbox One because they were waiting for more games or couldn't afford it or just missed out completely. But when they read my reviews a few months from now, I will still be talking about this system and other things because I use them everyday and not just for review purposes only. So when March or April comes around (and its tax season), these will be times when people buy this system for the first time and before they buy may want to know which direction to go in. Don't worry, starting this year I will be doing a review of things every 3-4 months just to keep the reader up to date and those starting off new in the loop and not get surprised like my buddy did with his phone that runs very poor for him. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed and stay tuned for my review of this later in the coming months and my reviews on future products like Xbox One, Lumia 1520, and HP Chromebook 14 just to name a few. 

PSN: The_D_O_P_E_69

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With My Hue Lights, This is My PS4 Setting When Its Game Time

Simple UnBoxing

Game Time!!

My Number

The Finished Product

NBA 2K14 ReVisited

    Well today another short update on another game out there that I love. NBA 2K14 on PS3. First I just want to say yes I am getting the PS4 version as well. The same basketball game on two different systems? Yes! First off, NBA 2K14 next gen looks freaking awesome. But we are not talking about that one, we are speaking on 2K14 current gen. Anytime I play my PS3, I get in a game of basket ball. I don't know why, maybe because I am a basketball nut or I just really love 2K games (PLEASE COME BACK NFL 2K, ENOUGH WITH THE MADDEN!!!).

     If you were wondering on how you should rate NBA 2K14, think about it like this. NBA 2k14 is "S" series in the iPhone line up. So 2K13 is equal to the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 5. 2K14 is the iPhone 4s or the iPhone 5s, same product but different internals and functions. Now if you hung in there with me, then you can understand what I am saying and know that I am not saying more than what it sounds like. Anyway, 2K14 is basically the same 2K13 game that I loved, but the look and the feel of the game is just a tad bit different and the updated the rosters, controls and the overall presentation. Not saying that this is a bad thing, but it just almost feels like you have done this once before.

     A few questions I got was should a person run out and get this? Well when it first came out, I would have told you "Hell Yeah!" (in the Stone Cold Steve Austin voice). But if you asked me that same question again today, well you might get a different answer. My answer today would come back to you as..."well are you getting a next gen system?" And the question right there will tell all. For those of you who are getting a next gen system, there are a couple of ways of doing this.

1. Have a PS3 and getting PS4: Get the NBA 2K14 Super Fan Pack from the PSN store. It's $99.99 but hear me out. This is the bundle I got. You get the PS3 version of the game (digital download version) and then when you get the PS4, you can just download it from there and have the new NBA 2k14 next gen version as well. So instead of paying $60 for current and then $60 for the next gen version, that is $120 so you wind up saving $20. The good thing about this is, you can have your PS3 version on your system or your child's system and you can play the new version on your PS4.
2. If your not getting a PS4 (or not just yet) and you have a a PS3, then I would say yes, pick this up whenever you can. It is not a game that you JUST HAVE to run out and get unless your a die hard NBA fan and then in that case you probably would have it already.
3. If you want 2K but don't have either system, go with the next gen version, unless you are on a budget and then if that is the case, get PS3 and a used copy of NBA 2K14. 
4. Lastly, for the Xbox 360/One fans, if you don't have 2K14, don't get the current gen version, get the next gen version. 

I don't know what the frame rate or hd quality the game runs at on X1 (because not all games on the X1 run at 60 frames and or 1080p), but I know on the PS4 its 60 FPS (frames per second) and at 1080p, that I can not pass up and neither should you. 

     But this current gen version is starting to show its age on current gen systems......to me. Its like seeing a blu-ray movie and then going back to see a dvd movie of that same movie. My eyes have been opened to the next gen and I will admit I am a bit spoiled by the look of it. Looks are not everything and I got that, but it also looks like it plays well, well at least better than this gen's version. I don't have a problem with recommending this game to anybody though. I will play this game up until I open my PS4 and my copy on next gen finishes downloading. Probably later tonight, I will take in a game of basketball because I love the My Player mode (I think its My Carer now) and that is what I always play. I didn't do the Lebron Path to Greatness mode and I will not. No knock on Lebron, but just not a mode I am interested in, I am more focused on myself. I also dabble in the Association mode. Its nice to go make a trade you think your favorite team should make and then play it out how you want it to.

     Overall, the game is still solid as ever. The updates for the game come pretty quick, the online part of this game is still terrible and lags, but it is a good game that you would not be upset at spending $60 for. I wish the developers would stop taking short cuts in this game (like with the shoes!!! and things like All Star Break, my game was still in Houston) because those were things I thought they would change in this years edition, but sadly they did not. I still love the game and because of that, I say you should still go out and pick it up. It is still one of the better sports games out there and thank goodness no Jay-Z soundtrack this year (YES!!). Still go out and pick this up on this gen or next, you won't be upset overall.

NBA 2K14

On Monday night I was able to download the greatest basketball sim to grace any systems console. That is right, NBA 2K14 was installing and I just couldn't wait to play it. Did it live up to expectations? This is NBA 2k14.

Let me just say that, the game looks the exact same! That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you want to look at it. I thought 2k13 looked good but its like it didn't look as good as 2k12. But My eyes got used to looking at 2k13 and so it became the standard. So when 2K14 comes along, I thought it may look at least a little different, but as soon as I seen it, I just kind of shook my head. But so far that is the only (real big bad) bad that I have against the game....so far. There are other small gripes and complaints but for the most part, its the way it looks. There is one thing to keep in mind, this game will also be on PS4 and Xbox 1, so you can take the way it looks as maybe they will make the next gen consoles versions look bad ass instead of porting over this version. 

With that out of the way, now on to the good. The game may look the same, but it sure doesn't play the same. A lot of the animations are smooth (maybe to smooth) and that is such a good thing. I play the my player part a lot or as its called my career. Last years game used to piss me off so bad with the animations making me suck in to another player on rebounds or free throw attempts. I hated it. This year so far I can see that there is no suction. The thing that I did notice is that everyone plays excellent defence, even if the other player sucks at defence. You can take that for what it worth but I will save you the trouble and let you know that it was sarcasm. I guess where one thing is worked on, other things lack. But it is still not a killer for the game. So far out of the modes that I have played, exhibition and my career, I like it. I don't love it, but I do like it and I see myself going beyond the basketball season again playing 2K14 (I played 2K13 until GTA V came out). The game itself is not a big download, just in case you want to download it. Its about 8874 MB or as it said 8.7 GB. 

So when you first play the game, first thing you should do is, forget that you know how to play 2K13. Seriously, they changed the button layout for most things and it was a little weird getting used to, but by the 2nd quarter I was good to go. The right analog stick is now the cross over stick and the shooting stick. You could use it as that last year by holding the L2 trigger, but now if you hold that and hit the right stick, you throw a flashy pass or the Steve Nash/ Ricky Rubio passes. Hold the right stick in any direction makes you shoot. Holding down R2 and holding right analog up makes you dunk, R2 and right analog right makes you do a James Harden like layup, while down is a floater and left is a swing layup. It takes some getting used to if you use analogs to play, but you can still shoot with square and pass with X. Posting up is still the same, but its like posting up now actually works and the game lets you try to workout. Circle now is used to call for picks. You must notice that pick and roll is now the second option whereas last year it was the third option as you held it down. Dunk animations are just about the same, but with a few new dunks sprinkled in and now some of them look a lot more vicious. The blocking is a lot more beautiful. The arm actually swings as you try to block it. I had one of my shots chased down and blocked from behind in my game and it looked so great. All in all the game play is so much better than last year and that is such a plus. 

The soundtrack is much better. No dis to Jay-Z and his choices for last years game, but that soundtrack sucked to me. At least this year it is more diverse (well not really but its still better than last years). On of the things that I did like was that they added new shoes to the mix. Peak has been added in and I think another one. The shoe selection is a little small compared to last year but with updates I know they will fill out like last years shoe roster did. The one think I don't like about 2K, and this goes for 2K13 and 14, they skipped out on the details, the little details. I am a person that likes all the small things in a game rather the big things. Case in point is the shoes. For making the shoes, all this did was flip the design on the opposite foot. So instead of a Nike sign going the right way on the tongue of the shoe or the heel, it goes in the opposite direction and it looks odd. The crowd still looks terrible. People on the sideline still have cut throats. There are a few other little things that I don't like but to me its all in the details. 

The draft part of the game is hilarious. Why? Because they added audio from the actual draft. It seems like it would be sweet and when I first heard them call Anthony Bennett for the Cavs, I said hey that's how he sounded during the draft and then I heard the disbelief in the crowd and I just said to myself, that's cool, they added audio from the draft. However, my appreciation for that small detail was short lived and it seems later in the draft, they got lazy and the editing was terrible. Then it just kind of threw that all out the window. There is new dialogue for the my career mode and it seems like now your player says what you actually want them to say. I told the GM during an interview after the rookie game that I did not want to play SG. Because of that, I didn't get picked by that team and that kind of sucked cause I wanted to play for them but not at SG. The draft is still stupid. I got picked 11th to the 76ers where someone else got picked, but when the season started there he and I was, same draft number and everything. The little things. 

The game itself again overall is good though. I will play this just about everyday and I haven't gone online yet, but I am sure the servers stick like always with 2K basketball games. On a side note, it is almost time for me to retire getting games for the PS3. I know I said it before, but GTA V was to awesome to pass up and I am really considering getting this Beyond 2 Souls. I have a demo for that game (which I will delete tonight) and I have to say if you like Last of Us or Heavy Rain, this game will blow you away. The demo is really awesome and that might be my last game for the PS3 and because I am running out of room.

I have a lot of games on my PS3 and only one of them is a demo which is Beyond 2 Souls

So if you are interested download the demo and the game comes out next week on the 8th of October. As for NBA 2K14, I don't know if my game scales up to be apart of that promotion when you you get a PS4, but if I have to buy it again at full retail price, then I will. NBA 2K13 I bought twice for the PS3, once for the Xbox 360 and once for the Wii U. So buying this an extra time is not really a big deal, but if I can upgrade it to the PS4 for $10 like you can Assassin's Creed 4 or Battlefield 4 then I am really all over it. But NBA 2K14 is a great buy if your a basketball fan, and I think I would rate it a 8.5 out of 10. 

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