EB Expo: PS4 Impressions – Killzone Shadowfall, Knack and Assassins Creed 4

Over the course of the weekend I was fortunate enough to be given access to the EB Expo.  I had the opportunity to sample some amazing up and coming titles as well as get an in depth view to a few of the games via interviews with developers and insiders of that particular game.

The expo this year stood out far above the previous two in terms of crowd, games, consoles (this gen and next gen) and things to see and do, excellent evidence that even though it is early in its life the EB Expo is getting bigger and better each year.

I will not bore you with finer details of the expo I experienced, to make it quite simple I will make a few key dot points into games I got to sample and leave you wanting more. (Don’t worry, majority of these games release before Christmas so you will not be waiting long)

Killzone: Shadow Fall

  • We were enticed with a local multiplayer match that during the game mixed up the variety of missions from defuse a bomb, attack or defend a position offering a lot of variation in games.
  • Killzone has always been known for its amazing visuals that are a class above the rest and this game is no exception, stunning visuals and an amazing amount of detail in the world.
  • As always and standard to Killzone, the controls and cover system are crisp and any prior experience in the franchise will certainly be a leg up when playing Shadow Fall although not beneficial as new comers will feel right at home also.

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Knack

  • Amazingly charming visuals, bright beautiful world full of quirky enemies and elements.
  • Extremely basic control layout, which opens the door for a wide range of gamers from the young to the more seasoned.
  • More than meets the eye with this game and a game I certainly look forward to getting my hands on

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Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

  • Most already know that AC4 has taken the exceptionally strong foundations of AC3 naval mechanics and greatly improved and expanded on them, including new weapons. The short demo made available to us showcased this fantastically in the explosive raiding of a fort on the coastline.
  • Mechanically impressive AC offered seemless transitions between sailing and land exploration, no cut scenes, no hiccups of the frame rate, just straight into the action. Amazing development!
  • The physics behind both sailing and land exploration worked phenomenally.
  • Combat feels the same offering amazingly detailed counter-kills when landed correctly.
  • Voice acting and presentation wise, AC4 does not skip a beat, looking and sounding flawless. Going amazingly into depth of pirate jargon.
  • For more information be sure to check out our interview with Michael Hampden, Senior Game Designer.
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Playstation 4 Hardware

We were given access to all the PS4 games available at the show for a brief period of time and we will get into those but first up we will look at the controller.

The PS4 controller is remarkably comfortable it feels almost as if it is a part of you, near to the extent a samurai’s sword is an extension of him, amazing design by Sony. The touch pad appears to function as it should but didn’t find any opportunities to use it in game. The L2 and R2 button are shaped to be like triggers and feel comfortable doing so. For me the biggest point of this was the way the controller grips your hand, fluent and gelling.

The hardware itself is extremely slick. I was shocked with how small it was in comparison to the Xbox One. It really seems like Sony wanted to take up a similar amount of space to the PS3 Slim and it seems like they’ve accomplished that goal.

Another thing that I was pleasantly surprised about is how small the Playstation Camera is. It barely caught my attention and this made me extremely happy as it’s going to be a very crowded entertainment unit with both this and the Kinect 2 sitting in front of my screen.

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