PlayStation 4 Review

Sony’s PlayStation 4 delivers on the fundamental promise of home console gaming more effectively than any other system in the history of the medium: To deliver a powerful, robust gaming foundation with extreme ease-of-use. After only a few days of use, this much is abundantly clear. So far, the PS4 is hardly a perfect system – issues with noise, multimedia support, and interface gaps are not insignificant – but on the whole, I find it overwhelmingly impressive, a console that perfects upon the principals of the past – a superior controller, a remarkably fluid and intuitive user interface, and major improvements to online and social functionality – even as it innovates for the future with superior graphics and creative, expertly implemented features. This is, of course, only a starting point – like the consoles of the generation that preceded it, the PS4 of today will not be the PS4 of tomorrow – but even as a foundation, I feel invigorated by the PS4, my faith in and enthusiasm for gaming rewarded by one the single most gamer-friendly console I have ever used.

This is a comprehensive, detailed review of the PlayStation 4, split into seven parts and covering as much relevant information as possible. Read the entire review in order, or select from the table of contents below to jump to whatever section interests you. For those of you only interested in the final score, it is posted at the bottom of each page.

Part One: What’s in the Box?

Part Two: The Console Hardware

Part Three: The DualShock 4 Controller

Part Four: The User Interface and Experience

Part Five: Games, Gameplay, and Graphics

Part Six: Multimedia

Part Seven: In Conclusion

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