PS5: An Introduction
I have wanted to write this one for a long time. I have secured a PS5, and it has been a transcendent experience. I’m finally gaming in 4K resolution, about 5 years after it became popular! But the PS5 is more than a gaming machine, and it has positioned itself as the “all in one” entertainment system, and it will replace my Smart TVs dedicated streaming apps. Why? We’ll talk about that a little later! But right now, let’s get to the games!
So for the games, I bought 4 games for the PS5, encompassing all types of genres. There’s Spider Man: Miles Morales, the sequel to 2018’s Spider Man, NBA 2K21 Next Gen, because I like sports games, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure, a 3D platformer starring the protagonist of Little Big Planet And even 5 months after release, I’m still relying on my tremendous backlog of PS4 games because the lineup of actual PS5 games is lean right now, but as we head into the summer months, it’ll get more lively with anticipated titles like Returnal and Deathloop finally releasing. Onto my first impressions for all the games!
First up, Spider Man: Miles Morales! The sequel to Insomniac’s excellent Spider Man offering, it was set up before release as a smaller sequel, in the vein of Uncharted: Lost Legacy. This doesn’t hurt the title in the slightest, as it feels like just the right length. This installment sees Miles Morales, a younger, inexperienced Spider Man, taking over for Peter Parker away on vacation. The game sees the young Miles fighting a mysterious new villain known as the Tinkerer, and a corrupt energy corporation known as Roxxon, who have an entire private security force at their disposal and they use it to take on and stamp out Spider Man. Overall, the game plays similar to the first, with players using Spider Man’s web swinging abilities to traverse the streets and rooftops of New York. Where both games really stand out though, in my opinion, is the combat. Whereas similar games, such as the Batman: Arkham series, had combat that felt like you were controlling a tank, both Spider Man games’ combat feel like you’re controlling a souped up, armored sports car! Both Spider-Men being tinier and more agile lends itself to quicker free flowing combat that’s tougher compared to the Arkham games, an aspect that works in the games’ favor, in my view. You can also use Spider Man’s trademark web shooters to cause distractions, and web up enemies, making them easier to defeat in combat. New to this is Spider Man’s venom attacks, supercharged moves that deal extra damage once enough damage has been dealt by existing attacks, that deal damage to surrounding bad guys, and generally give Miles more power. These Venom attacks solve the problem of not being able to take out multiple bad guys in the first game and are very satisfying to use, and when you use them effectively, that’s just all the more satisfying. Other than that, the biggest shock to me was in the Next Gen graphics. I was playing this in 4K, at 30 frames per second with High Dynamic Range turned on, and it looks OUTSTANDING:
Twitter compression doesn’t do it justice
Spider Man’s decked out for Winter!
That’s the reason I wanted one of these consoles so badly in the first place and now that I have one, it’s one of my favorite features of the console! I feel like I’m in the future and I can’t wait to see what developers can do once they’re fully acclimated to the hardware! Overall Spider Man: Miles Morales manages both to stick to what the past did well, and move the series forward in an experience that is certainly worth your time!
Up next is NBA 2K21, the latest installment in the series from Visual Concepts! When the last generation version of the game came out for the Xbox One and PS4 with little change from last year’s entry, it was hypothesized among the community that the development team were saving their big advancements for the PS5 and 4th Generation of Xbox, and after having put a ton of hours into it, I must say, the community was right. Graphically, at least, the game looks outstanding! Look at Michael Jordan here for an example:
The likeness is uncanny
Graphics notwithstanding, this is a game with 3 modes (MyCareer, MyNBA and MyTeam) that one could play day in and day out and not get tired of! I shall leave a paragraph talking in depth about each.
MyCareer is by far the most popular of these three modes, and for good reason. Guiding and controlling one player for an entire career is a facet of sports games that I absolutely love, due to my unathletic nature and physical disability. I’ve always loved sports, and video games allow me to love them even more! Though I don’t create myself in these games anymore, these creation tools allow me to create a very realistic and lifelike player, especially with the benefit of the new hardware:
Everybody say hello to Fausto Larsson
The gentleman above is Fausto Larsson, currently Milwaukee’s starting point guard and reigning MVP. He is named after a player I created in NBA 2K11’s MyCareer mode, and he’s drawn comparisons to players such as Ja Morant and Russell Westbrook, so he’s in pretty elite company. After a dominant 2 year run at Villanova which included 2 national titles, Fausto went on to be drafted to the Indiana Pacers, and then later signed a max deal to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks, giving him a scoring option in Giannis Antetokounmpo and the supporting cast to help him win a championship. The championship is next on the list of accolades, as he has been crowned All NBA, and a 1 time all Star. I plan to write something about Sports Games career modes in the near future to update you all on his progress!
MyTeam is NBA 2K21’s entry in the card collection genre. Like the name states, you collect cards be it of players, coaches, offensive schemes or cosmetics, like different uniforms and arenas. I usually don’t like to spend money on these types of games, but I make exceptions, such as my birthday and the end of 2K’s yearly cycle, and I usually shake out with a pretty good team when it’s all said and done. I like the single player, 5 on 5 mode domination, where your team has to go through the league and beat every team, plus different All Star and Fantasy teams. It’s a nice touch, and serves to highlight how dedicated NBA 2K has been to preserving the history of basketball as a whole for the past decade.
MyNBA is basically the umbrella franchise mode, bringing together the past modes of MYGM (a mode where you are the GM, with elements of a role playing game, such as experience points) and MyLeague, which takes much more of a sandbox style approach to the game. New to this mode is the ability to not only add teams to the league, but subtract teams too; there exists a possibility for every single historic team to be in the game, or as few as 12 teams. And you can turn on and turn off different rules as you progress. Do you want to turn off the salary cap, while also having a 20 second shot clock? You can do that! How about setting it so draft picks can get drafted straight out of high school? Yep! Never before has one game’s franchise mode given us this much freedom, and I love it for that!
Overall NBA 2K21’s next gen offering is much better than the last generation’s offering and delivers a very solid basketball experience for every type of player, but has a foundation that can stagnate, if subsequent entries fail to innovate.
The final launch title we’re going to be covering today is Sackboy: A Big Adventure. This game stars Sackboy, famous among Playstation fans for his appearances in the LittleBigPlanet franchise, in his quest to stop the evil Vex, in his quest to enslave the peaceful denizens of Craftworld. Pretty standard plot for this type of game, but plots in a platform game don’t really matter as much. What matters is the gameplay, and thankfully, this game delivers on that. This is a game with it’s own identity in terms of how it plays and that’s a good thing. Sackboy has a variety of moves at his disposal. He can roll, punch, flutter jump and spin his way through enemies, and he uses these moves to navigate platforming and puzzle challenges:
Everything’s better with a friend!
As the above caption states, this game is best enjoyed with a friend in co-op, and there are a few co op exclusive levels that you can only play with another person, a refreshing take on the platforming genre and one that emphasize teamwork over all else. It’s great fun, no matter the skill level. Where this game really shines, however is the soundtrack! The soundtrack is one of the better ones I have heard in a video game recently, and for good reason. An eclectic mix of original music and licensed tunes make this soundtrack catchy and memorable. Overall, Sackboy is a fun romp and should bring every type of gamer, whether casual or not, serious fun. I’m not done with it at the moment, however, I have enjoyed my time with it immensely.
I will close highlighting 2 more things about this console. The first is the Dualsense controller. Now normally, I am not a fan of vibration in any of my controllers and I never have been. The Dualsense controller however, is different. Featuring Haptic feedback to provide more enhanced rumble and adaptive triggers to simulate sensations in the game, it is one of my favorite controllers I have ever used. The adaptive triggers especially are one of my favorite features of the controller. They’ll respond to various situations in certain PS5 games; say you’re playing NBA 2K21 and the player you are controlling starts to run out of stamina. Then it will be physically more difficult to sprint, and you’ll have to apply more force to the trigger to press it down all the way. This feature has a ton of potential for exciting future uses and I can’t wait to see what other developers do with it. I also really like how it looks and feels:
It reminds me of a futuristic piece of tech, with the white, glass-like sheen on the directional pad and the buttons. Subtle changes to the weight and design of the controller handles have made it easier to hold, and more comfortable to use, for all types of games.
The final thing to cover is the PS5’s video playback capabilities. Sony has always been forward thinking regarding the console’s utility as a media player. The PS1 had CD playback capability, the PS2 came with a built in DVD player and the PS3 adopted Blu Ray before anybody else. The PS5 then, is compatible with 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray discs, which is a format that has yet to gain widespread adoption. A few movies are out for it however. I bought 4K versions of The Dark Knight, which is considered the best superhero film ever made, and Planet Earth 2, a world spanning nature documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough. Both look outstanding on my Samsung display, and in the future, I’m looking forward to purchasing more 4K Blu Rays to see how they look and sound! As far as streaming goes, the same stuff I wrote about 4K Blu Ray discs applies here. I even discovered I can use my TV remote to control functions of the console, such as navigating menus. This, in conjunction with a smoother streaming experience (that is, fewer interruptions to what you’re watching) is the premier reason that my PS5 will be my all-in-one device for the foreseeable future!
I said in my PS4 Retirement post that the hard part, for me at least, was over. All that was left was for me to enjoy the games. And I have! Global supply of the console continues to be low, thanks to a shortage of parts. So I feel like I got mine at exactly the right time and you can too! Buy from official storefronts only (Sony Direct, Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc.), have multiple devices and tabs open for Sony Direct queues if you go that route and don’t give up! For if you stick it out, and you do manage to get your hands on one, you’ll be rewarded with a host of unforgettable experiences that only these next gen consoles can deliver!