Hands-on with PlayStation 4: the Digital Foundry verdict
We leave Sony's E3 booth undoubtedly impressed, with two key takeaways in light of the Xbox One's rivalling offerings. Firstly, though almost all launch titles on show appear to be running directly from PS4 hardware, it's a touch disappointing to discover the likes of Thief and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag are only currently being demonstrated by proxy of an on-hand developer. This was a very closely guarded event indeed, suggesting a lack of confidence in the progress of development for some of these titles. Even so, Knack, DriveClub and Warframe do give us absolute, no-holds barred freedom to toy with the most current builds as long as we please.
The second point is that the majority of titles here, from the long-awaited Thief reboot to the CG-like Infamous: Second Son, are overwhelmingly poised for 1080p native output whilst running at 30fps. The sacrifice of 60fps does have its benefits: as far as visual quality goes, Sucker Punch's flame-throwing action title in particular leaves us with our jaws most agape. It looks gorgeous in motion, plays without skipping a beat, and the effects work is quite unlike anything we've seen on current-gen platforms. While this isn't a hands-on session, the new front-man also looks immediately satisfying to control.
Our most hotly anticipated game is Killzone: Shadow Fall, and we aren't disappointed by the breadth of the gameplay slice we're handed, even if it is brief. Based on the sub-30fps performance and LOD streaming issues, certainly Guerrilla Games has some work to do on this forest section before its confidence rises to a point where any player can explore it at their leisure. The foundation of play is largely intact for long-time series fans though, and the touchpad controls open up some enticing new tactical options for multiplayer. We're confident that this section's rough edges - absent from the earlier Citadel demonstration - will be smoothed out by the time of release.
When it comes to the state of software development on PS4, the situation as it stands is surprising. On the one hand, freely playable first-party titles such as Knack and DriveClub suffer from noticeable frame-rate stutters down from 30fps, while on the other, "hands off" demos for the new Infamous and Assassin's Creed games appear to run without a perceptible hitch. This is in stark contrast to the playable software confirmed to be running direct from Xbox One hardware, such as Forza Motorsport 5 and Killer Instinct, which benefit to no end for targeting the 1080p60 gold standard, and largely succeed in doing so.
Such a disparity in performance is far from the outcome we had expected going in to E3, but Sony's agenda with this initial wave of games is clearly hinging on visual fireworks rather than maximising frame-rates to the full 60Hz refresh. In the case of Guerrilla Games' and Sucker Punch's sterling work, the pay-off speaks volumes through the screens, and we're left itching to jump into both come their European releases. Christmas can't come soon enough.
