Community Review: Console Report Card

Since games are a little thin on the ground at the moment, I thought it might be fun to take some time and discuss ‘current gen’ or ‘next gen’ consoles. Whatever we’re calling them these days. The Xbox One has been out for over a year, as has the PlayStation 4. The Wii U has been on shelves for two years now. How are you finding your consoles so far?

I’m going to go through them one by one in no particular order.


Wii U

Pros: Best line-up of exclusives. Mario Kart 8. The Wii U GamePad: I was cynical at first but it genuinely has come in handy. When everyone is watching some terrible movie on my TV, I still get to play whatever I want.
Cons: Third party support, obviously! Nintendo is still behind the times when it comes to online gaming. Needs a steadier supply of games.
Overall: The Wii U is being ignored and that’s a shame. In terms of exclusives it’s easily the best of the three.


Xbox One

Pros: It’s really starting to prove itself as a useful media centre. Skype with Kinect is great. Halo 5 Beta! Great third party support. Still love that controller.
Cons: User interface is a bit of a mess. Third party games run slightly better on the competition. Kinect as a whole still isn’t accurate enough.
Overall: I’ve had a lot of problems with the Xbox One, but Microsoft is really committed to this box. Each update brings something useful to the table. I like it more and more each day.


PlayStation 4

Pros: Console of choice for third-party titles. I find the UI quick, accessible and smooth. Share button works brilliantly. Twitch integration is almost flawless. Headphone jack in the controller: amazing. Controller as a whole: massive improvement. Looks great. Updates are quick fast and well integrated. PlayStation + games are always unreal.
Cons: Noisy. PSN is down all the time! Still no way to stream mkvs?
Overall: I love the PlayStation 4. Which was such a surprise to me, because I didn’t like the PlayStation 3 at all. A lot of things to work on, but the console does so much right.


Okay that’s my quick report card: let’s hear/read yours!


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