Topic: General PlayStation 4 Thread

Just beat Astro Bot: Rescue Mission earlier today with all bots & chameleons collected in the main 5 worlds, and I even got every toy from the Claw Machine in the Astro Ship (don't think I'll bother much with the challenge levels though since they seem to be mostly just timed obstacle courses & mini games).

It's very much a Mario style 3D platformer with a more sci-fi facade, as you control a robot named Astro, who hops & bops his way through 5 worlds rescuing other bots & collecting pieces of their ship after it was attacked by a giant slime like alien. The worlds themselves each have 4 platforming levels (each with 8 bots & a chameleon to collect) plus a boss level (these are definitely highlights), across six different themes (there's great variety even here though, as the "nature" theme can encompass a treetop canopy level, as well as a rather brilliant graveyard level & Japanese castle level as well, for example). In addition to the 5 main worlds you have the Challenge Belt, an asteroid belt that's home to timed obstacle course & mini game challenges (there's a challenge level for each main level, as that's what the chameleons unlock), as well as the Astro Ship which is sort of a hub world you can mess about in (it has a claw machine mini game you can use your in game coins to play, that unlock new play sets, as you can redecorate you're ship's interior to represent any of the 6 level themes in addition to the base one). And yes, all the bots you rescue do reside within the ship (while having it set to the default interior), so it gets pretty crowded in there.

Levels themselves are pretty linear, but there's a lot of exploration to be had if you want to find all the collectables (this is definitely where the 360° viewing angle comes into play), and while Astro has a pretty simple move set (he can jump, temporarily hover via a double jump, and punch), things can get pretty interesting as you can power up your controller (which appears in game as if you're playing from the perspective of a larger robot following and assisting Astro out) with features like a hose, grappling hook, shurikens, cartoons Gatling gun, and flashlight that are all put to very inventive use in various ways.

The only thing I have against it (and this is more just a limitation of the PSVR itself, and maybe a bit since I don't have a PS4 Pro, is that objects in the distance look really blurry. Levels in more confined spaces look wonderful, and they do a good job with rendering only what they need to most of the time in a way that doesn't make it look like a limitation, but it's noticeable whenever there is a larger draw distance, and I think even the closer up objects take a little bit of a clarity hit when it's trying to render the objects in the distance).

@RR529 I loved Astrobot rescue - it was so entertaining!

@RR529 in case u didnt know, there is a thread for games recently beat.

@ellswort004, I knew we had one in the retro/other gaming section, but I didn't see one here (I went back about 5 pages and didn't see one, unless I passed over it, lol). Thanks.

I'll just leave this here.
You can't tell, but I'm rather excited.
https://rtypefinal2.com/

@KALofKRYPTON i loved r-type back in the day. The stars in the background of that webpage are pretty cool.

@ellsworth004

I thought that!

I'm glad something is happening with the series. Final was a decent entry in the series - but it paled in comparison a few of its contemporaries.

Now all I need is a ridiculous crowdfunder reward with one of the Plum R-9 models

One thing Nintendo do that I wish Sony would introduce (and I think it has been mentioned on here) is being able to add games to a wishlist from the store on the console. I know you can do this from the website of the ps store, but it is not integrated into the store on the console in anyway. I also get an email from Nintendo whenever there is a game on my wishlist that is on offer. As sales are coming more and more frequently on the ps store, I think this would be a really handy addition. Sometimes when trawling though the huge list of games in sale I just give up as I'm either not interested in them or already have them. This is probably why I've purchased stuff from the weekend flash sales, as there are less titles to trawl through.

Is there a way to sort the items on the PS store? Like no DLC/micro-transactions.

@RR529 You have hit the nail on the head. My favourite Psvr games have stuff up close.

Games with stuff going on in the distance mostly suck as it's too blurry.

Give Statik a go everything is close ul. That's probably my favourite after Astrobot but please don't use a guide at all and go in blind..... Or a better way to put it - don't look up any reviews or info and get involved!

@JohnnyShoulder This is a good point. I have a load of wish list items on Switch eshop as I find the store too crowded. The ps app needs better integration with PS4 store.

@Octane Yeah there are various filters you can apply such as Games, Bundles, Add-ons, etc.

@JohnnyShoulder On their website too? I couldn't find it.

@Octane Oh I dunno soz, I hardly use the site. Don't like all the sign hurdles you have to do like the stupid Captcha thing.

@Frigate like when it’s idle for a long period of time? Does it crash when a game or application is active?

@Frigate Wow, that does sound pretty bad. Definitely not gonna last another year and a half until PS5.
I’ve contemplated upgrading from my launch PS4 to a Pro, but I don’t even have a 4K TV or HDR. The quicker load times and boost mode is tempting though. But my unit is functioning fine for the most part. It is a little laggy on the menu and I probably need to do another database rebuild since it’s beem a few months.
I’m assuming you’ve tried rebuilding your database / defragging?

@Frigate Ah man, that Sekiro PS4 was really sweet looking. Too bad. A Days Gone special edition console could look really nice too.

@RR529 I played through this on PS4 PRO and it looks fantastic, I think the PRO runs it at a higher resolution and super samples back down for a much sharper image. Other games like Skyrim have more visual effects on PRO too and I can certainly tell the difference when going back to early PSVR games. Got to say Astro Bot is probably the best platformer I've played for years too, so much fun and very clever use of the technology available

@Kidfried Spooky... But yes, I'd seen the article, thanks!

Blegh... I don't like it when game purchases require a spreadsheet.