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Making games hardware is a hard and unforgiving business, and one of the most vexing problems any manufacturer faces when creating a new console is its line-up of games at launch. In order to make it credible – which they rarely are – you need two things: to cover all the major games genres, and to offer some exclusive games that aren’t just versions of existing franchises. Knack, created by Sony’s Japan Studio, ticks both those boxes. But ultimately, it doesn’t convince.
It is, at least, original, and contains some cute ideas. Aimed at a younger, more casual audience than the rest of the PS4’s launch games, it’s set in a fantasy land studded with mysterious relics. Knack is the result of a professor’s tinkering: a sentient character made from those relics, he has the power to absorb any other relics he comes across, and thereby grow from a tiny three feet high to a house-sized hulk. The game starts with goblins invading human territory; the professor uses that as an opportunity to test out Knack’s powers, although he soon sees himself up against the robots created by the sinister human Viktor as well. During the course of the game, Knack discovers he can augment himself, and bulk up massively, using shards of ice, wood or metal, and he also learns special attacks, powered up by the yellow Sunstones that litter the landscape. These enchanting ideas translate into what you would describe as action-platform gameplay – Knack has a punch, jump and evade move, enabling him to take on an increasingly formidable roster of enemies, and there are plenty of conventional platform-style sequences involving a modicum of puzzle-solving, such as avoiding magnets when Knack has augmented himself with iron, or morphing him into a crystal version of himself in order to pass through lasers unseen.
Knack contains plenty of cute ideas and clever touches – ice-Knack will melt back to his base-state when outside in the sunlight, for example, or sometimes when he’s wooden, you have to set him on fire to solve puzzles. But the trouble is that the game’s cuter ideas don’t generate particularly interesting gameplay. The control system is very simplified, and despite manful attempts to introduce varied sequences, such as fans which cause him to float in the air, the whole game is more or less one big trawl of punching enemies punctuated by platform sequences, which becomes pretty repetitive.
Also, controlling Knack is much more fun when he’s big, but that only tends to happen towards the end of each chapter. In his base state, he has so little health that a couple of hits will take him out, so one mistimed move, even against a thoroughly unthreatening enemy, can send you back to the previous checkpoint. There are big boss-battles in which 100-foot-high Knack takes on enemies of a similar size, but they are too few and far between. Some sequences are pretty hard, requiring you take a strategic approach, which is good, may lead to frustration among younger gamers.
Another glaring problem is that Knack just doesn’t look like a next-gen game: frankly, its graphics would be pretty unremarkable on the PlayStation 3. Sony Japan has opted for a cartoonish look, but that negates the PS4’s ability to display convincing-looking textures; the humans and goblins, along with much of the landscape, look like they are made from plasticine. And other visual elements jar: for example, when you smash crates full of relics, the smashed bits take a while to disappear, like some sort of ghosts from the 16-bit days of gaming.
The annoyance doesn’t end there, either: you can find hidden areas containing chests that hold components for creating objects that will upgrade Knack in useful ways, but either they are too well hidden or they are too rare, as you will have progressed through most of the game before you even construct one such upgrade.
On the plus side, Knack is frequently rather charming. The storyline, although hardly remarkable, should grip and enchant a younger audience, and Knack himself has plenty of personality (despite a slightly annoying growly American voice). His abilities are interesting, and it would be nice to see him return in the future with substantially better vehicle in which to showcase his talents.
Knack isn’t a bad game: there is satisfaction to be derived from it, some of the gameplay is genuinely good fun (at its best moments, it does begin to acquire an air reminiscent of a more ponderous Crash Bandicoot), and it’s one of the longer games to emerge in recent years, so will at least keep youngsters occupied for decent periods of time. But neither is it a particularly good game, which is hugely disappointing given that it’s supposed to be one of the flagship reasons for buying a PlayStation 4. If you’re buying a PlayStation 4, and want to get one game for the kids, you’d be much better off with a copy of the vastly superior Lego Marvel Super Heroes – and you’d actually enjoy playing that yourself when the kids have been packed off to bed.
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Killzone: Shadow Fall is a beautiful-looking but otherwise undistinguished first-person shooter. In it, your unseen soldier has an attack drone at his disposal, which acts as an ally in firefights as well as providing DIY zip lines and a near-pointless temporary shield. The action’s solid enough but won’t be troubling Call Of Duty’s hegemony. Knack, meanwhile is a third-person action game from the man who led PS4’s creation. It looks pretty, its inoffensive little characters knocking about in a charming retro-futuristic world of hover cars and goblins, but it’s depressingly dull to play, the tactics-free combat a matter of mashing sadly on a single button.
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Over the past seven days the battle lines of the gaming industry have been drawn more distinctly and closer together than ever before, as Microsoft pits its paradoxically named third console, the Xbox One, against Sony’s resurgent PlayStation 4. But are these technological behemoths worth your time and money? While the newest generation of gaming hardware was ostensibly inaugurated last year with the release of the Wii U, Nintendo has increasingly become a law unto itself, distinct in its successes and failures from the rest of the industry. For many, the real “next gen” experience has only just arrived. It’s unusual to have two potential titans launching only a week apart – there were 15 months between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launching in the UK in 2005 and 2007 – and the “clash” speaks volumes about the vast sums of money invested in each format and the consumer appetite for them.Pre-orders for both formats set records, and the campaign trail, from announcement to release, has been bitter for both camps. But while their predecessors both offered a leap to high-definition gaming, there’s no such immediate payoff here. So how do they stack up? MK
After viewing the original Kinect with disdain, it is a hugely pleasant surprise to find how impressive the new model is included with Xbox One. Voice commands actually work and the camera sensor is far more accurate. Dead Rising 3 offers the best in-game implementation so far, in calling out support commands to allies while slaughtering zombies.
Many of the launch titles – conspicuously, largely first-party titles published by Microsoft – are filled with micro-transactions (ie charging you, albeit small amounts, for extras). Forza Motorsport 5, although a great racer mechanically, offers constant nagging to buy better cars with real money, while Crimson Dragon and Ryse both lure you into the Xbox Marketplace for upgrades. Digital consumables in full-price games is disheartening, to say the least.
More a suite than a single feature, Xbox One’s dedication to all-encompassing media consumption is very well implemented. Alongside Blu-ray playback and the usual array of on-demand services (Netflix, LoveFilm, iPlayer et al), an HDMI input allows you to control and record TV. The ‘Snap’ function is also useful, running a second app, such as Skype alongside game sessions.
Improvements to the Xbox One controller over the 360’s are largely “under the hood”, with dedicated rumble motors on each trigger. On the surface, the A, B, X, Y buttons are a whole millimetre closer together, start and back are replaced with menu and view – largely retaining the same functions – and the battery compartment is less intrusive. Comfortable, but unremarkable.
Microsoft’s SmartGlass, a companion app for tablets and smartphones, is coming into its own on Xbox One. While the strength of each title’s integration lies with developers, functions such as being able to control your apps remotely, pre-load movie purchases, participate in multiplayer games and reply to messages using your device’s touch keyboard are fantastic.
The maximum number of Xbox Live friends now clocks in at a monstrous 1,000, a vast and welcome increase. Players can also form parties, groups they play with regularly or only on specific games, and communicate through Kinect or a headset. Once you’ve downloaded the free Upload Studio app, sharing clips of your gaming prowess is quick and easy too.
Beyond fewer microtransactions, home screen navigation is the area most in need of an overhaul. In trying to simplify the user experience, the minimalist approach is instead confusing and oddly cluttered. Favourite apps can be pinned but otherwise get clumped together in a sub-menu, making it trickier to organise. Hopefully, better categorisation is only a software update away.
Despite its relatively strong launch line-up and promising upcoming titles such as Titanfall, the Xbox One is very deliberately positioned as a multimedia server, rather than a dedicated games console for the hardcore. TV integration may be irrelevant for the young and tech-savvy, eschewing broadcast in favour of streaming or downloading, but for families wanting gaming, video, music and more, Xbox is the One. Score: 7/10
The PlayStation 4 demonstrates a refreshing self-awareness from Sony. Gone is the advanced Cell processor that put developers off getting properly acquainted with the PS3, so while the PS4 is powerful, it’s simpler to develop for. It’s less bulky than the PS3, too, and old hands will be relieved to know that the controller is significantly improved.
Unfortunately, early purchasers will likely struggle to justify buying their console at launch. Promising games such as DriveClub and Watch Dogs have been delayed, and the exclusives Killzone and Knack are only mediocre. However, plenty of great multi-platform games – such as Assassin’s Creed and Lego Marvel Superheroes – look even better on PS4, with some in higher definition than on the Xbox One.
One feature to make Xbox One owners jealous is “Remote Play”, through which you can play PS4 games on your handheld PlayStation Vita. Lag makes the streaming experience less than perfect, especially if you connect from afar, but being able to use the Vita as a second controller in games such as Knack and Lego Marvel Super Heroes is a blessing.
The DualShock 4 strikes a balance: is similar enough to the previous DualShock controller to maintain the brand but without its significant flaws. Both the touchpad and speaker are interesting additions – in Killzone the former is used for menu selections and the latter to play audio logs – but most welcome are the concave triggers and a shape clearly designed for comfort.
Aside from the DualShock 4 and Vita, you can also have some control over your PS4 with the PlayStation Camera, an optional accessory left out of the basic console bundle to keep costs down. However, its response to voice commands is inconsistent, and its facial recognition feature, while impressive, is no quicker than using a controller to log in.
With long-awaited group chat and the ability to log up to 2,000 friends, it’s clear the interactive aspect is a key component to the PS4. While the record of everything your friends have done is excessive, the ability to capture segments of in-game footage and to stream as you play shows a real understanding of the modern gaming landscape.
As the PS3 and all it has to offer have evolved over the years, so too will the PS4. Let’s hope it won’t be too long before Sony releases an update with options to customise the home menu, which is currently no more than a horizontal line of every game and app installed on the device.
Sony’s goal for the PS4 was simplicity, and that’s reflected in both the physical design and internal architecture, which paves the way for a console that is focused on gaming. While only a few of the exclusive launch titles are worthwhile, those delayed big-budget titles and a promising roster of independent developers should fill the gap before long. Score: 8/10
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Microsoft has recruited England football captain Steven Gerrard and Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto for the global TV advertising campaign for its new Xbox One games console, which launches next month.
Sony has already launched teaser ads for its rival PlayStation 4 console, also going on sale next month, in the first shots in a worldwide marketing battle with Microsoft likely to be worth several hundred million dollars.
Microsoft declined to comment on the cost of its Xbox One campaign, the largest ever undertaken for its flagship games console brand. However, the cost of such a global marketing blitz including TV advertising is likely to be at least 0m, according to industry sources who have worked on such campaigns.
The ad campaign features Gerrard, Quinto in character as Star Trek’s Spock and other stars, along with characters from top games titles – such as games Dead Rising 3, Ryse and Titanfall – “beckoning” to viewers to join them in the Xbox One revolution.
Microsoft’s Xbox One campaign will launch online on Friday. The campaign breaks in the US on Sunday, and in the UK next week, prior to the Xbox One going on sale on 22 November.
Sony’s PS4 launches in the US on 15 November and in the UK on 29 November. The Japanese electronics giant has already put out teaser ads for its PS4 launch – including the nostalgic “For The Players Since 1995”, looking back over the PlayStation console’s 18-year history, and “Perfect Day”, using the Lou Reed song. Sony’s PS4 promotional push also includes a “Greatness Awaits” website.
Microsoft’s campaign, “Invitation”, invites fans to have a go at Xbox One games and will include cinema, radio, digital, social and retail marketing, as well as big scale promotions with global brands such as Doritos and Mountain Dew.
Xbox One is Microsoft’s first new console since the XBox 360 debuted in 2005, with the software giant promising a range of innovations includingvoice and gesture-activated features.
Microsoft said it was launching a “fan-centric” campaign that aims to position the console as the “only all-in-one entertainment system that brings together content loved by gamers, movie buffs, sports fans, and TV lovers, all in one place”.
Piers Harding-Rolls, director, head of games, at analysts IHS, said that the launch is critical in Microsoft’s battle against rivals such as the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation franchise.
“Xbox One is enormously important to Microsoft and represents the company’s core strategy for engaging the consumer in the living room,” he said. “Microsoft aims to spread its gaming and entertainment wings on to new Windows platforms and third-party devices to maintain direct engagement with consumers across multiple screens.”
According to IHS, sales of the existing Xbox 360 will hit almost 80m globally by the end of the year. Rival PS3 will have sold 75.4m consoles and the Nintendo Wii 97.8m.
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Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary edition The Day of the Doctor attracted the biggest ever audience on the BBC’s US cable channel on Saturday.
The show averaged 2.4 million viewers on BBC America, despite being broadcast at 2.50pm on the US east coast (11.50am in California) rather than in evening primetime, as the 50th-anniversary episode was simulcast with BBC1’s UK broadcast.
A primetime repeat attracted a further 1.2 million viewers.
On BBC1, The Day of the Doctor averaged 10.2 million viewers and a 37.4% share on Saturday – the fifth biggest overnight audience for a Doctor Who episode since the show’s revival in 2005, and the most popular outside Christmas and new year holiday specials.
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Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor has made more than m (£6m) in box office takings in its first three days being aired in cinemas around the world.
Digitally The Day of the Doctor has also raced to the top of episodes purchased on Apple’s iTunes in the US and Amazon’s television chart. Based on the first day of sales it is set to be the most downloaded episode of 2013 for the BBC on iTunes.
The BBC launched the The Day of the Doctor in 3D in cinemas in 15 countries from Russia to Ecuador on Saturday, and by the end of the day of Monday fans had forked out .2m (£6.25m) to watch it.
In the UK box office revenues from the anniversary edition – which featured three doctors, Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt as well as a cameo by Tom Baker – came to £1.8m in its first three days.
This was good enough to rank it third after Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Sandra Bullock’s space survival film Gravity.
The BBC said that in the US the film took .7m on Monday night alone, selling 320,000 tickets, which made it the second biggest film of the day after Hunger Games.
In terms of average revenue per screen the BBC said it was number one in the US on Monday, with 650 cinemas airing the 75-minute anniversary edition for an average of ,155. Hunger Games, on much wider release in 4,163 cinemas, made ,623 per screen on average.
More than 70,000 Australian fans made it to the cinema to watch Doctor Who on Sunday.
“We organised the global cinema events to give the fans an opportunity to get together and enjoy a unique moment in Doctor Who history as one,” said the BBC Worldwide chief brands officer, Amanda Hill. “It also gave those same fans who didn’t have 3D TVs a chance to see the special in its biggest and most amazing form. We had no idea that there would be such a demand at the global box office. This demonstrates how huge the show remains in the UK and how far it’s come internationally over the last few years.”
The anniversary episode is also being screened in cinemas in countries including Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Iceland.
The Day of the Doctor also attracted the biggest ever audience on the BBC’s US cable channel, BBC America, averaging 2.4 million viewers. This was despite being aired at 2.50pm on the US east coast (11.50am in California) well outside of a primetime evening viewing slot. A primetime repeat attracted a further 1.2 million viewers.
The BBC is also claiming a Guinness world record as “the world’s largest ever simulcast of a TV drama”, with episode aired in 94 countries.
The most anticipated episode since the show was regenerated in 2005 attacted more than 10 million viewers to BBC1 on Saturday night, the most popular edition outside Christmas and new year holiday specials.
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This article titled “Knack – review” was written by Steve Boxer, for theguardian.com on Friday 29th November 2013 16.35 UTC