Tag: Hardware Review
Hardware Review PS Portal Is the Perfect PS5 Companion (For Some)
A great product at the mercy of your Internet connection
When the PS Portal was first announced, we were endlessly sceptical about Sony's sort of return to the handheld market. We've spent the best part of a decade clamouring for a new PS Vita, so the PS Portal understandably feels like a half-measure, rather than the real deal. However, after...
Hardware Review Nacon Daija Arcade Stick - A PS5, PS4, and PC Fighting Game Dream
Arcade heaven
We’re in a golden era for fighting games right now. Following the critical success of the sublime Street Fighter 6, publisher Capcom recently revealed there’ll be a prize pool of over $2 million up for grabs in the latest iteration of its Capcom Pro Tour. And with the likes of Tekken 8 and Mortal Kombat 1 also on the horizon,...
Feature PSVR2 Review: Is It Worth It?
Next-gen virtual reality arrives
Back when Sony originally released PSVR in 2016, it felt like magic. The headset – which also repurposed the existing PS Camera and PS Move controllers in order to operate – enabled you to exist within virtual worlds, unlocking innovative new gameplay opportunities, as observed in some of the device’s biggest...
Hardware Review DualSense Edge - An Outstanding Upgrade for Enthusiasts
Give yourself that competitive edge
It's been years in the making, and frankly long overdue, but Sony's finally launched the DualSense Edge, a pricey pro-controller made for those competitive PS5 players out there. With a bunch of added features on top of those from the DualSense controller, there was already a lot to like about the Edge from the...
Hardware Review BenQ Mobiuz EX3210U - A Vivid, Fully-Fledged HDR Gaming Monitor
Seeing clearly
The video game display landscape is a minefield unless you’re an audiovisual expert, and it’s frustrating when you consider it’s arguably the most important part of your PlayStation experience. We all know the PS5 – and, to a lesser extent these days, the PS4 – are capable of outputting extraordinary images, but knowing...
Hardware Review Sabrent's PS5 SSD Heatsink Offers Console Convenience
Easy installation is a big win
Sony has enabled the PlayStation 5’s expanded storage slot, allowing you to dramatically increase the amount of software you can have installed at once. Rather than creating a proprietary solution, the manufacturer has instead opted for standard NVMe M.2 SSDs, which should help drive prices down as they become more...
Feature PS5 Review: Is It Good?
Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 iterates impressively on PS4
In this PS5 review, we’re going to answer an important question: is Sony’s next-gen PlayStation 5 console good and what makes it a meaningful upgrade over the PS4? We’re going to discuss the system’s key features, including its hardware and graphics, storage space, games, controller,...
Hardware Review PS5 Pulse 3D Wireless Headset - A Sturdy All-Rounder with Above Average Audio
Sound
Video games are an inherently visual medium – the clue, after all, is in the name. And yet sound can make or break an experience: when it’s good, like in The Last of Us: Part II, it sucks you into your surroundings, providing a sense of presence – but when it’s bad, like in the tinny Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, it only serves to...
Hardware Review Nacon Revolution Unlimited PS4 Controller - A Rock Solid Xbox-Style Alternative
Flirting with the enemy
If you're a PlayStation fan but you've never been too keen on the layout of Sony's controllers, then the Nacon Revolution Unlimited Pro Controller for PlayStation 4 (phew) may well be the controller for you. The headline here is that like Nacon's previous efforts, the Revolution Unlimited (as we'll be calling it from this...
Hardware Review Razer Raiju Ultimate - Probably the PS4's Best 'Pro' Controller, But It Ain't Cheap
Razing the bar
Almost a whole year ago, we reviewed the Raiju, a "pro" controller for PlayStation 4 from Razer. We walked away pretty impressed with the pad, praising its overall build quality, responsive face buttons, and comfortable triggers. However, its directional pad and shoulder bumpers did leave quite a bit to be desired, and an expensive...
Hardware Review PS Classic - A Nostalgic Nineties Novelty
Everything you need to know about the PlayStation Classic
On the 24th anniversary of the PlayStation’s release in Japan comes the PlayStation Classic, a micro-console created to cash in on growing nostalgia for Sony’s first ever system. Following in the footsteps of Nintendo’s own NES and SNES miniatures, this plug-and-play PSX comes bundled...
Hardware Review PS4 Slim Review - The Most Affordable PlayStation 4
Does Sony's diminutive device deliver?
It's amazing how much can happen in the space of a month. We never really expected Sony to release a PlayStation 4 Slim, but here we are putting Sony's shrunken system through its paces. There are times when the games industry feels like it's moving at a snail's pace, with titles announced eons before...
Hardware Review PS4 Pro Review - Should You Upgrade Your PlayStation 4?
Do you even 4K, Pro?
For a company supposedly sitting on its near 70 million unit install base, Sony sure isn't slowing down. Just a month after ushering in a virtual revolution with PlayStation VR, the platform holder released the first ever iterative console model with the PlayStation 4 Pro; the bags under the eyes of the Japanese giant's...
Hardware Review PSVR Review - Should You Buy PlayStation VR?
Virtual revolution
At least I can say I have lived. Sony's award-winning 1999 commercial hinged on one simple, indelible message: PlayStation has the power to transform you into someone you're not; the capacity to transport you to places that you've never been to before. And in the near-two decades since that promise was made, the Japanese giant's...
Hardware Review PlayStation VR Aim Controller - Straight Shootin'
On target?
Virtual reality is at its mind-blowing best when it’s representing physical objects in 3D space. Wield two PlayStation Move controllers in the excellent Job Simulator, for example, and you can practically juggle with digital objects such is the accuracy with which the wands are replicated within the title’s cartoon world. The newly...
Hardware Review Is the Razer Raiju the PS4's True Pro Controller?
Razor's edge
Officially licensed by Sony, the Razer Raiju is one of the PlayStation 4's 'Elite' controllers – the other being the Nacon Revolution. At the time of writing, the Raiju retails for around £150, so it's safe to say that it's a premium piece of gadgetry. In order to pen this review, we spent around 60 hours with the Raiju, playing...
Hardware Review Hori Real Arcade Pro 4 Kai - Stick Joy
King of the Kontrollers
Capcom may have slightly fumbled the launch of Street Fighter V, but there's no denying that the title is a formidable addition to the company's long and proud lineage in a genre that it has arguably dominated since the early 90s. However, as any truly dedicated player will tell you over and over, the interface you use to...
Hardware Review How to Extend Your PS4 Controller's Battery Life
Never stop playing
Longevity isn't exactly the DualShock 4's favourite word. Sony's latest controller may be the most comfortable that it's ever made, but if it was on a Duracell commercial, it would be one of those knock-off bunnies on its haunches staring longingly at the cotton tails of its supercharged counterparts. The PowerPak 1, an ergonomic...
Hardware Review The Perfect PS4 Hard Drive Upgrade Kit for the Clueless
We take a look at Oyen Digital's 1TB option
Let's cut right to the chase: if you're anything like us, that 500GB hard drive that's sat inside of your PlayStation 4 since launch is becoming a growing hassle. You're probably having to delete older games so that you can install new ones, and every time that there's a hefty patch to download, you get...
Hardware Review PlayStation TV - Turn Off
TV, TV, TV
It's perhaps indicative of the PlayStation TV's place in Sony's overall hardware portfolio that we decided to delay our review of the microconsole during the busy Christmas period while we focused our attention on the onslaught of PlayStation 4 software instead. Announced in Japan over a year ago, there was a swell of
Hardware Review PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset - Sound Buy
Gold standard
Having recently graduated with a distinction from the school of Turtle Beach, this editor was not especially looking forward to another battle of wits against a pair of humble headphones. The elaborately named Ear Force PX4 peripheral garnered a glowing appraisal in the sound quality portion of our recent review, but was ultim
Hardware Review PS Vita Slim - Screen if You Wanna Go Faster
Slimmer, lighter, better?
Hardware revisions are a fact of gaming life; as manufacturers find new ways to cut costs and reduce their overheads, we invariably see new iterations hit the market in the hope that new consumers can be drawn in by the allure of fresh tech and hefty discounts. However, such revisions can come with significant drawbacks;...
Hardware Review Turtle Beach Ear Force PX4 - Perfect Sound for PS4
With a few headaches along the way
Audio is arguably the most underrated element of gaming. We spend hours poring over screenshots and gameplay videos, rarely giving a second thought to the sound as we inspect textures, lighting effects, and polygons. Despite this, a game’s ability to move or engage is often closely linked to the quality of its...
Hardware Review PlayStation 4 - For the Players
Greatness arrives
How do you review a games console in this day and age? Our expectations for new systems have changed, and while Sony's messaging with the PlayStation 4 may have centred on the hearts of the players with iron sight precision, it's impossible to escape the idea that beneath the expensive marketing campaigns and Antonio Banderas...
Hardware Review DualShock 4 - The Best Way to Play
XOXO
A console without a controller is like a car without a steering wheel: useless. While a vehicle’s helm provides the pivotal interaction between the wheels and the road, video game systems have forever been defined by the device’s that drive them. Sony evidenced this earlier in the year when it opted to unveil its overhauled DualShock 4...
