62 T3 APRIL 2020State of the art
PLAYSTATION NOW
layStation Now takes an all-you-can-eat
approach to game streaming. For a flat rate of
£8.99 a month, you get unlimited streaming
access to hundreds of PlayStation games,
some from the current PS4 generation and a handful of
vintage PS2 titles, but the majority being older titles from
the PS3 era. Fire up the app, and there’s near-instant
access to more than 700 titles in total.
The quality of the catalogue is undeniable. Though it’s a
slowly rotating line-up (games stay on the service a long
time), stellar PS4 titles like Bloodborne, Uncharted: The
Lost Legacy and God of War have all featured on PS Now,
while the PS3 library is extensive, with the likes of Metal
Gear, Fallout 3 and Red Dead Redemption all available
instantly. There’s certainly some filler in there, but that’s
overshadowed by the good stuff. Though true backwards
compatibility with the PS3 for the PS4 would have been
better, having them all in one browsable app is great for
the curious game historian, and lets PC gamers tap into
titles previously exclusive to the Sony console.
But the streaming quality can be found lacking. For
starters, you’re limited to just a lowly 720p resolution –
seriously short of the 4K standard that Google Stadia has
now set, and that’s without mentioning the fact that
many of the PS4 titles have 4K options if played from aThere’s filler in there,
but that’s overshadowed
by the good stuff
disc or download on the premium PS4 Pro console. Sony
gets around this with the option of offering regular
downloads for a small number of PS4 games served up
through PlayStation Now, opening up their full range of
resolution settings. But that’s not much recompense for
anyone looking to play the majority of the games available.
Equally problematic is PlayStation Now’s propensity to
kick you out of a game if your network connection flags at
all. Other services have better provision for fluctuating
connectivity, whereas PlayStation Now seems all too
eager to send you back to a menu screen. Save your game,
and save it often, if you’re planning on playing through a
lengthy game using Sony’s service.
Price is worth considering too – £8.99 is fair for the
amount of games that can be accessed. But given you’re
limited to just two platform choices in the shape of the
PS4 and PC (Mac owners are left out in the cold), and
with no mobile option or high-resolution streaming
capabilities, PlayStation Now feels like a half-hearted
inflexible, presentation of an otherwise generous line-up.PL AYSTATION
NOW
PRODUCT 02:
Sony has the games, but the streaming
service is a little lackingPlayStation’s hardware is the most expensive to get started with here, if
you’re looking for a TV hook-up, but also plays regular games, of courseP