I Switched from a PS4 to a PC: Making the Jump

I Switched from a PS4 to a PC

Making the Spring

Ever since I first held that black-and-white brick of a Nintendo controller at the age of half dozen, I've been a console loyalist. I've endemic near every console fabricated from 1990 onward, from the Super Nintendo to the Sega Dreamcast.

So when my editor asked, "Are you set up to hand over your PlayStation 4?", my hands broke out in a cold sweat — especially when she said I had to use the keyboard and mouse, instead of my dearest controller, for certain titles, such as Mass Issue: Andromeda.

She might equally well have asked if I wanted to turn over my firstborn kid. (I don't have one, but that's not the point.) At the time, I had only bought Horizon Zilch Dawn, had gotten back into Gravity Rush 2 and was all the same deeply invested in Street Fighter V.

Could I put all my adventures on hold and bandy systems midstream? Would I be able to adjust to controlling characters via keyboard? What games would I even play on a PC?

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I've touched a couple of PC games — mainly Counter-Strike and a couple of point-and-click adventures — but I never could go fully invested. Admittedly, part of my problem is psychological. I just never viewed PC equally a viable gaming option. Three-fourths of my PC usage is spent on Wikipedia, and the rest is used to stream music and podcasts. My PC is basically a radio and encyclopedia, not a console.

Another issue is dexterity. Before I was a panel gamer, I used to exist an arcade junkie. Fighting games are my true passion, and I would spend laundry bags of quarters loitering in laundromats, pizza shops and video arcades. Every bit the arcade industry died down, I began to play more and more at habitation, and I got more accustomed to using a controller and lounging around with my feet upward on a table.

A couple of years ago, I went to an old-schoolhouse arcade to endeavor to play Marvel vs. Capcom, and I realized I had lost most of my joystick skills. I'd endeavour to launch a fireball, and instead, I'd just dial the air. If this were 10 years agone, I would accept devoted hours to relearning and growing those motor skills. Only I tin't spend that time now. I worried that the same would happen when I tried to use a keyboard. Would information technology be worth it to try to play a first-person shooter on a PC, simply to continue running into walls and shooting the air?

I admit PC games do have advantages. The graphics and smoothness are unparalleled. Whenever I'd watch videos of PC games or meet friends play, I'd be amazed by the sharpness of the gameplay. After all, even the best console games have some sort of latency. As I said earlier, I'k a big fighting-game fan, and players rave nearly the virtually nonexistent lag. The ability to play an arcade-perfect fighting game holds a large appeal.

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Another reason I'thou intrigued is because of the sheer number of indie games. I slowly gravitated toward indie games over the past five years considering of how far they've come up. I'm always interested in expanding my gaming palate, and PC exclusives such every bit Hollow Knight are right up my alley. Plus, I accept a decent internet connexion at present. Gone are the days of dial-up, where I could easily get kicked offline, just as a mission started getting good, considering of a phone telephone call or because my female parent tripped over a wire.

But 1 affair has remained the same over the years: my dear of gaming. I love getting immersed in the adventures, controlling the destinies of my characters and challenging myself in interesting ways. I'm also even so a fan of playing with friends. Many a play date revolved around meeting upwards at a friend's house to play a racing game or practise some co-op beat out-'em-up game like Final Fight or Streets of Rage.

And so with all that said — and considering my potential learning curve — I now have an Alienware 15 in my apartment, access to a slew of Steam and EA games, and six weeks to get acquainted with the PC life. Will I be prepared to make the leap? Stay tuned to notice out if I (and my potentially arthritic hands) can tell.

Fun with Alienware

Afterwards repeating my life affirmations in the mirror 20 times and taking some anti-anxiety meds, I relinquished my PlayStation 4 and took home an Alienware 15 for the purposes of an experiment: to see what it'd exist like to switch from PS4 to PC for gaming.

Get-go things first: This laptop is seriously lit, and I'm not using slang. Almost every function of the Alienware — from the keyboard, to the touchpad, to the alien head on the back — lights up in different colors. I felt similar I was using a segmented glow stick. Had I known that gaming laptops could do all kinds of rave-like illumination, I would accept been tempted to experiment with non-panel gaming years ago.

The side by side thing I noticed was the weight. At 7.4 pounds, the Alienware 15 was far heavier than I had expected. Granted, I have a slight build, and then carrying also many groceries up a flying of stairs is plenty to make my artillery sore. But the PC is nevertheless a bit heftier than my six.2-pound PS4.

Earlier I could bound headfirst into PC gaming, I had to go reaquainted with using a PC. Later switching to a Mac iii years ago, I had to reopen my mental PC pathways and remember what the Alt and Ctrl keys do. In fact, I almost called my editor to say, "Tin I infringe an adult? I can't operate heavy machinery. Are there floppy disks I tin utilise to boot this thing?"

My side by side step was to figure out whether I wanted to play on a large-screen TV or game directly on the laptop. "But Calvin, you take an HDMI cable, so just plug it in," you might say. Yes, I can exercise that. Just this is week one, and I'm sticking with my promise to employ this device and this device only. Plus, I'grand on a laptop, and information technology will be dainty to play on the go.

After gaining access to my editor's Steam library, I played Broforce and Batman: Arkham City. And by the fashion, if you lot missed Broforce the showtime fourth dimension effectually, definitely go this game in your life! It's a fun indie 2D side-scroller where you play as 1 of several characters who are parodies of action-flick heroes. I started off as Rambro (based on Rambo) and battled through four maps, slaying pixelated foes. The game looks good, just considering the game blueprint is a throwback to old-schoolhouse adventure games, I couldn't really compare the smoothness of the graphics to my experience with the PS4.

Playing Arkham City was a far more interesting experience, considering information technology felt like a step dorsum in time. I hadn't touched that game since 2013, and I call back having a deadline unhealthy obsession with the fighting mechanics. I'd thoroughly explore every inch of that criminal wasteland, collecting Riddler trophies and picking off throngs of thugs. I also recalled that, when Arkham Metropolis offset came out on PC, in that location were numerous glitches that angered many gamers.

It's clear that those problems have been resolved, considering the game ran similar a dream. Normally, I'1000 not obsessed with graphics (I'm the kind of guy who could play Final Fantasy VI in the dark without suffering from eyestrain), simply I found the graphics to exist very sharp. I didn't have any issues with lag or delay inputs. And considering I felt so in sync with my character, I got to pay more attention to the story and fully engage.

One of the best parts of laptop gaming is the ability to be mobile. Now, I'thou not saying that I was gaming on the toilet with company property; I'm not a barbarous, and that's what my telephone is for. Just I greatly enjoyed being able to set upward a gaming environment in unlike parts of my apartment. I liked being able to play while reclining on a sofa and then switch over to the scoop chair if I was feeling likewise lazy. And if I felt similar getting some sun, I could even venture outside and game in the park.

I should note that I did use an Xbox controller to play Arkham City. I'll play on a smaller screen, but I'll be damned if I was going to adjust to moving a graphic symbol with a keyboard. I can't sully Batman's award by walking into punches or accidentally tossing a batarang. And so far, the struggle hasn't been as well real, and I'm non experiencing any Sony-related delirium tremors.

My goal for next calendar week is to use keyboard controls, then come back so to read well-nigh how bad I am at WASD navigation. I promise you all continue to support me on this journey and ship me hi-res thoughts and prayers.