CREDIT: HOUSEMARQUE
Resogun is a beautiful space shooter game on the PlayStation 4.

November 15 was a banner day for the video game industry. Sony's PlayStation 4 was released to the public, and over the weekend more than a million people sat down to enjoy the dawn of the next generation of video games, an event that only happens once in a decade. Retailers across North America are sold out of every console, controller and extra accessory available, leaving thousands of eager customers still awaiting their chance to get their hands on the PS4's controller.

The early hours of the console's life had been haunted by Internet rumours of broken HDMI ports and dead consoles, as well as gaming news websites IGN and Kotaku both receiving faulty PlayStation 4s when they were sent retail consoles to review. Sony was quick to respond to the growing hysteria on websites such as Reddit and 4chan, with Sony Computer Entertainment's worldwide president Shuhei Yoshida taking to Twitter to assure that the problem was not widespread.

Luckily for me, I was able to get a chance to sit down and try out Sony's new console and was able to formulate some early opinions on whether video games will truly be bigger, better-looking, and more revolutionary than ever before.

There is always a worry that after looking forward to something and expecting it to be amazing, something about it will let you down. I am happy to say that all the hype surrounding the new console is well warranted. The PlayStation 4 is a truly fantastic machine and points to an exciting future for gaming.

From the moment I sat down with a friend, booted up that shiny, angular box and took a hold of the (fantastically comfortable) newly designed controller, I felt a little flicker of the childlike excitement that used to force me out of bed at 3 a.m. on Christmas Day with the feeling that I'd just drank six cups of coffee. The screen booted up and we immediately jumped into Sony's big launch title Killzone: Shadow Fall, a first-person shooter that represents the first title that was made to take full advantage of the power in the new console. The first thing that truly impressed me was the speed with which the game loaded, with the time elapsed between pressing Start and the game booting up clocking in around the five-second mark, as opposed to the 45 to 60 seconds that could be expected on the PlayStation 3.

Once the game began, we were treated to a visual feast that the numerous Internet screenshots and YouTube trailers don't even come close to doing justice. The game is set in a massive city, all shiny metal and futuristic glory, and the game directors clearly took joy in using massive, sweeping shots to show off the beautiful environments that they have created. Someone passing the television watching an afternoon sun reflect off the virtual skyscrapers could easily mistake this for a high-end CGI film.

While Killzone has been advertised as the title that best shows off the technical abilities of the PS4, the most technically impressive title in the launch lineup is perhaps Resogun, a free-to-play space shooter in the tradition of Space Invaders where each level victory ends in a massive explosion of millions of individually animated cubes and a shower of colour that is one of the most satisfying payoffs I have received in many years of gaming.

The life of the PlayStation 4 is still young, and it will be facing massive competition from Microsoft's Xbox One which hit shelves on November 22, but the early experience I had with the console indicates that Sony's new black box is well placed to impress people for years to come.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some games to play.