This week's new Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed - Ecto Edition on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.
I chose this game for a particular reason, i wanted to see how well an online multiplayer focused game would work being streamed to me. normally, it would be a console talking to online servers, and those servers talking back. but with Cloud Streaming, it's my PS4 to the Cloud Server, the Cloud Server to the multiplayer server, back to the Cloud Server, and then back to my PS4. This series has shown that playing games from the Cloud is mostly fine but i wondered if this extra link in the chain would bring noticeable lag in a game mode that typically needs fast reactions.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed - Ecto Edition is either smartly designed, lucky, or a bit of both because how the weapons work in this game is slower than typical first person online shooters. it reminded me of how on PS3, the Killzone games were slower because of input lag but the game was built around this idea of slower responses because of the weight of everything. because Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed - Ecto Edition has this build up in the proton pack before it fires, it completely hides any and all lag that could come from being streamed to me.
As i haven't played other online shooters for Cloud Monday, i don't know how the others manage it, but as i've only tried Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed - Ecto Edition i have to be critical over the lack of information. I couldn't see the game auto saving so i have no idea if saves are limited to the completion of online matches or more than that. there's also no way for me to manually save. even going back to the main menu wasn't clear if anything was saving. If our connection to PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming service degrades, we're only given a 20 second warning before disconnection. With Part 1, i don't know if i can force a save by looking for a match, from having a conversation, or anything. But with an online game there's an extra concern. if i'm in a match and i get the 20 second warning and then i'm disconnected, what happens? am i given a timeout penalty for not finishing the game? i feel like Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed - Ecto Edition could use the home menu at the start of the game to give Cloud Streaming players information on when the saves are and penalties for not finishing a game, like Press L3 and a text box comes up and details it all.
So after Part 1, there's good and bad when playing Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed - Ecto Edition in the Cloud. one positive must be that i found matches quickly and even in my first games i was able to contribute even if a little.