Forgiveness

EDIT: (8 Month Update)Still maintain earlier points and now that there are more games on the way, this next gen experience is finally beginning to transpire. The console is still excellent and the features haven't lost their luster since launch. Only problem is that a few things have started to impact the experience...Unfortunately I've encountered a few issues that have been slightly frustrating so I'm docking a point. The storage space situation is still frustrating and m.2 support has seemingly been delayed until who knows when. For the time being: if it's a PS4 game, use an external, if it's a PS5 game, pray you aren't playing too many PS5 games.A HUGE issue that occurred was that my data was corrupted and I had to reset my PS5 entirely and re-download my data from Cloud storage. I barely did anything other than attempt to provision an external drive for PS4 game storage which... seems like pretty basic functionality... Luckily all of my data was available from the cloud except for my significant others' offline profile and her data. She felt it was time to change her profile pic anyways o_-----------------------Original:So far there's been quite a bit to love about this console with a few small drawbacks. The experience we've had with this console has felt fully next gen and that's coming from a multi-platform gamer with a fully upgraded PC. This review is broken up into the following sections:CONSOLE DESIGN---------------------The internet was filled with an ocean of memes after the final unveiling of the PS5's design. Seto Kaiba and Doug Dimmadome was two of the most apt and hilarious, and the consensus was that this console looked pretty peculiar. Different from the norm for sure. I'll admit that I scratched my head for a good while as I have with a lot of the other modern, bombastic, and overly complicated modern designs that tend be more present in newer gen cars.Sometimes they take a while to look at and get used to before you see what the artist was going for, other times (like with the new Nissan Maxima) you still cringe every time you pass by it on the road and wonder what they were thinking. Sony was venturing into that same design territory which definitely isn’t typical for consoles. Luckily I’ve grown to love it after having it in my living room for a few days and mounting it sideways. It almost feels like a sculpture or a super-modern accent to your entertainment center.Cooling is another piece of why the console was designed the way it was. The cooling in it seems to work extremely well but it still falls prey to the same issues the PS4 pro did when it comes to keeping it in enclosed areas, though not to the same extent. As consoles tend to become more powerful and the design tends to lean closer PC’s, ventilation and airflow will continue to be an issue unless alternatives are pursued.Overall the design is risky and ambitious, yet not without purpose, and works well. It makes the console almost feel like a piece of modern artwork in your living room. Very cool.HARDWARE & PERFORMANCE-----------------------------------This console is a beast, and as multi-platform gamer with an overpowered PC, trust that I don’t say that lightly. Every console generation has upgraded processors, GPUs, and storage, but one of the unique aspects of this generation was the introduction of SSDs. The general concepts of SSDs isn’t new to most PC users but what’s different for consoles is that the architecture and having them as a standard form factor on a platform. We haven’t seen their full potential used on PCs yet largely because not everyone has them and even if they do, not everyone installs games on them so developers don’t count on that. On the PS5 we now get to fully feel the power of games utilizing this tech to improve load times and also to expand the concept of game design.Due to improved performance and instant loading of assets, developers no longer have to rely on tricks to hide level loading from the player’s view, and other FOV objects shift instantly with almost no performance issues or lagging. It’s absolutely incredible to experience in action and really helps to make more beautiful, engaging, and next gen experiences that would be incredibly difficult to experience even on PC. The performance on this console is also some of the best value for the price compared to PCs as well and doesn’t seem like it will feel antiquated as fast as consoles normally start to.Also worth mentioning is that the PS5 has the ability to play 4K UltraHD Blu-ray discs which is incredible. In the past several years I've had no desire to fork out money for one since the few 4K blu-ray steelbook movies I've bought have the ability to also be downloaded in 4K UltraHD.CONTROLLER------------------The new dual sense controller is one of the greatest features of this platform. With vastly improved haptic motors, it improves the player’s sense of immersion with the games that they’re playing. Astro’s Playroom does a great job of showcasing the various ways that players will experience it in future games while also serving as a great little game itself. You can feel a variety of textures, toughness on triggers, etc. in a variety of environments and conditions. It’s really cool technology and could even adjust game difficulty or mechanics in a really creative and exciting way. It’s likely the biggest improvement in this technology since rumble packs started being built directly into controllers and it’s one of the standout features of the PS5.The overall design of the controller is mostly the same but also feels different as you begin to increasingly notice the small changes. An immediately noticeable change is to the controller's styling. It's now fitted with a really cool two-tone aesthetic to match the console. The controller is now slightly bigger but feels a lot nicer and full to the grip. You'll also notice that the big blinding LED on the back has been removed and replaced with a sleek LED around the edges of the keyboard button. A nice flourish is the texture to the bottom. If you look closely enough you'll notice that those aren’t tiny dots – they’re tiny, microscopic triangles, O’s, squares, and X’s floating around which is absolutely crazy.UI/OS--------As generations move forward and the UI has become closer to perfection, expect fewer leaps. The UI is mostly the same as with the PS4 but with a few flourishes. The menu bar is a lot easier to access with just a mere tap of the PS button on your controller. The initial loading screen up bootup has some really cool effects, and menus are slightly more organized and easier to navigate. The overall design is a bit cleaner and more refined. Overall a great presentation with not a whole lot to complain about other than the confusing choices they made with the display order of the “Friends” menu. I don’t understand why I have to scroll to the bottom to see friends online. Why.LAUNCH LINEUP----------------------The launch lineup is extremely solid. Demon’s Souls and Spiderman Miles Morales Ultimate Launch edition are two of the best launch titles ever released, and Godfall is another decent exclusive. Additionally available are a few multi-platform staples like NBA 2k21, Madden, and Call of Duty. Overall a great launch line up that will give players plenty to do. There’s also a lot to explore in the PSPlus store, which is great because those titles are available to install and play on PS5 as well. Also included for free is Astro's Playroom which is meant to serve as a tech demo of the console's features but ends up feeling like a solid game and homage to PlayStation history.HARD DRIVE/STORAGE------------Storage space isn’t the greatest. The new SSD’s NVMe drive performance is phenomenal but also makes storage space more expensive. The PS5 has 825GB total with only 667.2GB available for games, which may be unmanageable for anyone moving over from their PS4. Luckily PS4 games can be stored and played via an external hard drive. PS5 games, however, can’t be accessed via external hard drives since their functionality relies on them being accessed through a high speed, NVMe SSD. Thankfully players won’t need to worry about that just yet given the limited number of PS5 titles at launch. Sony’s planning on making hard drive upgrades available through a future update. Those upgrades will need to be Sony certified NVMe solid state drives with 5.5GB/s read speeds or higher. It’s a bittersweet categoryBRANDING/PACKAGING----------------------------This is one area where the PS5 feels slightly uninspired. Sony's slowly been moving further in the clean, futuristic/minimalist style, which previous generations have benefited from. Unfortunately it's starting to feel slightly stale and uninspired. The game cases use the same exact blue cases that PS4 games use and the case art design is almost completely unchanged with the exception of the colors. The console packaging feels really basic and minimalist too to the point where is sits on the edge of feeling like little effort was made, almost like this is yet another console being cranked out of the Sony machine. It's hard to feel like this is a strong suit especially when looking into how much effort Microsoft put into the Xbox Series X's packaging. Luckily the PS5 makes up for this in other areas.BUGS-------There have been a slew of bugs reported by other outlets. For us, the only issue we've experienced was with the initial attempt at transferring the data. The first attempt failed (partially? it wasn't quite clear) but the second attempt at copying data over succeeded. It's unfortunate that PSN accounts are required to transfer users over from PS4 so my girlfriend's local account couldn't be transferred.============BOTTOM LINE-----------------The PS5 has a few small hiccups but is a really outstanding consoles with some really cool features that set it apart from pervious generations and current gen alternatives. As more generations of consoles are released and fewer improvements are left to be made conceptually, it’s slowly becoming difficult for anyone other than Nintendo to avoid feel stale or like another lineup in the large industry machine. Luckily new haptic technology, a bold new design, meaningful use of SSD technology, 3D sound, and cool tweaks to the existing Sony formula help set this console apart and feel even more exciting than the PS4 did initially in some ways. The level of backward compatibility so far is also extremely impressive and being able to play 4K bluray is a nice feature to have. It would’ve been nice to see cool new branding and cool new game cases, but you can’t have it all.

[Initial Thoughts—Please stay tuned as I plan to add to this as I go]Opening the Box:Unboxing the PS5 reminded me of my first experience with Apple products years and years ago. And if you are not an Apple fan, you might not realize, how, back in the dark ages, tech was haphazardly packaged or that everyone else largely does it the “Apple way” nowadays. Needless to say, my experience was refined, not clunky, with the layout making sense, and very little wasted space.The Beast inside:The PS5 itself, is, well, massive. It dwarfs the PS4 Pro, and hell, even the new options from Microsoft. The styling of this hunk of plastic and metal is equally in your face. There is no two ways about it, some will love it, others will hate it and pray for a refined “slim version” to come sooner than later. I am more the former than the latter as I enjoy something a bit futuristic when it comes to my console experience. In other words, I like that it looks like a vase, even if it has become the ridicule of many who make many phallic jokes about it. That said, the disc drive version, which I have is a bit awkward at the base as it is a bit more “girthy” (Yeah, I know, I know.) than the digital edition.Setup:Setup experience is, well, exceptional. Ladies and gentlemen, I have been gaming a long a** time. My first console was an Atari 2600 and man, oh man, have we come a long way from that thing. It is, and I will borrow the old catch phrase from Apple-land, “it just works”. Transferring of games and save information over your router in between your two consoles is rather seamless but depending on how much you are shipping from your PS4 to your PS5, it might take a bit. I had heard that there was a way to directly connect the two, however, I did not do so.*That said, COD: MW (2019) gave me a bit of trouble because of the sheer size, which led me to popping in the install disc to help speed it along.Noise level of the PS5:The PS5 is rather quiet, the loudest part, and it really is not that loud, per se, is the disc drive. And, if you owned a PS4 or PS4 Pro, you would appreciate the fact that the 4k blu ray drive in this does not sound like you are opening and closing a 55’ Chevy Truck door. It loads quietly, largely runs quietly, and ejects, quietly. But what about the fan? You can hear the fan's "whirring" sound if you get up close to it. Apparently, Sony has the ability to send out firmware updates that can change how the sound works. For you tin foil hat wearing folks, be ware, BIG BROTHER is watching you....and your PS5 fan.The UI:The UI, as much as the DualSense, is pretty much the talk of the town, right? But, it is a bit disorienting until you start to learn it. That said, as for speed and ease of navigation, I give the overall feel of it, a solid 8/10. Why not a perfect score, well, because nothing is perfect and I feel as if it almost a mix of the Switch’s UI and the PS4 and while I think it looks great, runs great, but I am not sure I fully love it, yet. For instance, some functions, feel buried, but they are not really, it is just how you access them that has changed, which means, you and I have to change. Do note, I am not saying this is for the better, I am saying this is how it is.Storage:The Elephant in the room. Storage. Storage is limited. There is really no other way to say it. For instance, after installing Fall Guys, COD: Modern Warfare (2019) and keeping Astro's Playroom installed, I had roughly 300gbs of space left. Now, not everyone happens to like having a catalog of games on their drive, which is fine. But many do. And with Sony releasing a digital edition, one would think that they would, custom drive not withstanding, given a bit more. Further, Sony does not have or has not yet released a list of drives that can populate the extra M.2 port that can take advantage of PS5s incredibly speedy architecture. This problem is further compounded because currently, you cannot offload games onto a USB attached storage drive.The Controller:The DualSense, without any game play, feels nice and hefty. Though, I will note the D-Pad feels a bit “squishy” to me. When playing games with it, it feels good. I have average hands, maybe a tad small (HEY! They are mighty hands, you leave me be!) and I did not experience any discomfort. In games where the DualSense is programed for, you will feel things differently as you play. It really is a step forward in that regards. In games, however, that are not setup for it, you essentially get the feel of rumble, all day, everyday. However, I encourage you to play Astro's playroom or Spiderman MM to get a good feel of its potential.The Games:At launch, Sony has a slight advantage with games--but not with subscription service. Whether they are all new, Demon's Souls, for instance, is another issue. As for playing games, I tried a couple of "older" titles, "Fall Guys" and "COD: Modern Warfare (2019)"--most notalby, Warzone. Both displayed improved load times, especially for the latter title. MW had a graphical and textural pack applied to it and while it helped some, I did not feel it made that much of a difference on the newer system as compared to when I played it on my old PS4 Pro. Indeed, it looked a bit more washed out, but consider, I had switched over from "Fall Guys", which is a cornucopia of colors that vary the spectrum or simply, it is like playing a game inside a bag of Skittles. You get my point.But where this thing shines, frankly, and everyone has told you this-- and they ain't lyin' brosephus and sistersephus-- is with games built for it. On the PS5 the best examples of this are going to be "Demon's Souls" and "Spiderman: Miles Morales" and "Astro's Playroom". As of this update, I have played all three and can say confidently you will not be disappointed.

A little gem! Such difficult topic to grapple with yet Rodney does it with such care. This book is very insightful and filled with life changing truths.

Rodney has written a book full of wisdom and pastoral sensitivity that address forgiving people and critically sustaining that. It's thoroughly biblical, illustrated by real examples and full of practical advice. I thoroughly recommend it for your own use and helping others.

An important subject dealt with in good depth

This is one of the best books I have found on this topic.It’s deep and true.And if you know the truth, the truth will set you free.Highly recommend this book.

This tiny book was huge in its life changing truths. Recommend it highly to anyone who is looking for freedom from wounds and hurts that just won't heal. There is healing in These pages. It was great in our group studies too.