Cyberpunk 2077 (base PS4) 02 Patch: December 2021 Console
0Cyberpunk 2077's Playstation 4 disc WILL NOT WORK without an Internet connection.
In December 2021, when I first placed the install disc into the PS4, it needed to install 65 gigabytes to the hard drive. After completing the process, and inserting the Cyberpunk play disc, the console said that the game will not run, without a patch. I have purchased more than 100 PS4 discs, but this is the first one that REQUIRES an Internet connection. Nowhere on the box does it say that internet is required to play this game.
I have come to expect this sort of behavior from the XBox One, which does not include system firmware updates on the disc. This has never been a problem with the PS4 discs I bought, until now.
I should add, the December 2021 patch is 40 gigabytes, which took several hours to download over a borrowed high-speed internet connection (2-3 MB/s). If you have a much slower Internet connection, you are pretty much out of luck. (It would take days to download that patch over my regular DSL line.)
As for the game itself, the first 4 hours are a mixed bag. Deus Ex: Human Revolution came out a decade ago, on the Playstation 3. And yet, this AAA game runs no better on a PS4 than Human Revolution ran on a PS3. The visuals are more ambitious, yet the art is uglier. This is clearly a game that was optimized to run on expensive PC and console hardware. The consumers who own base PS4s and XBox Ones were an afterthought. The developers spent far too much time making a game that only runs on sportscar tech, while ignoring that vast majority of players. It's like making a movie that only looks good on an IMAX 3D screen. People with DVDs and affordable TV screens are left behind.
The framerate jostles between 20-25 fps, which is not a dealbreaker for anyone who regularly played 3D games on the PS3 and 360. Gun targeting can be sluggish, however, which makes some shootouts difficult to manage, on harder difficulty levels. (I am playing on the HARD difficulty level).
Load times exceed 45 seconds, which can be annoying, during some dangerous events. You can be attacked at random by mobs, die 10 seconds later, than be forced to sit through a 60-second load screen that places you right back in the crosshairs of the mobs that killed you in 10 seconds last time. Be prepared for that, because there are a few mandatory story beats where you are attacked by mobs that can kill you quickly. (Lower the difficulty, if the cycle of dying and reloading becomes excessive).
There are lots of AI bugs that will be familiar for folks who played Human Revolution and Mankind Divided. These bugs are more annoying and dangerous, due to the load time issues. Even worse, mobs will attack you right in front of police officers who will do nothing. Or worse, the cops will begin chasing YOU, instead of the attacker who initiated the conflict. Or worse, cops will attack you for accidentally trying to speak with them, because you didn't know you were in a restricted area.
Having said all of that, the voice acting and dialogue are quite good, so far.
My Deus Ex series playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXPXf_9DPykoh0k2A-tt-v6I
XBox One games played offline (installed from the disc; no Internet connection required):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6fa9TXHnIAoleBaTeiTRlA/search?query=xb1
NES Classic games played on original hardware and the NES Classic Mini:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXMaPO0pCTwJwPalw-rOq8tc
SNES Classic games played on original hardware and the SNES Classic Mini:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGf_v9CgybQ&list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXN2OBhDGU0rYkjd_VlFDA1E
My collection of videos from Sega Genesis and Megadrive games, from the Genesis Mini and other official collections:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXN8RUdo0HoYsJJ6V_9PRfLO
My videos from the TurboGrafx-16 Mini (also known as the PC Engine Mini):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXMYcqrL4sukUxba6ax1VgKh
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