Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End

This is how I recall the third game as well, I get puzzled by the cool memory folks seem to have for the third game; I thought it was terrific.

I enjoyed it until near the end but that final section really soured me on it.

yawn, this is the best of the next gen? a tomb raider clone?

:-)

So for someone like myself who suck at jumping shooter games. Do I play through the entire first Uncharted game or just play the intro then skip to Uncharted 2? (I’ve had the collection thingie for a long time)

It’s not really a jumping shooter, it’s a cover shooter mixed with Tomb Raider.

Here’s an interesting article about how some of the AI was implemented in Uncharted 4:

That shit’s incredibly fascinating to me, thanks for posting Clay!

I just don’t understand the design decisions around combat in this game. The encounters would be fine if they had, say, half a dozen enemies, maybe even ten. You could mix things up, do a bit of stealth, a bit of guns blazing bravado. But they all have like two dozen enemies. I’m not going to be creative sneaking about picking off two dozen enemies, even if it’s possible - every encounter would take an hour. And the straight up shooting is not particularly fun and it becomes such a slog when you think you’ve cleared an area only for another six guys to come abseiling in.

Played up to chapter 6 and am loving it so far. Great settings, graphics and AI, and design does an effective job of giving you a leisurely opportunity to learn the game while checking out some good visuals, and then requires you to use everything you’ve just learned in a fast paced action scene. The non-linear storytelling is working better than it did in previous games.

Playing on Hard, and so far it seems considerably easier than the previous Uncharted games (and certainly Last of Us) on the same setting.

Another observation - the facial graphics are amazing in some episodes, or always for some characters, and more mannequin in other contexts - and the worst facial graphics so far at at the very beginning of the game - they get so much better afterwards that it feels like those latter scenes were created much later in the process. There’s a real shift for the better once you get to chapter 4.

The video from the end of chapter 4 (http://kotaku.com/lets-talk-about-that-one-scene-in-uncharted-4-1776324764, spoilers) is amazing. I haven’t played any of these games, but the quality of the video and animation are getting really hard to distinguish from real life.

Chapter 4

This was so awesome. I saw the Playstation and was looking around for the game on his shelf. Figured it had to be Crash Bandicoot. Didn’t find the case lying anywhere so I thought it was just a cool reference to Playstation and then…bam, Crash Bandicoot. So cool!

I just finished the game. What an absolutely tremendous accomplishment for Naughty Dog. In the most technically and dramatically sophisticated game ever created, they make it seem effortless. And the epilogue is simply beautiful.

They really went above and beyond polishing this game. I’m repeatedly surprised by all the cool little things that happen. Shine a light into an allies face and they turn their head. If you are nearby tall grass when you stealth kill an enemy, Nate will pull the enemy into it. Lots of extra dialogue depending on little things you do. For example I crossed a dangerous bridge and instead of continuing forward I drove back down the hill: “You know we have to cross that bridge again don’t you?” I found a moveable crate which was obviously needed for some purpose I didn’t know yet so I started moving it: “What are you doing with that crate? I don’t know yet.” If you are having a conversation and trigger another conversation they will resume the initial one after they finish seamlessly. I can’t think of another game with better animation than this. Just an insane level of detail overall.

Strange you say that because I’ve had many encounters with half a dozen to ten characters that you can stealth your way through. With the super fast load times it makes the trial and error stealth very approachable. If you want to avoid combat there’s a lot of encounters that you can complete without firing a single bullet.

Having said that I think a lot of people short change the combat. The levels have a wide range of verticality, the AI is smart but can also be fooled when they lose sight of you, hit detection and feedback are solid, the weapons are varied, the melee system is a useful close quarters option. I enjoy the combat both stealth and full firefights more than the semi-automated cliff/wall climbing sections. It’s part of why I think the multi-player is as good as the campaign.

I really like the combat. Up to chapter 8, I think, and there recently was a fight in an outdoor space that was relatively large (which was never really the case in prior games in the series) that offered lots of opportunities for stealth, vertical maneuvering, sniping, melee, melee ambushes from heights, blowing up a whole bunch of guys with dynamite, etc. Feels more like the best of Last of Us combined with some aspects of the prior Uncharted games.

Also agree with Bandersnatch - this game has some amazing character reaction moments that feel so natural and cool.

I haven’t read any reviews, but at this point it’s difficult to see how anyone who enjoyed the previous Uncharted games could credibly consider this chapter to not be the best yet. It’s as big a jump forward for the series as there was between 1 and 2, at least.

Uncharted 4 has some of the best acting and the most emotive faces ever seen in a game. Every crease, every fold, every minute shift of these actors’ faces is captured by the game. And the tone of the cutscenes is more reserved, more intimate than I’ve ever seen in this series (I skipped UC3).

So why does a story with such nuanced, convincing characters and relationships get expressed through the gameplay of a bunch of arena shootouts, stealth neck snaps, impossible platforming sequences, and mundane box pushing puzzles? Oh, and the occasional pick-a-quip dialog selection during cutscenes. Again, the problem is tone. Uncharted 4’s story at least attempts to acknowledge Drake’s kill count and athleticism (turns out Sam and Nathan have always been the most capable, highest endurance free climbers that will ever live). But the mere shootering and platforming that sandwiches these cutscenes is just a shadow of what we’re shown when the actors are in control, if it even has any relevance at all. Unsurprisingly, the best bits of gameplay are the walking, talking, and other non-combat activities that open a few of the chapters (I’m up to 8). It’s been nearly a decade since the first Uncharted released, and I need more now.

Naughtydog likes Boston huh? Between The Last of Us and now with U4 it seems that’s where the Drake’s are from. Visually I was thinking so, but just found a letter in a Young Nate chapter that references the Lenox Hotel as well which pretty much confirms it.

Because it’s a game about swashbuckling, globetrotting adventurers, and their addiction to the thrill of the quest and the toll that takes on their relationships to one another.

I know that’s what Naughty Dog aspires to, but it’s not what they made. “Swashbuckling” in movies means a few dozen shot or skewered baddies and probably some precarious climbing or hanging. Light and pacey. Uncharted 4’s attempt at this is Drakes versus:

a PMC

Hundreds of kills. Dozens of snapped necks and head shots. And, as of chapter 8, three absurdly perilous, extended free climbing sequences. Many more to come, I’m sure. So maybe my issue with Uncharted 4 isn’t Drakes killing and climbing, but the magnitude of their killing and climbing.

and their addiction to the thrill of the quest and the toll that takes on their relationships to one another.

Several reviews I read mentioned this potentially interesting theme. Do you think I should try to push past my UC4 ennui to see it for myself?

Maybe you should just realize that as a game enemy numbers are inflated in the interest of creating an engaging experience for the player and should not be taken as literally representative? Look at it like any other device used in many other media forms that are unrealistic but exist to convey a specific effect for the audience. This is a 16 hour game, not a 90 minute movie, and players are too efficient at killing “badguys” for encounters to use a “realistic” number of enemies. You’ll be happier once you accept and forgive the game for being a game.

And I definitely think the game is worth seeing through. The themes of obsession, greed and the damage that does to friends, family and associates are handled deftly.