Uncharted 4 ends the series with a bang
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is developer Naughty Dog’s newest game in the Uncharted series. The story starts with where we left off from Uncharted 3. Nathan Drake, played by Nolan North, has retired for a simple life that doesn’t involve mystical treasure or war criminals, but after finding out that his brother is still alive, he goes on one last adventure.
In terms of gameplay, there is not much added; this may be a bad thing, but it can also be seen as a great thing because the developers keep the good parts in the game. The game sticks to its formula of climbing, then solving puzzles, then shooting your way out. The biggest change is the addition of a stealth system. Drake can now hide away from enemies by crouching into tall grass or breaking line of sight. Previous Uncharted games attempted to have stealth sections, but it was never a fully flushed out system. This time, if you get caught, you can break line of sight and then hide. The addition of this system was a great way to go into encounters. Other new things added are a grappling hook, which is used to make combat quicker and climbing more exciting, and the driving system which are both welcome additions.
If you know anything about the Uncharted games, you know about the amazing graphics, animations and detailed environments. Naughty Dog knows how to make a game look great, and this is no exception. The graphics have been ramped up to the absolute max, only being held back by the Playstation 4. The other great aspect of this game are the animations. Drake always interacts with his environment — he touches the walls as he passes by them, he goes to turn on his flashlight when it gets dark, and he always seems to do the coolest things during combat. If he runs out of bullets, the gun will click and Drake will have some sort of remark. Somehow Naughty Dog finds a way to get everything right, even down to the smallest details.
Uncharted is known to many as a movie with a controller. The story is told in a way that reflects a three-act movie, and the game has set pieces similar to those found in action movies. In this case, the story has a strong first and second act but seems to slow down in the third act. Without getting into detail, the first two acts engage the player with mystery, while the last one does not. While the story might not be as exciting, it still keeps up the character-building moments. The set pieces are also muted in some ways, The action pieces are very mild when compared to the ones from the first three games, but in Uncharted 4’s defense, it would be pretty hard to top those.
In the end, it is a great game that lives up to Naughty Dog’s legacy. You just might want to lower your expectations of having intense action pieces similar to those in the previous games. The game takes a step in the right direction in terms of gameplay and graphics, and it’s just a shame that the series is finished .
