Halfway through Uncharted 4. Does this game pick up at all?

It might not be obvious to people who consider it boring because it doesn't have shootouts or set-pieces or something
It's pretty obvious but at the same time the rest of the game doesn't really make use of quiet moments, quiet moments are supposed to be down time from action sequences or as a transition from an act in the game and at the very least should be interesting but man of the quiet moments in UC4 are just useless busywork, like pushing crates, which isn't very interesting, most cinema doesn't show characters pushing crates and climbing for long stretches of time, especially not in the last half hour where it's literally just twenty minutes of Drake climbing and quipping through borderline automated traversal.

But the video doesn't have anything to say against that. Actually, if anything, it's saying that the opening chapters are intentionally boring, to put the players in Nate's shoes, but that doesn't make it any less boring.
Exactly. And it's not due to the lack of set pieces or shootouts.
 
UC4 is a boring mess that drags on for hours too long. It presents no challenge, you don't have to think at any point and it's shallow as fuck. a good chunk of it can be played with one hand too. It looks good though.

The worst thing about it is its repetitivness.
 
No fuck that.

I loved UC4's pacing.

It felt awesome, like a true adventure.

It wasn't always throwing shitty gimmicks at you constantly to get non stop action.

Felt like playing indiana jones, not like going on a mass murder trip 24/7.

Loved the slow parts, loved the free exploration, loved the puzzle, I really enjoyed it.

It wasn't perfect and it didn't always was handled the best, but overall I was so happy with that kind of pacing. It also fell back onto its old tropes but I thought it felt very fresh.

They tried to serve the narration and story, not force gameplay into the story like they did for Uc 1 2 3 and even TLOU ("oh this path is blocked" got old after the 47th time).

The worst thing here were the crates maybe.
 
I feel like I'm in a "Witcher 3 Combat is Terrible" thread. It makes me rethink what my own opinion is based on.

Personally I loved Uncharted 4 to start to finish. Perhaps that's because I found the narrative absolutely compelling, and the character's more interesting and human than they've ever been. Simple interactions between the cast are deep, rewarding, and better written than ever. I could see how the pacing of the game might bother some if they aren't enjoying the narrative though. As you approach the end of the game things pick up appropriately (action wise) as you reach the climax of the story.

For anyone who dropped the game, if you've ever found yourself invested the character Nathan Drake, play to the end. I think you will enjoy the ending.

Edit: Perhaps the climbing sections can be a bit excessive, but the parts that surround them are so rich that I think it's a minor complaint.
 
Well you and I have very different opinions on the series as a whole and this particular game. I think that each uncharted game has been better than the last. Uncharted 4 is Def the best in the series to me.

I never felt like the game needed to pick up the pace and based on what you've said I think maybe you should just give it up unless you really want to know how the series ends. I thought the game kind of ramped up the whole time and was fantastic from beginning to end. I will agree the villains were a bit weak but I would also say they are the most realistic in the series. It also has the best final boss fight in the series.
 
Not really. The most disappointing game I've played this gen, easily.

I don't have a problem with the slow start, though, I actually thought some of it was pretty awesome, like the auction chapter? That was great, I thought I'd love it.

The gunplay is incredible, though, and the shooting is the best part of the game, but even that couldn't save it from being an overall poor game.

I don't think it's just "not good enough", I honestly dislike this game. Love their PS3 games, though.
 
When people come from those first 3 games that was basically non stop action i can understand why most would see it boring. I loved the pace for this game and getting yo know the characters more.
 
I'll be honest, I've never been a fan of this series, but after hearing that they'd integrated elements from TLoU, which I liked, I put it back on my radar.

I was recently given the chance to borrow it, and I played up until about chapter 8 or so. Turns out the elements from TLoU they'd implemented were a ton of walking and talking (which actually works in that game due to the importance of foraging and simply having a better story), rather than featuring a solid combat foundation. It bored me out of my god damn mind, so I returned it unfinished.

Looks amazing, though.



I feel like the Western press has an enormous soft spot for games which make good rentals or review schedule friendly-experiences. Spectacular, immediate, forgiving, non-abrasive, and ideally with clear aspirations of moving videogaming 'forward' in terms of enabling a Hollywood-style sense of legitimacy and glamour. Defining a good game -as a game- for the masses is hard, but we all know what movies we like and want to interact with.

If your feeling was accurate The Order would have reviewed well.
 
The 2nd half of the game had me hooked so hard.

I think I beat the game during a 6 hour play session which is something I hardly ever do. I just couldn't put the controller down.
 
It's a pretty damn boring game.

Why does this game need to be 15 hours long? The story they are telling does not need to be that long. The pacing is just awful. There is very rarely any excitement, so the adventure never feels like it starts at all.

Honestly, besides Uncharted 2, I absolutely do not care for the other Uncharted games. This isn't a franchise to me. It's one amazing game, and the others are all just poor imitations.
 
There was an ever a single part when I wanted the game to pick up in the first half.

I'm glad they slowed it down and made the world actually matter.
 
I'm hoping the coop added in the next couple of months gives thrillseekers the combat and pace they need. Could be god-tier.

at least it's realistic then. can confirm scotland is boring.

:(

I don't find it very boring

*looks outside at pouring rain and grey sky*
 
This felt like a TLOU-Lite but way worse, this isn't Uncharted to me. The extra unnecessary padding deeply hurt the pacing and made it really boring and terrible for replay it's a damn walking talking climbing simulator

Uncharted 2 will remain king with Uncharted 3 in 2nd place.
 
The early and middle sections of U4 drag on and on but later it becomes more like the Uncharted we know and love and the ending is incredible.

And yes, U2 will forever remain the GOAT.
 
The Uncharted 4 team is basically TLOU team no? the same directors Bruce and Druckmann etc.

I'm not sure how much was before or after they showed up. Maybe they tried making Uncharted 4 something it was never meant to be. I'm just worried that maybe TLOU was lightning in a bottle in that sense. I played and enjoyed Uncharted 1-3, but never felt the need to return to them. TLOUs I replayed at least 4 times. So I had great hopes for Uncharted 4 and those were dashed and burned.
 
I think the game was boring throughout, maybe slightly less boring in the second half but still a long way off being entertaining. I can't believe the lack of ambition ND showed with their set pieces despite the new hardware. Uncharted 3 and 2 shit all over this.
 
Sadly, no, it's easily the worst Uncharted game. The slower segments just don't work when the climbing and puzzles are so mind numbing and awful. They should have just removed like 50% of the climbing, it would have been a much tighter game.
 
Not really. The most disappointing game I've played this gen, easily.

I don't have a problem with the slow start, though, I actually thought some of it was pretty awesome, like the auction chapter? That was great, I thought I'd love it.

The gunplay is incredible, though, and the shooting is the best part of the game, but even that couldn't save it from being an overall poor game.

I don't think it's just "not good enough", I honestly dislike this game. Love their PS3 games, though.

Yeah, this. I loved UC1-3, three of my favorite games of all time. UC4 though...this game is boring as hell. The pacing is awful and the story and dialogue is way too serious. Thanks Druckman.
 
Honestly, the games completely mediocre. Mechanics are undercooked and shallow. Dialogue is predictable, QTEs all over the place, climbing terribly repetitive. Pretty surprised by the praise it's received
 
As a fan of the series I enjoyed the pacing and build. I'm super satisfied with the game. I loved all the nods to pulp franchises that came before, I think they may have managed to pack more in than previous games, both subtle and blatant. I love how they handled Elena and Nate. Could have used more Sully but I'm biased there.

My only real nitpiks were the disappointing soundtrack, especially after coming off of 3's amazing one,
the lack of supernatural elements, especially with all the teasing during Avery's descent
. I know I'm in the minority in that one as a lot of people don't seem to be into that element of the pulp adventure genre, but I've loved it since DF and I felt that it was very much a part of the franchise. And the lack of co-op at launch, as that's primarily how I play Uncharted multiplayer.

But I still platinumed the game, not as quickly as I did the other ones as my SO wanted to watch so I had to wait on her a lot... and I've played at least a dozen times since launch, so the replayability is there for me. My favorite in the series alternated between 2, 3, and 4 depending on the time of day.

I do think the pacing picks up once you get to the combat in Madagascar though, but sounds like either way OP isn't going to enjoy what's left.
 
I liked the whole game tbh. I've always thought UC was formulaic and repetitive, but its still fun. Although i don't really see myself replaying UC4 any time soon.
And IDK if I'm in the minority, but I really liked Sam.
 
UC4 gets even more boring as the game goes along. I had to force myself to finish it and hope I never have to play it ever again (I really liked 2 and 3). The more the game goes on, the more it drags.

Different tastes and all but I really have no idea how this game got 90+. I'd give it 7.5/10 for the boring gameplay and story, the graphics were good though.
 
UC4 is a boring mess that drags on for hours too long. It presents no challenge, you don't have to think at any point and it's shallow as fuck. a good chunk of it can be played with one hand too. It looks good though.

The worst thing about it is its repetitivness.

Definitely sounds like you've played through and finished the game alright...

Posts like these are so unbelievable fucking lazy. Could you elaborate on what difficulty you played on and how it's why it's a shallow game as a TPS.

What do think is the repetitive part of the game? (I kind of know what it is, but I'm waiting to hear your thoughts).


I feel that it was great game with a good ending and definitely had instances of poor pacing, mainly earlier in the game. To me in terms of gameplay, I feel it's at the top of it's genre for ALL third person shooters because of the following:

- Layered animations
- Contextual melee
- Gun play
- Sound design
- Movements and control responsiveness
- Art design / graphics
- AI contextual awareness (play on higher difficulty and this becomes more apparent)
- Traversal gameplay (rope swinging in single player campaign and MP is amazing - if you know when it use it).

There's no other game on the market that I've has the same combination of everything I've listed above. There are somethings that MGS V does very well listed above, but factoring everything, UC4 comes on top. I enjoy the Gear series, but based on what I've seen UC4 still tops it almost every area. That series needs to figure out a way to expand it's gameplay in a more meaningful way that would still sit right with Gears fans.
 
No fuck that.

I loved UC4's pacing.

It felt awesome, like a true adventure.

It wasn't always throwing shitty gimmicks at you constantly to get non stop action.

Felt like playing indiana jones, not like going on a mass murder trip 24/7.

Loved the slow parts, loved the free exploration, loved the puzzle, I really enjoyed it.

It wasn't perfect and it didn't always was handled the best, but overall I was so happy with that kind of pacing. It also fell back onto its old tropes but I thought it felt very fresh.

They tried to serve the narration and story, not force gameplay into the story like they did for Uc 1 2 3 and even TLOU ("oh this path is blocked" got old after the 47th time).

The worst thing here were the crates maybe.


This... all of this!
 
Huh. Interesting because it might have been my favorite in the series so far (like you, OP, I've played and finished the first two and skipped three). I personally really enjoyed the two villains this time around compared to 1 and 2 where I found them pretty generic. Sam is okay though I'll always have a soft spot for Ms. Chloe. It is noticeably slower but I kinda liked that, I appreciated the exploration and am excited to play it again after some months from now.
 
Making the game more serious and grounded compared to previous entries was a mistake. The slow pacing and overuse of auto platforming and swinging just wasn't engaging. The combat was a fun mix of Uncharted and The Last Of Us but there just wasn't enough encounters and the encounters themselves were quite short. Other than the first game, it's the only game in the series I didn't automatically replay upon completion. I usually try to gain a platinum trophy but the thought of playing through the entire game from the start was not an exciting prospect. Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed the game, it looks phenomenal, features the best animation in the business and it controlled really well. Too bad the gameplay took a back seat for the story, which wasn't even that good to be honest.
 
My biggest gripe with this game was there was no big showpiece. It was just meandering from one place to another. It looked stunning but it honestly was not my favourite entry in the series and in fact made me like Uncharted 3 more.
 
I think by the end, I appreciated it but man, it often took a lot of work getting there. All the climbing in particular was a giant slog. When combat occurred, it was generally far more engaging. Basically, it's a fifteen hour game with ten hours of content.

(I also never liked Sam, which was a big problem.)
 
I'm not sure how much was before or after they showed up. Maybe they tried making Uncharted 4 something it was never meant to be. I'm just worried that maybe TLOU was lightning in a bottle in that sense. I played and enjoyed Uncharted 1-3, but never felt the need to return to them. TLOUs I replayed at least 4 times. So I had great hopes for Uncharted 4 and those were dashed and burned.

That was my first thought after playing Uncharted 4.

"I really hope The Last of Us wasn't a fluke".

Because you can see their DNA in Uncharted 4, and you can see they believed in the product. Uncharted 4 wasn't a misstep, a little accident, it was their conscious fundamental design decisions that made it what it is.

In some areas, it's the complete opposite of production issues, as you can see with the amount of people saying it would be a better game if they cut a lot of stuff. So they went out of their way with extra work on super detailed levels that make the game worse.

Yeah, this. I loved UC1-3, three of my favorite games of all time. UC4 though...this game is boring as hell. The pacing is awful and the story and dialogue is way too serious. Thanks Druckman.

What, you didn't love the amount of convenient bullshit that happened in that god-awful "Left Behind" chapter that belittled the franchise's legacy and history in order to make the current story seem more important than the simple retcon it really is?

At least the "treasure story" was fantastic. I loved uncovering what went with Avery and his associates, that was really really good. My favorite treasure story in the series. And the references were simply amazing. Very good taste with those.

The character story, though? Ugh.

My only real nitpiks were the disappointing soundtrack, especially after coming off of 3's amazing one,
the lack of supernatural elements, especially with all the teasing during Avery's descent
. I know I'm in the minority in that one as a lot of people don't seem to be into that element of the pulp adventure genre, but I've loved it since DF and I felt that it was very much a part of the franchise.

I was scared of them going that route even before the game came out.
Every time they talked about still being true to the series, even with the new direction, they kept talking about "OK, HOW CAN WE BLOW SHIT UP?", to show that they still get "the Uncharted formula". But it was never about blowing shit up to me. The setpieces were great, and the ones in A Thief's End are fantastic too, but supernatural elements were very much part of the series' identity as well.
 
I think the Uncharted IP was holding ND down in UC4. I think they were done with the IP and UC4 was a game for the fans to give them a heartfelt finale instead of a big explosive finale. Of course that is if we ignore Sony's influence on that decision, I'm positive Sony doesn't want the IP to stop and they're probably going to hand the IP to one of their first party studios. I just hope they let ND loose on their next game.

Edit: What I'm trying to say is that ND outgrew the Uncharted franchise, and dialing back that growth in UC4 hurt the game in my opinion.
 
I feel like U4 is a remake of U3. It retreads the same themes and tells, ultimately, the same kind of story. That said, there is much more emphasis on narrative and the pacing is slower as a consequence—especially if you're expecting something in the vein of U2 or U3.

Also,
how Nathan (or Sully) never, ever, ever mentioned Sam to Elena (or to the player, for that matter) makes his presence feel eye-rollingly shoehorned in. It bothered me the entire time.
 
What I like least about UC4 is that, moving forward, it will serve as an example of how to do downtime/slow segments/secondary gameplay in action games.

Some will take the wrong lessons from it and make games that merely put players through the motions of certain actions (e.g. climbing up a cliff face for a considerable amount of time, but without any need for pathfinding, timing, or thought to advance and peril is mimicked with scripted handholds breaking that don't require input from the player) without finding an engaging way to feature that stuff (e.g. player actually has to time all their movements and the climbing is made to be moderately engaging at least).

Others will think that this must be the best of "cinematic" gaming (considering the dev's pedigree) and will write off the approach entirely. Having a lot of exploration, dialogue/dialogue choices, and other non-combat gameplay going on in an action game is not inherently bad, but it was often done in as non-engaging a way as possible here.

Was really looking forward to a game that furthered what UC2 started with some of its moments (cinematic action that still relies on core gameplay) and that didn't put the player in the backseat constantly.
 
Then what does that make Uncharted 2's pacing?

Personally, I'd say also perfect... for the story being told. There's no universal pacing formula for all narratives, but I think 2 and 4 have excellent pacing for their respective stories. I also actually enjoyed 3's pacing but I think it took a some missteps that, while they didn't diminish my enjoyment of the game in the slightest, I can still acknowledge.
 
Uncharted 2 was a fun videogame with great set pieces.

Uncharted 4 is trying too hard to be an epic cinematic experience that doesn't understand pacing.

The more you guys masterbate over Naughty Dog graphics on forums, the more they will feel pressured to blow you away and thus forget the little things along the way.

With that said, I still enjoyed Uncharted 4 and it's my game of the year at the moment.
 
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