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Uncharted 4: A Thief's End |OT| You're gonna miss this ass

Vire

Member
Man, how many times have you been forced to play this game already?

You sound like me on my 4th play through of Drake's Fortune, but instead of bitching about platforming ID be bitching about the shooting.

Also, the automatic platforming is gone, the climbing animation system has been completely overhauled to accommodate way more handholds on routes. That plus the piton, the swing hook and the branching paths make it pretty much impossible for it to be tedious on the first play through.

That, or you're not meant to like this game and that's cool, I guess.

What I mean by automatic - is there is often very little thought process involved in any of the platforming. IE: Just hammering away on the X button as fast as possible and the direction you want to head in. It feels incredibly mindless, monotonous and not particularly fun... Especially since it's repeated ad nauseam in certain chapters. There are moments (like in Madagascar on the towers) that give you alternate paths and you can pick and choose which path you would like to take, however the bulk of the platforming is all completely linear and can be accomplished as noted by hitting the X button repeatedly without thought.

Comparatively, the combat has been significantly improved since the last iteration and is barely utilized. It's a little frustrating.
 
What I mean by automatic - is there is often very little thought process involved in any of the platforming. IE: Just hammering away on the X button as fast as possible and the direction you want to head in. It feels incredibly mindless, monotonous and not particularly fun... Especially since it's repeated ad nauseam in certain chapters. There are moments (like in Madagascar on the towers) that give you alternate paths and you can pick and choose which path you would like to take, however the bulk of the platforming is all completely linear and can be accomplished as noted by hitting the X button repeatedly without thought.

To be fair, this has literally been an issue with the series since Drake's Fortune. The platforming is completely mindless. At least in U4, the animations for it are better than ever. Plus the rope mixes things up a little, even if it's just as mindless.
 

Mendrox

Member
The platforming isn't any better and still feels automatic, or rather straight forward. There's no challenge to the platforming you just hold a direction and press the jump button. Furthermore there is just way too many of the climbing sections that just feel so freakin' same on each and every rock or mountain or whatever I find myself climbing.

Dito. This is the only thing that I gotta complain about. Climbing is nice, but it was a tad too much for me this time.
 

BiGBoSSMk23

A company being excited for their new game is a huge slap in the face to all the fans that liked their old games.
What I mean by automatic - is there is often very little thought process involved in any of the platforming. IE: Just hammering away on the X button as fast as possible and the direction you want to head in. It feels incredibly mindless, monotonous and not particularly fun... Especially since it's repeated ad nauseam in certain chapters. There are moments (like in Madagascar on the towers) that give you alternate paths and you can pick and choose which path you would like to take, however the bulk of the platforming is all completely linear and can be accomplished as noted by hitting the X button repeatedly without thought.

Comparatively, the combat has been significantly improved since the last iteration and is barely utilized. It's a little frustrating.

Odd thing to complain about on the fourth entry though...

Besides, climbing has always been hold button and direction you want to go, in pretty much any game I recall with vertical climbing.

I thought the swinghook and the slidey sections made for some fun actual platforming.

I don't think there's ever been a realistic platformer with complex animation layering and responsive controls like Uncharted, so I give it a pass if it's not super skill based.
 

Vire

Member
To be fair, this has literally been an issue with the series since Drake's Fortune. The platforming is completely mindless. At least in U4, the animations for it are better than ever. Plus the rope mixes things up a little, even if it's just as mindless.

Oh, I understand that. My point was that the combat has been dramatically improved since Drake's Fortune and yet they aren't taking advantage of it as I can literally count the amount of combat encounters I've had in the game on one hand up until this point. Instead, they are overly relying on a mechanic that has been barely improved over the course of a decade.

It is what it is I guess.

I don't want to sound overly negative, because this doesn't take away from the astounding level of visual fidelity, level of details, incredible acting, improved weapon sound effects, (slightly) more challenging puzzles and optional exploration.

The game is still awesome just to be clear.
 
Oh, I understand that. My point was that the combat has been dramatically improved since Drake's Fortune and yet they aren't taking advantage of it as I can literally count the amount of combat encounters I've had in the game on one hand up until this point.

It is what it is I guess.

I don't want to sound overly negative, because this doesn't take away from the astounding level of visual fidelity, level of details, incredible acting, improved weapon sound effects, (slightly) more challenging puzzles and optional exploration.

The game is still awesome just to be clear.

Well, I personally found the combat encounters later on in the game to be really great, but it is true that overall, there are far less of them in this game than the rest of the series.

Chapter 13 has my favorite combat setup in the entire franchise.
 

Vire

Member
Well, I personally found the combat encounters later on in the game to be really great, but it is true that overall, there are far less of them in this game than the rest of the series.

Chapter 13 has my favorite combat setup in the entire franchise.

Cool, looking forward to it!
 

The Lamp

Member
Man, how many times have you been forced to play this game already?

You sound like me on my 4th play through of Drake's Fortune, but instead of bitching about platforming ID be bitching about the shooting.

Also, the automatic platforming is gone, the climbing animation system has been completely overhauled to accommodate way more handholds on routes. That plus the piton, the swing hook and the branching paths make it pretty much impossible for it to be tedious on the first play through.

That, or you're not meant to like this game and that's cool, I guess.

Are you joking?

There being 4 ledges instead of 2 when you're climbing in 1 direction to 1 destination doesn't make the platforming meaningfully non-automatic. It's still arbitrary. Would you like left rock or right rock? You can still mash X without thinking and scale the right path. It requires no thought.

The piton is functionally useless too. It just adds a button press to your climbing routine. It doesn't actually help you scale any distances Nate couldn't already achieve thanks to the inconsistent climbing logic.

Sorry but no, the platforming is a bit more complex for reasons you described, but not in a meaningful way that actually makes a difference in the challenge or clever level design.

The rope is the game-changing mechanic. That's what really mixes things up here.
 
Its definitely a switch if you were expecting the second coming of Uncharted 2. Cuz its definitely not that, even though the combat is better than ever. If you're not down with the whole cinematic adventure thing its going for, you'll probably just think its boring as hell.
 

WITHE1982

Member
Just tried lock on aim, wow this removes any possible difficulty from the game. The lock on is so fast and precise your gun can be pointing down and you still hit them. Just quickly tap L2 then R2, he won't even finish the animation.

It's like playing a GTA game. On the other hand it will be a godsend when going for the
+70% accuracy
trophy.
 

Vire

Member
Ugh, I hope I didn't hype it up too much for you.

Just expect a good combat encounter. If you enjoy it as much as I did, awesome!

No worries, I'm just excited for this weekend so I can finally sit down and get a good chunk of playtime in. This workday can't end soon enough... You should see the bags under my eyes :(

I've been coming home so late after work that I've only been getting 1 hour in a night the past couple nights, so to be able to sit down and really get into a groove I think will help my play experience some.
 

Loris146

Member
Its definitely a switch if you were expecting the second coming of Uncharted 2. Cuz its definitely not that, even though the combat is better than ever. If you're not down with the whole cinematic adventure thing its going for, you'll probably just think its boring as hell.

In my opinion it's better than Uncharted 2 for now ( just finished chapter 10 ).
 

Sushigod7

Member
Played 6hrs last night that intro felt super slow it didn't feel like it picked up till hour 3 or 4. Otherwise now that things are moving its Uncharted....
 
In my opinion it's better than Uncharted 2 for now ( just finished chapter 10 ).

I think it is too, but I dont hold UC2 in as high esteem as some others. But I bet you a lot of people were expecting an UC2 style game, but with better graphics/better combat/sound design

and this game is definitely, defiantly, not that.

And a bunch of people just aren't gonna like that.

Like Im actually kinda impressed they got away with even making this game, cuz a LOT of people are gonna think its boring as shit.
 

Loris146

Member
I think it is too, but I dont hold UC2 in as high esteem as some others. But I bet you a lot of people were expecting an UC2 style game, but with better graphics/better combat/sound design

and this game is definitely, defiantly, not that.

And a bunch of people just aren't gonna like that.

Yeah i agree.

UC 2 was a groundbreaking title back in 2009 and it's one of my favourite games ever but UC4 has been incredible until now.

Can't wait to see what's next.
 

3rdbass

Banned
I think it is too, but I dont hold UC2 in as high esteem as some others. But I bet you a lot of people were expecting an UC2 style game, but with better graphics/better combat/sound design

and this game is definitely, defiantly, not that.

And a bunch of people just aren't gonna like that.

Like Im actually kinda impressed they got away with even making this game, cuz a LOT of people are gonna think its boring as shit.

I just finished UC2 before playing this game(well almost as I'm at the final boss fight) and I thought it was still better than UC4. I just started ch. 13 so maybe my view will change. I just think the pacing in UC2 was perfect and of course Chloe was in it. LOL!
 
Like everybody expected another OK Computer, but they got Kid A instead. The initial response has gotta be "WTF is this shit...this is not like the others...why did they do this shit...."
 
Finished it today. The ending was pretty sublime. I knew the game was going to be special from the scene near the start where
you are exploring Drakes attic and you start finding old treasures and shooting targets with Nerf guns.

Speaking of the scene (spoilers for entire game).
I felt it had a great moment where you can view the diaries he has carried on various adventures, however when he picks up his mother's diary about Avery, he obviously feels some regret and sadness about it (which may not have just been purely about his brother, but also about the adventure he never finished.). So after finishing the game i get the impression he wanted to find Libertalia for a sense of closure.

Bring on Savage Starlight.
 

SaganIsGOAT

Junior Member
It's a bummer that I just don't enjoy the gunplay in this considering how wonderful the combat in TLoU was. I honestly began to dread having to enter obvious combat arenas (tall grass was always a giveaway). A lot of it just comes down to the feel of aiming, it just ain't clicking with me. We need dead zone adjustments and horizontal + vertical aim sensitivity adjustments. Let me adjust aim acceleration as well please. And man, although Nate is definitely more nimble than Joel, the ability to crouch on demand as well as sprint made Joel just FEEL good to control. I forgot that you can't adjust Nate's speed other than pushing the stick all the way forward which still takes into consideration the scenario (i.e. Combat vs exploring speed). And it's really dumb that tall grass becomes null and void when you're discovered and Nate won't even crouch in it anymore even when you've clearly gotten out of enemy sight.
 
Ch.16 probably my least favorite. Like an extended Left Behind skit, and I rolled my eyes hard at
old lady who explains their origin and then conveniently dies
 

Vire

Member
Like everybody expected another OK Computer, but they got Kid A instead. The initial response has gotta be "WTF is this shit...this is not like the others...why did they do this shit...."

Don't really think that's the best analogy. Kid A was something new and never heard before, it's not that Uncharted 4 is new and never seen before, it's just the ratio of slow songs to fast songs is completely different. /end bad analogy.
Holy shit, the graphics
I mean....
I just....
What?

There was a point in Chapter 12 that I just stopped and said out loud "HOW?! How?".
 
Don't really think that's the best analogy. Kid A was something new and never heard before, it's not that Uncharted 4 is new and never seen before, it's just the ratio of slow songs to fast songs is completely different. /end bad analogy.

Ah, so Moon-Shaped Pool then? /starts up bad analogy again
 
be prepared to say this after every chapter because it never gets old.

Except for that horrible
shimmering, blotchy rain-hitting-the-rocks effect in the Marooned chapter
...

How is that not bothering anyone else? I wish ND could just patch it out, as it kind of ruined my immersion in that level. :(
 

T.O.P

Banned
First time i noticed how bad the shadows can be was in Ch12 (
free roaming boat sequence, when you embark the boat from sea
)

They really stands when everything else is so damn polished and sharp looking
 

Lima

Member
Man did they improve the explosives. I played though the collection again before starting 4 and the grenades have always been kinda weak in this series. I mean both the look of the explosion and radius/damage of them.

In 4 they really feel satisfying to throw and the resulting explosion looks awesome. Especially when a little bit of the environment gets blown up with it.
 
Except for that horrible
shimmering, blotchy rain-hitting-the-rocks effect in the Marooned chapter
...

How is that not bothering anyone else? I wish ND could just patch it out, as it kind of ruined my immersion in that level. :(

It's the
high wind whipping the rain against the rocks
, it's intentional.
 

LiK

Member
Except for that horrible
shimmering, blotchy rain-hitting-the-rocks effect in the Marooned chapter
...

How is that not bothering anyone else? I wish ND could just patch it out, as it kind of ruined my immersion in that level. :(

not gonna lie, i did find myself having a hard time traversing during that chapter.
 

Stoze

Member
I think it is too, but I dont hold UC2 in as high esteem as some others. But I bet you a lot of people were expecting an UC2 style game, but with better graphics/better combat/sound design

and this game is definitely, defiantly, not that.

And a bunch of people just aren't gonna like that.

Like Im actually kinda impressed they got away with even making this game, cuz a LOT of people are gonna think its boring as shit.

I wasn't necessarily expecting high octane action and set pieces ala UC2, but I also wasn't expecting such a huge imbalance of just walking around and light platforming vs. all the other elements of the game. I felt there was just too much braindead traversing in these larger areas with almost nothing interesting to find, as well as an overdose on the series' automated platforming at times.

For me, it would of helped if there was not just more combat dispersed throughout, but more puzzles (the actual puzzles, not find a crate and move it here), more cool one off mechanics like
pickpocketing
, more interesting stuff to find in the environments, even more dialouge tree sequences or optional dialouge. Hell if they revamped the close hand combat sequences instead of making them worse, I would've liked some more of that as well.

I like that they did something so different though and it obviously worked perfectly for a lot of people. I'm willing to give the game another shot like I did the UC games at some point. Next time just moving very quickly through the environments to see if I can improve some of the pacing for myself and go more hog wild in the combat sections.
 

PepperedHam

Member
Just finished the game. As an Uncharted fan I couldn't have asked for a better send off. Bravo to Naughty Dog and Sony for making me feel the way I feel as these credits roll right now.

Onto the multiplayer and waiting for Overwatch.
 
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