RespectThySole
Member
I feel like grenades are actually a lot less frightening in this game with the amount of space you have to move around. Fuck those grenade launcher dudes though.
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Uncharted 4: A Thief's End |OT| You're gonna miss this ass
- Thread starter BaraSailey
- Start date
Unknown One
Member
I find it frightening as hell on Hard/Crushing due to destructible cover and lack of health. The lack of health magnifies it because leaving one cover for the next have a good chance of getting you killed, grenades are used to flush you out. I'll get a hail of bullets when I'm flushed out of cover and there isn't one near by.
Audioboxer
Member
everything else looks last gen now
jimbobsmells
Member
https://www.theguardian.com/technol...r-adventurer-character-cultural-appropriation
I guess we should all be ashamed for enjoying the game now?
I guess we should all be ashamed for enjoying the game now?
Unknown One
Member
And I thought the mass murder talks were too serious. I never thought somebody was going to write on this angle.
Well that's a curious article. Wouldn't make for much of a game if Drake indulged in any actual, proper archaeology.
I played so many shooters that I'm fine with digital murders.
Hi, didn't read the thread, because I'm not finished with the game yet (slow burning it, 19 hours still chapter 14 or 15) but, is there anyone else very disappointed with the amount of killing in this one? lol
The rest of it is clearly much better than ever but, it has almost no challenge. Platforming is easy and guided as ever, only better and with more paths, but you can't really die a lot. I don't miss a lot more shooting, just a reasonable amount, but I do miss some risk-reward game, it's just explore and be amazed and adventure... but there's very little risk in that adventuring...
I do hope to find some more memorable shootings in the last chapters though. There've been some really nice shooting scenarios, but very few.
Edit: regarding that article, the game says clearly you're a thief. A likable, handsome one with a soft heart, but still a thief. And a murderer yes, even in self defence, but not always. Come on, it's a game about looting lost treasures before other thieves, we're not archaeologists.
The rest of it is clearly much better than ever but, it has almost no challenge. Platforming is easy and guided as ever, only better and with more paths, but you can't really die a lot. I don't miss a lot more shooting, just a reasonable amount, but I do miss some risk-reward game, it's just explore and be amazed and adventure... but there's very little risk in that adventuring...
I do hope to find some more memorable shootings in the last chapters though. There've been some really nice shooting scenarios, but very few.
Edit: regarding that article, the game says clearly you're a thief. A likable, handsome one with a soft heart, but still a thief. And a murderer yes, even in self defence, but not always. Come on, it's a game about looting lost treasures before other thieves, we're not archaeologists.
dealer-
Member
It makes some good points. It felt bad destroying people's homes during the jeep chase.
That's okay, I'll hit reset and it's like it never happened.
There's more in the second half. I agree about the beginning half though.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Its hilarious in an unintended way watching the black dock workers lookin so troubled about the destruction of their homes/jobs, as Sam and Nate laugh that privileged white man laugh and drive off, leaving them to clean up their mess.
Audioboxer
Member
No one mail them a copy of TLoU.
Ghost Slayer
Member
So now her title is lara croft's optional tomb raider ?
RespectThySole
Member
Game picks up again in chapter 17. The 12-16 section you're at is pretty boring to many.
i got the Xbox One version last year on sale and never got around to it. Should be fun from reviews. Will def double dip for the PS4 enhancements.
I hate these types of articles... no matter the game they are talking about...
I find them really pretentious and quite ironic to be honest.
Something similar happened with The Division and an article about how it depicts humanity aspect in a catastrophic scenario...
Such bullshit...
DontBeThatGuy
Member
Beat it in about 15 hours on hard, and I'm super annoyed I got rocked during that final boss fight. I was being an idiot, and it sucked the air right out of that encounter.
It's a really good game, and you could feel TLoU DNA in there throughout, which worked better in that game tbh, but it was cool here for the most part. I guess there was perhaps a little too many crates/knocking ladders down/etc... those kind of mechanics that when used this repetitively, just gets old. I'd rather have had more enemy encounters like the one where can use the water to really keep things interesting and flowing nicely, reminding me of that part in Uncharted 3. It was my favorite chapter of that game, and maybe my favorite part of any Uncharted game, from a gameplay perspective.
I did just read you can replay any specific encounter, and that's great, because I couldn't see myself replaying the game any other way.
It's a really good game, and you could feel TLoU DNA in there throughout, which worked better in that game tbh, but it was cool here for the most part. I guess there was perhaps a little too many crates/knocking ladders down/etc... those kind of mechanics that when used this repetitively, just gets old. I'd rather have had more enemy encounters like the one where can use the water to really keep things interesting and flowing nicely, reminding me of that part in Uncharted 3. It was my favorite chapter of that game, and maybe my favorite part of any Uncharted game, from a gameplay perspective.
I did just read you can replay any specific encounter, and that's great, because I couldn't see myself replaying the game any other way.
YankeeDonB
Member
OK, finished!
A few thoughts, which I'll preface by saying I'm not really an Uncharted or Naughty Dog fan. I quite liked TLoU (though it wasn't my game of the generation or anything), and I couldn't finish UC2, the only game in the series I'd played before. Still, I think I went into this with an open mind, in part because of my appreciation of TLoU.
First the positive:
Graphics -- no question, this is a truly beautiful game. I don't get fussed about IQ and framerate (as long as it's generally stable), but I do appreciate good environmental art direction, and this game has it in spades. Everything, from layout to lighting to palette, just fantastic. The urge to see the next area is a big part of what kept me moving through the game at a steady clip.
Character acting during cutscenes -- Great voice acting (w/ a few minor exceptions noted below), great motion capture work, and reasonably good writing, grounded in a pretty universally recognizable family/domestic story went a long way for me. Although I don't really like any of the UC characters (they're basically distilled adventure movie tropes), I still became moderately invested in how their personal stories were going to play out, which is saying something about the quality of delivery.
Environmental story telling -- this really shone in a few instances which I'll spoiler:
Chapter 11 -- best chapter for gameplay in the whole game. Great mix of slightly less rote platforming, gunplay, exploration, and high octane action. Game never reached this high again for me actually.
Now for the negatives:
Traversal. Lots have said it in here, but I found it a real chore, just boring busywork, and there is SO much of it.
Related, the pacing. I like slowly paced stories, and I like downtime between action to get to know characters better. However, I don't think this game handled its downtime well at all. Most of it was platforming, which, as just mentioned, I did not enjoy. The character moments in the downtime are mostly poor, consisting of bland chatter and banter which I almost never found illuminating or enlightening. This is a real shame, as I generally enjoyed the more traditional cut scenes, and I feel ND could have done a much better job making the traversal banter interesting. It almost feels like it was written by the B team, late in the game, just to fill up space in all that silent traversal. Mostly corny jokes, ham-handed attempts at illustrating interpersonal drama, or truly bland exposition. I don't know what the solution is, and I applaud ND for trying to make a more carefully and thoughtfully paced action game. But they did much better in TLoU, where the characters' relationship was building throughout the game, and where the exploration had direct value for the story (survival).
Music -- truly bland, warmed over hollywood blah. Just emphasizes the extent to which the game is built to be observed versus experienced (that is, most of the interesting stuff that happens is something you see or listen to, not something you do).
Hand-to-hand -- why can't Nate block or counter a punch? If they're going to keep throwing you into hand-to-hand, particularly in climactic boss fights, why is this a one button affair?
Villians -- somewhat surprised to see so much enthusiasm for them. They were both completely generic and forgettable to me.
Elena and Nate chemistry (or lack thereof). I'm sure many will disagree w/ this, but I found them flat together. And their relationship is one of the two pillars of the game, so that's a pretty big minus.
Overall, good but uneven game. I didn't think it was great, but I was genuinely motivated to keep pushing forward to see the next environment and find out what happened next.
Hope ND does a new IP next, and, as w/ TLoU, build it from the ground up for the kind of storytelling they want to do, as the studio's current interests seem a bit of an ill fit for pulp adventure.
A few thoughts, which I'll preface by saying I'm not really an Uncharted or Naughty Dog fan. I quite liked TLoU (though it wasn't my game of the generation or anything), and I couldn't finish UC2, the only game in the series I'd played before. Still, I think I went into this with an open mind, in part because of my appreciation of TLoU.
First the positive:
Graphics -- no question, this is a truly beautiful game. I don't get fussed about IQ and framerate (as long as it's generally stable), but I do appreciate good environmental art direction, and this game has it in spades. Everything, from layout to lighting to palette, just fantastic. The urge to see the next area is a big part of what kept me moving through the game at a steady clip.
Character acting during cutscenes -- Great voice acting (w/ a few minor exceptions noted below), great motion capture work, and reasonably good writing, grounded in a pretty universally recognizable family/domestic story went a long way for me. Although I don't really like any of the UC characters (they're basically distilled adventure movie tropes), I still became moderately invested in how their personal stories were going to play out, which is saying something about the quality of delivery.
Environmental story telling -- this really shone in a few instances which I'll spoiler:
1. Chapter 4, exploring Nate and Elena's house, really does a great job of getting you a sense of the characters and their history together, and their current malaise. Much better job than their stilted conversation on the couch actually. 2. Avery's mansion -- in general, I didn't get too absorbed in the Libertalia backstory, as not enough was done to paint a picture of the principle players, they were just generic pirates as experienced through the letters and such. However, the decrepit mansion, and the dinner tableau were really effective at getting a sense of the doomed pirate endeavor and its resonance for Nate and co. in modern day. 3. The epilogue, my favorite part of the game probably. Again, predominantly letting the house tell the story as you look at the decorations, leaf through photo books, etc. It gave a really nice sense of Nate and Elena's arc after the end of the game proper, and I found this whole scene genuinely touching.
Now for the negatives:
Traversal. Lots have said it in here, but I found it a real chore, just boring busywork, and there is SO much of it.
Related, the pacing. I like slowly paced stories, and I like downtime between action to get to know characters better. However, I don't think this game handled its downtime well at all. Most of it was platforming, which, as just mentioned, I did not enjoy. The character moments in the downtime are mostly poor, consisting of bland chatter and banter which I almost never found illuminating or enlightening. This is a real shame, as I generally enjoyed the more traditional cut scenes, and I feel ND could have done a much better job making the traversal banter interesting. It almost feels like it was written by the B team, late in the game, just to fill up space in all that silent traversal. Mostly corny jokes, ham-handed attempts at illustrating interpersonal drama, or truly bland exposition. I don't know what the solution is, and I applaud ND for trying to make a more carefully and thoughtfully paced action game. But they did much better in TLoU, where the characters' relationship was building throughout the game, and where the exploration had direct value for the story (survival).
Music -- truly bland, warmed over hollywood blah. Just emphasizes the extent to which the game is built to be observed versus experienced (that is, most of the interesting stuff that happens is something you see or listen to, not something you do).
Hand-to-hand -- why can't Nate block or counter a punch? If they're going to keep throwing you into hand-to-hand, particularly in climactic boss fights, why is this a one button affair?
Villians -- somewhat surprised to see so much enthusiasm for them. They were both completely generic and forgettable to me.
Nadine was a stereotypical badass (with the least well trained mercenary army imaginable) who, despite having only 30 lines or so managed to fit in about 5 regional accents (at the end of the game she suddenly became Irish for some reason). Fighting her was super boring due to the aforementioned weak combat, which, sans dodge roll, was even worse against her. What's her background? What are her motivations? Who knows. Rafe was just as bad I thought. Trust-fund baby who decides to obsessively chase pirate treasure because that will prove he's able to do things for himself? Why didn't he just work out his daddy issues in business instead? Maybe an interesting motivation for this could be established, but it sure isn't here. The final fight against him is lame, too. Didn't find it difficult, but it just wasn't engaging/fun, particularly compared to the recently experienced big ship gun battle.
Elena and Nate chemistry (or lack thereof). I'm sure many will disagree w/ this, but I found them flat together. And their relationship is one of the two pillars of the game, so that's a pretty big minus.
I think their relationship tension is believable and an interesting theme to explore in this kind of game. And the final chapter discussion about buying the salvage company and their ease with each other in the epilogue were good. But everything before that felt like a generic "troubled couple" arc from a screenwriting 101 class. (following an awkward pause in conversation): "Are you... happy?" After a bunch of exploding mummies somehow magically unravel the Gordian knot of their marriage problems: "You have a weird idea of what's romantic!" What is this, a low-tier 80s rom com? This is a shame, as, again, the environmental story telling does a great job of getting you to be sympathetic to their relationship travails.
Overall, good but uneven game. I didn't think it was great, but I was genuinely motivated to keep pushing forward to see the next environment and find out what happened next.
Hope ND does a new IP next, and, as w/ TLoU, build it from the ground up for the kind of storytelling they want to do, as the studio's current interests seem a bit of an ill fit for pulp adventure.
RespectThySole
Member
That was one of my favorite fights too. Really dynamic.
That was super cool. I liked it as well. Glad they finally explained all of that.
Lol, pretty much exactly how I felt. A few seconds after it was over I started feeling empty and lost. I started playing TLOU again, but am not sure where to go next. I am torn between the new Tomb Raider and Ratchet and Clank.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
Yeah.
I felt that too many other encounters were quite a bit more constrained, typically forcing you into a corner of sorts, or behind a few pieces of cover for most of the fight, on the higher difficulties at least. I didn't feel like I could experiment much because I would get cut down way too fast, except for the water part I mentioned. I was all over the map there.
Don't know actually how many chapters it has, but for sure chapters 12-14 are among the really best in the series for me, even without the shooting. Of course, I can see why people would be bored with them and they have very little replayability value, but I absolutely loved them for what they are, and the adventure/exploration/discovery sense in them is nuts. Also those graphics. But yeah even then the crates and guided platforming got old real fast this time.
Oh, forgot to mention: I'm enjoying these
(from ch 12 on out) way more than the first half. It really feels like
The last few hours have been awesome for me, hoping this keeps up.
jungle levels
a return to Drake's Fortune, I love it when we stick around in one area for a while.
The last few hours have been awesome for me, hoping this keeps up.
Static Veins
Member
Just finished. Won't get into too many details as much of it has been discussed already, but this game was perfection. Or at least damn close to it. Ending made me shed a tear; going to miss these characters dearly.
No real complaints. Never felt there were any boring sections like some people; I really appreciated the slower pace of some of the chapters as it let the characters and exploration aspects really shine. The larger, open levels with vehicles were some of the highlights of the entire series - it's the first time I've felt like I was on a proper expedition in search of something rather than following a set path. Good stuff.
No real complaints. Never felt there were any boring sections like some people; I really appreciated the slower pace of some of the chapters as it let the characters and exploration aspects really shine. The larger, open levels with vehicles were some of the highlights of the entire series - it's the first time I've felt like I was on a proper expedition in search of something rather than following a set path. Good stuff.
MaybeBurger
Banned
replayed the
and this 2nd time round, I got goosebumps and felt sad that a franchise I've loved for so long is going out. In style mind you. But I'm really going to miss uncharted and its characters.
also watched the DF tech analysis and its made me want to replay the entire game. It is BIGGG ON SPOILERS though so watch it only when you've finished.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts2am8WRBXQ
epilogue to see the posters and wandered around a bit
also watched the DF tech analysis and its made me want to replay the entire game. It is BIGGG ON SPOILERS though so watch it only when you've finished.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts2am8WRBXQ
RespectThySole
Member
It think the 8-11 stretch is really good, especially 10 and 11. Some people don't like 8&9 because of
the extended platforming and downtime
exploring the ice cave with Tenzin
I actually like 12 in a vacuum and it is a good change of pace after the
frantic chapter 11
Do it, the remastered collection features not only graphical improvements but they also rebalanced and smoothed out the controls and enemies. Worth it.
Finally got the platinum trophy after beating the game again on crushing difficulty.
The
wasn't as hard as people made it out to be on crushing. I only died once during that whole fight.
That
was a such a massive pain though. I gave in and used modifiers which made it super easy. That was the only section during my crushing playthrough where I felt the need to cheat to get past it.
The
final sword fight with Rafe
That
first section in Chapter 20
Holy shit I just completed chapter 11. That has to be one of the best experiences I've ever had in a video game ever. Jesus I can't get over it. If that wasn't enough the start of the next chapter is so good I couldn't stop playing. Had to turn it off it's midnight here and gotta go to sleep. This is my perfect game I'm loving every second.
Go for it. I liked UC1 the first time I played it but the improvements to this version make it such a better game. The collection is worth it just for that.
Ah, sorry, came in halfway through the convo.
I'd definitely call The Last of Us a masterpiece. It's one shortcoming is that combat is shoehorned into a lot of scenarios, to the extent that it becomes unrealistic in an otherwise believable narrative, but the character work and thematic development is nearly unparalleled in gaming imo. The last moment is as profound and ambiguous as similar moments from many great novels (I'm saying this two years after graduating in English Literature + Linguistics).
It's really elegantly done.
Those good points are definitely compromised by the high-level misunderstanding of Drake's character and the world/lore he inhabits, though.
Indeed, no more SIXAIS crap, smoother aiming and the pirates are no longer bullet sponges. Such a better experience.
Also all three games are in 60fps/1080p
Snkfanatic
Banned
I did just that last weekend. I was almost done with this and just wanted more, I never finished 3 and barely played 1. Adored 2 though....so I think I will start playing those again before doing a second run through 4.
Although I am thinking of playing my Last of Us remaster finally after this (beat it on PS3). Just so I don't burn out before starting another.
WrenchNinja
Member
No, it's lame. You may argue, "oh hey, it pushes you out of cover", well you're pushed out anyway with all the different openings enemies can flank you on in most maps and the destructible cover that gets torn to shreds by a few bullets. Enemies get infinite grenades while you get an annoying explosion animation. Shit is tedious on Crushing.
GlamFM
Banned
I'm gonna jump into Rise of the Tomb Raider this year. Looking forward to NOT comparing it to UC like everyone else.
Yeah, that's what I'm doing.
I'm enjoying both as complementary experiences.
Rise of the Tomb Raider:
- the platforming/exploration ties to the actual progression/gameplay, so exploration feels a bit more meaningful
- the puzzles are better than Uncharted's, you actually get a 'tomb raiding' vibe from doing them
- the level design is broadly pretty good, especially the large areas and how they link up
Uncharted 4:
- infinitely better written story. Like, RotTR's feels like it was written by a 10 year old in comparison (really not a Rianna Pratchett fan)
- mechanically far smoother, better animated, more satisfying to actually play
- gunfighting is way better (though RotTR still has solid gunplay)
I think owning both and swapping between them would be amazing, and its sort of what I've started doing in the last week.
No, it's great. You may argue that enemies flank you but usually you dispatch them with a moment of blindfire (when they get close) and while the maps have a lot of destructible cover, it's not ubiquitously destructible cover.
Granted, I haven't reached the end of the game on Crushing yet, and I could imagine that gets annoying, but once you know that you need to protect yourself from explosives very carefully, you start playing differently. (Or at least, you should). For instance, during the Madascar Tower encounter, I used the stone ruins near the dynamite plunger to keep myself safe when shit hit the fan. I stayed back there, keeping enemies at bay and only rolling out to get ammo after an RPG shot. I prioritised enemies with explosives, I played carefully, and I didn't need to throw back a grenade/explosive at all.
I'm gonna jump into Rise of the Tomb Raider this year. Looking forward to NOT comparing it to UC like everyone else.
Good idea. I played RotTR on XB1 last fall and just finished U4 yesterday. It's definitely best not to compare the two and to take each as their own separate experience.
That being said, after only a few short months I couldn't tell you a single thing about what happened in Rise of the Tomb Raider other than that there was a soviet installation camp. Everything else is gone, which is telling.