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Uncharted 4: A Thief's End |OT| You're gonna miss this ass
- Thread starter BaraSailey
- Start date
The game seems like it'd be terrible to replay, but after 3 chapters I find it's quite enjoyable.
This is because the 'pull' of the story is no longer there - you know what happens. Because of that your antsiness to progress is gone, and there's no reason not to relax and luxuriate in the setting, enjoy the (truly astonishing) acting, and try fun stuff in the combat scenes.
I actually think I'll follow through with this second playthrough.
This is because the 'pull' of the story is no longer there - you know what happens. Because of that your antsiness to progress is gone, and there's no reason not to relax and luxuriate in the setting, enjoy the (truly astonishing) acting, and try fun stuff in the combat scenes.
I actually think I'll follow through with this second playthrough.
The whole middle meat of UC2 is just fantastic. You traverse Nepal and then fight the helicopter with the collapsing building. Do puzzles with Chloe before having to escape with Elena and Co (RIP Cameraman Jeff). Get on the train, which is just a damn awesome moving level, before fighting in the snow and ending up at ze peaceful village.
I struggle to think of a section in UC4 that does that.
Scotland
Libertalia
Also, who thought the
exploding mummy
Nah, I played through UC1 on crushing a couple of days before UC4. It's dated yeah, but not unplayable.
The Xtortionist
Member
Not in the slightest imo. They animate dramatically better than before, and the occasional rope or sliding section can be satisfying to nail, but 90% of my time climbing is spent mashing X in the direction of handholds. It's still super automated.
edit - to be clear, I don't mind the climbing on principle, I just think it needs to be used smartly so that its shortcomings are somewhat masked. By this I mean keeping climbing sections brief and well spaced apart, and mixing it with other elements such as combat (vertical arenas), stealth, and puzzles. UC2 was decent about this, while UC4 indulges on section after section consisting mostly of linear handholds. The clocktower in chapter 11 is actually a great use of the climbing imo - there's some navigational challenge due to the need to ring the bells in a certain order, and the objects you're climbing are often dynamic (moving weights/counterweights) and demand timing (jumping through gaps on moving pieces). It's a nice section.
BouncyFrag
Member
Taking a moment to enjoy Beethoven 7.
RespectThySole
Member
I was feeling the same way. The first third was more enjoyable the second time around when you know what to expect. Feels like a good action movie setup, but some of the other chapters were total snoozers.(even moreso with the novelty of the scenery gone) By the time I got to 13-14, I didn't have much motivation at all to continue, but I did pull through nonetheless.
Yeah, occasionally there were satisfying platforming sections, but they didn't do enough with it and it never progressed. You were doing nearly everything from the start back in chapter 2. Chapter 11 was one of the few highlights.
Exactly, it's just too bad that section is so brief and that kind of platforming challenge is never again seen, much like the pickpocketing mechanic
Spring-Loaded
Member
"New," means new within the game. Very few games do anything truly new within the context of video games as a whole. Was that the sticking point you have? 2 just does everything well form an encounter design standpoint, and continually introduces new elements throughout. That is not universally common — there are games in which their final shootouts (or any kind of combat) are structured just like their first ones, but maybe there are more guys. No new enemy types, no new terrain or traversal, no fights that go in different spatial directions, etc. 2 makes the most of it's gameplay, whereas I couldn't help buy think 4 could've done so much more in that regard.
Those standard shootouts in 2 contribute to why people held/hold the game in high regard. Games that aren't completely open, player-dictated affairs will have their peaks and valleys carefully determined by the devs, and they don't need to create a lot of slow, introspective sequences right after one another to make the action moments enjoyable.
It'd be one thing if those areas in 4 were able to be bypassed on subsequent playthroughs — which they all might, haven't played it through again myself — but they certainly don't seem like they all can be. Exploring that house in the flashback was great the first time, but that gameplay isn't engaging enough on a mechanical level for me to want to go back through it. It isn't deep enough or free-form enough for me to do so. The core gameplay is put on the back burner frequently in 4 — what it does in place of combat is great, but still on similar to light exploration games like Firewatch, games I consider to have potential for greatness, but not on repeated playthroughs.
EDIT:
Inclined to agree — I'm wondering if this approach to traversal can be taken further without breaking its use mixed in with other gameplay. It's possible, I guess, but I don't see it being really feasible to have some non-automated climbing/grabbing while also mixing it with crazy shootouts. Something like Grow Home has fantastic climbing gameplay that can carry a whole (short) game, but it looks wonky and wouldn't fit in UC. I don't know
staticneuron
Member
Just beat game I enjoyed it greatly. I don't think I have anything negative to say about experience just an observation. This game seems to lend itself to multiple play through because of the exploration elements. Leaving it as a choice, strengthens players control but at same time allows them to have strong story focus and pacing. Well done, imo. ND are masters at their craft.
Spring-Loaded
Member
I'm really hoping all those segments don't bog down a replay for me. I'd rather not have to just skip chapters to get to the action I'm looking for.
Ideally, they'd last a long time if the player so chooses, but are no longer/involved than the equivalent in past games.
The Xtortionist
Member
I'm replaying the game now on crushing and it's...not easy to get through. First few chapters are a total slog, and chapter 9 nearly ended me. And not because of the difficulty.
CrichtonKicks
Member
I honestly don't know how much more they can do in the framework of the series. I think 4 does a great job at allowing consistent use of the entire toolset, including new moves,and it does bring back pretty much all of the elements used in prior games as well with the exception of a train-like setup.
That's why I think it's for the best that they end the series here. I just don't think you can do a lot more with combat, traversal, and puzzles and still stay in the Uncharted framework.
Haven't got there in my replay yet but you should be able to push through the house very, very quickly. There is very little that is needed that is critical path.
Which is the case for most of the game, really. You can critical path a lot of things when you know where to go. And it's probably a 10-11 hour game if you do so. Given that it has approximately the same kill count as UC1-3 it isn't really that far off with the earlier games at that point.
Do you feel the same about replaying Chapters 17 & 18 in UC2? I know that in my recent replay that Chapters 2,8,17, and 18 were the hardest for me to get through. Not having the same issue in UC4 yet (up through Chapter 10 now), mainly because the traversal is so much smoother.
Spring-Loaded
Member
Then they need to patch the "encounter replay" feature to have all the shootouts loaded up back-to-back
Or hurry up with that co-op, and make sure it's just high octane 'charted the whole way through
I think I've said I didn't really feel like I needed any more set-pieces in 4 that what was given, but I still would've wanted to see something done with the existing mechanics as they're stronger than ever before. The one standout chase setpiece was like ND shooting their load. The game is more grounded than the past couple and takes place in pretty much one location for a long time late in the game, yet still manages to be exciting, like an Uncharted 1 done right.
They could do a more bombastic game with the rope swinging and melee and go further, I'm sure. Even if it's just remixes of past scenarios, there's so much more that can be done on a mechanics level.
You unlock an "encounter selector" that lets you select any firefight in the game, to jump directly into the action.
A bit odd, but useful feature.
EDIT: Ninja'd.
Kevin Shields
Member
I think the pacing could have worked perfectly
It would have been the perfect transition from the slower chapter 12 and made the encounters in 13-15 that much more meaningful. Uhh I wish I was on the cutting room floor because this game just has so much going for it to be let down by weird balance decisions.
if they did not skip the boat chase that you played in the intro, but they made it much more interesting and pulled some crazy crap like they did in chapter 11. This could be included with chapter 13 or made a chapter on itself
RespectThySole
Member
The thing about the first third is that although it's not the best on replays at least they're not very lengthy and it flies by since you know what happens unlike 12-16 which are completely self-indulgent albatrosses.
I think it entirely depends on why you're replaying the game. If it's purely for the set pieces and combat you can pretty much use chapter select are your own leisure. Others might want to experience the story and character dynamics again. There's definitely value in replaying a game where you can take as much time as you like to simply look and appreciate all the details that are packed into the game, without feeling like you need to rush through segments to get to the next story beat.
The worst scenario for UC4 would be replaying the whole game again within a month in a very similar fashion to your first outing. With the way the game is structured there's not a lot of value in doing that.
The worst scenario for UC4 would be replaying the whole game again within a month in a very similar fashion to your first outing. With the way the game is structured there's not a lot of value in doing that.
CrichtonKicks
Member
12-16 aren't that long when you know where you are going. I spent tons of time on those chapters the first time around exploring, especially Chapters 12&14. But there really isn't much to stop you from running straight through them. 13 is a bit different because of the
forced walking but that's pretty much out of the Uncharted playbook (Chapter 15 in UC2 and Chapter 18 in UC3).
The Xtortionist
Member
RespectThySole
Member
It's literally hours of mostly nothing, but
walking, talking and platforming.
Spring-Loaded
Member
Like I said, that encounter select isn't ideal as, with my brief experience with it, I saw some parts split up with each portion ending abruptly after the final kill rather than letting me continue on for a little bit, at least. If I want to do the big mid-game setpiece all in one go, I need to play through that whole chapter.
With Uncharted 2, I could go back through like 4/5s of that game without feeling like I needed to just skip past a part. I really liked the exploration moments in 4, but there are some that I'm certain I can't just blaze through, and there are some that are surrounded by similar sequences. Being able to just get taken for a ride without having to do the start/stop/start method is great, but I don't think that's doable here.
The Xtortionist
Member
The difference is that the cooldown chapters in UC2 generally come after lengthy (like 3+ straight chapters) stretches of action, and the game never fails to quickly ramp back up after they conclude. The cooldown sections in UC4 come after hardly anything and last forever. I was never too hot on the museum heist, though.
CrichtonKicks
Member
Just checked a complete walkthrough on Youtube. I'm assuming it's pretty critical path but I didn't actually watch it. Chapters 12-15 take approximately 2 hours total.
They really should have just replaced this with good rope puzzles, or rope puzzles involving old crates without wheels that can slide around and at least look respective to the era they are found from.
Spring-Loaded
Member
Yeah, I can still appreciate that sequence and not feel like I need to just rush through it as I know what's surrounding it.
Any one similar sequence in 4 would be fine, but I don't know about a gauntlet of them.
Yeah, that seems like a really long time, especially on a replay.
FarFromAnyGame
Banned
I took a look at the art book that comes with the Libertalia Edition today.
WTF were they thinking?
Major spoilers in it. Don't look at it before finishing the game.
Thank god Amazon fucked up my order and shipped it after I've finished my early copy.
WTF were they thinking?
Major spoilers in it. Don't look at it before finishing the game.
Thank god Amazon fucked up my order and shipped it after I've finished my early copy.
RespectThySole
Member
ComputerBlue
Member
Not to mention all of those conveniently placed logs sticking out all over the place with rope wrapped around them for you to hook and swing on, lol.
It would be nice to see more use of the rope in general that wasn't just hitting L1 while climbing.
I think they introduce pulling a crate towards you with the rope and never use it again. (note: by that I do not mean give me more crates, lol)
It is odd. It's strange to me that something like this is a big mainstream success, but here we are.
Naughty Dog is getting closer and closer to making an Ico-like game. I see them as basically the Western, more mainstream Team Ico at this point.
The Xtortionist
Member
Right. The Village and Ice Caves sequence is extremely long, but it directly follows so much fuckin' action. It starts when you carry Jeff, then escape with Elena, then storm the trainyard, then board the train for multiple chapters of insane action, then engage in a huge scale snowstorm fight. All in a row. I can't hate on an hour or two of cooldown after all that, especially since following the cooldown you're immediately thrown into the village siege -> convoy -> monastery sequence.
SO GOOD.
CrichtonKicks
Member
That was included in the total I gave. Was that Chapter 15 or 16?
RespectThySole
Member
That puzzle in
does the stupid thing UrbanRats was talking about earlier where Nate tells you the answer before you even get to try and solve it too! I mean the puzzle is pretty easy in the first place so at that point it's like why is it even there? Doesn't even look pretty.
16
12
16
I wish if you work with ND and telling them that. I don't know what they were thinking when they designed UC4.
I'm in the
near the end. Still loving the game story and storytelling. Loved the
. Really powerful acting.
The
was ok, not too bad, the fighting in the
was cool, possibly my favorite.
That being said, single highhandedly this game has the worst combat I have ever experienced and it is without a doubt the worst part of the whole game. Holy shit do I still hate the combat, the combat arenas, the enemies with perfect aiming/infinite ammo/running full steam ahead towards you (fuck the shotgun guys forever, yeah hit me from where the sniper is with the shotgun, thats fair) and my AI buddy is still worthless. I am starting to see why places would give this less than perfect scores, right now I can see myself giving this a 85-89 just because of how much I've hated the combat. Everything else, amazing, combat is some of the worst I've had to experience.
caves
jeep with Elena
The
mansion
underwater part of new devon
That being said, single highhandedly this game has the worst combat I have ever experienced and it is without a doubt the worst part of the whole game. Holy shit do I still hate the combat, the combat arenas, the enemies with perfect aiming/infinite ammo/running full steam ahead towards you (fuck the shotgun guys forever, yeah hit me from where the sniper is with the shotgun, thats fair) and my AI buddy is still worthless. I am starting to see why places would give this less than perfect scores, right now I can see myself giving this a 85-89 just because of how much I've hated the combat. Everything else, amazing, combat is some of the worst I've had to experience.
RespectThySole
Member
The Xtortionist
Member
ND did an outstanding job designing the combat arenas. Nearly every fight offers something fun and unique.
Beat it.
Story was best in the series,
I enjoyed a lot of the combat encounters and the rope, even a lot of the traversal was cool. The pacing however was bad IMO. They did develop this in service of the story, but I felt more hamstrung and held back by the developers more than I felt like I was dictating Nate's adventure. The mechanics are best suited for action and most of the game focuses on "not action." Downtime worked better both in UC2 and TLOU for different, but equally valid reasons. In UC2, it was a way for the player to catch a break after engaging in something awesome, and in TLOU it demanded the player appreciate and take advantage of it due to the survival nature of gameplay. Exploring the suburbs was one of the best parts of TLOU, but only because of the near death experience of the sewer before that, and the crazy sniper action that followed after. That downtime in between where you learn about your new friends, as well as finding supplies and learning more about the area through notes/environmental storytelling was a lot better than anything UC4 attempted in that regard.
Definitely think UC4 should have doled out action a lot more. UC2 (until the Monastary) had marvelous pacing due to ramping action combined with cool-downs that were engaging but never wore out their welcome by being appropriately spread. The 1 hour Village/Ice cave segment in UC2 came after several hours of high octane action culminating with the train, and the wreckage that followed. The most actiony chapter in UC4
made me sad because it ended so quick.
Wished they built an arcade/challenge mode for shootouts. Would love to use the mechanics free from the shackles of the campaign. Because even with the relatively few combat encounters, most all of them had great level design that needs to be capitalized on. DLC pls
Story was best in the series,
even if the villains didn't have as much screentime as I've liked. Epilogue was great, and bought ND's PS3 legacy full circle in a way. Also loved the dedication to Amy Hennig in the credits.
I enjoyed a lot of the combat encounters and the rope, even a lot of the traversal was cool. The pacing however was bad IMO. They did develop this in service of the story, but I felt more hamstrung and held back by the developers more than I felt like I was dictating Nate's adventure. The mechanics are best suited for action and most of the game focuses on "not action." Downtime worked better both in UC2 and TLOU for different, but equally valid reasons. In UC2, it was a way for the player to catch a break after engaging in something awesome, and in TLOU it demanded the player appreciate and take advantage of it due to the survival nature of gameplay. Exploring the suburbs was one of the best parts of TLOU, but only because of the near death experience of the sewer before that, and the crazy sniper action that followed after. That downtime in between where you learn about your new friends, as well as finding supplies and learning more about the area through notes/environmental storytelling was a lot better than anything UC4 attempted in that regard.
Definitely think UC4 should have doled out action a lot more. UC2 (until the Monastary) had marvelous pacing due to ramping action combined with cool-downs that were engaging but never wore out their welcome by being appropriately spread. The 1 hour Village/Ice cave segment in UC2 came after several hours of high octane action culminating with the train, and the wreckage that followed. The most actiony chapter in UC4
(20)
Wished they built an arcade/challenge mode for shootouts. Would love to use the mechanics free from the shackles of the campaign. Because even with the relatively few combat encounters, most all of them had great level design that needs to be capitalized on. DLC pls
I think my favourite visual thing about the game is the explosions. They look so good. People need to screenshot that shit in photo mode.
I enjoyed the game's pacing. I didn't feel that shootouts were too spaced out. (I can see a lot of "slow" chapters going by quicker next time I play the game, too. I already know where to go.) But when I finished the game I was definitely feeling thirsty for shootouts, and was kind of shaking my head at the number encounters in the encounter-select menu.
I enjoyed the game's pacing. I didn't feel that shootouts were too spaced out. (I can see a lot of "slow" chapters going by quicker next time I play the game, too. I already know where to go.) But when I finished the game I was definitely feeling thirsty for shootouts, and was kind of shaking my head at the number encounters in the encounter-select menu.
It's really impressive and awesome but I died a few times and really ruined the momentum.
I should probably replay this.
Psychoward
Banned
the cel shaded filter is beautiful
for anyone interested I recorded a crappy little video of chapter 10 with it activated along with bullet time and the tuxedo skins to get a borderlands x max payne vibe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpLskVnm8ps
for anyone interested I recorded a crappy little video of chapter 10 with it activated along with bullet time and the tuxedo skins to get a borderlands x max payne vibe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpLskVnm8ps
Seeing as how the smoke is just 2D smoke (like most other games to be fair), I don't think photo mode will really help it.
Also, my favorite combat scenario has to be
the partially submerged building in New Devon.
the jeep in the elevator sequence.
Parapraxis
Member
I'll try to grab a few, I just finished the game on Crushing, no cheats...holy crap there were some tough encounters. (I'm not going to say how many hours I spent on a couple of them).
I look forward to breezing through the speedrun on super-easy just to experience the story again.
Parapraxis
Member
Wrong video? The one you liked was 8 bit sans tux.
SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
FlutterPuffs
Member
We already have a share button, and some encounters can be VERY cinematic if done right.
What Naughty Dog should do is a Cinematic Play Of The Month. Players upload their best stylish encounters and we vote the best out of them. That would be a pretty fun competition to have. Would be a nice PR for the game too.
Also a RE style Mercenaries Mode would be fun too. No sidekick, just you versus the enemies for points.
What Naughty Dog should do is a Cinematic Play Of The Month. Players upload their best stylish encounters and we vote the best out of them. That would be a pretty fun competition to have. Would be a nice PR for the game too.
Also a RE style Mercenaries Mode would be fun too. No sidekick, just you versus the enemies for points.
That second one was my least favorite part of the whole,game by far. IMO, the combat is at its weakest when there are no real stealth options. It's pretty serviceable when you can swing and jump around then come back again from a new vantage with the enemies unaware. Much less so when it's just a pop and stop shooter.