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Uncharted 4: A Thief's End |OT| You're gonna miss this ass
- Thread starter BaraSailey
- Start date
I definitely can see how they can do an Uncharted 5 with Nathan Drake. They can just do his adventures with Elena in places like Malaysia and Cuba. They can definitely stumble across some cool treasures in their exploits.
Savantcore
Unconfirmed Member
Finished on Sunday night and really enjoyed it. Maybe a couple too many sequences of walking around listening to people chat towards the beginning, but I thought the combat arenas were great fun and a huge improvement over the shooting galleries of the first 3 games.
I'd rank Uncharted 2 higher but that might be down to nostalgia. Can't wait to run through the whole series again!
I'd rank Uncharted 2 higher but that might be down to nostalgia. Can't wait to run through the whole series again!
I think a side effect of how good this game looks is that it really sticks out when something doesn't look up to par. Replaying chapter 8 there's a part where part of a cliff breaks off and falls into the water below, and the resulting splash looks like three sprites. It's weird because the camera makes sure you see it. In the same chapter it just looks...off where the water meets the shore.
It doesn't take away from the fact that this is the best looking game I've ever seen.
Edit: also later in the game I think they
It doesn't take away from the fact that this is the best looking game I've ever seen.
Edit: also later in the game I think they
overdid it with the rain when you're marooned. Occasionally it would look like someone was touching a Star Trek force field.
Totally worth it. The Remastered Collection looks damn good.
Haha yeah. If we are going to nitpick for fun then it's that particular sprite effect and how some snow crumbles when you open a secret stair-case in the same chapter (next to gravestone). Maybe the white glimmer of the rain in the
marooned
Vicky the dog
In the entirity of the game that was what stood out as not on the same level as everything else to me which speaks volumes of how accomplished the visuals are.
Patch this garbage ND.
Dragon1893
Member
Those things stood out to me as well, that splash doesn't seem like something you're supposed to see.
And the shoreline doesn't look realistic, yeah.
It's nitpicking but these things stood out to me too.
That splash might be a bug, I dunno.
Lys Skygge
Member
What you described would have been extremely lame and unnecessary.
The whole story sets up how close Nathan and Sam were and at no point did one or the other give a reason to fight to the death. Yes Sam lied to Nathan and they'd get into little arguments, but the game did a great job of explaining why Sam is so passionate about Averys Treasure and why Nathan was ok with going along for the ride. Nathan absolutely loves the adventure even though he's been lying to himself that he doesn't. That dinner scene highlights this very well. Nathan or Sam wanting to kill eachother would have come out of left field and would have made for a incredibly ridiculous conclusion.
lukeskymac
Member
This has probably been asked a dozen times already but fuck it this thread is huge:
Is it CONFIRMED that you can get the Charted! - Crushing trophy with game modifiers enabled? Because if that's the case I might actually have fun playing it towards the end instead of frustration like I did on my first playthrough on Hard, no assists.
Is it CONFIRMED that you can get the Charted! - Crushing trophy with game modifiers enabled? Because if that's the case I might actually have fun playing it towards the end instead of frustration like I did on my first playthrough on Hard, no assists.
yes you can. Have fun.
EL CUCO
Member
I've never played U1, so as soon as I Plat U4 I'm diving in.
I'm breezing through Crushing currently with bonuses. Feeling like Neo with that bullet time on. Lots of fun.
WrenchNinja
Member
But nobody is saying they don't want to be mobile, so why on earth are you even bringing it up? It just reads like a non sequitur.
Weird, they do on crushing while also adding some real safety for the player.
They kind of are bad when you punish the player like this. Taking the whole game into consideration, those earlier encounters actually have some leeway with stealth. For some reason ND, I don't know, stopped giving a shit about what's reasonable. The late game isnt and makes the omission of the older mechanic glaring. How is for example funneling the player into a tight corridor full of enemies that begin to rush you and two wooden walls that crumble after constant fire and grenades and then spawning a guy with shotgun right behind you good design exactly?
Dude, this discussion started with you whining and insulting people about not liking something you do. But please go off into the sunset if you have to.
Jimmyfenix
Member
The Barok + bullet time on crushing is the way to play it. having so much fun with it
lukeskymac
Member
NavyPharaoh
Member
Agreed, although FYI thecomment is actually a reference to Monkey Island"second biggest cistern"
I did not know this! Thanks for pointing that out
This can't be stressed enough. My immersion gets broken in many games, because of the urgency of the story is undercut when I'm reminded I have 5 side quests to do and need to level up all this extra shit. In Uncharted it's refreshing to me, to know what I'm doing is THE SOLE objective.
IMO many open world games would benefit from being quest equality with each quest having its own story like Witcher 3 and dead the, "OMG you gotta save the world.... But this guy over there is giving out a better gun if you bring him 12 roses!" Or "People are captured, but the they understand you're out hunting tigers and shit."
MegaSackman
Member
forgeforsaken
Member
With the subtle and not so subtle references to other games, as well as films, I've been sort of wondering if the Assassins Creed concept art was meant to be a reference as well.
Impulsor
Member
It's gonna hurt a lot, but its worth it anyways. U1 is the worst of the bunch for me.
I actually liked UC1 much more after replaying it in the Collection. The pacing was better than I remember and the game flowed pretty quick from area to area. I was able to beat it in Moderate in one evening. UC2 on the other hand felt way too long in spots. The latter half dragged for me.
CrichtonKicks
Member
While I totally disagree with you assessment of the ending I too thought that
Sam was going to sabotage the plane or something. He seemed to just fold too easily. I think that's the one section of the game I would cut- nothing really happens from a gameplay or character perspective when you are walking through the port. If Sam had betrayed you at the end then I would say it worked at building suspense. Since that didn't happen I would have gone right from the super-high of the Sam rescue into him leaving the party with Nate off to run after him.
Agreed, although FYI thecomment is actually a reference to Monkey Island"second biggest cistern"
Is that confirmed? I know Druckmann is a huge MI fan but it seems like a blatant reference to the end of UC3.
Yeah, I really appreciated how
right after you find out that Sam lied to you he still takes a bullet for Nathan. Then they flash back and he does the same thing as a kid when Evelyn has a gone on them. Sam can be kind of scummy but the dude straight up loves his brother.
Snkfanatic
Banned
Gonna start this soon as well.
Bluepoint did a great job rebalancing the enemies in UC1. The pirates are no longer bullet sponges so most combat areas ended way faster than in original version. I think that's probably why the game went by so fast for me this time. Really enjoyed it and I was surprised how much of the game I remembered. It all came back to me, heh
MegaSackman
Member
Uncharted 2 has way to many shootouts towards the end just before Shambala, I actually liked Shambala and the smurfs, not loved it but liked it.
CrichtonKicks
Member
Funny I find U2 to be the perfect pacing. I'm about to go and finish the lass boss battle(Which I remember to be a chore when playing PS3 version). I didn't finish it on crushing in the remastered collection before starting UC4. I do love the story of UC1 even if the pacing is off somewhat. Definitely the shortest game of the 4. I'm just dreading playing UC3 in the remastered version. I really hated the Nathan drake sections of that game. It felt more like a chore than fun game play. I do like the Ship graveyard part which basically has the open encounters that are all in UC4.
Inferno313
Banned
I would say the only beat in the story that didn't completely work for me was (Fairly late game spoilers):
When that old lady dies right in front of Nathan and Sam as police are coming, forcing them to adopt a new identity. When it was revealed in Uncharted 3 that his real name wasn't Drake and that he was in an orphanage, my head-canon was that Nate adopted the "descendant of Sir Francis Drake" persona as a coping/survival mechanism while in the orphanage. I think making it into an identity taken out of necessity lessens the character's agency slightly, and I think that whole sequence is pretty contrived. Of course she dies right as the police are on the way.
Impulsor
Member
Awesome to read this because I did not finish UC1 remastered.
So yeah, I'm playing the three remastered versions that I have backlogged after I plat this.
MegaSackman
Member
You know, I really don't think that they did it out of necessity though, they just loved the idea of it.
WrenchNinja
Member
Yeah I didn't care for the change too.
Him being so obsessed with Sir Francis enough to tie himself to the story and wanting to reach the same greatness was better backstory then "lol guess we can't be Morgans anymore. But hey mom's theory sounds pretty cool, what if we were his descendents"
Dragon1893
Member
Agreed, Nepal goes on for too long and it's just encounter after encounter.
Yea, I still hated the UC2 last boss. I wouldn't mind how long it was if it weren't for the lack of checkpoints between him screaming at me. I dunno how people beat him on Crushing. It wasn't fun.
As for UC3, my opinion of it actually went down after replaying it. Still enjoyed the story more than some people but the combat encounters were really bad. When you die in some combat arenas, they would put you right in a spot surrounded and it's like a death trap. Enemies were pretty aggressive even on Moderate. Much tougher game than UC1/UC2. Of course, it still had some of the most impressive setpieces in the series.
pixellated_man
Member
History repeats once again.
Game received all the 10 and then some, a few laughed at the IGN 8.8, in the end, the game, while having flaws like every other damn game ever created, still was loved by the vast majority of people in this OT thread.
However, some people have been disappointed and feel marginalized in a sea of positive impressions. A number of these people are lashing back at what they perceive as undeserved critical praise by calling out the reviewers.
The vocal minority strikes again, every single time.
MegaSackman
Member
You can still tell yourself that story though, I do, U4 doesn't neglect that story, it just doesn't develop it. I can think that those little moments in the franchise when Nate have some feelings towards the Drake's ring
it's a sentiment towards his mother rather than his passion on Francis Drake himself.
CrichtonKicks
Member
Impulsor
Member
Maybe even his love for Francis Drake is born because of his mother too, so it would kinda be double awesome because the feelings nathan has towards the ring are both because of his mother and because Francis Drake.
Dragon1893
Member
I think they made enemies more aggressive to counter the fact that you can throw back grenades. Despite this ability it's the game that forces you to move around the most because of how much enemies come at you.
Overall I actually slightly prefer UC3 over UC2 but I'm not getting into that again lol.
Heh, I remember that debate from just a few days ago so yea, it's fine. Just commenting on my experience replaying the trilogy 2 weeks ago. Everyone has their own favorites in the series.
I know it's hard to deal with the fact that the flaws you think are a huge deal are not problems for most people. But try.
Finished the game, and after sleeping on it, waking up and thinking it some more, I give Uncharted 4 a 9 out of 10. At most parts, it IS the best Naughty Dog game I have ever played.
It's seriously refined in its traversal mechanics, the climbing being the most improved mechanic from past games (elegant is the word, here), and the rope being its most fun. Shooting-wise, it feels wilder aiming-wise, and it clashes a bit with the more constrained philosophy of the game design being showcased here. Still, the shooting feels great, impactful and the weapons are varied and fun. But what really sticks out is the storytelling.
The storytelling in Uncharted 4 is, bar none, the best Naughty Dog has ever done. I'm not talking about the 'plot' and 'characters', here... I'm talking about how they *tell* the story. The game is simply seamless. There is no separation worthy of mentioning between the story being told and game being played; both, the story and the game, feel one and the same.
And that *is* incredible. They finally fulfilled what they started with Uncharted 1, and refined -almost- to perfection with The Last of Us.
Now, I prefer both the tone, 'plot', pacing and characterization in The Last of Us, but it's a matter of -preference-. I could see someone absolutely preferring everything here. It's a remarkable achievement for storytelling in games, and that's why Naughty Dog remains my absolute favorite developer in the industry. The way they intermingle video game genres in order to *tell* a story, so fluidly and unashamedly, is worthy of all the praise in the world. One minute classic point-and-click adventure game, the other high-octane third person shooter, the other a quiet, contemplative driving game... It's crazy what they do, in terms of playing with gaming conventions.
My only problem with this game is simple: it ran far too long in a few moments during its third act. Trimming down games is something I hadn't thought about as a serious concept, until today... And I truly believe it is the direct result of what I explained two paragraphs ago.
The storytelling being such an integral part of the gameplay experience meant that they, too, needed to see their traversal and exploration moments as "editable", and not as "absolutely essential" (same as they did combat). Now, this feeling only crept on me sparingly during the third act of the game, but when it did, I felt it in my heart and couldn't pinpoint what it was immediately. As I reflect on it, it's easier to identify and say that this game could've seen a good hour of it being trimmed down. I get that some of these "overlong" moments could've been intentionally developed in the hopes of enriching the character experience -and- journey during that moment in the story, but that's something a second playthrough should clarify.
But aside from that, and an over-reliance on what I should label as "Naughty Dog conventions"
, the wait was absolutely worth it. A master class in interactive storytelling by some of the most talented folks in the industry, and it certainly helps me define why I play video games today, and will continue playing them in hopes of encountering similar (or better) experiences in the future.
It's seriously refined in its traversal mechanics, the climbing being the most improved mechanic from past games (elegant is the word, here), and the rope being its most fun. Shooting-wise, it feels wilder aiming-wise, and it clashes a bit with the more constrained philosophy of the game design being showcased here. Still, the shooting feels great, impactful and the weapons are varied and fun. But what really sticks out is the storytelling.
The storytelling in Uncharted 4 is, bar none, the best Naughty Dog has ever done. I'm not talking about the 'plot' and 'characters', here... I'm talking about how they *tell* the story. The game is simply seamless. There is no separation worthy of mentioning between the story being told and game being played; both, the story and the game, feel one and the same.
And that *is* incredible. They finally fulfilled what they started with Uncharted 1, and refined -almost- to perfection with The Last of Us.
Now, I prefer both the tone, 'plot', pacing and characterization in The Last of Us, but it's a matter of -preference-. I could see someone absolutely preferring everything here. It's a remarkable achievement for storytelling in games, and that's why Naughty Dog remains my absolute favorite developer in the industry. The way they intermingle video game genres in order to *tell* a story, so fluidly and unashamedly, is worthy of all the praise in the world. One minute classic point-and-click adventure game, the other high-octane third person shooter, the other a quiet, contemplative driving game... It's crazy what they do, in terms of playing with gaming conventions.
My only problem with this game is simple: it ran far too long in a few moments during its third act. Trimming down games is something I hadn't thought about as a serious concept, until today... And I truly believe it is the direct result of what I explained two paragraphs ago.
The storytelling being such an integral part of the gameplay experience meant that they, too, needed to see their traversal and exploration moments as "editable", and not as "absolutely essential" (same as they did combat). Now, this feeling only crept on me sparingly during the third act of the game, but when it did, I felt it in my heart and couldn't pinpoint what it was immediately. As I reflect on it, it's easier to identify and say that this game could've seen a good hour of it being trimmed down. I get that some of these "overlong" moments could've been intentionally developed in the hopes of enriching the character experience -and- journey during that moment in the story, but that's something a second playthrough should clarify.
But aside from that, and an over-reliance on what I should label as "Naughty Dog conventions"
("push this block to climb higher"; "here, let me give you a boost"; "help me getting this piece of rubble out of the way", etc.)
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Uncharted is also not a slow paced game full of quiet moments but UC4 is certainly designed that way...Uncharted doesn't necessarily need crafting mechanics but it most definitely needed some form of player/mechanic progression, the game introduces mechanics incredibly early on and those mechanics are not expanded on at all, you're doing the same stuff at the end as you are in the beginning, rope swinging in the first chapter is exactly the same as rope swinging the second time with no additional challenge that it becomes mind numbing. The MP definitely doesn't have any form of mechanic or player progression at all either unless you count incredibly contextual perks as player progression. Tomb Raider HAS exploration, jumping, and puzzle solving AND player progression in a globe trotting campaign. And you know what, for all the stuff borrowed from TLOU, the player progression would've worked wonders here because these environments are mostly for eye candy and nothing else. Imagine being able to get a better rope and access new parts of the environment during encounters. No one would complain about that at all and it would provide a better incentive for "exploring" than possibly finding a journal entry or treasures or one of the two optional conversations in each chapter, (seriously the majority of them only have two). And i'd certainly prefer that over "push this block."
MegaSackman
Member
Absolutely, it makes me want to replay some parts of Drake's Fortune and Deception just to play those moments again and see if it works! I'm sure it will.
Kevin Shields
Member
Funnily enough I played the first 4 chapters of Uncharted 3 yesterday and I loved the drake sections. I actually found the young drake climbing to be fun where in UC4 I found it be more of a chore. Maybe it's just the amount you do. Also UC3 has some pretty good music. I loved the young Drake Columbia music and I realized I didn't really have any standouts in UC4 besides a couple of combat themes.