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[Deleted member 17706]

http://megapanda.net/14-uncharted-4/778-difficulty-settings

Interesting info about the changes in crushing and whatnot.

Had a frustrating enough time on the normal difficulty in this game, so I don't think Crushing is for me... I still can't place my finger on just what makes the combat feel so bad for me in this game. I really want to like it.

 

[Davide]

Am I the only one who thought the final boss fight was fantastic? By far the best of the series.

Just finished, I feel more like replaying the entire series again, and I just played the first a month ago.

9.5 for the game...if not 10.

 

[Unknown?]

Am I the only one who thought the final boss fight was fantastic? By far the best of the series.

Just finished, I feel more like replaying the entire series again, and I just played the first a month ago.

9.5 for the game...if not 10.

No I loved the boss fight, it was way better than the previous three final bosses.

 

[Lys Skygge]

Am I the only one who thought the final boss fight was fantastic? By far the best of the series.

Just finished, I feel more like replaying the entire series again, and I just played the first a month ago.

9.5 for the game...if not 10.

I loved the final boss. But I think I might have enjoyed Lazaravich I little more.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Am I the only one who thought the final boss fight was fantastic? By far the best of the series.

Just finished, I feel more like replaying the entire series again, and I just played the first a month ago.

9.5 for the game...if not 10.

It was easily the best final boss in the series. I'm still bummed about Lazaravic. I loved that it was a legit boss fight that made use off all the mechanics in the game, but everything else about it and how it uses that is just bad. Way too long and repetitive too.

 

[dcx4610]

Just finished it and I thought it was fantastic. The story wasn't great but it was by far the most mature and I absolutely loved that there was

Spoiler

NO SUPERNATURAL for once.

My only complaints are some of the areas felt like a drag and a lot of the gameplay elements felt played out. There were way too many "Oh shit!" moments to the point that they lose their effect and the constant climbing, swinging and sliding got tedious. I still hate the silly jumping around while hanging on the side of a cliff and ridiculous climbing. It makes an otherwise serious game silly and video gamey. I wish they would tone down the climbing and make it more realistic but that's plagued the entire series.

All of that said, it was a 9/10. The graphics were mindblowing, the big action scenes were crazy and I absolutely adored the acting. The acting was better than most movies and really sold the game for me.

I guess the ending was polarizing from what I read but I felt very satisfied and

Spoiler

I'm a suck for seeing characters older and it brought a tear to my eye.

.

A wonderful experience that will be hard to be topped this year.

 

[The Lamp]

It would seem this debate doesn't get old isn't it. People who want more mechanics over narrative. I think at this point, people should know what to expect when buying games from certain developers, this isn't an rpg, assassins creed or another shooter. If you are hungry for mechanics, there's plenty of indie games, cod, battlefield, sports that cater to those needs so it's perhaps better to spend more time with those. You can't buy uncharted and then expect it to fill your thirst for grinding upgrades on fetch quests, this game never pretended to be what it isn't. I just feel it's rather a disservice to put yourself through the pain of getting a game you know you probably don't want and then complain it didn't serve you cheese burger when it never offered one to begin with

Narrative doesn't have to suffer at the expense of mechanics or vice versa. I certainly didn't ask for RPG or XP style mechanics. You can tell a compelling story with good pacing and meaningful non-combat gameplay. Uncharted 4 just doesn't do the latter as well as some of us hoped it would. It's not that we want the story to suffer.

 

[Dangansona]

Just hit Chapter 14 and unfortunately partially figured out a twist:

Spoiler

Sam is lying about needing to get the treasure to save his life and is just doing it to convince Nate to leave his home life to go with him.

I know that isn't 100% what happens, but my brother partially confirmed it and I'm hoping it doesn't lessen the impact of the game for me.

But overall loving it, I think the gameplay and story mix is perfect. My favorite area has actually been Scotland.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Am I the only one who thought the final boss fight was fantastic? By far the best of the series.

Just finished, I feel more like replaying the entire series again, and I just played the first a month ago.

9.5 for the game...if not 10.

I also thought it was the best final boss in the series (not saying much), but the lead up to it was sooooooo weak.

 

[Davide]

I also thought it was the best final boss in the series (not saying much), but the lead up to it was sooooooo weak.

Would have been interesting if the mountain was a volcano.

EDIT: Forgot there was a volcano in Madagascar.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Would have been interesting if the mountain was a volcano.

and aliens were invading

 

[iamsirjoshua]

and aliens were invading

How do you top trains and planes as set pieces? Spaceships, of course!

I just finished the game today and throughout I kept waiting for the kind of big, signature set piece that made 2 and 3 so memorable and iconic. When it never came, I found I wasn't as disappointed as I thought that might make me. It's clear that they were going for a more personal, character-driven vibe with this game, and I think it worked. Yes, it did feel a lot more like TLOU with an Uncharted skin, and I think that's fine. I think that by the 4th entry they're entitled to shake up the formula, and with how incredibly detailed the graphics were, I do think massive set pieces might have crossed the line a bit into self-parody. Instead, putting that insane motion capture technology intro expressing emotion in the characters' faces like I have never seen before is what made this game a memorable one.

It will take some time to digest, but I am looking forward to another playthrough a few months down the line. This was a very fitting end to the Nathan Drake saga, and I am also quite glad that Naughty Dog is willing to let go rather than trying to pump out Uncharted 5, 6, and so on until they stop making money. Now that games as a whole have moved on from trying to be cinematic to everything being massive and open-world, I think this game will persist as a testament to what can be accomplished in the medium from a more linear, narrative-driven perspective, even after its graphics are no longer impressive and its gameplay mechanics a relic of a different era.

Uncharted 4 rivaled many of my favorite films for me, and that's something that the vast majority of games will never be able to do. I don't want every game to be Uncharted 4, either. But it definitely stands apart for what it does.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Finally finished yesterday and I gotta say that I loved this game. It's actually the first one I've beaten (Although I did get right near the end of Uncharted 1 and 2). I liked how fewer shooting encounters there were compared to other Uncharted games. Some of the moments of visual spectacle took my breath away like no other game has. Dialog was super fun to hear and the banter felt natural. There was a real heart to these characters that had me actually caring how things would turn out for them. Which is surprising because I don't really have much affinity to them from the other games.

A couple highlights for me...

Chapter 11

Spoiler

clocktower made me wince so many times from the heights. It was incredible, especially when things started falling to pieces. I had a big smile from what I was witnessing. The chase that follows was great too. Couldn't believe I was seeing this in a game.

The later parts in the game

Spoiler

when you get to Libertalia were so atmospheric and fun to explore. Naughty Dog does weathered architecture like no other game. All the streets and mansions were a joy to find my way through. Reminded me of the Souls games in a way.

Final boss was pretty good.

Spoiler

Although it was kinda a new mechanic I thought it flowed well enough. And Rafe's death was solid. Music during that fight was best song in entire soundtrack IMO. Loved the escape after with the rocks tumbling.

Overall it was an incredible journey for me. Although I am not much of an Uncharted fan this game knocked my socks off and gave me a spectacle like no other. One of the most amazing things I've ever played in all my years of gaming.

...one minor quibble. I kinda wish there were less letters and notes strewn around the game. I was reading them at first, but after a while I would browse or hear Nate's quick synopsis. So much text, and my favorite genre are RPGs so I dunno.

 

[Azzanadra]

Just a few questions:

What happened to Nate's mother, and why did the father abandon the kids?

Sam's "job" was something criminal/shady, right? Something like drug dealing/robbery...

 

[Future]

It's all gameplay, but it's all not necessarily engaging. If If I'm not truly having to figure out where to go, or having to be careful/quick-witted to traverse a given area, then the climbing can come across as dull and boring. It's gameplay, but it pales in comparison to combat in complexity, player agency and consequence. If different paths always existed, and that changed what encounters you end up in (which they do in chapter 10, but virtually nowhere else), then that'd make it feel more substantial. Or if most/all of the climbing required some timing and quick thinking like it does in the second to last chapter, then it'd be more interesting. Same with dialogue choices, exploration (again with chapter 10, there are some good opportunities for exploration in which you can actually do more than just walk/climb a bit off the beaten path, but that's an exception), and incentives for exploration (treasures don't affect the current/initial playthrough, and there's rarely any power weapons hidden somewhere).

And I actually liked everything in 4 individually. It's just there's too much of the really basic dialogue choices/optional convos, really basic traversal, and really basic exploration with too little payoff for all of it (either in tangible rewards or just satisfying, engaging gameplay). When it's properly balanced/mixed with the combat, it's all great, but that isn't always the case.

Exploration and combat is weak. Set pieces and story is excellent. It's an uncharted game

I don't know if we will ever get uncharted level story telling and set pieces with dark souls like engagement in exploration and combat. Probably impossible to make a game like that

 

[EdReedFan20]

I love the fact that nearly every type of environmental area we've seen in the series is covered in this game. There's dense jungle (like in Uncharted 1, 2, and 3), there's snow (like in Uncharted 2), there's sand (like in Uncharted 3), and there's a bustling market area (like Uncharted 3). Uncharted 4 adds open water.

 

[sainraja]

My apologies to everyone. I didn't mean to spoil that. =/

 

[xxracerxx]

My apologies to everyone. I didn't mean to spoil that. =/

Yeah, that was a huge fuckup. Glad I finished it before that.

Just watch out in the future.

 

[Coolbgdog12]

Naughty Dog should've added something else to the encounter select man. Maybe have modifiers like "Enemies are all armored." or a brute or two in an area that's not normal. It'd make the encounters more fun for replays aside from just experimenting.

 

[valkyre]

Wait, did you just disagree with the idea that UC4 puts its story ahead of gameplay then list only 7

Spoiler

out of 21

chapters in the game that are gameplay focused?

Right. So nowdays, in order to consider something gameplay, it has to be all about shooting stuff, explosions etc etc.

Maybe you should just go play COD, or some other hardcore shooter.

But certainly stop with the bs about U4 having only 7 chapters that are gameplay oriented...

 

[papercan55]

Just finished this and i have to say i couldn't be more disappointed.
I'm a huge fan of the previous 3 games but the pacing for this game is a mess.
I loved the last of us probably as much if not more than this series but they really should not have taken so many cues from that game, slower sections would be great after crazy action moments or fast paced set pieces but even the shooting in this title is designed to be played at a slower pace and more stealthy which sucks after slower paced sections.

designing great shooting arenas with the rope and then making it so hard for players to use those mechanics unless they play on easy mode was a bad decision, it forces players to play more stealthy and slow which would be fine if the game was full of crazy set pieces and action but it's not.
You go from slower paced story driven sections to simple platforming(other than the clocktower) and then you get into shoot-outs which are designed to be played carefully and more stealthy, rarely giving the player a chance to get into the adventure.
It's the first naughty dog title which i feel had so many strange design decisions, for instance after a long slower paced chapter driving the boat around the islands why didn't they include the action section with the boat? the game was crying out at that exact moment for some action, they had it already designed and ready to go but it was cut short and put at the start.

They could have trimmed the game down a lot and maybe focused on a shorter but better paced action adventure.
the piton and sliding mechanic seemed almost wasted which was a shame as the platforming really needed to be more complicated in this title given that there is so much of it.

I was really hoping that the tomb raider reboot and sequel would push naughty dog to create the ultimate uncharted game but sadly i think they took too much inspiration from the last of us which was the wrong source of inspiration for this title.

 

[PuppetMaster]

Just a few questions:

What happened to Nate's mother, and why did the father abandon the kids?

Sam's "job" was something criminal/shady, right? Something like drug dealing/robbery...

In uncharted 3 it is explained that his mother commited suicide. In UC4

Spoiler

the collector lady says she was not well. Could meant mentally though

The father was some kind of dead beat and only got a minor mention in uncharted4. But in UC3 it mentions he turned the kids over to the state for care. So they basically became orphans.

 

[Alienous]

Right. So nowdays, in order to consider something gameplay, it has to be all about shooting stuff, explosions etc etc.

Maybe you should just go play COD, or some other hardcore shooter.

But certainly stop with the bs about U4 having only 7 chapters that are gameplay oriented...

Uh, not my point. Just that listing 7 chapters that favour gameplay isn't a good counter-argument.

 

[kyser73]

I feel like a lot of people missed the point of Rafe but I can't really discuss it without spoilers.

Spoiler

He is meant to be an example of what Nate (or more importantly, Sam) could have become had they given in to their obsessions. The final fight is especially powerful because Nate is not really just fighting Rafe, he's fighting everything he represents. It's a battle that showcases what Nate's brother could have been without keeping him on this side of the line.

I thought it was a powerful personal touch and executed very well. Maybe it didn't work for some but I think writing him off as cliche is being a bit dismissive of the deeper theme there.

Spoiler

Yup, all the way up to the end, Rafe, Nate & Sam are all their own versions of Avery, and while Nate starts to pull back from the brink earlier than anyone, his motivation to rescue Sam is very clearly mixed in with a desire to chase the treasure.

You also see this as all three of them lie/sell out their partners. I rate Rafe as a genuinely interesting bad guy.

Rafe is also written as a bad guy with an actual genuine personal motivation beyond ruling the world. He wants to prove that he isn't just a spoiled rich kid by achieving something grand.

 

[valkyre]

Uh, not my point. Just that listing 7 chapters that favour gameplay isn't a good counter-argument.

Now that I read about the entire discussion, you are right, my bad. I jumped the gun there, in respect to all this talk about gameplay/platforming etc etc.

Just to state my opinion, as long as I have control and the game manages to engage me in what is happening, either through its story/interaction, I consider it gameplay.

I spent 6 hours the first time I visited Novigrad in Witcher 3 and all i did was walk around, talk to NPCs, read books, shop etc etc. I didnt even pull out my sword once. And it was one of the most -if not the most- memorable experiences I had in the entirety of W3.

Same with Uncharted 4. I consider episode 12 one of the most amazing experiences I had and certainly what I imagined a proper adventure/treasure hunt game to be like. I was engaged in the history, in the story, in the hunt.

Tbh chapter 20 is one bland episode by comparison, because there is nothing but shooting. Its great shooting, but if you ask me which chapter captivated me more, chapter 12 wins by a huge margin.

 

[Nesther]

Just finished it. Wow, what a masterpiece. Playing it on crushing really crushed my spirit, especially the last few combat encounters that just throw waves of armored enemies at you.

But the combat -> exploration loop was just really well done and satisyfing. Gave me plenty of breathing time so I never felt overwhelmed by the encounters.

 

[R_thanatos]

Am I the only one who thought the final boss fight was fantastic? By far the best of the series.

Just finished, I feel more like replaying the entire series again, and I just played the first a month ago.

9.5 for the game...if not 10.

the final boss fight was magnificent

 

[zoukka]

Just started this yesterday and got to the sixth chapter. Game looks nice, though a little soft (I guess it's because of the AA solution). The IQ is indeed nice, but I've never been someone who minds jaggies if the image is clear.

There's some disconnect between the realistic visuals + writing and the gameplay elements, especially in the first chapter where the kids do impossible leaps and danger their lives with every move. In the previous games I didn't notice it at all, but the more grounded look/feel makes me conscious of it.

Looking forward to the first actual shooting sections. The platforming is just as automatic as in the previous games and can get stale pretty fast.

 

[x-Lundz-x]

http://megapanda.net/14-uncharted-4/778-difficulty-settings

Interesting info about the changes in crushing and whatnot.

The no checkpoints during encounters made me furious on a few fights on crushing... Looking at you Chapter 13 and chapter 20. But I'm glad I made it, most of the game wasn't too bad on crushing.

 

[iamsirjoshua]

the final boss fight was magnificent

I was a little frustrated that since it introduced a brand new mechanic, I had no muscle memory in terms of which buttons to press, so it felt like a lot of trial and error. This was really offset for me in terms of how it fit into the greater narrative and tone of the game. It just...worked. I liked it much better than if it was just another shooting section. By the end of Chapter 20 I was pretty done with that.

Spoiler

Rafe

is certainly a memorable villain.

 

[Endo Punk]

I'm kind of perplexed that people are having such a hard time with the

Spoiler

Rafe boss fight. Its remembering two simple button presses, dodge left or dodge right, the way Rafe swings leaves plenty of time to react

. I played on hard, yea you had to react slightly faster, and I died twice but it was incredible.

Spoiler

I totally expected ND to cop-out and Nate would deal with Rafe in a cutscene, hammering TLOU influence a little too hard

. I love what Druckley did, the setting, dialogue, my word it was a treat.

 

[Alienous]

I don't know why they decided to

Spoiler

make the final fight a challenge

. Like, just treat it like you would a set-piece. Not only that but they challenge me regarding something entirely new, and connected to the part of gameplay that saw the least action in the single-player - the melee combat.

It's just bad design. It's gorgeous looking, and an interesting set-up, but just poor from a design standpoint.

 

[Ricky_R]

Am I the only one who thought the final boss fight was fantastic? By far the best of the series.

Just finished, I feel more like replaying the entire series again, and I just played the first a month ago.

9.5 for the game...if not 10.

Nope. I thought the final bass was pretty awesome. I wasn't expecting that at all and I felt it was a nice surprise.

 

[PeskyToaster]

I was a little frustrated that since it introduced a brand new mechanic, I had no muscle memory in terms of which buttons to press, so it felt like a lot of trial and error. This was really offset for me in terms of how it fit into the greater narrative and tone of the game. It just...worked. I liked it much better than if it was just another shooting section. By the end of Chapter 20 I was pretty done with that.

Spoiler

Rafe

is certainly a memorable villain.

Spoiler

If I remember right they cut a sword fight with Sam in Evelyn's house. Would have been a nice intro to the mechanic.

 

[Alienous]

Spoiler

If I remember right they cut a sword fight with Sam in Evelyn's house. Would have been a nice intro to the mechanic.

Still would have been terrible game design.

You shouldn't be introducing mechanics for the sake of a boss fight. It should be challenging the mechanics you've used the entire game.

 

[HeelPower]

UC4 is not really a case of story dominating over gameplay.(say like MGS4)Because the story has aspects that are severely underdeveloped.

UC4's problem is empty sections were neither gameplay nor story are developed.

Long Sections were move you forward,hear insignificant banter and just gawk at beautiful scenery.

The only story heavy places were the intro and the very end.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Still would have been terrible game design.

You shouldn't be introducing mechanics for the sake of a boss fight. It should be challenging the mechanics you've used the entire game.

If you think of it as a boss fight in the traditional sense then yes, but it's really just a one off interactive narrative sequence that the game has been doing the whole time, ala the pickpocket thing, or taking pictures with a cell phone. The last combat encounter was the challenge of all the mechanics, and this was away to get the player interacting in the climax between the characters. I think it would have been better if the chapter 16 sequence hadn't been cut so you didn't have to have any tutorial information whatsoever, but the mechanics themselves are so simple that it's not like they're throwing something totally foreign at you and hopelessly expecting you to master a complex system.

 

[RespectThySole]

UC4 is not really a case of story dominating over gameplay.(say like MGS4)Because the story has aspects that are severely underdeveloped.

UC4's problem is empty sections were neither gameplay nor story are developed.

Long Sections were move you forward,hear insignificant banter and just gawk at beautiful scenery.

The only story heavy places were the intro and the very end.

Yup. I've been saying this. It's not even about the story half the time. It's about us gawking at the scenery.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Btw, I was a bit disappointed when they revealed that

Spoiler

Héctor was a lie.

I was looking forward to the mess that extra angle was gonna bring to the table in the end.

Same. I have to wonder if

Spoiler

that twist was written in later so that they could write the ending the way that they did

. One of the only disappointments in the story for me.

 

[Mindman]

So are there more action-heavy sequences such as the one in

Spoiler

Chapter 11

, later in the game? I sure hope so. I spoiled that one for myself watching an E3 video, and I just hope there is more of that...

 

[Fancy Clown]

Yup. I've been saying this. It's not even about the story half the time. It's about us gawking at the scenery.

Story isn't only conveyed through cutscenes or or dialogue

 

[Lys Skygge]

UC4 is not really a case of story dominating over gameplay.(say like MGS4)Because the story has aspects that are severely underdeveloped.

UC4's problem is empty sections were neither gameplay nor story are developed.

Long Sections were move you forward,hear insignificant banter and just gawk at beautiful scenery.

The only story heavy places were the intro and the very end.

I don't recall a single chapter that had no story. Sure their are chapters where the story isn't spoon fed, but I feel a lot of chapters were meant to develop characters. I felt like I was constantly learning something new about either Sam, Elena, or even Nathan himself. Not to mention the treasure hunt itself was present in every chapter.

 

[RespectThySole]

Story isn't only conveyed through cutscenes or or dialogue

There are a few decent moments of environmental storytelling, but there's also loads of traversal segments where nothing interesting is being shown to the player.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

this is the part of the conversation where we confuse "plot" for "story"

 

[pastrami]

I beat the game over the long weekend. My immediate impression is that it did some great things, but that it was also flawed enough that it wasn't quite amazing. Played on moderate, with everything like the hint and marking system turned off. Took me about 13-14 hours I think. I forgot to check my final time before I started a crushing playthrough.

I liked the new climbing mechanics, though I felt the piton was underutilized until the last couple climbing sections. I loved the rope, and the freeform climbing. Sure, it's still not challenging gameplay, but I found it really relaxing.

The art direction was stellar. I'm not one to explore a world for the sake of exploration, but I definitely did that here. There was something that just drew me into the world, unlike anything I've played before. Not even their previous effort, TLOU.

Gunplay was great. Loved the reticle system, and the guns felt satisfying to use. The stealth mechanics were great too. The open arenas were awesome, and it was fun utilizing stealth until the shit hit the fan.

Story was decent enough, but I loved the ending and epilogue. It was a fitting end to Nathan's Story.

I also enjoyed the last boss fight.

As for negatives, I felt the pacing was off. The beginning was pretty slow, and the boat chase felt like a weird place to start the game. It didn't grab me the same way Uncharted 2 did with waking up in the train and wanting to know how he got there. It was just, oh, this is kind of random, I'm driving a boat, ramming other boats.

I would have also liked to have seen more combat arenas. They were a ton of fun, but felt like there were too few. On the opposite side, a few of the forced combat sections were annoying, particularly the ones that were in the interior of the pirate ships. It's annoying being shot at from 5 different directions at once in a small enclosed area, at least until you figure out where the shotgunner spawns from and which was he goes.

Overall, I loved the game, and had a blast with it. It just didn't quite strike the same cord that my favorites have.

 

[Pound_lb003]

the final boss fight was magnificent

I think it would have been better if it worked with the other melee mechanics. Didn't like the dedicated 'minigame'.

That's one of the few things I liked in Uncharted 3 was the final boss fight, it was great.

I would have also liked to have seen more combat arenas. They were a ton of fun, but felt like there were too few. On the opposite side, a few of the forced combat sections were annoying, particularly the ones that were in the interior of the pirate ships. It's annoying being shot at from 5 different directions at once in a small enclosed area, at least until you figure out where the shotgunner spawns from and which was he goes.

Me too, there wasn't enough combat arenas for me. The shooting was finally so good, I wanted more and more. This is the level on which I wish it was open world so there was constantly a fight to be getting into, if you wanted it.

And you're completely right, even on the lowest difficulties it's really easy to get killed from crossfire. And while this is part of the game, I think if they were to adjust the balance a little, it'd perhaps simultaneously make melee more viable (which is so often not a viable option because of how squidgy you are) and mean you have more of a chance to react to enemies coming from every angle, which also happens often.

I am so torn on this game. It's finally where it's just so much fun to play, but they don't give you enough to play.

 

[RespectThySole]

The core of what HeelPower is getting at is that environmental storytelling doesn't have to be so intrusive and take away from engaging gameplay. We get that the game is beautiful and occasionally you do have something nice to show us, but you don't have to slow the game's pace to a crawl in order to do this.

 

[BFIB]

I just started chapter 19, how much do I have left?

 

[Gono]

I wanted to beat the crap out of Nadine.

Other than that, game is AMAZING.

 

[Pound_lb003]

I wanted to beat the crap out of Nadine.

Other than that, game is AMAZING.

Nadine is too amazing. Nate just isn't as good as her.

It's so cool.

I want to play as Nadine in the SP DLC.