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

nib95

Banned
What have you thought about the game so far, nib?

I'm already on my second play through on Crushing. The game is an absolute masterpiece, but still not without its flaws. I do think it improves on the franchises best in most categories barring things like pacing, and maybe the OST, which are both still fantastic mind you but where I feel UC2 is still the best. Aside from that though, actual level design, exploration, gameplay systems and mechanics, new gameplay additions, combat design, weapon sounds and feels, sound design, narrative and characters etc, in all these areas it has UC2 bested, and in many ways is genre leading.

Funny thing is, in recent months I've played The Uncharted Collection, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Quantum Break, Ratchet and Clank, Gears of War Ultimate etc, and coming off of the back of these has made me appreciate Uncharted 4 even more. The controls, the aiming, the fluidity and smoothness of it all, the way you can effortlessly pull things off, it's just generally more polished and sophisticated than these other games. Doesn't have as much of that jank or as many video game limitations.

During combat, if I want to take cover a certain way, I can usually do it, if I want to get to a certain vantage point or platform, I can do it, usually in a number of ways, if I want to switch between shooting, melee, platforming or even stealth, I can do it, usually in a very fluid and seamless way, likewise with general traversal or mobility, objects etc just don't get in the way as much, and during combat even mid run the way you just hop, slide or manoeuvre around or through obstacles is welcome. Now obviously many of these things you can do in these other games, but not all of them (Eg cover limitations in TR and QB, stealth limitations in UCC, mobility limitations in Gears, QB etc), and not to the same mechanically seamless and polished degree either. Naturally these other games are not designed or intended to take advantage of each of these things, but the addition of all of them does make UC4's combat feel more liberating and optioned as a result.
 
Do enemies respawn if you don't clear an encounter for a long time? I'm playing on Crushing and i had this group of 20+ enemies down to what I thought was just 3 at the back of the arena, but i was going very slow and all of a sudden dude shoots me from behind even though that whole area had been clear for a long time
 

Elfstruck

Member
Chapter 6 plothole/question:

Rafe was able to recognize Sully out of the blue in a large crowd but not Sam dressed up as a waiter?

Well,
Sully was talking with Nadine so it's easier for him to spot. Besides, Rafe thought that Sam was dead so he wouldn't really pay attention.

Dang it, double post.
 

BeeDog

Member
From a gameplay perspective, I am a bit split. From a platforming and trope-reusage perspective, the environments are so much more detailed it's more of a challenge to find the way forward, but the platforming itself is as automated as ever though the hook is cool. I'm only on chapter 8, but the number of mud/rock slides, boosts and obstacle-moving is starting to grate on me. On the other hand, the third-person combat is the best in its class; I can't recall a TPS that feels and sounds as good as this one. The enemies so far have a perfect amount of health, the hit reactions are great, the weapon sound effects are punchy and excellent-sounding, and the dynamism and verticality of the shootouts helps with the variation even when the core combat itself is limited/super-focused.

I hope the pacing picks up though in later chapters. All the location-hopping and slow-walking of the first few chapters is being dragged out just a tiny bit too much.
 

SRTtoZ

Member
I had to pause just to say, HOLY SHIT. The cutscene before you play as
Samuel in the prison looked REAL. Sam looked like a real man in my videogame. These graphi
cs!
 

Hurley

Member
Just finished it. What an experience and that ending. Fucking perfect.

Thank you Naughty Dog, it's been a hell of a ride.
 

Stoze

Member
I have that headset, but what's this app about? It enhances the in-game sound?

You can download sound profiles in the app that cater to specific games, or create a custom profile where you tweak bass, treble, etc. ND puts one out for all their games. Just select the one you want and it saves it to the 2nd switch from off.
 

m4st4

Member
Just hit Chapter 13 - nice. I want to know what happens next, how it ends, but game is constantly slowing me down, telling me to enjoy the experience, savour it. U4 is quite a lenghty beastie.
 
Just got done from chapter 11, you know I've never seen the entire
market escape
demo and that cutscene at the end of the chapter solidified why this would be my favorite Uncharted. These subtle expressions in the eyes and facial movements are just masterclass status. What a ride.

Omg-Wrestling-Heart-Attack-On-WWE.gif
 

Lakitu

st5fu
I'm currently on chapter 8 I think. I'm in
Scotland
and I feel like it's the best Uncharted by far. It's the perfect blend between exposition, story, combat. and exploration. It feels like the perfect blend. Combat is interesting and diverse, I feel like I have so many options. I'm rather enjoying being stealthy.
 
Can someone explain what's the deal with sound settings and those wide range, maximum, narrow etc? Which one has the loudest sound? I'm using an amplifier through optical, 5.1 speakers setup and I have to crank up the volume about 20% more than other games.
 

Wrynnax

Member
When they first meet, the Drake brothers are almost photorealistic, damn.My gf was looking at the screen and wasn't sure if it was a movie or a game, Naughty Dog has raisef the bar once again.
 

Stoze

Member
Because they couldn't think of any other way to cause a big melodramatic confrontation between Nathan and Elena at the halfway mark, only for them to inevitably make up once again near the end, Im sure.

Definitely the most hokey and contrived story element in UC4, and it sticks out since a lot of works so well.

I think what makes it stick out is the fact
she was very encouraging of him to go on the seedy Malaysia job, when maybe she shouldn't have been; I could be misremembering but in UC3 she was tired of Nate risking his life (and Sully's) and I think it hinted at that being the reason why they seperated for a bit. In chapter 4 it seemed like they were trying to avoid her being something that holds Nathan back so she's more likeable, despite it making more sense.
 

hbkdx12

Member
Why does Nate lie to Elena about the trip? I know he promised her to stop with the treasure hunter lifestyle but his brother's life is on the line. I'm sure she'd understand. I would have liked him to acknowledge that and at least justify his lie by saying she would insist on coming with them but he doesn't want to put her in harm's way.

If you take to heart the theme that ND was trying to beat over everyone's head in UC3 about how drake is insanely selfish and carelessly endangers the lives of those he claims to care about, it makes perfect sense to me why he'd lie to her.
I too also believe that she probably didn't know about his brother being that his brother "died" before he even met elena.
 

jimboton

Member
Man Naughty Dog sure reuses a lot of their tropes:

-convenient box with wheels to climb out of areas
-leap of faith where partner grabs you
-"gimme a lift"
-the mudslide
-piece of wall breaks as you climb it

Anything else and players may need to think how to advance for more than 1.5 seconds straight. Which would completely kill the pace of the game.
 
I'm having a very hard time playing.
The crazy amount of camera blur and input lag is making me feel queesy and unwell. And I'm generally not predisposed to motion sickness, but I feel like I'm riding in the back of a car with my eyes closed.
 
Seriously how is ND able to craft graphics like these, not only the technical part but also the amount of detail in design is insane. It's wizardry, i've probably pressed the share button more often than the circle button.
 

Rewind

Member
Can someone explain what's the deal with sound settings and those wide range, maximum, narrow etc? Which one has the loudest sound? I'm using an amplifier through optical, 5.1 speakers setup and I have to crank up the volume about 20% more than other games.

The dynamic range is the difference between "loud" and "soft" sounds. Having the dynamic range set to wide or maximum will cause explosions to be loud and things like dialogue to be quiet. Set the dynamic range to narrow or midnight to fix the loudness issue you are having. Having it on narrow just means that the difference between these "loud" and "soft" sounds will be less dramatic.
 
I mean.....yeah. What else do you expect?

Just pointing it out

It happens very frequently. Especially coming off of LoU where you had to use the box a number of times. It's odd to have all these boxes around right when you need them

I think I remember the "grab my hand" jump twice in UC2. Once with Tenzin, once with Elena, and maybe once with Flynn. In this game, it has happened a lot.
 

hamchan

Member
#TeamWhyNotBoth? :p
Played through the first 7 chapters yesterday and I'm loving everything about this game so far. The graphics are ridiculous, the story is great and the acting is phenomenal.
One thing does bother me, though. Story spoiler up to chapter 4 or 5 I think?

Why does Nate lie to Elena about the trip? I know he promised her to stop with the treasure hunter lifestyle but his brother's life is on the line. I'm sure she'd understand. I would have liked him to acknowledge that and at least justify his lie by saying she would insist on coming with them but he doesn't want to put her in harm's way.

He very specifically explains why he lied to her late in the game so just keep playing.
 
Just pointing it out

It happens very frequently. Especially coming off of LoU where you had to use the box a number of times. It's odd to have all these boxes around right when you need them

I think I remember the "grab my hand" jump twice in UC2. Once with Tenzin, once with Elena, and maybe once with Flynn. In this game, it has happened a lot.

What about dropping down the ladder, I noticed you forgot to mention that ;).
 
I think what makes it stick out is the fact
she was very encouraging of him to go on the seedy Malaysia job, when maybe she shouldn't have been; I could be misremembering but in UC3 she was tired of Nate risking his life (and Sully's) and I think it hinted at that being the reason why they seperated for a bit. In chapter 4 it seemed like they were trying to avoid her being something that holds Nathan back so she's more likeable, despite it making more sense.

I think her (Chapter 4 opinion)
encouragement of it is driven by her clearly aware that Nate is basically zoned to intense boredom and that the job, even if a bit risky, was worth it to excite him.
 

hbkdx12

Member
I think what makes it stick out is the fact
she was very encouraging of him to go on the seedy Malaysia job, when maybe she shouldn't have been; I could be misremembering but in UC3 she was tired of Nate risking his life (and Sully's) and I think it hinted at that being the reason why they seperated for a bit. In chapter 4 it seemed like they were trying to avoid her being something that holds Nathan back so she's more likeable, despite it making more sense.

She's clearly compromising knowing that surely he still has the itch but giving him the ok to do the Malaysia job would be enough action in their ordinary lives to scratch the itch

And as odd as it sounds, the fact that she's compromising is all the more reason not to tell her the truth. I've been in very similar situations in my relationship where the appearance of looking flexible is actually a manipulative (but not necessarily malicious) attempt at establishing boundaries.

So by her compromising it subtly suggest that since i'm allowing you to get a bit of action in Malaysia, there shouldn't be any need for you to go into full crazy globe trotting treasure hunter mode and do something crazy that'll get yourself killed
 
The dynamic range is the difference between "loud" and "soft" sounds. Having the dynamic range set to wide or maximum will cause explosions to be loud and things like dialogue to be quiet. Set the dynamic range to narrow or midnight to fix the loudness issue you are having. Having it on narrow just means that the difference between these "loud" and "soft" sounds will be less dramatic.

Thanks, I'll try the narrow setting and see how it goes.
 
After the first five chapters, I'm a tad dissapointed, but it's early to judge.

It's a very slow start. Chapter 8 or 9 is when you see some really cool setpieces.

I personally don't like the stealth. It completely kills the suspense when they split up, and get taken down one by one without any of them any wiser. They can notice dead allies, but you can still just run away or break all hell, which is how Uncharted should be played.
 

Moodz

Member
I'm only in Chapter 6 so far but the game is amazing and fucking gorgeous.

Is it me or the game has a lot of motion blur though? Like a lot. I'va got a new TV so maybe I need to adjust the settings but they have been good so far...

And my only nitpick as far as graphics go is this strange line/filter around characters in some scenes, like when Sully speaks with Nadine.
 
I'm only in Chapter 6 so far but the game is amazing and fucking gorgeous.

Is it me or the game has a lot of motion blur though? Like a lot. I'va got a new TV so maybe I need to adjust the settings but they have been good so far...

And my only nitpick as far as graphics go is this strange line/filter around characters in some scenes, like when Sully speaks with Nadine.

Yup, the camera blur and ghosting is so intense for me that I can't play for more than an hour at a time.

I think it's an integral component of their anti-aliasing technique.
 

Stoze

Member
I think her (Chapter 4 opinion)
encouragement of it is driven by her clearly aware that Nate is basically zoned to intense boredom and that the job, even if a bit risky, was worth it to excite him.

Yeah that's obvious, but I still thought there's enough "we're partners and in this together" vibe in that scene to make
Nate's decision to lie to her stand out for people as something written in for the drama.
Especially if people haven't played UC3.

It doesn't bother me much personally, but I get it sticks out to people/comes off as a cliche.
 

maxmars

Member
Anything else and players may need to think how to advance for more than 1.5 seconds straight. Which would completely kill the pace of the game.

Yeah that's part of how they manage the pace and it works brilliantly. Even people who see me playing are glued to the tv as it was an action-adventure movie.
 
I never realized the game's art style was so stylized. Looks incredible. Love how they're not really going for realism but at times it does look real.

Just started chapter 3 and the look of the game is just amazing
 

Gambit

Member
Only played the first five chapters so far, but currently I think this is my favourite Uncharted opening ever.

Even slightly edging out 2. We will see if it can keep that level going.

Till Chapter 5
The transition to young Drake was very well done and this one chapter alone worked better than all the young Drake chapters in 3 put together. Chapter 4 was an absolute highlight as well. Perfectly getting you into the mindset of current Drake
 
Just beat the game. Game was a masterpiece.

AKyemini you were WRONG. The story was GREAT. I have no idea how you played this and thought it was disappointing.
 

Morue

Member
Played until the beginning of chapter 6.

Got a little texture pop-in but game is gorgeous (and I know I haven't seen anything yet).

I absolutely loved the intro (although I still think that the Last of us intro was more emotionally powerful).

I really enjoy the emphasis on story and characters and I feel that this game is a love letter to all Uncharted fans.

Can't wait to play more!!!
 

usp84

Member
OMG the stealth mechanics are actually GOOD!

FINALLY. It was so limited in the first three games.

EASILY the best gameplay in the franchise.

Ok this is the best thing i have heard so far.I am only at the start so i haven't had any parts with stealth in them yet
 
Anyone elses having constant internet pauses during mp? It keeps happening for me when i try and play a game to take a break from sp for a bit
 
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