Yeah, I did it. I commandeered the new PS4 and spent time I should have been writing or blogging giving into my gaming needs – I have needs, people! And I can usually rely on entities like Naughty Dog to fulfill them. After the satisfying installments of Uncharted 1-3, did they come through with the supposed series finale? Let’s see…
Who, What, Where, Why and When?
Like Tomb Raider, which Uncharted was fashioned after, each new Drake adventure takes us to different areas around the globe – some real, some mythical – in search of a particular treasure. So here’s the basics:
Who: Captain Henry Avery
What: The combined treasures of every pirate from Cpt. Avery’s day
Where: Panama, Malaysia, Italy, Scotland, Madagascar, Libertalia, New Devon
Why: To save Sam Drake’s life
When: Nate at 10, Nate in his 20’s, Nate & Sam present day
Highlights:
Nate has an older brother, did you know? Neither did I! In the style reminiscent of a daytime soap opera, we learn that Nathan had an older brother, Sam, who he thought died 15 years ago and that’s why we never heard his name until now. 4 games later. Yeah, I rolled my eyes – but, this is how the writers chose to get a ‘retired’ Nate back into the game of treasure hunting.
The graphics were BREATHTAKING! The attention to detail was unparalleled by any other installment. Uncharted 4 went Skyrim for their open world platform this time, which was both amazing and really distracting. With much broader areas to roam, and less ‘blocked off’ avenues to ensure Nate stays on course, it made relic hunting both daunting and time consuming, but I also enjoyed it so this is a middle-ground feature for me.
Introducing Stealth! I quickly grew addicted to the stealth feature that plays a HUGE role in this installment. I loved the ability to use tall grass to sneak right up behind my enemies and take them down quietly. Tomb Raider introduced this in the last PS3 game, but it was too much like Assassins Creed, which I can’t stand. I find it extremely boring. Naughty Dog bumped it up a notch and made Nate’s stealth successfully engaging. Of course, there’s a lot of it, so you still have the option of running in with guns blazing if you get bored or impatient.
Downsides:
Waaaaaaay too many cut scenes. Seriously. I spent more time watching Uncharted 4 than playing it. Is this a movie or a video game? Normally, the cut scenes and play time are nicely balanced, so gamers aren’t just sitting there doing nothing, but not this time. Ugh. I just want to play already! Okay, we’re playing…annnnd it’s another cut scene… 😐
Driving, grrr! Lookit, I have an impeccable driving record in real life, but I can’t drive in video games for sh*t. I personally hate it, but gamers who love driving will love this feature, because there’s a LOT. Then there’s the driving while shooting and fighting all at the same time – I almost threw the controller.
Hop, hop, hopping around. Can we stick with one character in one time line? First you’re Nate at 10, then you’re Nate in his 20’s, then you’re present day Nate, then you’re Sam, then you’re present day Nate, then you’re 10 year old Nate again and finally back to present day Nate for the 3rd time – No, this is not an exaggeration, that’s exactly how it went down.
Characters:
We welcomed back out beloved treasure hunting trio, Nate, Elena & Sully with the addition of Sam.
These two were our bad guys. Nadine and Rafe. Rafe is a spoiled rich boy who wants to find the treasure so he can grow up to be just like Nathan Drake one day and has major cock…er… treasure hunting envy.
Nadine is a badass mercenary with an entire army backing her (all the Shoreline bad guys you get to take out throughout the game) no love for anyone, she just wants the money and she will kick your ass to get it. No really, be prepared to get schooled more than once in hand-to-hand combat against this chick. Your ego will get tarnished, because there’s no way to win. She wipes the floor with Nate so many times, I was embarrassed for him.
Bonuses:
You get to play Crash Bandacoot on an old PS1. Twice!
There’s a bonus Epilogue chapter at the end where you get to play yet another character, but I can’t tell you who it is without spoiling it.
Final Review:
Good graphics, many kudos for the attention to detail. Loved the stealth and broader open world – BUT – for a Finale, this definitely did not go out with a bang. I’m quite disappointed, especially knowing that it was undoubtedly a major project to put together. Unfortunately, there were too many cut scenes and more ‘traversing’ than anything else, to include puzzle solving, which is supposed to be Nathan’s thing and the few puzzles I did come across were far too easy to figure out. Even with the help of Nathan’s journal, all of the previous game’s puzzles were quite challenging. This was a major letdown for me.
Would I play it again? Probably, because I didn’t find all of the relics and journal entries, but it will be awhile before I do that.
♥ Next on my TBP list: Rise of a Tomb Raider (now that Xbox has lost its exclusivity) and the new Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue – which made me squeal like a schoolgirl when I saw it was coming out- and now it is! I’m so excited!!!!
But for now… back to writing, before there’s a mutiny. 😉
All images were found on the internet and I do not own any rights to them, the story, game or the characters mentioned in this post.
A.C. Melody 
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