Uncharted 4 Review

it is strange to think that when Uncharted was introduced in 2007, it represented something of a risk. Here was a new matinee adventure for a new console, developed by a then mid-tier studio for a modest budget. Its ambitions were clear –to be the video game equivalent of a summer blockbuster, before that was all the rage—and its stubbly hero Nathan Drake bore his Boy’s Own influence proudly. All the derring-do, romance and quick quips of Indiana Jones, exploring lush jungles and lost tombs, scrapping with bad guys, finding the treasure and getting the girl.

Nine years and four games later, and Uncharted has reached its natural peak. A game that not only asks you to thrill in Drake’s escapades and technical razzle-dazzle, but to soak in its capacious postcard milieus and invest in the serial charmers that make up the cast.

Signed-up members of the Uncharted club will allow themselves a smirk as Drake quips “hey, this isn’t my first lost city, y’know?”, but Naughty Dog --now one of the most respected developers in the world-- are careful not to leave newcomers behind. All you need to enjoy the yarn is here: set up by a script written with warmth, humour and confidence; delivered by a skilled and willing cast.

Long lost brother Sam (L) talks Nate (R) into one last adventure. Fine performance capture from Troy Baker and Nolan North help invest you in the Drake boys' relationship. 

By now Nate (Nolan North) has retired from treasure-hunting and settled into his marriage with long-term adventuring partner Elena (Emily Rose). He works for a salvage company, spends time reminiscing in his man-cave attic and eats noodles in front of the TV. Happy, safe and a little bit bored, Nate’s new-found comfort is thrown out when his long-lost brother Sam (Troy Baker) shows up at the office. Nate believed Sam dead for 15 years, but instead the older Drake had been secretly locked up in a Panamanian prison. Now Sam is out, begging for Nate’s help in finding the lost treasure of legendary pirate Henry Avery. And despite some cursory hand-wringing, Nate doesn’t take long to sign up.

The introduction of the previously-unmentioned Sam is a curve-ball from Naughty Dog, but like the rest of the game, his presence is embedded with considered style. The Drake boys’ relationship is the cornerstone of A Thief’s End and Naughty Dog takes its time to make it count, flitting around both the globe and time in fleshed-out flashbacks. But the game is careful not to get bogged down in expository cut-scenes, instead unfurling its tale as you charge around with Uncharted’s traditional triumvirate of interaction: climbing, fighting and shooting.

Shooting, stealth and climbing are all well-refined and are at their best when combined in combat.

Gunplay is punchy and pleasing, whizzing along at pace as goons from a PMC also hunting for Avery's treasure come crashing through doors and pitch up in armoured cars. Shootouts are a flurry of headshots, mad dashes for cover and panicked blind-firing on the run. There is still the odd issue with unerringly accurate grenade spam, and aiming is looser than genre champions, but this is a more refined shooter than Uncharted has been before.

Stealth and brawling has been given similar pep, and has learned some tricks from stablemate The Last of Us. Though perhaps not enough, with the lack of distraction opportunities a particular omission. Still, it is smooth and accessible stuff, aided by deliberately dense enemies, and affords you plenty more opportunity to sneak around and snap some necks or yank unfortunate souls from their perch.

Many of the sights you'll see in your time with Uncharted 4 are the most gorgeous video games can muster.

Having Drake himself leap between rooftops always has a certain satisfaction, even if the paths of convenient handholds are clearly prescribed. Guiding a plummeting Nate to latch onto a distant crag by the fingernails, only for the handhold to crumble and tumble to the abyss below still gets the stomach flipping, even if the game’s visual language always lets you know when it is safe. A new grappling hook adds another dimension, swinging between overhangs and yanking crates into position. Later, a piton hands over more control, allowing you to stab your own handholds into softer surfaces.

Indeed, that amount of control ceded to the player has always been a point of contention with Uncharted. Its cinematic chutzpah is peerless --no one does a thrilling rooftop chase like Naughty Dog-- but that often came at the cost of agency. The developer acting as director, pushing and pulling you in the right direction as you play along as willing actor. It has always been an easy pleasure to get swept up in the drama, but Naughty Dog realise that spectacle alone isn’t going to cut it any more. There is plenty here, of course, and the opening few hours of Uncharted 4 feel like an assured return to form as the Drake boys crash the halls of a Roman mansion or brave the snowy climes of the Scottish Highlands. It is thrilling, gorgeous and more refined but perhaps a little… safe.

Smart and involving archaeological puzzles are scattered throughout the game. 

Then Naughty Dog starts to show its hand and Uncharted 4 becomes the grandstanding finale to Drake’s story that you hoped it would be. The opening hours start to feel like a prologue, a layered introduction to narrative and mechanics, as Nate, Sam and long-term buddy Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan (a scene-stealing Richard McGonagle) get plonked into a 4x4 and given the run of Madagascan plains.

It is not ‘open-world’ by any means. There is still an objective to find and a path to follow but, by prying open Uncharted’s linearity just enough, there is a subtle but significant shift. As you wrangle your jeep round vast red stone, hauling it up muddy bluffs via winch, before hopping out and striding through the lush green jungle at your leisure you start to feel less like that actor and more like an  adventurer . Stopping off to explore ruins, hopping down wells to find hidden treasure. It is a shame the trinkets you find aren’t more meaningful, but discovering some long-lost oubliette is sometimes enough.

Uncharted 4's rough and tumble multiplayer allows you to play as heroes and villains from across the series history. We will be exploring the mode in more detail soon. 

Source : IGN.COM