Uncharted 4
My impressions
I love the Uncharted series. I consider it to be the hall mark of adventure gaming, I love every part of it right from Nathan Drake's wit to the ball busting run and gun moments. Uncharted is many things at once, taking cue's from Indiana johns and tomb raider alike as examples. Uncharted is a mix of adventure game/ third person shooter/ movie type of game series and the thing that it prides itself on the most is its very narrative driven story complete with predictable villains and some unexpected villains, unforeseen sub plots, cult references and dynamic movie style fight scenes. Oh and lets not forget the scenery as it is something to die for.
The brains behind this series are, undoubtedly, the biggest and most successful out of the big 4 (The big four being Insomniac, Sucker punch, Ubisoft and Naughty Dog, I'll come back to why I call them that later) Naughty Dog. The minds behind such award winning series as Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter and most recently The Last of us. If you haven't heard of any of the above may I ask what rock you've been living under and is it at all good during winter months? I need somewhere to get away from the family. Naughty Dog are consistent in producing new and better content each time they embark on a new project and its interesting to see how they as a company have grown up based on the games they develop, with each one being more mature than the last.
So to get to the crux of the point, Uncharted 4, as a fan what did I think? I was blown away. Then again people would say I am easy to please which is partly true however I do have some reservations, most out of character right?
The trailer above starts by showing the viewer multiple paths. Most of Naughty dogs games have been linear in the way you reach your goal, you can go off to the side of the screen and find an artefact but thats it. So the first thing we notice is that this game may be the first one to allow us to chose our own routes to get to the goal, in the past it was always go from point A to point Z, now its more like go from Point A to point B, C or D to get to point Z……if you follow that. Basically its giving us freedom to decide the path even if we end up at the same spot. The next part shows Nate moving through caves, using familiar climbing mechanics it eventually leads us to a skeleton leaned against a flag. And this is where we see where Neil Druckman's influence comes into the game, the canonical triangle button to examine the flag is similar to the last of us. Not a bad thing it just feels familiar. As Nate comes out of the caves we see what I think might be a side quest or quest item, which would explain the multiple routes perhaps naughty dog have decided to give a new edge to their sword. After Nate examines this new information he makes his first sarcastic comment to a skeleton asking him if he's seen "a tall guy filled with stupid ideas about pirate treasure". At that point I had goose bumps, its always gratifying to hear Nolan Norths rendition of Nathan Drake, that school boy wit and sense of fun is what makes his character so great as well as those moments where Drake can be serious, its hard not to love him. Nate continues on and starts climbing the cliff in front of him. Half way up he makes another comment to the dead guy saying "You were trying to climb up there? In these boots?" adding a slight laugh to the end of his line. At this point we see a new mechanic added in; the ability to climb on certain walls through the use of a safety harness pin. After some more climbing and showing off this new tool Drake looks off towards his goal commenting on how far he still has to go and its at this point that the fun starts, because it wouldn't be Uncharted without some impromptu shoot out.
If Uncharted can be credited on anything then it would be credited on its fights. Showdowns that are so dynamic you'd think you were watching the newest blockbuster straight out of Hollywood. We see the familiar "low profile" stance that Nate takes when sneaking around however whats this? Is Drake hiding in the tall grass like a well hidden Pokemon? A new mechanic it would seem is new dynamic cover to make sneaking around a little easier. Nate starts to traverse the surrounding cliff sides to get the jump on his enemies and again I see a familiar element crop up again, the white line on the screen similar to the last of us when in listen mode indicates where Nate's enemies are and whether or not they've spotted him. It will sure make it easier to sneak around. Next we see the canonical stealth takedown with Nate stealing his enemies pistol. As he continues traversing we overhear a conversation by the enemy saying they could be here a while and they talk about Nate's companion. And then s*** hits the fan as the player is noticed. Because you know a guy hanging from a ledge is pretty noticeable.
This is where we are treated to new combat moves. It has the same flair as the original games but there is some new features. The fights in Uncharted 4 don't look "Scripted" it seems more situation based similar in respect to Uncharted 3. As the trailer goes along we are treated to Nate's rope hook. Which allows him to reach new areas, like the npc's of previous games except this time Nate has it all the time. He uses it effectively in combat to get away from an incoming grenade and smack the guy responsible for throwing it.
At this point I am quoting the trailer so I'll just sum up combat, its gratifying to see new mechanics while keeping that same feeling of Uncharted thats become a staple for the series. So onto the last part of the trailer which is where we meet Drake's "brother" well thats what he says. Drake is apparently a little bro to this new comer voiced by the wonderful Troy Baker. The trailer ends with him saying they have some treasure to find and a pan upwards to see what looks like a village in the distance. Now I am a sceptic when it comes to these types of characters, and I am calling it now this new guy Sam is not I repeat NOT Drake's older brother. I know a backstabber when I see one and I don't know if anyone else got that vibe but Drake has been duped before and this scenario feels familiar. But thats why I won't to be wrong, because it seems predictable I want to be wrong so that I can see that Naughty dog haven't lost the touch.
So overall I love the look of this new Uncharted. It feels like the success that Uncharted 3 wasn't. Don't get me wrong all of the Uncharted series is pure gold but Uncharted 3 didn't deliver the same thrill that number 2 had. Lets hope that Uncharted 4 delivers the same feeling. Honestly I can't tell at the moment whether it will or not yet, all I can say with some certainty is that I am going to love it no matter what. Yeah, yeah I don't care what reviewers might say I am a hopeless romantic I look past flaws in games and from what I can tell this Uncharted may be one for the record books.
Oh yeah never explained the big four from before. Ok so the Big Four, for me anyway, is those game companies that started off with quite cartoony games that eventually evolved into the series of today for instance Sucker Punch are the minds behind the Sly Cooper series a game series which I played when I was younger, Sly cooper eventually went on to become Infamous and Infamous spanned the PS3's lifetime and eventually it evolved to Infamous second son carrying on the torch into the most recent gen of console. Insomniac had Ratchet and Clank which went on to become Resistance (Ugghh) and which eventually ended up as Sunset Overdrive (YAY!!!). Naughty Dog go Crash Bandicoot to Jak and Daxter to Uncharted and Uncharted to The Last of us. Ubisoft from Prince of Persia to Assassins Creed. Basically the big four are game companies that have matured with their audience and are always aiming to keep the content going. They are also companies that I've grown up around in my childhood.
The brains behind this series are, undoubtedly, the biggest and most successful out of the big 4 (The big four being Insomniac, Sucker punch, Ubisoft and Naughty Dog, I'll come back to why I call them that later) Naughty Dog. The minds behind such award winning series as Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter and most recently The Last of us. If you haven't heard of any of the above may I ask what rock you've been living under and is it at all good during winter months? I need somewhere to get away from the family. Naughty Dog are consistent in producing new and better content each time they embark on a new project and its interesting to see how they as a company have grown up based on the games they develop, with each one being more mature than the last.
So to get to the crux of the point, Uncharted 4, as a fan what did I think? I was blown away. Then again people would say I am easy to please which is partly true however I do have some reservations, most out of character right?
The trailer above starts by showing the viewer multiple paths. Most of Naughty dogs games have been linear in the way you reach your goal, you can go off to the side of the screen and find an artefact but thats it. So the first thing we notice is that this game may be the first one to allow us to chose our own routes to get to the goal, in the past it was always go from point A to point Z, now its more like go from Point A to point B, C or D to get to point Z……if you follow that. Basically its giving us freedom to decide the path even if we end up at the same spot. The next part shows Nate moving through caves, using familiar climbing mechanics it eventually leads us to a skeleton leaned against a flag. And this is where we see where Neil Druckman's influence comes into the game, the canonical triangle button to examine the flag is similar to the last of us. Not a bad thing it just feels familiar. As Nate comes out of the caves we see what I think might be a side quest or quest item, which would explain the multiple routes perhaps naughty dog have decided to give a new edge to their sword. After Nate examines this new information he makes his first sarcastic comment to a skeleton asking him if he's seen "a tall guy filled with stupid ideas about pirate treasure". At that point I had goose bumps, its always gratifying to hear Nolan Norths rendition of Nathan Drake, that school boy wit and sense of fun is what makes his character so great as well as those moments where Drake can be serious, its hard not to love him. Nate continues on and starts climbing the cliff in front of him. Half way up he makes another comment to the dead guy saying "You were trying to climb up there? In these boots?" adding a slight laugh to the end of his line. At this point we see a new mechanic added in; the ability to climb on certain walls through the use of a safety harness pin. After some more climbing and showing off this new tool Drake looks off towards his goal commenting on how far he still has to go and its at this point that the fun starts, because it wouldn't be Uncharted without some impromptu shoot out.
If Uncharted can be credited on anything then it would be credited on its fights. Showdowns that are so dynamic you'd think you were watching the newest blockbuster straight out of Hollywood. We see the familiar "low profile" stance that Nate takes when sneaking around however whats this? Is Drake hiding in the tall grass like a well hidden Pokemon? A new mechanic it would seem is new dynamic cover to make sneaking around a little easier. Nate starts to traverse the surrounding cliff sides to get the jump on his enemies and again I see a familiar element crop up again, the white line on the screen similar to the last of us when in listen mode indicates where Nate's enemies are and whether or not they've spotted him. It will sure make it easier to sneak around. Next we see the canonical stealth takedown with Nate stealing his enemies pistol. As he continues traversing we overhear a conversation by the enemy saying they could be here a while and they talk about Nate's companion. And then s*** hits the fan as the player is noticed. Because you know a guy hanging from a ledge is pretty noticeable.
This is where we are treated to new combat moves. It has the same flair as the original games but there is some new features. The fights in Uncharted 4 don't look "Scripted" it seems more situation based similar in respect to Uncharted 3. As the trailer goes along we are treated to Nate's rope hook. Which allows him to reach new areas, like the npc's of previous games except this time Nate has it all the time. He uses it effectively in combat to get away from an incoming grenade and smack the guy responsible for throwing it.
At this point I am quoting the trailer so I'll just sum up combat, its gratifying to see new mechanics while keeping that same feeling of Uncharted thats become a staple for the series. So onto the last part of the trailer which is where we meet Drake's "brother" well thats what he says. Drake is apparently a little bro to this new comer voiced by the wonderful Troy Baker. The trailer ends with him saying they have some treasure to find and a pan upwards to see what looks like a village in the distance. Now I am a sceptic when it comes to these types of characters, and I am calling it now this new guy Sam is not I repeat NOT Drake's older brother. I know a backstabber when I see one and I don't know if anyone else got that vibe but Drake has been duped before and this scenario feels familiar. But thats why I won't to be wrong, because it seems predictable I want to be wrong so that I can see that Naughty dog haven't lost the touch.
So overall I love the look of this new Uncharted. It feels like the success that Uncharted 3 wasn't. Don't get me wrong all of the Uncharted series is pure gold but Uncharted 3 didn't deliver the same thrill that number 2 had. Lets hope that Uncharted 4 delivers the same feeling. Honestly I can't tell at the moment whether it will or not yet, all I can say with some certainty is that I am going to love it no matter what. Yeah, yeah I don't care what reviewers might say I am a hopeless romantic I look past flaws in games and from what I can tell this Uncharted may be one for the record books.
Oh yeah never explained the big four from before. Ok so the Big Four, for me anyway, is those game companies that started off with quite cartoony games that eventually evolved into the series of today for instance Sucker Punch are the minds behind the Sly Cooper series a game series which I played when I was younger, Sly cooper eventually went on to become Infamous and Infamous spanned the PS3's lifetime and eventually it evolved to Infamous second son carrying on the torch into the most recent gen of console. Insomniac had Ratchet and Clank which went on to become Resistance (Ugghh) and which eventually ended up as Sunset Overdrive (YAY!!!). Naughty Dog go Crash Bandicoot to Jak and Daxter to Uncharted and Uncharted to The Last of us. Ubisoft from Prince of Persia to Assassins Creed. Basically the big four are game companies that have matured with their audience and are always aiming to keep the content going. They are also companies that I've grown up around in my childhood.
No comments:
Post a Comment