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Games of the Decade #28/Blog a Day #03

Hello fellow gamers™, how are you?

Tell me, has there even been a game series that you liked, but couldn't play the next installment because it was on newer hardware and couldn't get said system right away? I know the feeling. There are a good number of games I was introduced to thanks to having a PS3, but eventually those games made the jump to the PS4 and I personally couldn't justify getting one when my PS3 still worked fine and there were still games to play on it. However as time went by, one game definitely had me curious about how it was like. It was a series that started on the PS3 and the most recent game was on PS4. It was none other than Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.

                 Music in this game is awesome so you know what I'm gonna say

Ah, Uncharted, the games that have you go to great lengths to find ancient relics that might possibly be cursed hidden inside ancient cities, then you destroy both at the end. All in a day's work for our protagonist, Nathan Drake. A small backstory: I played the first 3 games on the PS3 obviously, but eventually the next numbered game in the series was going to be for the PS4. I wanted to try it but to be honest, there wasn't many games that interested me at the time but eventually in 2017 I finally got a PS4 and I eventually tried UC4. I have Golden Abyss but have yet to play it because I don't have a Vita. So as of this post, I have played most of the games except that one.

Now that that's out of the way let's continue. Like in majority of the games, you play as protagonist Nathan Drake, a (now retired) treasure hunter who now lives a normal life but still longs for his adventuring days. I assume it's because he hasn't destroyed enough ancient cities yet. Well whatever the case, he misses the excitement and he is then visited by a "presumed dead" relative that he hasn't seen in a very long time, because said relative was presumed dead, and Nathan comes out of retirement for this one last time. 

                   Nathan Drake decided to become a gamer ever since he retired

The game is just as action-packed as I thought it would be with gunfights and platforming. One particular additional I love is the grappling hook which you can use to swing across large gaps when leaping isn't enough or when you want to climb and there is nothing to grab on to. I'm honestly surprised they just didn't bring grappling hooks from the very beginning since the very first game, that could have made a lot of stuff easier on them. I don't know if it was due to the technology that they couldn't, but that is no excuse when Wind Waker did that 2 hardware generations ago. But anyway, the grappling hook mechanic is a solid addition.

The areas in the game are much more bigger than the previous games to allow for more exploration and combat for when that is necessary. They have this open world feel to them but without actually being truly open world. I really like this change that they did, especially this driving segment even though I know people weren't a fan of this. I do feel that maybe due to the now bigger levels the game has pacing issues.

The set pieces and the graphics look amazing. The newer hardware and spec bump did wonders for this series. Every area looks beautiful and nicely detailed. Even the smaller things look great. The characters themselves have never looked better, they all look amazing and realistic. Voice-acting is really great too and the performances by the voice-actors really bring these characters to life.

                      It looks ike that mountain in the background is about to eat him

But one of my favorite things about this game are the characters themselves. They are really well written and I suppose more human this time around. I have always loved the banter between characters in these games and that truly shines here, it feels very genuine. 

Uncharted 4 is definitely an interesting game. I mean yes the game is great but one thing I have noticed is that this game is far more grounded than the previous games. Like in terms of story, if you've played the previous games then you know what I mean. It feels like an interesting change since that's the norm for this series but it doesn't make it a bad game at all. I suppose in one way it is quite refreshing.

"But Captain N, where can I play this game?" On the PS4, hypothetical reader, it is a Playstation exclusive after all. The game is now $20 and it sometimes goes on sale for lower than that during digital sales but if you want a physical copy, then it sometimes goes on sale too. I haven't tried the online multiplayer yet because I don't like the idea of paying to play online, hence why I didn't mention that here. But maybe at some point I might. Who knows.

Final Thoughts: Uncharted 4 is a fantastic game. I will say had Uncharted 2 released in 2010, that game would of taken UC4's spot. UC2 is definitely my most favorite one in the series because that took the series to new heights. UC2 was actually the very first game in the series that I was exposed to thanks to the VGA's many years ago. I know it got rereleased as part of a remaster collection but that would be cheating and while the remaster was great, it didn't offer much other than better framerate and better resolution. Whereas UC4 is a whole new game.

 

                                                Couldn't have said it better myself

I do feel like the game has issues and I probably would had put Uncharted: The Lost Legacy on here instead because that game was really good too. But I went with this one because the impact it had being the last numbered game in the series and it tells the end of Nathan Drake's story. It's called A Thief's End for a reason. It feels like a favorite tv show that you've watched for years since the very first episode and you're now older and are watching the last episode. That's how this feels like, from seeing Nathan back when he was younger in UC1 and now much wiser in UC4 while still being the wiseass we all love. All good things must come to an end and it was one hell of a ride while it lasted. 

And that is it for this one. Till next time and I can assure that the next post won't be cursed or anything. Hopefully.

*All images except the second one are provided by me, UC4, and my PS4.*