Uncharted 4 – A Thief's End
Oh Nathan, how we have missed your lighthearted humor
Few developers have been hailed as much as Naughty Dog the last few years. After being a faithful supplier of stable platform-games to Playstation 1 and 2 the studio then made heads turn after releasing Uncharted. Since then every new release of this acclaimed series has been a masterpiece after masterpiece. Raising the bar each time either by massive explosions (Uncharted 2) or attempts to depict an ravaged, destroyed world (The Last of Us). And even though i can't help myself to think of Michael Bay while playing this game which Naughty Dog clearly took inspiration from, on the other hand though the studio has done it's own clear mark in today's gaming climate trough it's titles.
At the same time it's with a certain degree of anxiety involved during the wait for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End to be released. Partly because Uncharted 3 was in my opinion a bit of a let down, partly because we missed the exotic fun setting in which Uncharted excels apart from the recent dark and a bit sinister story told in The Last of Us. Uncharted is not trying to move you to tears, but rather make you feel like an modern Indiana Jones out on epic treasure hunts, sure we have a cast of well written characters but this is still something that comes in second after epicness.
So the real question is: is there anything new to be done with this series that has not already been done?
A more human Nathan Drake
The short answer is no, but it doesn't really matter. During the first missions Naughty Dog makes it abundantly clear that this time around you won't just get spectacular action scenes. The Adventure starts off with an intense boat chase but soon enough we get to meet a restless Nathan Drake, who after promised his wife to never go on a adventure again with his life at stake has taken an honest job employment. Life sometimes gets in the way, and this is what happens as Nathans brother show up with a bunch of problems in his back-pocket, and soon enough Nathan is out on a new exciting around-the-globe journey.
Nathan still has issues with what he is doing, as the promise to his wife echoes in his heart. In a way Nathan has become more human then we've seen before, which greatly helps to strengthen the bond between him, his brother and the sad orphanage story they both carry inside.
But even if the story takes a much larger place this time around we are not talking The Last of Us kind of depth. It doesn't take long before we start making acrobatic jumps over slippery mountain cliffs, and slide down mud-drenched slopes like we are used to seeing Nathan pull off. At given moments you experience problems, for example ancient wooden bridges will collapse or when ledges crumble the same second we grab them. Nathan Drake falls, gets hit and hurt - but when i was playing Uncharted 2 i would almost fall of my chair of pure excitement while it's hard to get that same adrenalin feeling this time around.
Among the news is a brand new grappling hook that can be used to swing across chasms. It's a cool new feature which Naughty Dog utilizes seamlessly throughout the adventure, and it works really good.
Between the exploring-oriented sequences firefights will of course be waiting for you. Naughty Dog got som criticism in Uncharted 3 for to much of these - and i am happy to announce that this time around it's much more balanced. The enemies doesn't feel just more smartly located but the firefights are long and feel more dynamic. We also get to move around bigger areas and have the ability to choose between going in full guns blazing or taking a more stealthy approach. The AI is not that advanced, so were not talking Metal Gear Solid kind of stealth. Like anyone was expecting that anyway.
Best looking so far
The heart of Uncharted 4 is not in it's game mechanics or it's attempt to dig deeper into the characters story. This is a title that first and foremost shows what a Playstation 4 can do, and on that point Naughty Dog delivers. Visually Uncharted 4 is amazing as far as consoles go, and even with the possibility to compete with some higher end pc-games. Every new area Nathan Drake arrives to just stuns me in awe time and time again, and this time we get a lot of spectacular postcard-views, often combined with delicious camera angles. Uncharted 4 is the most graphical impressing during the story mid-sequences.
You thought Uncharted 4 was trough with impressing you? Think again. We got high speed car chases were we actually get to drive the vehicles, clever and creative puzzles, an really awesome antagonist, unexpected 180degree story turns and a well composed soundtrack that sets the mood instantly. There is also a multiplayer mode online, but i have not delved to deep into this as for me the experience lies first and foremost in the single-player experience. I can say right of the bat that the multiplayer is fun, but absolutely nothing special.
Rounding off the story in the best possible way
This is a adventure that does not just end the story of Nathan Drake in the best possible way but also sets a standard for how action games with a large budget should look like. Even if it sometimes gets tiresome to blast trough Naughty Dog's obsession to continuously throw in waves of enemies, and even if Uncharted 4 might not be all that new in it's gameplay i can't help myself from playing this game with a big stupid smile on my face as my favorite slick adventure parkour-master takes me back to his amazing treasure-hunting world.
Damn, it's been one hell of a journey.
Game in Peace Friends!
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