Uncharted 4 | Review

After a few delays Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is finally with us. The final chapter for Nathan Drake and his adventures. I have to admit that I have been looking forward to playing this game, I've tried to keep myself away from trailers too much, only catching the odd one here and there. I wanted to go into this final chapter fairly blind as to what to expect as I felt this would give a much better review from my reactions.

From the start of the game you can see just how beautiful it is. The graphics are absolutely stunning, they're so crisp and clean with absolutely fantastic attention to detail. The On Screen Display is a lot crisper as well and looks a lot better than the previous games, such a nice design to the weapon/ammo pick ups and the treasures. I have to admit though, having just played through the first 3 that with each game the OSD got much better, especially when they changed the Treasure design from the first game which gave you a pop up window and stopped the game, to just displaying the treasures on the side of the screen and giving you the option to look at it in more detail if you want. In Uncharted 4 this has been developed a little further and has been cleaned up a lot. I really like the design that they have gone with for this. Nice choice!

[caption id="attachment_5241" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Uncharted™ 4: A Thief’s End[/caption]

The game play an animations are another area which has had another fine tuning. There are still a lot of animations which have been used from the previous game, but with the power of the PS4 they have been made so much smoother, and the overall game play when jumping over items, climbing around, getting into cover etc is so smooth and fluid it makes going through each chapter such a pleasure to behold. I especially appreciate the efforts that have gone through with the climbing aspect as that was a bug bearer of mind that it wasn't as smooth as it could be, but in Uncharted 4 it is flawless. I will say though that that could have easily be put down to something like Hardware limitations with the PS3 etc.

The music throughout the game is absolutely fantastic and so atmospheric. It's one of those moments where there is perfect harmony between what you are doing and the music that is playing... Im running and being chased and the game will get you in the moment with some fast paced music, which in a way can kind of spur you on to run faster! haha! :D

[caption id="attachment_5233" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Uncharted™ 4: A Thief’s End[/caption]

There have been slight changes in the controls from the previous game, it's nothing major and the only real change I've spotted is that changing shoulders has gone from pressing the control stick to having to press X. Which in my opinion is a much better and faster way to be able to do it, I found it a bit of a pain on the other games having to press in the control stick to do it, as I would more than likely knock my shooting line as well and miss my shot. Fat hands syndrome I think.

There is plenty of help for those who might not be best at shooters, as you can switch aim assist on to help you, or if you are wanting to take it easy with the game, you always have the option there.

The narrative within the game is brilliant, I love the story telling from not just 4 but all the Uncharted games, the wittiness that's brought with it as well just makes the games so enjoyable and keeps you hooked in

I loved towards the beginning where it had showed the home life that Drake had built for himself with a steady job as well as marrying Elena and having a house together. The best part of the house for me was the attic area where you got to see little trinkets that had been collected from the other games, as well as photos etc which linked to some of the places that Drake had been, such as Shambhala.

I loved the Easter Egg of the PS One in the living room and getting to play Crash Bandicoot on it. What was even better is that they included the full opening sequence of turning the console on and the music is used to play. Drake's complaining as well that it was so slow and should be on straight away was funny! :D

[caption id="attachment_5239" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Uncharted™ 4: A Thief’s End[/caption]

If you haven't played any of the Uncharted games I would highly recommend getting the Nathan Drake Collection first and playing through the first 3 before starting Uncharted 4, everything will make a lot more sense to you and you will also appreciate the story a lot more. I have to admit that I felt a lot better playing the first 3 first and getting to know the story and how Drake met Elena etc.

Photo mode within the game is another chance to take some absolutely breathtaking screenshots to share with the community, and trust me when I say that there are plenty of opportunities to get some magnificent shots.

I have to admit that I haven't been left disappointed with Uncharted 4, and it kind of makes me sad to think that as we stand right now, there isn't going to be another Uncharted game. It's the end of the road and the finale of a fantastic franchise.

For those of you who have never played the Uncharted Games then I would highly recommend them to you, the narrative, the worlds you visit are simply fantastic and I would just like to end this review by saying a massive Thank You to Naughty Dog for bringing these games into our lives!

I'm going to give Uncharted 4 a perfect 10... but she wears a 12... ;)