Developed by Naughty Dog
Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment
Reviewed on PlayStation 4
Uncharted 4 : A Thief’s End is an action-adventure third person shooter that takes place after the events of its predecessors. Set 3 years after Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, the game starts out with some backstory on Nathan Drake’s childhood, where he has been orphaned at a Catholic orphanage. You find out Nathan has a brother who is a bit of a bad boy and one can tell he’s in for a bit of trouble. After a bit of rooftop parkour to help the player get used to the controls and camera, you fast forward 15 years to a prison which is a set up to the game’s ultimate goal for the treasure of Henry Avery, a very successful pirate who acquired an estimated 400 million worth of riches.
The story of Uncharted 4 is nothing short of superb along with a brilliant voice cast. The main cast delivers excellent performances featuring Nolan North (Nathan Drake), Emily Rose (Elena Fisher), Troy Baker (Samuel Drake), and the great Richard McGonagle as (Victor Sullivan, aka fan favorite Sully). The addition of new voice dialog choices adds another layer to their performances. Naughty Dog pulled out all the stops with an upgraded graphics engine. So much so that during a mission, I found myself just looking around and walking through blades of grass, looking to the sky and sea just to view the gorgeous scenery.
The gameplay is definitely on par or even better than the past games thanks to some new tricks up Nathan’s sleeves. The added roping mechanic and grappling hook is a very fresh turn as you run off a cliff and throw your grapple to fly across to either your next cliff or to execute a super awesome drop on your enemies. I found this to be the most fun as I would intentionally look for these placed at areas where fights would erupt just to get in a flying through the air and drop kill. The other addition to your move set is a sliding technique. In order to get to the next area you slide down the slide and then jump at the right time in order traverse to the next area. Naughty Dog has players using this technique a little too much but it’s still rather fun. Everything else including the gunplay feels great and with those added tricks just make the game even more outstanding.
Overall the game is a blessed piece of work. From its witty conversations and great storytelling to its over the top action scenes, this is by far game of the year material. I’m still partial to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, as that’s a favorite for myself and many others, but this is a close second if not tied. If you have not picked up this title I definitely suggest you do so soon. If you haven’t played the series it’s also something you can jump right into without being too lost.
