ScaryShark
Banned
Was Ireland a pre-order bonus? I'd like to get in on that.
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I Think I Was Wrong About Uncharted 4
- Thread starter Kevin Shields
- Start date
Vital Tundra
Member
I couldn't even finish my first play through, and Uncharted 2 and 3 is some of my favorite PS3 games.
Thing is, they (in my opinion, not a universal fact by any means) elevated themselves with TLOU. They were already a top-tier studio with UC2 but with TLOU they hit gold in a new way. I think going back to UC formula holds them back. TLOU while still cinematic action adventure, was a bit more systemic in it's mechanics and it worked very well. They had a taste of that and so did we and going back to the purely cinematic romp of UC feels like a step back to me. I'm actually one of those that hoped that there wouldn't be UC4. To me that was precious years wasted when they could have done something a lot more exciting during that time and we would have already played something 'new' instead. It turned out to be a quality piece, but one I will propably never replay.
I'm getting a bit different vibes from Lost Legacy compared to their other UC games so I will play that, but I'm so ready for ND to leave UC behind completely and dedicate their whole studio to something more exciting and something that has more potential, mechanics-wise.
I'm getting a bit different vibes from Lost Legacy compared to their other UC games so I will play that, but I'm so ready for ND to leave UC behind completely and dedicate their whole studio to something more exciting and something that has more potential, mechanics-wise.
ND nails pretty much everything except for appealing gameplay in their current franchises.
A ND game looks&sounds excellent, unfolds very smoothly and controls like a dream. But at its core the fun factor is not on par with the rest of it.
I played the first 3 Uncharteds to completion. U4 I dropped halfway through cause any fun I was having was being offset by all the tedium. Newly added mechanics only added to it. Recently tried picking it up again but no dice. I only completed TLoU because the storytelling was fantastic.
Simply put I think ND is wasting all the incredible potential they have by not properly utilizating the medium's strengths. I wish they'd at least work on a small project on the side focused on creativity and fun, with 0 cinematic bullshit.
A ND game looks&sounds excellent, unfolds very smoothly and controls like a dream. But at its core the fun factor is not on par with the rest of it.
I played the first 3 Uncharteds to completion. U4 I dropped halfway through cause any fun I was having was being offset by all the tedium. Newly added mechanics only added to it. Recently tried picking it up again but no dice. I only completed TLoU because the storytelling was fantastic.
Simply put I think ND is wasting all the incredible potential they have by not properly utilizating the medium's strengths. I wish they'd at least work on a small project on the side focused on creativity and fun, with 0 cinematic bullshit.
Conciliator
Banned
This is the slowest, most padded(well...except maybe the first, I guess), least light-hearted game in the series, and also my favorite.
MiloHoffman
Member
UC4
On reflection, for me, the worst out of all of the Uncharted games. Loved TLOU, platinumed the first three games. There is just something about UC4 that is off. Didn't really enjoy the walking bits, didn't really enjoy the combat, didn't really enjoy the story. Am I the only one who didn't like his brother?
The graphics were great though.
Too much Druckman and not enough Hennig?
The graphics were great though.
Too much Druckman and not enough Hennig?
TissueBox
Member
It does seem like a bit of a dissonance there. Besides the genre and approach to story, I always felt the setpieces and scripted moments in Call of Duty were crazy and technically impressive enough to match Uncharted's, (even before Uncharted really nailed that formula) and their campaigns are pretty underlooked, cast behind the shadow of its 'primary' multiplayer mode. Though it's still a lot more shoot-shoot, mano a mano gruff yelling than Uncharted, their campaigns should not be forgotten just because they're a military FPS.
baxter2231
Member
During an interview for uncharted 1 maybe 2 they were going on how the game had to be linear because they couldnt control the experience if it was open and you would get bored and it would be lifeless. They did exactly that in Uncharted 4 and thats why its awful. Knew the game was different before even starting it because i was sitting at the menu screen and was waiting for the theme to come on and it never did just near silence. Then i knew this game had changed and i thought back to when Amy left and that was the first indication this game was not going to be what it should be.
ScaryShark
Banned
Nah, they should probably stick with making the games they want to make which has brought them an incredible amount of commercial and critical acclaim instead of appeasing an outspoken minority on places like GAF.
Scrotum Phillips
Member
My favorite Uncharted game and my 4th favorite Radiohead album (that means it was outstanding).
A great time of highly anticipated things meeting my exceedingly high expectations.
A great time of highly anticipated things meeting my exceedingly high expectations.
Easily the least interesting story of the four games, and Sam was a terrible misstep. Should have focused on the existing characters and not tried to drag in Poochie Drake on the Retcon Express. I liked the gameplay overall but the game never succeeded in making me care about or even accept Sam as one of the crew. Felt tremendously forced throughout.
Nate's pathetic lack of emotional intelligence regarding his marriage is pretty bad writing, too. He's prone to tunnel vision throughout the series, but he has a lack of respect for Elena in 4 that is extremely out of character.
Nate's pathetic lack of emotional intelligence regarding his marriage is pretty bad writing, too. He's prone to tunnel vision throughout the series, but he has a lack of respect for Elena in 4 that is extremely out of character.
Spring-Loaded
Member
They're worse upon replay because all the super-scripted, non-engaging moments (e.g. looking through empty drawers in that pirate painting room until Sam discovers a doubloon) lose their novel luster when you know what happens.
That marketplace>truck chase>convoy battle sequence is fun every time. But having to climb along a really linear path up a cliff with no choice of where to go, and without any need for timed button presses or pathfinding? That is something I always want to skip when replaying a game, and that's all over UC4. There often isn't any interesting dialogue or character development, and they're too often static to be engaging. The vistas are beautiful, but that only goes so far. The parts where you have to use the piton, sliding and the grappling hook in tandem are scant (only ch. 21 comes close to a real platforming gauntlet, and it's so uneventful for a penultimate chapter).
The few shootout arenas are incredible tho. Wish there was a mode that would load all of those up in a row so I don't have to go back out to the encounter select menu in betweenwhat would be better is if the game were more replay friendly overall, but oh well
RadarScope1
Member
I thought they leaned a little to much on the climbing without improving that gameplay in any real way. The old woman in the back story was a little off but otherwise the brother story was pretty great, I thought. The pacing and cutting away to different parts of the story in the first few chapters was excellent, I thought. I played the first couple of hours with my wife and a friend and they were impressed by the "intro" a couple of times and I kept saying "We're not even to the title card yet..."
The biggest flaw, in my opinion? The musical theme from the first three games was so downplayed. I kept expecting the bold, brassy theme to show up near the end and, at least as I recall now, it never really did. Tragic omission.
And OP, you never told us where you ended up on the Radiohead album...
The biggest flaw, in my opinion? The musical theme from the first three games was so downplayed. I kept expecting the bold, brassy theme to show up near the end and, at least as I recall now, it never really did. Tragic omission.
And OP, you never told us where you ended up on the Radiohead album...
Playing the game right now. I bought the game because of the days of play sale.
It's Scotland. That chapter was boring to look at. It looks so dull. But yeah, a lot of climbing and jumping. Some action at the end of the chapter.
I feel like they toned down the shooting and added more climbing/jumping sections into the game. Just like RotTR. They must've felt people were complaining about too much shooting.
Haven't finished the game yet and I know there's always a lot of talking in UC games. But man, they try way too hard in UC4 with the "jokes", especially between Nate and Sam. Most of them aren't funny at all. It gets to a point where I find it annoying.
ScaryShark
Banned
Sam is intentionally the odd man out. One of the biggest themes of that game is one brother who has grown up and evolved and the other brother who is completely stuck in the past trying to relive his childhood and endangering people he cares about to accomplish his goals. He's UC 1-3 Nate and since you are Nate and the roles are reversed, his stubbornness really sticks out.
Nate's lack of respect for Elena is out of character? How?
Uncharted 1 = He treats her as a physical conquest and underestimates her intelligence before finally growing to respect her over the course of the game.
Uncharted 2 = They've broken up because Nate continually puts his personal glory ahead of people he cares about. They get back together at the end and it took him and her nearly dying for him to realize her importance.
Uncharted 3 = AGAIN they've split up because of Nate's immaturity and wrecklessness. Sensing a pattern?
What exactly in 4 is out of character and not in line with how they've portrayed this relationship and Nate's immaturity regarding it? It's completely in character. Except this one we finally see a man who grows up and admits his mistakes and actually changes. For the first time.
It's easy to get caught up in hypotheticals and might-have-beens, but I do sometimes find myself wondering how that whole revelation might have played out if it'd been Hennig at the the helm instead of Druckmann. I feel like her romanticism might have been able to carry the story's conceit better than Druckmann's naturalism. The "long lost brother" twist feels straight out of those old serials and adventure stories that the Uncharted games always tried to emulate. Druckmann tried to make it a serious, "realistic" story, and I'm not sure it works if done that way.
RadarScope1
Member
So what is the retcon, exactly? Is it just because Sam isn't mentioned in prior games or the flashbacks in 3? That's not a retcon. They just added some stuff. It's been a while since I've played 3, so I could be wrong. I don't see why any mentions of a brother would be all that necessary in 1 or 2.
ronaldthump
Member
Yeah, agreed that they handled Elena and Drake best in this. I was quite moved by the finale and the discoveries in the epilogue. Really elevated the game - its moments like these; the jeep and the elevator sequence which elevates the game
Curious to see what happens in the expansion game.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
The gunfighting feels spongy and imprecise. The addition of the grappling hook can't save the climbing from feeling scripted and automatic. The game is pretty; that's about it.
I loved Uncharted 1-3 but damned if I can't get into UC4 at all.
I loved Uncharted 1-3 but damned if I can't get into UC4 at all.
I won't act like UC4 is the worst in the series when the first one exists.
The more i think about it, I love UC2 and really liked UC4. UC3 is flawed but decent and I enjoyed it. So that's only two games I can say I'd go back to. Maybe I'm not as into the series as I thought I was.
I'd go:
2 >> 4 >> 3 >>>>>>>>>> 1
The more i think about it, I love UC2 and really liked UC4. UC3 is flawed but decent and I enjoyed it. So that's only two games I can say I'd go back to. Maybe I'm not as into the series as I thought I was.
I'd go:
2 >> 4 >> 3 >>>>>>>>>> 1
ScaryShark
Banned
One of my least favorite criticisms of this series or Nate is that he's portrayed as a good guy. He's only heroic in comparison to the worst people he gets roped in with but the series has never made him out to be this paradigm of heroism.
Especially since they go to great lengths in 4 to show how Nate completely buried the memory and emotional attachment to his brother. You could even imply after playing 4 that his recklessness and actions in the previous games was a response to the presumed fate of his brother.
Of course.
Commercial stuff aside, if this is what they really want to keep making then my opinion can simply go and fuck off while I find me something else to play that aligns with my tastes.
Z..
Member
I doubt anyone involved actually WANTS to make these types of games... They just know the market and how to play it. Capitalism has a way of destroying every market that flourishes by forcing it to become extremely reductive and constrictive to maximize and streamline the profit machine.
family_guy
Member
The kid backstory stuff would have been fine if confined to a few cutscenes, but why the heck did they need to dedicate an entire level to exploring an old house? Also Madagascar felt kind of pointless. Here's this landmass that's like the one in MGSV where nothing is really happening, and no real wildlife, but hey you get to drive a vehicle! The pacing is just a little off in this game and at some points it felt like the Order 1886.
ScaryShark
Banned
MetalGearZed
Member
Its my favorite Uncharted game. and Top 3 favorite PS4 game
from the beginning all the way up until Scotland is absolute perfection imo
i much preferred the slower pace of the game. I was about tired of Uncharted combat after 3, and the changes to this game's combat made it feel fresh.
and the expanded play areas were a great idea. made it feel open
from the beginning all the way up until Scotland is absolute perfection imo
i much preferred the slower pace of the game. I was about tired of Uncharted combat after 3, and the changes to this game's combat made it feel fresh.
and the expanded play areas were a great idea. made it feel open
Kevin Shields
Member
What the hell is people's problem with Scotland and everyone says the game is in full pace with chapter 17? Scotland has arguably the most combat in the game and chapter 8 has some great arenas with the chapter 9 escape being pretty fantastic? The Libertalia chapters can be much much slower.
For those asking about Moon Shaped Pool. Loved it and I probably put it 4th which is high praise considering how good their discography is.
A nice touch that I didn't notice before is how in chapter 4, Nate has to hide all of his old life up in an attic where he relived his glory days but in the Epilogue he gets to share it with everyone else and it's a shared glory days. Others may have found that obvious but I just picked up on it.
In regards to chapter 16. I used to think it was the worse thing Naughty Dog has ever done. I still think it was poorly placed and it was on the nose at the end. However I really think the epilogue puts it in a different perspective and you get a lot of depth into what drives obsession and the "lure of adventure". You see a sort of generational curse being broken. I'm impressed at the depth of the story and even if it doesn't hit every note, it aims high and delivers on more than I thought.
ronaldthump
Member
They should have lost the wander around the house bit. I hated that it moved so slowly and added so little value to the game. That bit with the old woman is also awful. Young Nate and Sam were so poorly done. Hated it.
Lol @ the order reference.
Didn't much care for the pacing, although the game itself was fun. I think 2 is still my favorite as it ties everything in together really well.
4 just has some very, very slow parts and chapters (i.e the
section) that I wish had been cut entirely.
Solid game and some of the graphics feel like voodoo magic but that's to be expected from ND at this point.
4 just has some very, very slow parts and chapters (i.e the
younger brothers section where you find the old lady, the underground mummy explosion
Solid game and some of the graphics feel like voodoo magic but that's to be expected from ND at this point.
Z..
Member
When mascot platformers were popular, ND made crash. After Mario 64 upped the ante, they made Jak. As soon as GTA 3 changed the desirable paradigm, they completely changed Jak 2/3 to make sure and please as many people as they could. When realistic militaristic shooters became the new thing, they made Uncharted.
How lucky they must be that whatever genre they want to work on instantly becomes popular, huh?
There's no want involved... Their MO is to follow the money, not "do what they want".
Fancy Clown
Member
Uncharted 4 is great. I definitely acknowledge that the pacing could have been improved, particularly in the beginning which is the only area that really drags for me on replays (and chapter 16). But it just handles so well that even laconically traversing stunning locations while bantering with Sam was really enjoyable to me. All the individual elements are the best they've ever been in the series. With better pacing and more encounter variety than mostly arena fights it would have topped Uncharted 2.
I'm so excited for Lost Legacy though, since it looks like it's gonna be a faster paced and more action packed affair than A Thief's End overall.
Also, Scotland was probably my favorite part of the game. The platforming and atmosphere gave me ice cave vibes from Among Thieves but with the pacing of the Chateau level from Drake's Deception, which is a killer combo.
I'm so excited for Lost Legacy though, since it looks like it's gonna be a faster paced and more action packed affair than A Thief's End overall.
Also, Scotland was probably my favorite part of the game. The platforming and atmosphere gave me ice cave vibes from Among Thieves but with the pacing of the Chateau level from Drake's Deception, which is a killer combo.
TheRedSnifit
Member
I think the problem is that they took totally the wrong message from "mass murderer" criticism, and just threw in a bunch of downtime moments to break up the shooting instead of looking at the viability of trying to craft emotional, dramatic stories with protagonists that single-handedly kill dozens or hundreds of people.
ScaryShark
Banned
It's as if changes in technology allowed the studio to change the type of games they were able and wanted to make. Also, most of the people who made Crash aren't even there anymore and the identity of that studio has changed a lot over the past decade.
I'm really not going to have a back and forth with you about this because if you truly think Naughty Dog is making 12 hour linear single player games (5 in one series) just out of financial gain (because we all know that's where the money is in gaming in 2017) you're not going to be swayed.
Again, lmao.
Think about why they chose to do that. Story can be much more than a simple crescendo.
I agree. TLOU struck a great balance where the fights felt personal and dangerous. Combat felt very real in the sense that enemies were more lethal and not bullet sponges. U4 took a step back.
Fancy Clown
Member
Uncharted 4's combat feels perfect for the tone they are evoking. It's a scrappy, seat of your pants crazy adventure where you're run and gunning and rope punching dudes, not getting in cat and mouse hunts where you're gonna have a heart attack. The animations and weapon feedback make it feel hella good, too.
And my personal favorite uncharted. Period.
Kevin Shields
Member
Yea I don't know which one is better but they evoke much different feelings. I was thinking if I could replay all the encounters of either game I would probably give the nod to UC4 but it's close. The advantage TLOU has is that the progression system and inventory adds a new dimension to gameplay.
Agreed, but also Crushing mode is pretty darn tense as well.
ScaryShark
Banned
Yep. It's placed there because it accentuates and explains a character's motivations and why they did what they did in the future.
The flashbacks are very necessary to expand on why Nate looks to and acts the way he does with Sam.
petethepanda
Member
Super unfun. There's one encounter (I forget which chapter, but it's a battle in a foresty area after
the shipwreck
I enjoyed the hard difficulties in the other Uncharted games and TLOU, but UC4 was painful.