Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Review (PS4)
Story
1) Singleplayer Section
The main focus of the gameplay is the singleplayer campaign, where you will control Nate most of the times in his journey. This game plays the same as previous Uncharted games, albeit with some new additions.
Exploration and progression are the same with previous Uncharted games, where you may need to solve puzzles, clear platforming sections, and fight off enemies. Puzzles also require clues to clear, where you can look at them at your notebook or given items to solve them. Platforming sections also require some thought before climbing or jumping, as wrong jumps will lead up to your death. This time, you also have access to a grappling hook that allows you to climb higher or travel to far platforms. This time, there are several gameplay sections where you can control a vehicle, like escaping from combat or exploring a certain area. Collectibles are also present in the game as well, and many of them are hidden cleverly in different levels in the game. You may also trigger optional conversations with your partners in different areas in the game.
This game also feature more open-level designs, where many levels in the game are far more open than usual where you can either choose to guns blazing on enemies or total stealth. Total stealth allows you to bypass many areas in the game without alerting enemies, which is actually useful in harder difficulties such as Crushing. This is directly inspired from The Last of Us, where you have more open combat levels where you can choose to do stealth or guns blazing. However, the stealth aspect of this game is noticeably much simpler than The Last of Us's stealth system and combat.
The game uses third-person shooting mechanics, where you can shoot enemies with your equipped weapon, by aiming or blindfire from cover. Different weapons have different uses, such as a sniper rifle is useful to take down an enemy from a long distance. You may also use melee combat to take down an enemy as well as disarm him to steal his weapon. You can only disarm an enemy if you have no weapons or having low ammo on your weapons. You may also roll to dodge gunfire, take cover behind obstacles, hide in tall grasses, as well as jump and take down enemies from higher platform.
Melee combat is a bit different than previous games as you can do combo takedowns with your partners, which may save your ammo. You may also be captured by enemies, and you can either escape from the grab or wait for your partner to rescue you. There are also no counter button for fist attacks, but only grab attacks.
2) Multiplayer Section
Online multiplayer has also return in this game, where you can play competitively against other players online in different type of matches.
Trials are preset training matches where you must complete certain objectives to complete. This mode is a great way to learn the basics of the multiplayer gameplay controls, such as using Mysticals, Sidekicks, You can also play them in harder difficulty modes to get more rewards to buy items from the in-game store, such as customisation items. You may also gain experience points for leveling up to gain more relics to buy playable characters or other customisation items. There are several different type of online matches, although Team Deathmatch is the most popular competitive multiplayer mode.
One of the highlights of the multiplayer mode is Survival Mode. Survival Mode is a co-op mode where you must complete different sets of waves, such as defeating enemies, collect a certain amount of treasures, and kill a boss. In this mode, you can gain experience points to level up to gain access to new weapons as well as stats increase. This is a fun mode that you can play solo with an A.I partner,or play with two of your friends or random players. There are different sets of maps where you can play with different difficulty modes.
3) Gameplay Conclusion
This game has great singleplayer experience. The gunplay is solid, good platforming sections, improved stealth system, more open-level designs in combat, good story pacing, some nice new controls and excellent final boss fight. However, the melee combat seems to be toned down compared to Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception's melee combat, as it has superior melee combat to me. Puzzles are decent, although I wish there were more puzzles in the game. Enemy types are seem to be lacking as well in this game, as none of them are particularly new and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception has the most variety of enemies to be fought. The dialogue choices feature is also a disappointment, since there are no virtual changes to the gameplay except for dialogues spoken by different characters.
The multiplayer mode is fun, as it has some nice ideas such as using Mysticals and Sidekicks. I actually enjoy Survival Mode, and I am planning to complete all of the stages in due time. Overall, the gameplay is excellent. Great singleplayer experience with a great bonus feature of online multiplayer modes.
Graphics
Excellent graphics, both character models and environment designs. I thoroughly admire Naughty Dog's hard work to make the game look amazing enough in both gameplay and cinematics. No framerate issues encountered while playing the singleplayer mode, and online multiplayer mode is rather stable, despite having only moderate Internet speed connection.
Sound
This game's soundtrack is composed by Henry Jackman, and the game's soundtrack is rather good. Fitting in all different scenes and situations, and I really the composer's action themes in this game. The voice acting is also excellent, with all of the previous voice actors reprise their roles in this game. Their performances also made many of the characters shine in their scenes in the game.
Replay Value
Conclusion
This game is the final Nathan Drake game, and it is a great game. Interesting story, great characters, amazing visuals, good gameplay, and great voice acting are the highlights of this game. The online multiplayer is a great bonus as well, and Survival Mode is a fun mode to play with other players.
This game does have some setbacks, mostly on the singleplayer mode such as lack of creative puzzles, stripped down melee combat, not many enemy types, and unnecessary dialogue choices in cutscenes. Regardless, for any Uncharted fans, this game is worth playing to experience Nathan Drake's final adventure. One of the best games on PS4.
Score
Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Final Score: 9.25/10 or 37/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Excellent final adventure for Nathan Drake.
- Interesting story and pirate lore.
- Great cast of characters.
- Seamless integration between cutscenes and gameplay.
- Good gameplay.
- More open-level designs on different hostile areas.
- More combat options.
- Improved stealth system.
- Good multiplayer mode, especially Survival Mode.
- Stellar graphics.
- Great voice acting.
- Good soundtrack
Cons
- Nadine is a hit or miss character, especially her traits and role in the story.
- Not many creative puzzles.
- Lack of new or challenging enemy types.
- Stripped down melee combat.
- Unnecessary dialogue choices feature.
**Images are from official PlayStation game page.
Nathan drake is back, with his long lost brother, Sam.
This game takes place after Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Nathan Drake has retired from his treasure hunting life, working with a decent job while keeping his marriage with Elena intact. However, he discovered that his dead brother, Sam, is alive and well. He asked Drake to help him to find the treasure that they were in pursuit years ago, which is Henry Avery's lost treasure.
The story premise is simple, yet interesting in many ways that there are no complicated plot points that will confuse average players. The lore of pirate treasure is actually interesting, as it is based on a historical pirate figures mixed with original lore. This game has a lot of interesting themes, especially the relationship between Nate and Elena. I also really like the ending, as it is incredibly conclusive and well-done.
The characters are incredibly well-developed, with likable personalities. Nathan Drake is the star of the series, and again, he has the most relatable character traits. Rafe is actually my favourite villain in Uncharted series, who is similar with Nathan Drake in many ways. Other characters such as Sam, Elena, and Sully are excellent, as well. Great dialogues also helps the conversation flow really well in the game. However, I personally dislike the character Nadine, as she does not seem to be a really likable villain in the game in comparison to the villains in previous Uncharted games, such as Katherine Marlowe in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.
GameplayThe characters are incredibly well-developed, with likable personalities. Nathan Drake is the star of the series, and again, he has the most relatable character traits. Rafe is actually my favourite villain in Uncharted series, who is similar with Nathan Drake in many ways. Other characters such as Sam, Elena, and Sully are excellent, as well. Great dialogues also helps the conversation flow really well in the game. However, I personally dislike the character Nadine, as she does not seem to be a really likable villain in the game in comparison to the villains in previous Uncharted games, such as Katherine Marlowe in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.
1) Singleplayer Section
The main focus of the gameplay is the singleplayer campaign, where you will control Nate most of the times in his journey. This game plays the same as previous Uncharted games, albeit with some new additions.
Exploration and progression are the same with previous Uncharted games, where you may need to solve puzzles, clear platforming sections, and fight off enemies. Puzzles also require clues to clear, where you can look at them at your notebook or given items to solve them. Platforming sections also require some thought before climbing or jumping, as wrong jumps will lead up to your death. This time, you also have access to a grappling hook that allows you to climb higher or travel to far platforms. This time, there are several gameplay sections where you can control a vehicle, like escaping from combat or exploring a certain area. Collectibles are also present in the game as well, and many of them are hidden cleverly in different levels in the game. You may also trigger optional conversations with your partners in different areas in the game.
This game also feature more open-level designs, where many levels in the game are far more open than usual where you can either choose to guns blazing on enemies or total stealth. Total stealth allows you to bypass many areas in the game without alerting enemies, which is actually useful in harder difficulties such as Crushing. This is directly inspired from The Last of Us, where you have more open combat levels where you can choose to do stealth or guns blazing. However, the stealth aspect of this game is noticeably much simpler than The Last of Us's stealth system and combat.
The game uses third-person shooting mechanics, where you can shoot enemies with your equipped weapon, by aiming or blindfire from cover. Different weapons have different uses, such as a sniper rifle is useful to take down an enemy from a long distance. You may also use melee combat to take down an enemy as well as disarm him to steal his weapon. You can only disarm an enemy if you have no weapons or having low ammo on your weapons. You may also roll to dodge gunfire, take cover behind obstacles, hide in tall grasses, as well as jump and take down enemies from higher platform.
Melee combat is a bit different than previous games as you can do combo takedowns with your partners, which may save your ammo. You may also be captured by enemies, and you can either escape from the grab or wait for your partner to rescue you. There are also no counter button for fist attacks, but only grab attacks.
2) Multiplayer Section
Online multiplayer has also return in this game, where you can play competitively against other players online in different type of matches.
Trials are preset training matches where you must complete certain objectives to complete. This mode is a great way to learn the basics of the multiplayer gameplay controls, such as using Mysticals, Sidekicks, You can also play them in harder difficulty modes to get more rewards to buy items from the in-game store, such as customisation items. You may also gain experience points for leveling up to gain more relics to buy playable characters or other customisation items. There are several different type of online matches, although Team Deathmatch is the most popular competitive multiplayer mode.
One of the highlights of the multiplayer mode is Survival Mode. Survival Mode is a co-op mode where you must complete different sets of waves, such as defeating enemies, collect a certain amount of treasures, and kill a boss. In this mode, you can gain experience points to level up to gain access to new weapons as well as stats increase. This is a fun mode that you can play solo with an A.I partner,or play with two of your friends or random players. There are different sets of maps where you can play with different difficulty modes.
3) Gameplay Conclusion
Great gameplay, with some setbacks.
This game has great singleplayer experience. The gunplay is solid, good platforming sections, improved stealth system, more open-level designs in combat, good story pacing, some nice new controls and excellent final boss fight. However, the melee combat seems to be toned down compared to Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception's melee combat, as it has superior melee combat to me. Puzzles are decent, although I wish there were more puzzles in the game. Enemy types are seem to be lacking as well in this game, as none of them are particularly new and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception has the most variety of enemies to be fought. The dialogue choices feature is also a disappointment, since there are no virtual changes to the gameplay except for dialogues spoken by different characters.
The multiplayer mode is fun, as it has some nice ideas such as using Mysticals and Sidekicks. I actually enjoy Survival Mode, and I am planning to complete all of the stages in due time. Overall, the gameplay is excellent. Great singleplayer experience with a great bonus feature of online multiplayer modes.
Graphics
Stellar graphics.
Excellent graphics, both character models and environment designs. I thoroughly admire Naughty Dog's hard work to make the game look amazing enough in both gameplay and cinematics. No framerate issues encountered while playing the singleplayer mode, and online multiplayer mode is rather stable, despite having only moderate Internet speed connection.
Sound
Excellent voice acting and good soundtrack.
This game's soundtrack is composed by Henry Jackman, and the game's soundtrack is rather good. Fitting in all different scenes and situations, and I really the composer's action themes in this game. The voice acting is also excellent, with all of the previous voice actors reprise their roles in this game. Their performances also made many of the characters shine in their scenes in the game.
Replay Value
Moderate to high replay value.
This game has moderate to high replay value, depending on how much you like the online multiplayer mode. For singleplayer mode, you can try to obtain all collectibles in the game or play the game again in harder difficulties such as Crushing. For online multiplayer modes, you can try playing different competitive online matches such as Team Deathmatch, or play with your friends or random players in Survival Mode.
Conclusion
An excellent conclusion to Nate's adventures.
This game is the final Nathan Drake game, and it is a great game. Interesting story, great characters, amazing visuals, good gameplay, and great voice acting are the highlights of this game. The online multiplayer is a great bonus as well, and Survival Mode is a fun mode to play with other players.
This game does have some setbacks, mostly on the singleplayer mode such as lack of creative puzzles, stripped down melee combat, not many enemy types, and unnecessary dialogue choices in cutscenes. Regardless, for any Uncharted fans, this game is worth playing to experience Nathan Drake's final adventure. One of the best games on PS4.
Score
Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Final Score: 9.25/10 or 37/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Excellent final adventure for Nathan Drake.
- Interesting story and pirate lore.
- Great cast of characters.
- Seamless integration between cutscenes and gameplay.
- Good gameplay.
- More open-level designs on different hostile areas.
- More combat options.
- Improved stealth system.
- Good multiplayer mode, especially Survival Mode.
- Stellar graphics.
- Great voice acting.
- Good soundtrack
Cons
- Nadine is a hit or miss character, especially her traits and role in the story.
- Not many creative puzzles.
- Lack of new or challenging enemy types.
- Stripped down melee combat.
- Unnecessary dialogue choices feature.
**Images are from official PlayStation game page.
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