Video Game Review - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Developed by Naughty Dog

Out of the of the scores of video games I've played and loved, most tend to heavily rely on high-concepts and convoluted plots, vapid stories and shallow heroes that have been devoid of carrying much emotional weight or connection with the gamer. None of those things describe this game. This is a 15 hour interactive movie that will rival any blockbuster film you'll see in the theater this summer. Amongst the most cinematic video games, it stands as king. (In which case, The Last of Us would be queen).




*This is a SPOILER-FREE post, until noted at the end*

The best (and perhaps only) way of describing Uncharted to someone unfamiliar with the franchise is: basically modern day Indiana Jones. Of course Nathan Drake's character has plenty of differences from Jones, but all-in-all it's a classic action-adventure archaeological epic tale. The first games in the series were groundbreaking and widely acclaimed, championing a new era of video games that further advanced a more story-based and cinematic experience, no longer relying on HUDs and repetitive maps, and introducing in-game cut scenes that flowed in and out of action to where you almost never knew when to put the controller down.

Being a huge fan of the action adventure genre, video games, and Indiana Jones, this franchise wasn't too difficult for me to love. I was first introduced to the series through the third game, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, which I immediately fell in love with and began replaying and playing through the previous games many times over, anticipating for years this final chapter, which is now here. What stands out in the series amongst every other video game franchise, was that each Uncharted game was essentially an interactive blockbuster film, rather than just the standard run-and-gun video game fare, pulling you through a fast paced adventure to dozens of varied worlds and maps, and so beautifully intertwined with the story and cut scenes that it's almost just as enjoyable to sit and watch as it is to play yourself.

Story/Writing
Uncharted 4 finds our risky action hero Nathan Drake on the far side of the pendulum - trapped in a
self-inflicted "normal life." When events transpire pulling him back into his old life, potentially risking his marriage, life, and the lives of those involved, we are thrown back into the action.

This was the story that needed to be told to complete the saga. While at times some of the backstory seem contrived, none of it negates what we already know about Drake, but dives deep into his history, asking how he became the man he is, developed his flaws, and what situation could drive him to face those flaws head-on? Besides "The Last of Us", this is the only game to cause me to experience strong emotions as the story played out. Instead of the all-too-common cut scenes that take themselves too seriously without backing it up with some emotional gravity, Uncharted 4 does back it up.

Acting
I never would have thought I would label a section of a video game review "Acting," but alas, the time has come to do so. Aided by some phenomenal dialogue, this cast of actors deserve some major credit, not only are they doing an amazing job voice acting, but most of the scenes they actually acted out in mocap suits.



Gameplay
The gameplay continues a very similar style to the others in the series - a nice mixture of fighting, exploring, and puzzle-solving, but this one has deviated the most in comparison. It is, however, a mostly positive progression. The fighting is slightly more realistic, meaning you will die after getting shot a few times rather than taking a dozen bullets and being fine. (So long as you take cover, your health will still regenerate). The more intensive fighting requires you to depend on the heavily advanced stealth mode- which enables you to target and track existing enemies, hide in tall grass and plants, prevents your stupid AI partners from blowing your cover, and affords you the opportunity to go back into hiding if you successfully evade a shootout without being seen. Your A.I. partners have also been advanced, as they now will effectively assist you in kills, both stealth and shooting.

One of the other great progressions in this game is the expansiveness of each map. Instead of requiring you one specific route to climb your way to the top, or pick your way through groups of enemies, there are many. And the ability to fully explore each location and interact with its environments not only makes each scenario more realistic, but also offers a lot of replayability.

If you loved the exploring aspect of the previous games, you'll be right at home with Uncharted 4, as it skews heavily towards the exploring aspect of the game, but rest assured, the extra run time of the game will give you plenty of opportunities to fight enemies and solve ancient puzzles.

The piton and grappling hook are amazing to say the least, but I do miss getting to throw grenades back to their owners.


Music

While I love the scores by Greg Edmonson in the predecessors to Uncharted 4, Henry Jackman's score in this game is an exceptional musical conclusion to the saga. For me, most of Jackman's scores tend to be well-suited for their accompanying film, but lean towards generic and are rarely memorable or something I would seek out to listen on my own, with the exception of his riveting score for Captain Phillips. However the Uncharted 4 score is one that I can't stop listening to. It not only grasps the themes of the series, but amps up the intensity, and deepens the emotional connection of the story's scenes. It may not be as unique as the previous Uncharted scores, but it is certainly the most polished and cinematic. Check out one of my favorite tracks below:



Visuals
As the surplus of beautiful glossy images included in this post are a testament, the visual achievements presented in Uncharted 4 are unrivaled by any video game in history. (The next in line at this point would probably be Star Wars: Battlefront). Naughty Dog doesn't hold back in any aspect of game-making. At basically every point in the game you just want to stop and look around. It's all so beautiful and photogenic, down to the minute details of every object and character. Combined with the thought put into the color, lighting, and cinematography, it's hard to imagine video games looking any better than this one.

Just to prove this point, below are some unbelievable images captured in-game:
*Some of these are captured through the unlockable photo mode in the game, which enables you to capture and tweak images during gameplay*

At this point you're probably thinking that I am clearly biased, paid-off, or just too flippantly enamored with the game to notice it's flaws, but in fact, I do notice them, and will cover them in the spoiler minefield ahead.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

While it is an extraordinary game, Uncharted 4 does have a few weaknesses. Other than the occasional bug, like Drake's body disappearing and just seeing his clothes floating around (which can be expected from a game of this size and I'm sure has already been fixed with a downloadable update), some may say the game has an overabundance of cutscenes. Whether it was tastefully reminding us of Drake's backstory, or introducing us to new aspects of it, all of which I loved, it did heavily weigh down the first act. Which starts fairly slow and methodical, although, playing through it for the first time didn't really bother me, being so engaged in the story being told. I could see it being cumbersome for the replay quality though.

The thing that probably bothered me the most was the lack of any supernatural element in the third act, a large leap away from the prior games. There was mystery floating around what caused the collapse of Libertalia and the death of it's citizens and pirate founders. It had an excellent setup, a potential for pirate ghosts, living skeletons or some other creepy monster, however it ended up just being the greed for the treasure itself that led to the downfall of this civilization. This is obviously a very realistic and provocative commentary on our humanity as well as those of fortune hunter's like Drake's, so it was still a strong ending, but I think the fun-factor would have been strongly enhanced by some added supernatural element woven through the ending.

As the game ended, I was just sad that it was over. Not just the game, but this series; these characters that I've fallen in love with. It's the feeling you get when you walk out of a movie theater for the final installment of an epic franchise. This is a game to be remembered and cherished for a very long time. It is evident that it's creators put everything they had into making this game as incredible and epic of an ending as such a great franchise deserves. The powerful messages and themes cut to the core, and are incredibly relatable - that dishonesty, obsession, and greed can destroy us and our relationships, but so can complacency and ignoring the passions and the talents that we possess. This is a game people will talk about and think about, it is a pivotal monument in the history of video games that has and will inspire a brighter future for the medium, one that proves the artistry, storytelling, and raw emotion that can be expressed through gaming. And heck, it's just a lot of fun. For every kid that was told video games are a waste of time, this one's for you (and your parents).