Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – PREVIEW

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The Uncharted series is known for its brilliant cinematic qualities, cheeky and courageous hero, Indiana Jones style adventures, insane action sequences, ancient and exotic locations, cover based combat, and daring acrobatic manoeuvres. Recent gameplay demos have shown that Uncharted 4 will both expand and refineuncharted 4 these staples of the series.

Based on what developer Naughty Dog has said and with a sub-title like “A Thief’s End”, we can assume this will most likely be the last game in the series. Sad as it may be, after the release of several trailers and gameplay demonstrations we can expect this iteration to heighten the stakes, the action, the peril, and everything else we have come to adore from Uncharted.

Uncharted 4 had a slew of gameplay demos that looked at several important elements of the upcoming game: Story, Mobility, Environment, and Combat.

STORY

uncharted 4The events of Uncharted 4 take place many years after what transpired in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Nathan Drake has been retired from treasure hunting for some time and has settled into a cozy, relatively mundane life with his wife Elena Fisher. This quiet bliss is rattled when Drake is visited by his long assumed dead older brother Sam, who seeks him out for help in another treasure hunt.

Anyone who has played a game in the series is familiar with Drake’s trademark wit and smart ass remarks despite his often harrowing circumstances – it’s evident that he loved the life he lived. His lost brother on his doorstep, an adventure in hand, and a desperate longing to return to the thrill and excitement – he sees no other choice but to join him. Together they begin a journey that spans across the globe in search of the long lost pirate colony Libertalia. It is said that the pirates of the colony pooled all of their resources, including the mountains of treasure they brought back from plundering the high seas.

This game will undoubtedly be important for the overarching story – providing more depth into his past and more emotionally charged experiences by introducing Drake’s brother Sam, and what appears to be an intensified conflict Drake has about his dangerous treasure hunting that those around him (save his brother) believe will eventually get him killed.

It is unclear exactly what it is about Libertalia driving Nate back into the game, but it most certainly is something far more important than what he has chased before. Something he and his brother have been chasing since they were kids.

MOBILITY

The climbing will be far more detailed not only in its beautiful new animations but also in the way Drake latches onto cliff edges and ancient ruins. First of all, theuncharted 4 handholds will appear more naturally embedded into the environment and will actually crumble more organically, dependent on the speed, force, and angle with which he leaps rather than it simply being an immutable scripted event.

A significant new climbing mechanic will be the addition of climbing piton that can be driven into soft, craggy rock in order to bridge the gap between ledges and handholds. Drake will also have a grappling hook that will allow him to rappel down rock faces, swing over gaps, escape enemy fire, and even chain together with takedowns. These changes will certainly add more depth to movement, and layers to the climbing based puzzles.

ENVIRONMENT

uncharted 4The previews of the game that Naughty Dog has been willing to share with us have shown an uninhabited island of dense jungle, and an urban environment in Madagascar – each of which demonstrate new visual aspects of Uncharted 4.

Beyond simply being much more dense, detailed, and large – the environments are noticeably more reactive. Many objects are now destructible by gunfire, explosions, and collisions. In one of the previews a gunfight breaks out and you can actually see shredded pieces of a wooden stand within the bazaar exploding from gunfire, you can see a sandbag get pierced and leak until it is no longer useful as cover, and you can see shards of stone bursting off pillars.

The crowds are also more dynamic – reacting to collisions, slowing Drake’s movement as he rubs shoulders to squirm free, and Drake will even engage in conversations with some of the areas civilians.

In every other game in the series Drake has a collection of clues that just seem to appear in his journal whenever he is faced with a puzzle. In Uncharted 4, the clues are within the environment for you to find and document in your journal.  Depending on how obvious these clues are, this could add more complexity and difficulty to the game’s puzzles.

COMBAT

The typical run-and-gun and cover based shooting is still there and even enhanced by the mobility and environment changes that will allow for more diverseuncharted 4 approaches to combat.

First of all, the stealth in the past was a simple chain of takedowns, while slowly tiptoeing from cover to cover – now it’s been revamped. There is a new system in place for the player to visualize the enemies’ line of sight, similar to the Last of Us “Listen Mode” but as a passive ability. This also includes the sounds that enemies make, such as talking, whistling, running, etc. – so you can detect them early and plan your route to either avoid of eliminate them. Drake can also use dense foliage to evade detection from enemies, opening up opportunities for better takedowns or avoiding them all together.

Melee combat is now more dynamic with enemies being more intelligent and not waiting for Drake to dictate the course of combat. Previously enemies would stop using their weapons and not even attempt to pick them up again when Drake engaged them in a fistfight. This will require the player to be far more vigilant when taking on a few bad guys at once as they will be focused on killing Drake by any means. Although if you find yourself overwhelmed Sully can step in to even the odds and help you escape a grapple.

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