Here we are, Nathan Drake’s last adventure, even though this is a review, I don’t want to give too many spoilers with the storyline, as this is a game that you should go into, not knowing much about it, as it will allow you to experience  Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End in all of its glory. If you don’t know what happens. So I will only be giving the basic outline about the start of the game, with that said, let’s find out, If Naughty Dog’s final Uncharted game is worth the hype.

Story:

You begin the game with Nathan (Nolan North) and his brother Samuel ( Troy Baker ) Drake driving a boat in a storm. While trying to find an island and also having to fight enemies who are trying to stop you, from reaching said Island. The game then goes back into the past to when Nate was living in St, Francis orphanage, getting into trouble with a nun for starting a fight, when another boy took his book from him. Nate is then visited by his brother Sam and he helps Nate to sneak out as he has a gift he wants to show Nate.

You then get to see Nate as a young man, trying to find the famous pirate Henry Avery who managed to do the biggest heist of his time,(the 1600s) which is worth over 400 million dollars in today’s money. The Drake brothers have also teamed up with another treasure hunter Rafe Alder (Warren Kole). after this, you then begin as present-day Nate, who is now retired (Uncharted 4 is set 3 years after Uncharted 3) and working for a salvage company, and is trying to enjoy life with Elena but is missing his life as a treasure hunter. One night, however, Nate is visited by Samuel, who needs his help in order to track down the missing treasure of Henry Avery. Which he was never able to find when he was younger, as his time is running out as drug lord Hector Alcazar (Robin Atkin Downes), has given him 3 months in order to find it. During the game you meet up again with Nate’s best friend Victor Sullivan also called Sully, (Richard McGonagle) after not seeing him for 2 years. You meet Nadine Ross (Laura Bailey) who you run into a few times and who is also my favorite new character, and of course Elena Fisher (Emily Rose) who is Nate’s wife.

Gameplay:

The gameplay in Uncharted 4 is similar to the other games in the series but has taken some gameplay elements from Naughty Dog’s other game, The Last of Us. This comes as no surprise seeing as Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann who made The Last of Us, have taken over Uncharted from Amy Hennig, who left Naughty Dog in March 2014. The elements from The Last of Us, work well in Uncharted 4 such as stealth, and even just the way you control Nate, feels very much like the way you control Joe. It’s the same gameplay as the past Uncharted games but It just feels a lot like the Last of Us, when it comes to controlling Nate, could just be me however. There is also a grappling hook which you use a lot in the single-player (and multiplayer), which gives you more choice in how you take out your enemies. Allowing you to get behind them without being seen, and also enemies no longer come after you wave after wave, so the gunfights that you do have you will enjoy a lot more, knowing that that gunfight could be the last one for a while. Gunplay is also pretty similar to the other games, but with being unable to throw grenades back to enemies, which you were able to do in past games. I found it odd that Naughty Dog didn’t put it in this game. The game runs at 30fps and 1080p in single-player and 60fps at 900p in multiplayer, the single player I didn’t notice any dropped frames so it stay around 30fps, which is fine. I don’t mind games if they stay locked at 30fps, but after playing multiplayer, I wish Naughty Dog was able to get the single player at 1080p at 60fps but even at 30fps, it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the story. The levels are also a lot more open and bigger than previous games which allows you to drive vehicles yourself, and also means fighting enemies is a lot more interesting as you have a few ways to take them out. You can just go guns blazing or use stealth to take them out. the AI has also got a lot better as well, which is good to see as it means fights can become interesting. There’s a dialogue tree in some parts of the game that gives you the choice of what to say, though it does not affect the story or the ending, unlike in say Mass Effect. Naughty Dog has also put in new modes such as a bullet time mode and more, which you can unlock by using points that you can collect.

Graphics:

I have two words to say about the graphics in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. mind-blowing.

Unchanged 4 is without a doubt, the most gorgeous game I have seen on a console. The amount of detail in the levels is amazing and the design of the levels from Scotland (which is my favorite level of the game) to Madagascar and beyond is breathtaking. I spent a lot of the game just standing around, taking screenshots, and using photo mode because I loved the design of the areas. The only other time I have felt this way about the design of a game is with The Witcher 3 which was released last year. Naughty Dog has always pushed the level of console graphics from the first Crash Bandicoot game to Jak and Daxter and Uncharted and the Last of Us. Uncharted 4 is no different, and I can’t wait to see what they can do in the future with their next game.

Multiplayer:

Uncharted has had a multiplayer mode since the second game, and I have a lot of memories of playing team death matches In Uncharted 2 and some of the other modes, but I mostly play team death matches when playing online games. I didn’t play as much of the multiplayer In Uncharted 3, and The Last of Us, I enjoyed it’s multiplayer, but the multiplayer in Uncharted 4, it’s just so much fun. It reminds me of the days of Uncharted 2, Sure there is Call of Duty and Battlefield and other multiplayer games that are made mostly for playing against other players, but, Uncharted 2 and now 4 from the matches I have played, there is just something, about it.it’s just pure fun, Naughty Dog making the multiplayer 60fps (at 900p)   is also great, as even though it would be nice to have it in the single-player, the multiplayer, needed it a lot more and it’s better because of it. When it comes to fast-action games against other players, I always want to have 60fps. There are a few bad things about the multiplayer though, there’s not many modes yet, and there is no co-op which is a shame as Uncharted 2 and 3 had it.

Final thoughts:

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is a fantastic end to Nathan Drake’s adventures which began back in 2007 on the PlayStation 3, it however does have a few issues. It takes a while to get started, the Last of Us was similar for me. In the first few chapters, you spend the time , seeing how Nathan Drake became the man he is, from his beginnings in St, Francis orphanage, and seeing him in the early days of his adventures, which is great, but it does seem to drag out a bit, but that is just nitpicks for what has become one of my favorite games in the past few years.

My favorite part of the game was seeing Nathan torn between wanting to stay retired and wanting a normal life with Elena for her sake. Even though you can tell he isn’t happy with being retired, and wants to have another big adventure. as the game continues on you can see Nate starting to enjoy life again like in the past games which is wonderful to see.

I will be replaying the story for years to come, as I still replay the other Uncharted games, but the multiplayer once it gets some more modes. Will keep this game alive for a long time to come because of how good and how much fun it is.

Storytelling and character development are something Naughty Dog has been doing well at for years, and Uncharted 4 has shown that Naughty Dog hasn’t lost their gift. Instead, they have become even better. A lot of game developers don’t know when to call it quits on a series, and then over the years, the series loses what was great about them. I’m happy Naughty Dog is leaving Uncharted, not because I hate the series, far from it, but because Uncharted is something special, and sometimes, too much of a good thing is bad. I’m sure Sony will get another developer that they own to make a new Uncharted game like they did with Uncharted Golden Abyss, which was made by Bend Studio for the PlayStation Vita. It was a really good game, and I don’t mind another developer taking over for Naughty Dog, but it won’t be the same. I’m sure future Uncharted games will be good, as Bend Studio has shown, and Uncharted makes a lot of money, so it makes sense to make new games, but for me, this is how the story of Nathan Drake’s adventures come to end, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way for Naughty Dog to move on from the beloved series, and give fans the final game that makes you glad to be an Uncharted fan. Because to me, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, is a love letter to the fans of Naughty Dog, that says the future’s looking bright.