Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Naughty Dog knocked this one right out of the park, they took all of the Uncharted conventions and refined them to an almost unrecognisable degree. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Uncharted 4 is one of the most densely packed, concise video game experiences I've ever played. This is a series high in legitimately every aspect, the narrative is movie worthy, the presentation is absolutely stunning, the climbing totally fluid and engaging, the stealth thoughtfully executed, and the gun-play less tedious than ever. This is also the longest and meatiest Uncharted adventure, and features some of the most open and expansive environments in the entire series. What's not to swoon over??? 0_o

Uncharted 4's story is glorious, the big revelation here is that Nathan has an older brother named Sam (and voiced by friggin Troy Baker no less!), and - before the events of the last three Uncharted games - the two were in search of the massive treasure loot hidden by the legendary pirate captain Henry Avery. Of course the duo hits a snag and his bro Sam gets shot down in a Panamanian jail, leaving Drake to believe that he'd died! And so he moves on, eventually escaping from the life of treasure hunting and settling down. But - SPOILERS - Sam's still alive, and when the two re-unite they resume their search for the treasure but only this time in a desperate race against their old business associate Rafe, and his partner Nadine the owner of a private military. The chemistry between Nathan and Sam is fantastic, it really does feel like they're brothers! Of course Sully and Elena both return here, Elena being Nathan's wife and the relationship between those two is particularly personal and realistic.

The dialog in general is phenomenal and the character animations, from the their facial expressions to how their eyes move and blink is so friggin real! Rafe and Nadine are thee two greatest villains in the Uncharted series by far, Rafe is a psychotic rich snob who desires the fortune for his ego, and Nadine is a stubborn but clever mercenary captain who beats the living hell out of the Drake brothers several times, she's a refreshingly strong female character that's for sure! Equally as engaging as the current plot is the game's incredibly creative meta-plot following captain Avery and his epic alliance of bad a** pirate captains. A story that develops as the game progresses and gets very interesting when we start to learn about the betrayals and the revolt that took place within the secret pirate sanctuary of Libertalia, there are scenes near the end (which I don't wanna spoil) that legit gave me chills as Drake and pals uncover what fate befell this legendary pirate alliance.

And holy crow the visuals in this game are mad! The lighting effects are some of the most realistic I've ever experience in any game! The textures, the weather effects are great! There are so many small details within the game's presentation! You'll see dust effects in old buildings, the character's sweat, their cloths get wet and full of dirt, there are permanent footprints in the sand where you've walked, and slide marks where you've slid. The flora within the environments look totally real (especially in the tropical locations), and periodically you'll run into wildlife or swarms of insects. The audio is realistic, and the game's musical score is very mystical and adventurous! JUST SO MUCH CARE WAS PUT IN THIS THING!!! And the locations you visit are wonderful, from Panama, to Italy, Scotland, Madagascar! And the secret pirate colonies of Libertalia and New Devon were unbelievably awesome to explore! Even though they were ruins; they felt lived in and intricate like real places, and the landmarks where totally awesome!!! It's so hard not to fanboy all over this thing!!!

The mechanics in this game are smooth, you do much more climbing and proper exploring in this game than in any other Uncharted game which was great! The climbing sections were so deep that they were almost puzzles in their own right, plus Naughty Dog added in a grappling hook and even a pic-axe later in the game that made the climbing more dynamic than ever. The clock tower section in particular was a masterful climbing puzzle in and of itself! Several chapters will drop you into a large open area and have you driving around in a Jeep or boat with the game's new driving mechanics! These are pretty great sections, the driving ones in particular make great use of a winch and take into account spinning out due to wet surfaces causing you to loose control. Like I said this game is bursting with detail! I looooved the car chase about halfway into the game that has you car surfing through the mud with your grappling hook and making you jump from car to car like a bad a**!

The game's combat mechanics work wonderfully, you have an auto-aim option if you suck (like me! ;D) but it don't matter too much because the game often sets you up wonderfully to pull off stealth kills, sometimes even allowing you to progress to the next area if you're able to sneak away without getting caught. I've never taken stealth quite as seriously in an Uncharted game like I have here! The multi-player in this game is pretty straight forward and bare, it utilises the game's mechanics well and turns some of the campaign's locations into interesting maps, a decent time waster if you feel like spending more time in this world! I imagine that there'll be a good deal of DLC support for the multiplayer (much like with Uncharted 3) but I'm not sure that I'll bite....

But wow..... I haven't even mentioned the awesome Crash Bandicoot scene and the epic Guybrush Threepwood cameo!.....This game is an absolute marvel, Naughty Dog just took every aspect of what it takes to make a good video game and ran away with it. It has one of the best narratives of any game I've played and is prolly the most technically impressive with regards to it's presentation. Add in the game's fluid mechanics and I can't say that this thing is anything other than perfect for me! I'll be playing this game for years to come, and I can't recommend it enough!!! :3