Pre-Game Hype
As a fan of the somewhat woolly termed ‘action- adventure’ genre and Indiana Jones, the Uncharted series is one of my automatic purchases on release. I’ve been with the games since the original Playstation 3 release that introduced us to Nathan Filli…, sorry: Drake, and co. The first game took on Tomb Raider’s steadily atrophying formula and won us all over with it’s beautiful design, interesting story and ridiculous action. The combat was very clunky and repetitive, but it did enough to get us to the masterpiece that was Uncharted 2, still one of my all time favourite games. With set pieces worthy of the best action movies, it set the bar for the genre so high few games can compare. Sadly, Uncharted 3 fell into the ‘repeat previous game’ formula for me, and Naughty Dog admitted to coming up with the set pieces first and then building a game around them. That, combined with the frustrating combat, led to quite a time break between the games.
During this break Tomb Raider was relaunched, and there were definite influences of Uncharted in it’s rebooted formula, leading to two brilliant games. Naughty Dog released the critically acclaimed The Last Of Us meanwhile, completely different from their previous formula.
So when Drake strolled back onto our screens at the PS4 launch I was excited, but apprehensive. Would it be another clone of 2, desperate for a share of the Tomb Raider market, or would it reinvent itself and assert its dominance over the archaeological action-adventure gaming demographic once again?
Plot

The relationships between the characters were complex, and evolved as the game went on to give us a deeper view into Drake’s world than we have ever seen. This was not like its predecessors; all guts and glory, this was a game about love, dedication and sacrifice. The last moments of the game were so poignant and unexpected that it moved me to near tears, and the person responsible for coming up with that scene deserves a pay rise as it took the game to the next level, just as it had reached the point where I thought it could not be topped.
Gameplay

The biggest success of Uncharted 4’s gameplay though is the set pieces. Without spoiling anything, this does not feel like a game built around 3 or 4 moments, but rather a coherent, tight game where the set pieces are part of the action. It was grandiose, but did not shove our faces in those moments with fixed cameras and say “LOOK AT THE HUGE THING THAT’S HAPPENING TO YOU, AREN’T WE COOL?!” like 3 did. It simply got on with the game, and there were several points where I suddenly realised I was in the middle of an epic set piece, but it was unobtrusive enough to hide behind the moment and just let me enjoy it.
In closing
So combine great gameplay, phenomenal story with spectacular visuals (I cannot get over just how beautiful this game is), a brilliant score by Henry Jackman, and some of the best hidden moments/ collectibles/easter eggs in any game, and you’ve got Uncharted 4. If you’ve never played the first three games, go and buy the remastered edition and play them, otherwise you will miss a lot of the nods to the series, plus you have missed some fantastic games. Then come back to 4, sit back and play one of the best games you may ever have the chance to experience. Trust me, you will thank me.
10/10
Johnny Di Girolamo / @jdigirolamo