I am a Man of Fortune, and I Must seek my Fortune.
-Henry Avery, 1694
Found on IMDb
Due to my grades gradually deteriorating in school, my family thought that it be better for me to put a pause on gaming and so they decided to take my PC away back in 2013. The last game I played on that pc was Call of Duty: Ghosts. And then it was years later when I got to have my own gaming pc again and the first thing i played on it was Uncharted 4.
After that, for a long time, my gaming needs meant only watching gameplay videos from popular YouTubers like PEWDIEPIE or RadBrad. Back in the Fall of 2016 when all the YouTubers started playing this game I felt the irresistible quench and thirst for playing it too like crazy. Usually after the incident , if I had to play a game, I had to lie and go to my friend’s house.
So I thought, that’s it, I’m going to stand up to my parents and say that’s enough, I’ll buy my own PC and if they don’t allow it I’m going to leave the house. But miraculously, they agreed. I couldn’t wait until the game dropped for PC’s as it was only a PS4 exclusive initially like as they always are. And when it dropped, it was the best 65$ I've ever spent. Worthwhile and even more.
Naughty Dog, notorious for their great in game cinematics and captivating stories released Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End back in 2016. Set in a world filled with pirates, puzzles and bobby traps, its mesmerizing visuals are something to behold.
You know, that’s what they do, Naughty Dog. They take one game at a time, give it their 100% and then produce something hard to compete with. Take “The Last of Us” for an example. It changed how I perceived zombie apocalypse action adventures. Like how they were dull and only FPS or TPS shooters. Only a select few in the last decade has made it through to that as fans' choice. Some might disagree with me and that’s their right. To me, they were dull until The last of Us came along.
Uncharted 4- Production, Plot, Gameplay and Graphics.
Found this beautiful illustration of libertalia on Deviant Art by Fonzzz002
Naughty Dog, as they stated, had started developing the title just after the release of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception in 2011. So they gave five years behind this project. The other titles in this franchise were too highly immersive respective of the technology when they were released. But As the last decade brought new success and trend to Open World games like GTA or Assassins Creed, the make the decisions to shift uncharted to that end too.
But unlike those games, where you have the whole map as an open world, in Uncharted 4 You have levels with smaller maps but the they were open world and everything was responsive. Even the ground textures. Rather than having mission-driven or quest-based game play, they made it look like you're experiencing chronological episodes of a really long movie. The episode is based on a few smaller but open-world maps. And it still had collectibles and Easter eggs as side quests.
You can choose between being all shooter no stealth or the other way around. My first thought about it when only watching the gameplays, like how would the grappling hook thing work? Skill or BS like Just Cause. But to my surprise, it was truly seemless.
And the high speed chases of trucks bikes and four-wheeler through exotic markets and well-designed villages were the best part of the game. Like how fast the game goes from slow intrepid puzzles to high speed chases or all-out gunfight is surprising. Like a flick on a light switch.
They later released a multiplayer but I've never tried it. Didn’t want to spoil the aftertaste of its captivating campaign.
The scaling is so grand all together. Credits
The game's plot revolves around brothers, Nathan Drake (Nolan North) And Sam Drake (Troy Baker, one of my fav voice actors) who Nate thought to have died years ago at a botched treasure hunt to find Henry Avery's Fortune. Later Sam comes back to Nate saying how he survived and spent the last 15 years of his life in prison. When a drug lord breaks him out, he holds the treasure hunt over Sam's head, to find him the fortune. And so the adventure begins once again.
The game opens with Nate being on a speedboat while getting shot at from pirates in a storm. And from there its a 13 hour long joyride.
From the get-go, the story is filled with a hyper-paced story line. Like it was the fastest 13 hours of my life I spent and after finishing it I was still fulfilled and happy. A little bit sad too.
The games VFX and texture immersion were one of the bests that year. From the canopies of Africa to Panamanian jungles, it was perfectly balanced. And the cherry on the top was the whole set design of the lost pirate city, Libertalia. I literally had goosebumps. Like if you have Enough ram, the scaling will look so vast that it's entrancing.
So that’s it and there you go, my experience about a beautiful game that I loved playing.
All the images are either Credited or from Reseters.com. A thread where the enthusiasts of Uncharted use the in-game photo mode to showcase the spectacular visuals of the game they find eye pleasing while playing.