After months of saving I finally bought the Playstation 4 PRO. A few people have asked me why I waited so long to buy one as they know how much I love games, the honest answer is that I was happy with my XBOX One & had enough games to play on it. However, over the last 4-6 months there have not been enough good exclusives to keep me occupied, whereas the Playstation 4 has so many. I easily have 15 games that I already really want to play on the Playstation 4. Bottom line, YAY!
So, you buy one of the most powerful consoles on the market & the first game you decide to play is Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection, why? Well, I really want to play a Thief's End & wanted a bit of context for the game as I have only really played Uncharted Golden Abyss on the PS Vita. I also feel playing the other games would help give me a greater appreciation for the not only the series but for the new game as well.
I'm sure at this stage you have got used to me comparing food to video games, I sometimes wonder what that says about me? Anyway here goes, while playing Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection I had to ask myself was I eating a tasty KFC meal including sides & a drink or was I eating a kid's Happy Meal?
This time I have decide to do the review a little different, I'm going to discuss the highs & lows of each of the games but instead of giving final thoughts on each title I'm going to do one overall one.
It only makes sense as I am reviewing this game as a collection rather than just three separate games.
Let's get the ball rolling with Drakes Fortune.
How best to describe Nathan Drake (also known as Nate)? He is a lovable rogue, mixed with parts Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, Prince of Persia & Nathan Fillion. His partner in crime is Victor Sullivan better know as Sully. He comes across as a little cold & ruthless to start with but slowly you see a different side to him & you get to see what Nate might become in the future. Then there is the spunky reporter Elena Fisher, who is fishing for her big story (see what I did there...forget it) & is hoping that Nate' search for Sir Francis Drake's treasure will give her just that. She never shy's away from danger & is never afraid to wade into the thick of things.
The opening scenes show Nate & Elena finding Sir Francis Drake's coffin but what do they find inside? Is it a body? No, instead there is a notebook that indicates not only did Francis Drake fake his death but also seems that he may have found the City Of El Dorado. Que bad guy Gabriel Roman who seems to be looking for City Of El Dorado too. He is calm, collected, ruthless & British.
As always I wont reveal any more about the story but I will say this, it starts out interesting & full of promise but near the end it wains a lot. Overall a promising story that become a little boring.
I won't be over critical of the visuals as the game is almost 10 years old but being honest it doesn't look bad. The environments are interesting & colourful but sometimes lack detail. Some of the character movements look a little off, this is especially noticeable when Drake is swimming. On the plus side the character designs & lighting effects look great. I also really like how on occasion loose leafs will blow across your path. This may seem like a minor thing but it really helps make the environment seem more organic.
The music is composed by Greg Edmonson who has worked on movies & TV series including; Martian Law, Lucky Town, Bounty Killer, King of The Hill the animated series & hold your breath, Firefly. Him being a part of Firefly already makes him awesome, if you haven't watched the series & you like the idea of space bandits/cowboys/pirates then you will love the show - also watch Cowboy Bebop & Outlaw Star.
While listening to the soundtrack again the other day I could definitely hear the influence of Firefly. There is nice use of brass & pipe sounds to give a jungle like sound, it also helps to create a great feeling of action & exploration. My favorite pieces included; 'Nate's Theme', 'Uncharted Island', 'Plane Wrecked', 'Drowned City', 'Treasure Vault'
Onto the tasty meat that is the game play. I really liked that there were so many difficulty options to choose from, it reminded me some of the old school games & immediately made me think of replaying the game through at a later date on higher difficulties.
The weapons were fun but I wished there had been a greater variety of them. Grenades were easily my favorite weapon. Explosions looked awesome & I love how enemies are often launched into the air from the force of them. While it may seem like a minor detail I really liked that some cover was destructible, I felt it added an intensity to the gameplay. I liked the over dramatic deaths especially when enemies throw themselves in different directions.
There were however some negatives to the gameplay. Some areas looked climbable but aren't & often made the game feel very restrictive & linear. Shooting while driving the jet ski I found to be a giant pain in the behind & was very happy when those sections were over. As a whole though some very solid gameplay & I genuinely had fun.
by XMenouX on Deviant Art
The sequel doesn't pull any punches & had me hooked straight away, from the opening scene it's clear to see that Drake is already in a bad state. Of course misery needs company & Sully returns, this time he feels a lot more fleshed out, he can be wise cracking & seems like he is a bit of ladies man. The bond between him & Drake is much more apparent than in the first installment & helped me invest in both characters more. New comer Chloe Frazer help adds to the team dynamic; sassy, cheeky & maybe a little untrustworthy. Of course I couldn't not mention Harry Flynn, who provides Nate with an offer he cannot refuse. He is overly confident & I found him no where near as likable as the other characters.
This time you are on the hunt for Marco Polo's lost fleet, but why? Well it's turns out Marco might of found the city of Shambhala (also known as Shangri-La) & perhaps may have take the Cintamani Stone which is a really massive sapphire - who doesn't want one of those? Naturally Nate is not the only one looking for it, our bad guy this time is Zoran Lazarevic a badass to the extreme & makes Gabriel Roman look like a teddy bear by comparison, a really small one not those six foot tall ones, they are scary.
The darker story of the sequel is balanced well with light hearted moments & comic relief from the characters. The story is very engaging & has a pretty good ending apart from the slightly annoying boss.
Without a doubt Among Thieves is a lot more visually impressive than Drake's Fortune. This time around you get to experience Mountains, Jungles & Nepal. The character designs look more refined, the snow looks realistic as you walk through & it is one of the many details like this that really make the game immersive. It's hard to believe that Among Thieves was only released just two years after the original, the improvements on the visuals is remarkable.
Greg Edmonson brings his musical talents back for Among Thieves & this time with a more broader sound. I found the music to be more noticeably present than in the original but this is not bad thing especially during action sequences.
The music this time around often had a more serious & somber tone which works well with everything that is happening in the story. I really liked the heavier use of strings used this time around which was great for creating different atmospheres in the game. My favorite pieces include; 'The City's Secret', 'Reunion', 'The Monastery' & the 'Gates of Shambhala'.
The game play was much improved over Drake Fortune, Nate is in the thick of it from the beginning & the action is definitely more frequent. The paths that can be taken aren't as obviously highlighted as before, handholds for example don't look as artificial & look more part of the background.
This installment focuses more on stealth & tactics, sometime this work really well, other times...not so much. At it's core Among Thieves is an action adventure game. I found the melee combos were more polished & the combat flowed a lot better. There is much more variety with weapons this time around, they also feel & handle much better. The new running sections are a lot of fun along with feeling pretty intense.
There were not too many bad points but one of the biggest I felt was Nate's notebook. For the most part it seems pointless, I would prefer they either remove it as a feature or have Drake utilise it more.
While it seems a strange thing to complain about I just don't like things that seem pointless or under developed. All in all though some great gameplay & a great improvement over the original.
by Nanaga on Deviant Art
This time around you get to see & play as kid Nate & you find out how he first meets Sully. I like the way Naughty Dog have focused on the relationship between these two characters because in my mind there is no Nate without Sully. There are familiar faces who return for the third installment there are also a few new ones. Charlie Cutter is one of my favorite new characters; a geezer, a hard man & he doesn't like small spaces. Nate opposing force this time is Katherine Marlowe & her right-hand man Talbot, they also seem to have a small army at their disposal.
The story this time returns to Sir Francis Drake & his secret Voyage to Arabia to find the lost city of Ubar. Nate looks to follow in his foot steps but this time he seems to be more driven & slightly obsessive, something that those around him aren't afraid to point out. Nate's struggle & need for answers seems more real than in the previous two installments, he isn't just doing it for thrill of it, he needs to do it.
There were some negatives to the story, I felt overall the the bad guys motivations seemed a little weak although they did help to flesh out his back story. I also feel while it is not always necessary to answer every question it would have nice to see what happens to some of the other characters in the game. The story is good but I felt Among Thieve did it better.
The visuals in the Uncharted series just keeps getting better & better, it makes me really excited to see what the next installment looks like. Drake's Deception has even more varied backgrounds than previous installments & the desert areas looking fantastic. While the game looks great there are two areas that really showcase how impressive the game looks. One area is through a set of caves, it looks amazing the way daylight comes through at certain points & some parts are just jaw dropping. The second is later in the game & features a ship graveyard, I won't mention anymore that that but wow just wow. Once again another visual spectacle.
Greg Edmonson returns for Drake Deception & with a new sound direction. It is hard to fully put my finger on it but the score this time definitely sounds more deserty? Is that a word? Sounds likes a word. It feels more fast paced & intense than the games were previously & utilises a more varied arrangement of instruments.
Some of my favorite piece were; 'Atlantis of the Sands', 'Badlands', 'Iram of The Pillars', 'Arachnophobia', 'Sink or Swim', 'Shootout'. While it was a great score I couldn't help feeling Among Thieves was better.
Hmm what I can say about the gameplay? Well it wasn't awful but certainly felt like a slight step backwards. The fighting felt very loose, no real power in the movements & the close up camera angles helped to draw attention to this. While there are more actions you can preform I didn't feel they greatly improved melee combat. Kid Nate's movements felt wrong, he almost seems to be able to move faster & jump greater distances than his adult counterpart. I know what you are thinking 'that is only natural he is a kid', the issue I had is that Nate's movements as an adult were often overly aggregated so the kid version came across as a little ridiculous. The puzzles are a little annoying, in the previous games they were far & few between but now there is an over abundance of them that just feel unnecessary. I feel maybe Naughty Dog took a lot of flack about the first two not having many & over compensated in this one.
While there are quite a few negatives there were many positives. Killing enemies stealthy or in close quarters results in a slight slow-mo & Nate stealing the enemies weapons or pulling a pin on their vest & kicking them out of harms before they blow up. There are a number of new weapons that look & feel great, they have also improved the other weapons. The drug sequences are pretty cool & are very trippy. The chapters containing ships are fantastic, not only from an action perspective but also from a visual one.
Overall it was a mixed bag with the gameplay, the parts that were good were really good & the parts that were bad were, well really bad. Not an unpleasant experience but I was hoping either for more of the same or more improvements but definitely did not expect to go backwards.
by JokerSyndrom on Deviant Art
So after 40 hours plus of playing I came to the end of it all & what did I think? If I take it as one complete game then I would say that it was really good, with many great characters, stunning visuals, some great musical pieces & for the most part great gameplay. However if I measured them as individuals games I don't think I would have been so kind. As a whole the series has gotten better, aside from a few missteps & I'm certainly looking forward to playing A Thief's End.
No comments:
Post a Comment