10 Q Reviews: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – time to find a legendary lost treasure. Again. Again. Again.

Videogames reviewed in 10 straight-to-the-point questions, every Wednesday

Game: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Platform: PlayStation 4
Time to beat: 20 hours

 

Q1: Who’s this videogame for?

Have you played the previous Uncharted games and enjoyed them? Also, do you like the Indiana Jones films (not counting the fourth)? Then this game is for you! If you’re not convinced, here’s a quick test to check if you might like it: watch this 15 minute fan made video with Nathan Fillion.

 

Did you like that? This short film beautifully captures the essence of the game, better than most (or all!) of the videogame movie adaptions.

 

Q2: What’s the story like, and does it require any pre-existing knowledge?

The structure of the story in Uncharted 4 is similar to that of the previous games. First, Nathan Drake, the protagonist, learns about a lost treasure, a thing of legend and incalculable value, more or less at the same time as some bad guy learns about it. This bad guy seems to have infinite resources at their disposal, like a whole army, planes, cars, trucks…. Makes you really wonder: if they actually get the treasure at the end, would it make up for the costs? Anyway, the game is a chase across the planet to see who gets to the treasure first. You get shot at a lot and Nathan Drake tallies up more kills than the Spanish Flu on steroids.

The story itself is completely independent from the previous Uncharted games, and you will understand it without having played them. But there are recurring characters and winks and mentions to the previous games. If you want to fully understand it, then I recommend playing the previous games.

Q3: What’s the learning curve like?

It’s not complicated stuff, if you want to survive remember to take cover, point and shoot.

 

Q4: What are the controls like?

Like in other Uncharted games: most of the time you will be jumping through levels or shooting at the enemies, and there is never an issue with the controls.

There are several levels where the developers mix up the gameplay a bit and you drive vehicles, dive underwater, but the controls are always explained and straight forward.

 

Q5: Does it have split-screen?

No.

 

Q6: How’s the online component?

To be honest, I haven’t tried it…. I buy Uncharted games for their campaigns, not for their multiplayer. But I have been reading up on it and it seems interesting, I might give it a go one day!

 

Q7: How’s the presentation?

If you have played other Uncharted games you know that they look stunning, and Uncharted 4 is no exception. Spectacular animations, graphics, videos, dialogue, everything…

 

Q8: What are similar games / alternatives you’d recommend?

Evidently, the previous Uncharted games (go for the Nathan Drake Collection). Tomb Raider is the closest other alternative, but you can certainly try other action adventure games like God of War or Horizon Zero Dawn.

 

Q9: Anything you wish you knew before going in?

I like to get all the references in a story and one or two times I missed them in the game, even though I have played the previous games. The problem is I played them several years ago when they came out and I forgot bits and pieces… A quick refresher of their stories and characters would have been good.

 

Q10: Should I buy it?

Yes, absolutely. And if you haven’t played the previous Uncharted games, grab a copy of The Nathan Drake Collection too J

 

 

Final rating:

10 out of 10 legendary lost treasures