A closer look at everything Uncharted 4 gets wrong

From physics puzzles to pacing and performance to promotion, Gamespresso's Matt covers everything that Uncharted 4 gets wrong.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Only agreed with the pacing, but please tell me why the game being 30 fps is wrong, especially when it is butter smooth and pretty much bug free?

And yet another one who falls on the shenanigans ND pull with the trailers... U4 your first N game mate?

[moegooner88]

Pacing was perfectly fine imho. The best one in the series after 2.

[KyRo]

Brilliant ending to a brilliant franchise but UC4 was very slow compared to the other games. Also the over the top omg set pieces were toned down a lot which dissapointed me a little bit but it will still be one of my fave franchises I've ever played

[opinionated]

You agree with the shit pacing? I'm impressed Xi. Honestly. We can be friends now.

OT: I agree with the pacing and banter. They ruined sully and Nate didn't get good until the end with Elena.

[TwoForce]

Nope, that doesn't mean everyone like you. Sure, people have same point of view like your and I do agree with you some points , but it doesn't mean we are friend.

[opinionated]

@twoforce
You don't have to like me and 100% agree with me to be my friend 2. I can't stand many of my friends. That's life 😉

[Utalkin2me]

@Stonewall

I bet your friends feel same about you, im sure.

[TwoForce]

Yeah right. 🙄

[opinionated]

@utalking
Oh they do lol. We still got each other's back over some random tho.

@2
Yes I am right. We are friends.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Well yes! Pacing was not like U2, but I understand and I welcome the change nonetheless. I take exploration over linearity and too much combat. Not ever since Golden Abyss i felt like an explorer in this series, something which has always been missing in this series.

That just one minor gripe tbh.

[game4funz]

The best moments for me was with nate and Elena and/or sully.

Sam was a bust.

[goldwyncq]

That part about Scotland being the worst paced section of the game is spot on. I lost count on how many times you had to slide on gravel and throw your rope at the last second.

[TwoForce]

Agree.

[LackTrue4K]

Lol! Last week there was an article about "

"Uncharted 4, month later can we stop talking about it now"

...and yet, her we are.

[WellyUK]

because at the end of the day 60fps is better...

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Bollocks. A game being 30 fps is not wrong by any means. Get over it. Not evey game needs to be 60 fps to be enjoyable

[WellyUK]

I didn't say it did... But 60 fps is 100% better in every way.

[Imalwaysright]

http://www.videogamer.com/p...

Can't wait to play PS exclusives at 60 fps on the now confirmed Neo.

[JoeDG]

The pacing was a little bit slow and the gunfights feal not really good imo.
For me uncharted 2 was little bit better.
Playing right now tomb raider on one and mannnn it's really good. The ps4 version will rock's...

[3-4-5]

30 FPS is fine for anybody who is intelligent.

It's mostly dumb trolls and whiny entitled morons who demand 60 fps.

[Imalwaysright]

Or people that value gameplay above all else. Even Naughty Dog said that playing the PS3 version of TloU at 30 FPS felt broken after playing the remaster at 60 fps so that must mean that they're "dumb trolls and whiny entitled morons"... right?

[ShadowKnight]

Why do we keep getting article's about this?

[KingIceSonic]

Because these journalists know that you can't say anything bad about Uncharted without its fans saying something

[Number-Nine]

There were too many times throughout the game where you spend your time doing very little. There just weren't many good battles or memorable scenes

[asmith2306]

"There were too many times throughout the game where you spend your time doing very little" - yes but that time was taken up with story elements which was much better than trudging through wave after wave of enemies just for the sake of it, like in previous games in the series. This game felt far more mature than it's predecessors.

[stephenwright]

I agree, endless physics puzzles also didn't sit well with me.

[Christopher]

I think it was just pacing. It was very disjointed at times. I don't mind the climbing elements, but at times that's all there was and then suddenly there was just combat scene after combat scene. Spacing things out would have been a much better experience, IMHO.

[Blacklash93]

Nothing wrong with the 30fps; the visuals couldn't have looked as good at 60. As far as playability, the framerate was completely acceptable and good enough.

I never felt that the game suffered from outright poor pacing at any point (that said the walk-sim sections are gonna be a chore on replays), although I'll agree there were a few segments that felt slightly longer than they needed to be. There's some small slumps but overall, the pacing is really tight - not much different from Uncharted 2.

I thought the banter was roughly as good as it's always been, and the marketing is a non-issue if you ask me.

[Rumb13stiltzkin]

MINOR SPOILER:

I just reached the final chapter this morning. The narrative mostly hits the right emotional notes (nothing with Sully basically raising Nate and playing the father figure?) and the visuals are fantastic, but the gameplay felt to me like fluff between cutscenes.

As the game progressed, enemy engagements felt more like an annoyance than an exciting prospect, most of the action sequences had me feeling like I was just going through the motions, and the platforming seemed more like showcases for the environment than anything else. I rarely felt a sense of danger or adventure - just that I was completing tasks to unlock the next cutscene.

It's a very solid if not great game, and a real triumph in cinematic storytelling - but somewhat of a hollow gameplay experience.

[deafdani]

Which is something that ails The Last of Us as well. At least I found the gameplay more engaging in Uncharted 4 than TLOU, but it was still less fun for me than the previous 3 games.

Still a pretty good game on its own right. It's not the worst Uncharted game, because that would imply it's bad; just the least good of the bunch.

[Jburr94]

For every positive article posted about Uncharted 4, a negative one has to follow. That's just how it works, apparently.

[WellyUK]

it's a good thing to see both sides of the coin. Look at overwatch, there are very positive articles and negative ones. I don't see why everyone gets so mad over it. If you don't agree with it then it's as simple as not clicking on the article in the first place.

[Jburr94]

True, to be honest I don't even know why I get upset. Honestly UC4 is very forgettable. Now The Last of Us..

[SynestheticRoar]

In this circumstance just request hits. Don't engage in writing nonsense.

[DerekFlint007]

One of the things that game developers do that i utterly despise with a passion and Uncharted 4 is particularly guilty of is, draining the screen of light and colour and adding blood effects to the outer edges of the screen whenever your character takes a hit. I played the game on hard setting and the effect was so badly implemented that i couldn't see what the heck was happening onscreen for the most part and i played it on a large screen with 4k upscaling. It pissed me right off that the developers have created the most sumptuous visual treat for the eyes only to shit all over it with this awful effect.

The pacing, i thought was terrible. I lay the blame for this purely at Neil Druckmann, who in my opinion after the incredible success of The Last Of Us has been handed far too much control over the project. He obviously can't take to any criticism as was demonstrated when he had a tester thrown out for voicing his disdain, admittedly he used rather salty language, but what it showed to me, is his inability to accept the opinions of others. Purely speculation on my part, but this is what i believe ultimately led to Amy Hennings departure from the project as months of her her work was thrown down the toilet in favour of taking Druckmann's approach, coming off the success of LOU.

I have platinumed the first 3 Uncharted games on 3 separate occasions no less and as soon as i completed them, i instantly wanted to play through them again from the start. Not so, with Uncharted 4 however. Tedium began to set in towards the latter stages and by the end i was just bloody glad that it was all over. There was at least 2 or 3 chapters, that in my opinion served no purpose whatsoever, other than to make me groan and say, ogh for fu[K$ sake not that tired old bloody chestnut again with the crates to reach higher ground only to shimmy around yet another 150th sea view perilous cliff face, only to be rewarded with an onscreen weapon hud practically ruining the element of surprise that we will be facing yet more copy and paste identity kit bad guys. I simply have no desire to platinum what ultimately became a slog fest for me.

The melee moves, for me do not feel anywhere near as satisfying as prior instalments. The game also suffers from a floaty feeling at times and it feels like the game actually takes away control and plays itself. Countless times 1 single melee button press would lead to a canned animation sequence. It had little to none of the inredible bombastic set pieces of the PS3 games such as trains, tanks, sinking ships, burning collapsing buildings, horse chases or helicopters too name but a few. The best set piece in the game, they spoiled by showing it off in it's entirety at E3.

In conclusion, the Uncharted series has provided me with many of my most memorable game playing experiences of all time and while i think Uncharted 4 is a breathtaking stellar technical achievement and is littered with incredible moments, it did not, for me capture that magic of the older games as those moments were too few and far between. I'm a Sony chap through and through and i'm just giving my honest opinion. I'd still score it in the 8 to 9 range, while the older games were all 10's for me. I also appreciate i'm very much in the minority and i congratulate Naughty Dog for yet another hugely successful game, i'm just nit picking certain elements i disliked.

[iliimaster]

i was afraid of picking this game up because of what part 3 was i still havnt beat part 3 yet because of the pacing in that one sneak/jump/climb generic bad guys but not waves of them just clusters so it makes it harder getting the trophys for speciifc kills more of a grind, tomb raider to me is my jumping off point from t his game to another

[Minute Man 721]

Uncharted 4 was kinda of a letdown compared to Uncharted 2. They showed the best part last E3

[stephenwright]

Uncharted 2 certainly felt like a tighter experience in terms of pacing.

[Minute Man 721]

And set pieces

[WellyUK]

Well it had a pretty poor story and ending, plus pacing issues. Very good game but it has some flaws such as the MP and the micro transactions that shouldn't be on a game with such tacked on MP.

[Savsky]

1. Please elaborate on the poor story.

2. The microtransactions are all cosmetic.

[WellyUK]

1. the story is near enough pointless it adds literally nothing to the story of the series apart from Nathan has a brother...

2. Everyone bitched at Overwatch's micro transactions yet Naughty Dog gets a free pass...

[WellyUK]

I played the game I just found it disappointing, as a final game in the series the story is just lacking. There is no big story moment through out the game. It's a very good game but it's story was poor to me.

Overwatch was designed to be a MP game so why the hell should it have a SP... Oh wait because entitled SP gamers think everything should be a 12 hour SP game. In terms of what you get in the loot boxes on Overwatch the actual skins are way better than the crap you get in Uncharted 4 which are basically skins from the SP... Naughty dog did the same in TLoU those shady Micro transactions for guns and perks sorry but they get a free pass for stuff other companies would get destroyed for.

[Savsky]

Don't know if you made it to the epilogue or not. Because that adds tremendously to the story. And secondly, overwatch has cosmetic microtransactions and I haven't seen much of anyone complain.

[formanbradley]

I hate the Last of Us, can someone please let me know if they basically made it The Last of Uncharted so I can avoid it if so? Yes, quiet time and character/story development are important, but too much just makes me wanna pop in a movie and just say f*** it. Too many times in TLOU was I looking for pallets, ladders, or walking at snail pace listening to a conversation.

[DerekFlint007]

Yes in some respects. If you read my post up above, that is what i am alluding to in my criticism of Neil Druckmann.

I really enjoyed The Last Of Us, but you nailed it for me when you say The Last Of Uncharted. I think Mr Druckmann is a stellar talent and he created a masterpiece with LOU along with the team at Naughty Dog, although i fully appreciate that it was not to your taste. However with this final instalment of the franchise in Drake's adventures i wanted a balls to the wall, guns blazing, all out action packed game going out with a bang and not a poorly paced, boring to play in many areas slog fest. Many parts of the game are absolutely breathtakingly stunning but are dragged down by far too many needlessly drawn out boring sections, i'm however in the minority as most seem to love the game. I speak from experience as i have platinumed Uncharted 1, 2 and 3 on 3 separate occasions. Twice on PS3 on different psn accounts and a further time when the games were remastered for PS4. I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to platinum Uncharted 4 and was glad when it finally ended. In summation i wanted a Naughty Dog Uncharted 4 game, not a Neil Druckmann Last Of Uncharted fusion. He sapped the fun out of it for me.

How i'd score the games Uncharted 1 - between 9.5 to 10
Uncharted 2 - all day long a 10
Uncharted 3 - between 9 to 9.8

Last Of Us - 10

Uncharted 4 - between 7.5 to 9.1

[formanbradley]

Thank you for your input, and for saving me $60

[Snakefist30]

Nope I wont give u clicks!

[Ceaser9857361]

One thing i have learnt is no games can satisfy everyone.. Witcher 3, GTAV, Red dead redemption , Last of Us and Now Uncharted 4 has been bashed and as well as have been highly praised.. Also Opinion differs .. I disagree alot of points but its his opinion Personally its 10/10 in my books and i enjoyed playing UC4 .. Sadly its Nathan's last journey and we may not see another Uncharted game happening ....

[Kyizen]

You can feel Neil's hand in the pacing those slower moments reminded me alot of the last of us which I loved. While they were new to UC the typical UC moments definately delivered.