What I think Uncharted 4 Needs to Strike Surefire Gold Again!

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I for some reason felt an urge to tread through Uncharted 3 to finish collecting all the treasures. Every aspect of this game still stuns me but it also got me thinking on what could be improved. Uncharted 3 to many feels somehow inferior to U2. I don't think there was any particular thing the team necessarily did "wrong". It was just that U2 was such a huge leap from the first game that it was virtually impossible for U3 to ever really compare. I sat and brainstormed what I would really want from the Next Uncharted titles, things that will evoke the same feelings many had with the second game.

 

Firstly, it should most assuredly be for PS4. More than 3 titles on the same console in the same series becomes really daunting. The likely hood of this is pretty much 100% tho so no worries. I have no clue what PS4 will truely hold in store but it is a safe bet to say graphics will play a key role. I just hope that they concentrate a tad more on RAM and over all processing power, as that is really what allows great gameplay.Which brings me to some of my other key points....

You've got MGS in my Uncharted!

I was so surprised to see the stealth elements added into U2 and instantly fell in love with the approach. The thing I loved about stealth was it was a different way to play. I felt this was really similar to MGS, a game where you technically never have to kill a single person, rather execute perfect stealth to get by. I like how Uncharted goes back and forth from Gunplay, Stealth, and Exploration and I think they just need to flesh this out more. One key way to do this is to add more branching paths, something frequently seen in MGS games. Uncharted in retrospect is fairly linear. The developers for the game talked about going "vertical" when thinking of exploration but branching paths that all together require different play styles I think could be the next step. I think gamers should have the option of going down route A to get to destination D but if they do it will lead to tons of gun fights, or go down route B which is mostly stealth, and route C which has a bit of action and puzzle solving. They seemingly had this sort of thing in mind with the multiplayer as there are always 2-3 ways to get to any objective point, but this is sorely missed in the single player.

 

Let the Story dictate the Set Pieces, not Vice Versa...

I remember Amy Hennig saying that the team thought of interesting locals that gamers would want to play in, so she took that and strung them together in a templated story. This sounded good in theory as a game SHOULD be about what is fun first, yet I could not shake the feeling that some points in U3 were filler. I think we all can agree, as cool and unique as the Ship Wrecked stages were, they could have been eliminated entirely as nothing noteworthy happens there. This is the total opposite of U2 which always felt fluent. The Action Movie style set peices are Uncharted's "hook" now so these are fairly important.

 

SuperHero Movie Syndrome: Killing the Villains

Ok, how many superhero movies that are based on another medium come and go? A lot, they are hollywoods biggest sellers. Yet I notices a fatal flaw in several, Spiderman, the original Batmans, XMen, etc. These movies commit a mortal sin as far as continuity goes.....they kill the villains. This is not to say we don't always think they should have a bullet in their head for their crimes against humanity, they definitely should. Yet part of the conflict is that the danger still remains even after they are defeated. The relationship becomes more dynamic because the Protaganist and Antagonists will have to try that much more harder to defeat them, next time not making the same mistakes. Also villains can become a fan favorite just like any other character, and to know you will never see them as an opposition again is a tad disheartening. I was so dissappointed to see DocOc and Green Goblin die in their first movies....what a cop out. They lost all manacing points for being utterly defeated Spiderman's first try, and this just isn't how the medium portrayed them. Imagine if The Dark Knight had killed the Joker? I think I would have quit superhero movies all together. The fear of his iminant return as the crowned prince of crime would have been muted, and deflated the whole movie(I know of the tragic reality of the actor is but that is irrelevant). I do realize I am speaking of Movies based on seperate mediums right now but I feel Uncharted has so much in common with them. Uncharted has phenomenal characterization and personalities. Many begged and pleaded for Elena to make a return because they just couldn't quit her. Eddy Raja was a fan favorite demi-villain of U1 and fans would have loved to see him come back to antagonize Drake another day but....oh wait, hes DEAD!? Same happens with every big villain of the series, the most harsh crime being killing Marlow in U3. She was such a well thought out villain, so much personality....only to get very little screen time and meet a fairly comical demise. I was so dissappointed to see this. I miss video game series of old where the villain was just as determined as the heroes and just wouldn't quit(Dr Robotnik, Neo Cortex, Ganandorf, Tonberry,etc). I am not saying that this should always be the case, sometimes you just cannot let the villain live. Yet to always kill them is detrimental as they don't feel so threatening. Uncharted should have went like this;Eddy Raja live, Navarro dead, Lazaravich dead, Talbot and Marlowe we think they are dead but they really lived. Who knows, Uncharted dips in and out of science fiction, stranger things have happened.

 

Puzzles that are not meant for 5 Year olds!

Ok, I get that they don't want to frustrate players too bad. Yet some of the games so called "puzzles".....are way too easy. I want to see more brain riddle inducing in these distractions from the monotanous gunplay. As I stated before, the more difficult ones can be saved for branching paths, so for those who cannot solve them they will always have a different route to take. The "Shadow" puzzle in U3 was brilliant and unique. It wasn't too crazy but it really got my brain juices going, and once I solved it I felt like a genius.

 

More Free Roaming

Remember the whole "going vertical" comment? Well here is where something needs to change. The single mysterious yellow brick path that perfectly pertrude from the single designated paths you need to follow needs to end. Its a tad boring. I would like to see something similar to Assassin's Creed's level of scaling. Anything else just feels "scripted" and not fun. I realized just how stale this was after being able to run a finger in a straight line in Golden Abyss and get the same effect as the PS3 versions. Depending on what the PS4 can handle they really need to broaden the traversal more. A game like Uncharted is mostly about the spectacle and the "WOW" moments inspired by exploration. Which makes it wierd that Uncharted games are so linear. Just a suggestion here, as I wouldn't want it to be too massive either.

 

Treasures Galore! Something to learn from the Golden Abyss

I love finding the treasures in these games. Those tricky bastards at Naughty Dog sucker me into walking slowly in each level trying my hardest to find a single little trinket. I am always super satisfied once I do find it. I will say that Uncharted Golden Abyss on Vita does treasures so much better. Those sadist hid them EVERYWHERE and not just traditional treasures. You also have marks where you have to kill certain enemies a few times to get them to give you rare drops. You have rubbings(not possible on console....that we know of) to spice things up as well. I LOVE THIS!!! It was yet another reminder that the only reason I even play Assassin's Creed 2 was for the hidden puzzles. The Mysteries in Golden Abyss also added cool little side stories and history for whatever the region you were currently in. You will have to play it to know what I mean by this.

 

Drake and Friends

Drake is almost always with a partner. Elena, Sully, Carter, Tenzan, Chloe, one of them is always with him. In maybe 10% of each game are you really alone. It baffles me how this game didn't have Main Campain coop (I know it mostly because they didn't want to hurt the pretty graphics). Uncharted is a very cinematic series, I hear from many people that they play it with their wife or kids sitting in the room watching like its a blockbuster flick. What if we just get a bit crazy ND and ........make a Coop? Now they can be apart of the action as well. Given this might interupt the cutscenes but I think the second player can live through not controling a character a few moments if it means we get to watch Drake in funny predicaments.

 

Uncharted 3: the Red Herring

Did anyone else feel like U3 built fans up to reveal something truly shocking in Drake's past....only for nothing to happen at all? Drake's Deception, where was the deception? Marlow had me hanging on every word expecting to find just a tiny morsel of why Drake is how he is. It was very cool to see and play as drake in his teen years. I just wanted to know MORE! I don't think this plot point ever really went anywhere and it really was dissappointing. Uncharted 4 needs to kill the vagueness of U3's story and give us actual dirt.

 

The Infamous Final Boss Fight

Personally, I like the final fist fight with Talbot. i just wasn't expecting that to be IT!!! The first game's Navarro battle was kind of a joke.  And in all honesty, while Lazaravich was the most stereotypical boss, his final fight was a lot more fun. Many 1st and 3rd person shooters find it extremely difficult to formulate an actual challenge in the Climax. I think the game that did it best...Killzone 2, Radec fight. LOVED THAT INVISIBLE KNIFE WIELDING LUNATIC! It had everything, that battle allowed varied levels of gameplay without feeling forced on the player just to surprise them. I love U3's added fist fighting mechanics, I just don't think that was the best way to end it. How it should have went; Talbot fist fight part one, Dajn interupted shoot out, Talbot fist fight part two with Dajn cronies, Just Talbot with both of you exhausted. Unless you are playing on Crushing difficulty, the Talbot fight had to be the easiest boss win I have had in a long time. Lets not repeat that again. The correct formula for any final boss fight should be it remixes bits of previous battles, forcing player to utilize all gaming mechanics learned prior yet none of them becoming excessive. So if Uncharted's gameplay style is to dictate the final fight, it needs to include: (Fist Fighting + Set Piece + Gunplay)^11 /10-15minutes = A Great Final Boss Fight.

 

Online

I love the game's online. The only thing I hate that they added is the "Gears" heavy running. Why? Why did they slow the characters down just to force you to hold yet another button with a time limit to sprint a decent speed? I find that to be stupid. Still manageable. Also I am glad they realized that the only way a gamer is putting in any effort with MP and buying DLC is if there are some Trophies for it. Otherwise there was no incentive to play it beyond a few hours. Not when there are other games to play in my back log anyway. This, they just need to keep up with the good work here.