Topic: Uncharted 4

[ender]

I've never played an Uncharted game until now. I've played Naughty Dog's previous games for the most part – Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, and most of The Last of Us. I think they're great at creating interesting worlds and characters. I think Uncharted 4 is a very interesting world with interesting characters. My only problem is I'm amazed at how infuriated I am at times in how linear it really is. I used to love point and click adventures – all highly linear.

Why now am I frustrated by a game that is essentially that, yet with more illusion of choice? I think the illusion of choice in the day and age of truly open-ended games is what feels claustrophobic. At times, boring. Sometimes I feel like I'm not playing a game, but watching a very long b-grade movie (let's face it, the story is pretty by the numbers – nothing even worthy of a decent film) while every hour or so I'm engaged to mash a few buttons in sequence. This is all very frustrating for me because I do like what the game is doing – outside of it almost not being much of a "game". Maybe it gets better further into the game?

Just don't tell the rabid Uncharted fans, I don't want any death threats.

[K-man]

I purchased and played the first three, but I'll find a way to play 4 without purchasing it.  2, in my opinion, was the pinnacle of the series prior to 4.  3 is officially the point to where the series began to feel a little long in the tooth. There were some amazing set pieces, sure, but I think the overall formula began to take on a "been there, done that" feeling.  I hope they kill the series after 4, or at least put it on a long hiatus.

They are the Summer popcorn flicks of the video game world.  That is a good or bad thing, depending on what you're looking for in a game.

[Quemaqua]

This is exactly why I can't stand the Uncharted games. I want to like them for the good stuff they offer, but they just don't hold my interest for more than 10 minutes. The only one I REALLY played was the first, but the brief time I spent with the others, or watching my friends play them, pretty much solidified my opinion. I don't think they're bad games, nor do I begrudge people for liking them, I just got really tired of 3rd person cover shooters a long time ago, and I'd generally rather play my games than watch them.

[PyroMenace]

I love them just for what they are since everything else out there goes for non-linear/open world, plus the uncharted games are the best of that genre. For me they are a good break from everything else out there, just sit back and enjoy the show. Uncharted 4 is probably going to be the main reason I buy a PS4 eventually. But yea, if you're not enjoying the story or characters, I wouldn't even bother to keep playing, different strokes.

[ender]

Yeah, for me it's a very weird feeling. I appreciate what they're doing – I think it's pretty amazingly executed. But I really get bored easy these days when the gameplay feels contrived – I feel caught between watching a movie and playing a video game. In a lot of ways it just makes me wish the game had more to offer in the mechanics of how you get things done – it all feels so easy and repetitive that I don't feel a challenge. Going to keep playing it for a bit longer to see if it picks up – I played for about 4.5 hours last night, and large percentages of that were just watching lots of dialog and pushing boxes around and climbing things.

Funny you say that Que, that was my thought last night - I hate watching games. Let me play!

[Cobra951]

From the way this game has been enshrined over the past week, by the press and fanboys alike, I thought it must have been developed by gods.  Thanks for bringing it down to Earth.  The complete linearity you describe is most disappointing.  I never much liked point-and-clicks, or any mechanics that just move a plot perfunctorily along a rigid path.  That's what movies are for.  Like you, I hate watching games as if they were movies.  Let me play, and moreover, let what I do matter beyond turning pages in a script.

Not having played the other Uncharted games, I guess I won't miss this one.  But I did hope it was the killer app that would motivate me to get a PS4 Neo/4K/whatever eventually.

[K-man]

To Uncharted's credit, they do the "illusion of choice" thing really well. But for me i'ts one of those games I'll reach the end with and never play again.

[ender]

It's certainly well made. I played more last night – and there are some truly amazing sequences that happen. I got really excited about the game... then I was left shoving more boxes around to jump from one thing to the next. Very touch and go in how I feel about the gameplay. I think games like The Witcher 3 do the balancing act between open gameplay, lengthy dialog and cut scenes and interesting mechanics much better.

I think the disconnect between all the modes of playing feel very forced and not cohesive. After a really fun action sequence, I don't want to be wandering around an area figuring out which storage crates I need to push next to a ledge so I can jump across – that rigidity feels very frustrating, instead of a game like Metal Gear Solid 5, where I make the decision on whether I want an action sequence or to employ gymnastics to sneak by people. Being stuck in one mode of play to get to one I enjoy more is frustrating in this day and age.