There is something to be said about establishing a mascot for a console. Mario and Sonic did it effortlessly in the 80's and 90's, and everyone else spent decades chasing their heels. Sony had a large scale, and successful protagonist in Crash Bandicoot that still sees success in sales of remakes. And yet, he was never able to stand quite that tall. In the end, the staying power of the prospective game plays a big part. We all played Crash Bandicoot, and as much as everyone praises the classic nature of the series, we all know good and well that the game didn't offer nearly enough depth and staying power to be considered flagship worthy.
The game I'm reviewing has really brought together and culminated a series in a way that has eked out its own niche. Uncharted is a series that I was reluctant to get into for years. It first launched in 2007 with Drake's Fortune, and had several titles over the years on Sony's last 2 big consoles. I entered the series with my purchase of Golden Abyss for the PS Vita. I still believe that was a good entry point. My criticism of Uncharted in the past, was what I assumed was a lack or replayability. Yeah, you played a gorgeous looking title, but it seemed to be on rails, and very predictable from what I saw. It gained a huge following over the years, and Golden Abyss opened my eyes a bit. When I played the game, I was floored by how detailed and captivating the game was. While it was a funneled action adventure in some aspects, I immediately could see myself playing the game again, when I saw how involved and detailed each aspect of it was.
Uncharted is the story of Nathan Drake, who is a very knowledgeable explorer and excavator or sorts. He travels the world with a few friends, such as Sully, who is his navigator of sorts. The uncover secret ruins and artifacts, usually at the risk of their lives from natural perils, or villainous ones. He meets different people on his journey, and his wife, who for some reason has a different last name, accompanies him. Actually, he doesn't really have a name anyway. He was an orphan, and created his name from a book alluding to fortunes that he and his brother discovered before running away. The last game, which is this one- A Thief's End, ties all of that together, which was very good.
In this last chapter, Nate is living a normal life working for an excavation company, diving into deep waters to recover wrecks and ruins. He lives at home, with his memorabilia tucked away from his previous adventures, reminiscing in his attic at times. His brother, Sam, who he thought died when then were children being chased from a mansion, is actually in prison with a man named Salazar, who breaks him out and demands he find a treasure of Captain Avery's, which is hidden somewhere in Madagascar. There ends up being a sick twist to that whole story. But in the end, a former partner of Sam's and Nathans- Rafe, ends up on the trail for the treasure, and the lives of both of them. He proves to be a troublesome, and sick adversary, who is dangerous until the very end of the game. It is his army, in coalition with a female soldier, who attack and threaten Nate and Sam, as they reunited and seek the treasure together.
You do a lot of platforming in this game, and puzzle solving at times to get through secret caves and ruins. At random and often times, you encounter combat scenes with shoot outs. One thing about this game, is that they don't really have a sense of balance when it comes to that. In both Uncharted games I played, each gun fight in the later stages of the game, is basically you and perhaps 1 other person against a literal army. You will be floored by the amount of enemies they expect you to beat single handedly. And in A Thief's End, you encounter enemies with armor and advanced explosives. In fact, they often seem to surround you instantly, and possess superhuman awareness. I would be picking off perimeter enemies and retreat to the only corner I could find, to see myself rained down upon from all sides by enemies I couldn't see on often occasion. It felt like the shots were coming from heaven.
And the realism is one-sided in combat. When you apply accurate shots to enemies trying to conserve ammo, I've had them survive kill shots, or point-blank explosions, right in my face to then surround me. Because the thing about this game's combat scenarios, is that you have to be quick in thinning the numbers. When you have 30 elite soldiers coming at you, and a few of them survive 3 direct grenades, you've lost ground and ammo.
The game has a wide assortment of handguns, shotguns, AR's, Snipers, and Rocket Launchers, and grenades on deck. Your health replenishes with time, but there are no health items. You use the old cover system from so many other games, to tackle units. You have melee sequences that you can initiate with most enemies, along with a counter system that you battle with, in order to disarm them or defend. It's pretty quick and efficient.
Graphically, this series is special. It has always utilized state of the art graphics, and provided a controllable cinematic experience to the player. That was the objective. As you explore, you go to different locales and settings indoor and outdoor, and the level of detail is like real life. In the beginning and end of the game, you are in Nate's house, waiting to go to the next events, and I couldn't help go through each of the bedrooms and bathrooms, interacting with items, and taking in how life-like it was, down to the sunlight coming in through the windows. When traveling in vehicles during your travels, it's the same. The outdoor settings of Madagascar, Europe and Asian countries was breathtaking. Standing on the hills in Italy and looking out over the mountains was amazing. And when the game slowed down, you just felt like spending time enjoying the layout of a rich mansion, or the bustling streets of a country's market. And the game does a good job encouraging that. You have a treasure system, where random treasures are scattered throughout nooks of the game, according to region. So you don''t really feel like you are on rails. You can wander off to side roads, and marshes and sections of mountain ranges, and ruins, and abandoned cities. In little corners, you will find these treasures, which serve as unlockables.
The sound was excellent. The soundtrack was gripping and well done, while not super melodical. I enjoyed the life-like banter and reactions of the characters. The humor was well done, and kept the game light, which saves it from a broken CD at times. The game will go from quite an serene, to loud and dangerous at time, when fights break out. You can also have side conversations at times, with dialogue that expounds on the story. Audio has the proper distortion when diving under water, and really feels isolated. During rainy sequences, the storm audio is realistic and panoramic.
All in all, the games in this series are long. They tend to be 22 chapters on average, from what I've seen. This one had a prologue and epilogue, which took some of the play time up. It's such a grand experience, that you won't have a problem playing it again. It seemed as if it marked an end to the life of Nate Drake, but that is resolved at the end. He does get to resume a family life, and it was good to see that wind down. I honestly wouldn't have minded the game being twice as long, as I look back now. But the gun fights will have you crying for the finish. Not only did those seem impossible at times, but the final fight with Rafe, was a bit psychotic. He really was a raved out lunatic. I enjoyed putting him down. It was annoying that he was allowed so much quarter in the first place, as dangerous as he is. In the end, he turns on and loses his love interest and partner in the solder girl, and you take out his army, leaving him and you to fight it out. I had no idea he was a master swordsman. It was difficult, memorable, and epic. This is how Nate makes his case for being the mascot. I definitely believe in him now. My score is a fortuitous: 9/10
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