Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is an action-adventure game released in 2016 by Sony Computer Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Today rack nerve will assist you in exploring this game. It is the fourth major instalment in the Uncharted series. Players take control of Nathan Drake, a former treasure hunter coaxed out of retirement by his presumed-dead brother Samuel several years after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. They search for clues to the location of Henry Avery's long-lost treasure with Nathan's long-time partner, Victor Sullivan. A Thief's End is played in third person and incorporates platformer elements. To combat enemies, players must solve puzzles and use firearms, melee combat, and stealth. Up to ten players can participate in cooperative and competitive modes in the online multiplayer mode.
Uncharted 4 development began in 2011, shortly after the release of Uncharted 3. Amy Hennig, the creative director, and Justin Richmond, the game director, were in charge. The departure of Hennig and Richmond from Naughty Dog in 2014 slowed development; they were replaced by Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley. The team aimed to incorporate open-world gameplay elements, with larger levels to encourage free-roaming exploration and combat. Nathan and Elena's relationship was central, and Naughty Dog attempted to humanise them more than in previous games. A Thief's End was released for the PlayStation 4 in May 2016. It was Naughty Dog's first game created specifically for the PlayStation 4. The team used the hardware to process larger dynamic environments.
A Thief's End was widely anticipated after its announcement in November 2013. Critics praised the game's gameplay, narrative, emotional depth, visuals, and multiplayer. Several reviewers thought the game was a fitting end to Nathan's story. It received a number of year-end honours, including Game of the Year awards from a number of gaming publications, critics, and award ceremonies. It is the best-selling Uncharted game and one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games, with over 15 million copies sold. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, a stand-alone expansion, was released in 2017. A remastered version, along with The Lost Legacy, was released in January 2022 for PlayStation 5 as part of the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, and will be released later in 2022 for Microsoft Windows.
Gameplay
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is an action-adventure game with platforming elements that is played in third person. To progress through the game's story, players must traverse several environments, including towns, buildings, and wilderness. To combat hostile enemies, players use firearms, melee combat, and stealth. For the majority of the game, players take control of Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who can jump, sprint, climb, swim, scale narrow ledges and walls, swing with a rope, use a grappling hook, and perform other acrobatic actions. [2] During some gameplay segments, players can also drive vehicles. [3]
Long-ranged weapons such as rifles and shotguns, as well as short-barreled guns such as pistols and revolvers, are available in combat, as are handheld explosives such as grenades and dynamite. [4] The melee combat system in the game was also reworked to avoid the presence of quick time events. [5] The grappling hook enables players to leap across gaps, giving them a tactical advantage in combat. [6] While players can directly attack enemies, they can also use stealth tactics to attack undetected or sneak by them. [7] While the game is linear, the environments contain multiple paths for players to explore;[8] maps are significantly larger than previous entries in the series. [9] [c]
The game includes an artificial intelligence system in which hostile enemies react to any combat situation they are put in; they respond to player actions, coordinate tactics, and cooperate with one another. [5] The artificial intelligence also controls the players' companions. [11] The game introduces a dialogue tree, which allows players to choose the outcome of some conversations, but this has no effect on the story's progression. [12] Extra visual filters and modes, such as zero-gravity mode, bullet time gameplay, and a cel-shaded art style, can be unlocked by accumulating points in the main game. [13]c]
Multiplayer
The game's online multiplayer mode allows up to ten players to compete in recreations of various single-player settings. Players take control of various characters from the series and must defeat their opponents. [14] The game includes five multiplayer game modes: Command, in which players capture sites for points; Ranked and Team Deathmatch, which are deathmatch game types in which players kill their opponents; Plunder, a capture the flag game mode in which players seek the idol; and Trials, in which players work together to defeat non-player characters. [15] All maps contain treasures that can be used to purchase items and weapons. [16] Multiplayer includes "Mysticals," which are supernatural power-ups that improve players' abilities; The "Wrath of El Dorado," for example, damages all opponents standing next to it, whereas the "Cintamani Stone" heals both players and their teammates. Companions, known as Sidekicks, can be summoned to assist players and perform a variety of functions: Hunters immobilise their closest opponent for an easier kill, Saviors provide medical support and ammunition to players, Snipers defend locations with sniper rifles, and Brutes attack enemies with a heavy machine gun. [17] [18] A cooperative survival mode, released in December 2016, pits three players against waves of enemies that grow in difficulty over time. [19]
Synopsis
Characters[edit]
Nathan "Nate" Drake (Nolan North) is the main character of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. He is a veteran adventurer and explorer who, after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011), has retired from fortune hunting alongside his wife Elena Fisher (Emily Rose), a journalist, to a more normal life and taken up employment with a salvage company in New Orleans. Nate's older brother, Samuel "Sam" Drake (Troy Baker), is introduced in the game. Nathan is drawn back into his old life of adventure by his brother and is assisted by his long-time friend, fellow adventurer, mentor, and father figure Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Richard McGonagle). Their quest to find and recover pirate Henry Avery's long-lost treasure pits them against wealthy and dangerous businessman and treasure hunter Rafe Adler (Warren Kole), his partner Nadine Ross (Laura Bailey), who runs the private mercenary group Shoreline, and drug lord Hector Alcazar (Robin Atkin Downes). Nate and Sam as children are played by Britain Dalton and Chase Austin, respectively. [20] [21]
Plot
Nate has retired with his wife Elena fifteen years after the events of the previous game, but he misses the excitement of his former life. Sam, who survived the gunshots and has spent the time since incarcerated, pays him a visit. He explains that he escaped with drug lord Hector Alcazar, who orders Sam to find Avery's treasure or be killed. Nate agrees to assist Sam, lying to Elena about having accepted a salvaging job in Malaysia that he had previously refused. The Drakes, with the help of Sully, steal a duplicate Dismas idol from an illegal auction in Italy, putting them at odds with South African mercenary boss Nadine Ross and her employer, Rafe, who is still looking for Avery's treasure. The Drakes follow a map inside the idol to St. Dismas' cathedral in the Scottish Highlands. There, they discover a hidden temple and a map of Madagascar's King's Bay.
The Drakes and Sully learn in King's Bay that Avery, Thomas Tew, and ten other pirate captains pooled their treasures. Nate discovers a map to Libertalia, a fabled pirate utopia founded by the other captains, after following clues to a city tower. Elena is waiting for the group when they return to their hotel. Elena flees, enraged by Nate's deception and the appearance of Sam, whom Nate had never mentioned. Nate dispatches Sully to track her down. The Drakes follow the map to an island where they find Libertalia. They discover evidence of a civil war; the city's treasure was stolen and moved across the island to New Devon, an extravagant and well-fortified town built for them. Rafe confronts the brothers, revealing that he released Sam from jail two years ago and that Sam's Alcazar story is a lie; Sam actually double-crossed Rafe in order to resume the search with Nate. Rafe decides he needs Sam and prepares to shoot Nate; Sam protects him, but Nate is knocked off a cliff and falls unconscious.
While Nate and Elena return home, Sam and Sully team up for a new job. Elena explains that Sam found some gold and gave it to her. Recognizing that they both require adventure in their lives, she purchases the salvage company where Nate worked, instals Nate as owner, and plans to revive her old exploration show. Nate and Elena are now successful salvagers after years of hard work. Nate decides to tell Cassie (Kaitlyn Dever) their story after she discovers relics from their adventures.
Development
Following the release of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Naughty Dog began work on Uncharted 4: A Thief's End in 2011. In 2009, the developer split into two teams to work on Uncharted 3 and The Last of Us simultaneously;[22] the former team, led by creative director Amy Hennig and game director Justin Richmond, began preliminary work on Uncharted 4 in November 2011. [23] [24] Hennig and Richmond led development for several years before leaving the company in March 2014. [25] [26] Soon after, Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley joined the game's development team as creative director and game director, respectively; Druckmann and Straley had previously led the development of The Last of Us. [27] Initially, it was reported that Druckmann and Straley "forced" Hennig out of Naughty Dog, but co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra later denied this. [25] Druckmann and Straley scrapped "eight months of [Hennig's] story" after taking over development. [28] Due to the shorter development time and significant story changes after Hennig's departure, they faced significant challenges. [29]
Druckmann collaborated on the story with Josh Scherr. [30] Tom Bissell and Ryan M. James also contributed to the game's writing, particularly the companion, enemy, and multiplayer dialogue; Bissell and James also conducted the game's historical research. [29] The writers set out to "tell a meaningful human story with complex relationships... in this lighter drama." [31] The game's narrative pacing was regarded as a model for several of its environments and gameplay beats. Despite the addition of nonlinear gameplay that allows for freedom and player decisions, the writers wanted to tell a specific story and explore specific emotional moments, avoiding features like multiple endings. Nathan's surrogate family, Elena and Sully, and his blood family, Sam, are both explored in the game. [32]
Naughty Dog's first original game developed for the PlayStation 4 was Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, following the re-release of The Last of Us for the console as The Last of Us Remastered in July 2014. After experiencing significant difficulties switching from PlayStation 2 hardware to PlayStation 3 during the development of Drake's Fortune, the team was able to become accustomed to the architecture with Remastered. [38] The texture resolution in the game is at least four times that of Uncharted 3. [39] While the team had hoped for the entire game to run at 60 frames per second,[39] environmental constraints limited the single-player mode to 30 frames per second; the multiplayer mode runs at 60 frames per second. [40]
The team recorded the game's environment sounds outside; they made sure the environments "felt alive but not overbuilt" by introducing several ambient changes as players progressed through the locations. [41] The team faced several challenges with the variation of in-game locations, as they attempted to make each location very different so that players felt as if "they were being propelled to different locations across the world." Due to the availability of memory while developing Uncharted 4, the game also uses quadraphonic sound, which senior sound designer Jeremy Rogers described as more "intricate" than previous games. [41] Henry Jackman composed the game's original score, with additional music by Alex Belcher, who replaced former series composer Greg Edmonson. [42] [43]
Release and promotion
Uncharted 4 was announced on November 14, 2013, along with the release of its first trailer. [23] The full title was revealed at Sony's E3 2014 press conference on June 9. [44] The announcement sparked widespread excitement in the gaming industry, which journalists attributed to Naughty Dog's reputation and the series' importance. [45] The game's original release date of late 2015 was pushed back several times to May 10, 2016 for additional polishing. [46] [47] [48] Following the success of The Last of Us: Left Behind, Naughty Dog announced single-player downloadable content (2014). [49] Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, a stand-alone expansion for PlayStation 4, was released in August 2017 and starred Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross. [50] Following the release of Uncharted 4, the multiplayer received several updates and free downloadable content, including Lost Treasures in June 2016,[51]. Bounty Hunters debuted in September,[52] Survival debuted in December,[53] and King of the Hill debuted in March 2017. [54]
Naughty Dog collaborated with several retailers to provide special editions of the game with extra content to promote pre-order sales. [55] The game received several trailers, which debuted at events such as Paris Games Week,[56] The Game Awards,[57], and PlayStation Experience,[58], as well as screenings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015),[59] Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and 10 Cloverfield Lane (both 2016). [60] Following the release of the game's story trailer, Ubisoft's Aymar Azazia noticed the use of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013) art; Naughty Dog replaced the art in a new version of the trailer, and issued an apology to Ubisoft. [61]
According to a Sony investor presentation, the game is set to be released for Microsoft Windows in May 2021. [62] In September, a remastered version of the game was announced for Windows and the PlayStation 5 as part of the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, alongside The Lost Legacy. [1] It was released on January 28, 2022 for the PlayStation 5; the Windows version, developed in collaboration with Iron Galaxy, will be released later that year. Owners of either original PlayStation 4 games can upgrade to the PlayStation 5 for US$10 or €10. Purchasing or upgrading the game through the PlayStation Store in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States resulted in a voucher code for a ticket to the film Uncharted (2022). [63] On January 21, 2022, a launch trailer for Legacy of Thieves Collection was released. [64]
Reception
Critical response
According to review aggregator Metacritic, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End received "universal acclaim." [65] On Metacritic, it has the joint sixth-highest rating for a PlayStation 4 game. [74] [d] The gameplay mechanics, narrative, emotional depth, visual design, and multiplayer mode were all praised by critics. IGN's Lucy O'Brien called the game a "remarkable achievement in blockbuster storytelling and graphical beauty," and GameSpot's Mike Mahardy called it a "breathtaking marvel of a game." [68] GamesTM called it "a masterful piece of storytelling"[75], and Nick Plessas of Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "a true work of art." [76]
Dan Ryckert of Giant Bomb thought the game's graphics were the best on any console, praising the character details and open environments in particular. [70] Destructoid's Steven Hansen called the art direction "stunning,"[66] while Game Informer's Andrew Reiner called the game "a work of art." [67] Leon Hurley of GamesRadar praised the minute graphical details that made the game's characters come to life. [69] According to GameSpot's Mahardy, the game's cinematography, both during gameplay and during cutscenes, "amplifies the wonder of this gorgeous world." [68] Liz Finnegan of The Escapist called the game "painfully beautiful,"[77] and Sam Loveridge of Digital Spy praised Naughty Dog's ability to create "cleverly crafted stunning vistas." [78]
In comparison to its predecessors, Griffin McElroy of Polygon felt that the game's narrative was more nuanced. [72] Hansen of Destructoid praised the game's writers for bringing the story to a satisfying conclusion. [66] Game Informer's Reiner praised the writing for Henry Avery, praising the writers for turning his secrets into "tantalising story material";[67] on the other hand, Ars Technica's Kyle Orland found that the characters' enthusiasm "fails to be infectious for the player." [79] According to GameSpot's Mahardy, the game's set pieces are among the best in the series and among the best in video gaming. [68] According to Finnegan of The Escapist, the "action never feels unnaturally paused in order to relay relevant pieces of the story." [77] Electronic Gaming Plessas Monthly found the game's subtler interactions to be more enjoyable than the overall narrative. [76] The A.V. Club's Zack Handlen praised the game's dramatic moments. [80] While the game's story was better than its predecessors, Steven Burns of VideoGamer.com felt it had too much padding that slowed it down. [73]
Sales
Uncharted 4 sold over 2.7 million units in seven days, making it the fastest-selling first-party PlayStation 4 game. [85] Within three weeks of its release, the game had earned more than $56 million in digital sales. [86] The game had sold 8.7 million copies by December 2016, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games. [87] The game had sold over 15 million copies by May 2019. [88] In May 2016, it was the best-selling retail game in the United States. [89] The game topped the charts in the United Kingdom, achieving the strongest debut of the series with a 66 percent increase in first-week sales over Uncharted 3. [90] In Japan, the game topped the charts in its first week, selling over 128,000 units; [91] It remained at the top of the charts the following week, selling an additional 21,000 units. [92]
Accolades
Following its E3 previews, Uncharted 4 was nominated for a slew of awards, including Best PlayStation Game from a number of gaming publications. [93] [94] Following its release, the game received awards and nominations in a variety of categories, with particular attention paid to its gameplay mechanics, narrative, emotional depth, visual design, and multiplayer. Uncharted 4 was nominated for eight awards at The Game Awards 2016, winning two: Best Narrative and Best Performance for North. [95] At the 20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the game received ten nominations and four awards, including Adventure Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Story. [96] It received four nominations for the 6th Annual New York Video Game Awards[97] and seven nominations for the 17th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards. [98]
The game won the 44th Annie Awards for Outstanding Character Animation in a Video Game,[99] the 15th Visual Effects Society Awards for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project,[100], and the 67th Writers Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing. [101] The game won five awards out of eight nominations at the 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards, including Video Game of the Year, Excellence in Narrative, and Most Memorable Character. [102] At the 13th British Academy Games Awards,[103] the game received eight nominations and won Best Game. [104]
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