Hands-On – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
There’s a fair bit of hype surrounding Uncharted 4. Billed as the final chapter in the saga of Nathan Drake, lots of gamers are looking forward to what they hope will be equally-compelling single-player and multiplayer components. After spending some time with the latter portion of the game, it’s safe to say that players will be getting a polished and functional experience, though perhaps not a groundbreaking one.
I’ll keep this short since my time with the game was rather limited. The playable demo of Uncharted 4‘s multiplayer was a mode called Plunder, which is essentially capture-the-flag. Basically, two teams fight over control of a relic and battle to carry it to a certain area of the map. Your standard litany of weapons make an appearance, including machine guns and shotguns, and some familiar mechanics make up your basic move set. You can jump, roll, revive downed teammates, and execute downed enemies; none of this will rock your world, but it’s all built with the level of fit and finish you’d expect from a Naughty Dog title. The controls were fluid and responsive, though I really struggled to come to grips with the game’s automatic cover system – it felt a bit like Quantum Break in that regard, though I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Of course, the graphics remain just as impressive as they’ve looked through the game’s myriad teasers and demos; the texture quality and level of detail do a great job of keeping you immersed and entrenched in your fight over the idol.
I really didn’t get much time to explore any specific nuances, but it felt like everything works well on a macro level, and that’s very important for multiplayer games to get right. If this demo is any indication, Uncharted 4 will launch with a solid multiplayer mode that, much like The Last of Us, will complement the single-player experience instead of overshadowing it. That said, I’m sure most people will still buy this game primarily to take part in Nathan Drake’s last hurrah, and you too can do so when Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End arrives May 10th only on the PlayStation 4.
