How can Naughty Dog make Uncharted 4 the best game in the Series?
As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, Uncharted 4 is a strong possibility for Naughty Dog's new game (check the post out here). If Uncharted really is coming to PS4 for its fourth instalment, there are a number of improvements I'd personally like to see from the previous games.
Given the developer's impressive track record, it will be hard for Naughty Dog to top games that have already received wide critical acclaim. The pressure has been further increased following the release of The Last of Us; which has received countless 10/10 scores and is being called one of the best games of the generation. Needless to say Naughty Dog have got their work cut out.
This is where some of my greatest fears for Uncharted 4 lie. Making a new game on a brand new console must be daunting, especially a console that is largely different from it's predecessor. Yes the vast increase in graphical power and memory must be welcome, but getting used to developing on the PS4 as quickly as possible is essential if Naughty Dog's new game (maybe Uncharted 4) is to work well on the new console.
Just as the focus in Uncharted 3 was on Nate and Sully's relationship, I think one of the main story arcs in the next game should be one between Nate and Elena. Elena wasn't in very much of Uncharted 3, although there were some very touching scenes between the two; for example the one in Elena's apartment in Yemen (pictured at the top). I think we can safely say as of the end of Drake's Deception that they are now together for good (I won't be too impressed if they have broken up yet again), so now is the perfect opportunity to see the relationship continue to grow.
Elena is one of my favourite characters in Uncharted, and I feel that she still has a lot to give. I've been hearing rumours floating around of a pregnant Elena (after all her actress Emily Rose recently had a baby), but personally I think if thats true it shouldn't come up until the end of the game (Maybe as a thing to end on).
Which brings me on to the main problem with having more Elena in Uncharted 4. Actress Emily Rose has a successful TV career with the show Haven, in addition to having a child earlier this year chances are she isn't going to have all that much time to work on a new Uncharted game. If that is the case, fingers crossed she will have at least a small role in Uncharted 4; after all, its not really Uncharted with out the main 3 (Drake, Sully and Elena).
*Just to clarify, I am not an expert on game development or the gaming industry. I get my information from multiple reliable sources, but I may sometimes get things wrong or be inaccurate. If you do spot something such as a piece of information that is inaccurate please let me know and I'll correct myself.
*All images/screenshots are under the copyright of their respective owner. I do not intend to distribute my blog for profit and will gladly remove any images if asked to.
I Hope You've enjoyed this post, I'm new to blogging and feedback is always appreciated :-)
Given the developer's impressive track record, it will be hard for Naughty Dog to top games that have already received wide critical acclaim. The pressure has been further increased following the release of The Last of Us; which has received countless 10/10 scores and is being called one of the best games of the generation. Needless to say Naughty Dog have got their work cut out.
So here's the list of the things that I think will make Uncharted 4 the best
Uncharted game yet:
Uncharted game yet:
*WARNING this list is pretty long, I didn't realise how much I'd written!
*This is also purely my own opinion, I'm not saying this is what Naughty Dog have to do.
*This is also purely my own opinion, I'm not saying this is what Naughty Dog have to do.
Naughty dog need to get used to the PS4
Naughty Dog themselves said the prospect of making games for Playstation 4 is 'terrifying'. This is probably because they had such a difficult transition from the PS2 to PS3; the fact that they had to make a completely new engine for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune probably didn't help. Luckily Naughty Dog have said they are using the same engine for PS4, so they won't have to worry about making an entirely new one, which will really help in the move to next gen.
Improved Graphics/Visuals
Carrying on from my previous point. The improved specs of the PS4 means Naughty Dog's games will look even better (and they looked pretty darn amazing on the PS3). On their website, the developer have listed a vacancy for a character artist who will need to make 'million poly models game ready' which is way more than the 30,000 polygons used in Uncharted 3's character models. I can imagine next-gen Drake looking pretty incredible. And it won't just be the characters that look better; the environments, particle effects, and game world as a whole are guaranteed to look visually stunning.
*As a note, it took several years for ND to unlock the true graphical potential of the PS3, so the jump may not necessarily be mind-blowingly huge, but looking at some of the launch games for PS4 I have a feeling it will still look amazing.
The Story
The story is one of the main reasons I love Uncharted so much, and Naughty Dog (Amy Hennig in particular, if she writes the new Uncharted, which I really hope) needs to pull out all the stops for the story of Uncharted 4. Many people found the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception a little disappointing (Personally I don't feel that way, but U3 was the first Uncharted I played), at least compared to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and the story was one of the main reasons for this. So how can Drake's next story be his best?.
A strong overall plot (the goal/treasure)
Now this was seen as a weak aspect of Uncharted 3's story; what exactly were Marlow and Talbot up to? What were they going to do with that big brass vessel? How could Talbot disappear so easily? Tell me if I'm wrong but I don't think we were ever told the answers. Of course, you don't really need to read into these sort of things with an adventure like Uncharted; just as you wouldn't with something similar like Indiana Jones, but I'll admit it I was a little bit lost towards the end of the Game.
In Uncharted 4 it would be good If the focus was on something other than a lost city; I came across the idea of a rival treasure hunter, someone Nate would have to beat, or maybe something more personal? involving Nate's past? Whatever it is, It needs to be different from the previous titles.
More Nate and Elena
Just as the focus in Uncharted 3 was on Nate and Sully's relationship, I think one of the main story arcs in the next game should be one between Nate and Elena. Elena wasn't in very much of Uncharted 3, although there were some very touching scenes between the two; for example the one in Elena's apartment in Yemen (pictured at the top). I think we can safely say as of the end of Drake's Deception that they are now together for good (I won't be too impressed if they have broken up yet again), so now is the perfect opportunity to see the relationship continue to grow.Elena is one of my favourite characters in Uncharted, and I feel that she still has a lot to give. I've been hearing rumours floating around of a pregnant Elena (after all her actress Emily Rose recently had a baby), but personally I think if thats true it shouldn't come up until the end of the game (Maybe as a thing to end on).
Which brings me on to the main problem with having more Elena in Uncharted 4. Actress Emily Rose has a successful TV career with the show Haven, in addition to having a child earlier this year chances are she isn't going to have all that much time to work on a new Uncharted game. If that is the case, fingers crossed she will have at least a small role in Uncharted 4; after all, its not really Uncharted with out the main 3 (Drake, Sully and Elena).
More of the characters interacting
More of the characters interacting
One of the things I absolutely loved about Uncharted 2 was the banter and dialogue between Chloe, Drake and Elena; which is one of the things I really missed in the sequel. You had Charlie and Chloe with Drake and Sully at the beginning of the game, and a few Chapters with Elena later on. It would be nice if there could be at least part of the game when they are all one big team. It would be interesting to see how Chloe and Elena's relationship is since the events of Among thieves as well.
Dialogue
Dialogue
The dialogue in Uncharted is already brilliant, so more banter and more great one-liners from Nate would be great. There's not really much more to say on the matter.
A good villain
A good villain
A strong antagonist is key in the new game; someone who is a real threat to Nate and his pals. I don't have many ideas for this one; only the rival treasure hunter idea I mentioned earlier (Nate's equal and opposite). It would be great if they were different from the others, I'd even like to see someone crop up from Drake's past.
Locations
Drake's fortune was set on a jungle covered island, Among Thieves had the snows of Tibet, and Drake's Deception was focused on the Rub' al Khali desert; so where will Uncharted 4 be centred around? That's entirely Naughty Dog's call, but the locations have to be different from the previous games; in my opinion somewhere like the African plains or China would be great, and maybe an ancient city like Rome, or the Pyramids of Egypt. Safe to say they're pretty spoiled for choice.
There also needs to be a good flow/transition between locations as well; like there was in Uncharted 2. Don't get me wrong, I love the globetrotting, and its nice to have variety, but the places need to be linked in a way that makes sense.
More Incredible set pieces
More Incredible set pieces
You've got to admit it, whatever you thought of the third game, Uncharted 3 had some amazing moments. The sinking cruise ship, the burning chateau, the trek through the desert, the plane crash, the list goes on. These crazy cinematic events really make Uncharted something special, and the fourth game should be no exception. That being said, we've had planes, trains, and boats (all of which ended up being completely destroyed by Drake), so what now? a submarine?
Jokes aside, an underwater level might be good, Nate could be exploring a sunken ship maybe, it would add a nice new bit of gameplay. At the end of the day though, I trust Naughty Dog to give us something fantastic, that will have our jaws dropping and our heart's racing.
Different gameplay elements
Different gameplay elements
Uncharted consists of 3 main gameplay elements; climbing, puzzle-solving and combat (be that melee or shooting). But there have been a few times throughout the games when that formula has been tweaked or added too; for example the jet ski segment in Drake's Fortune, or the horse riding in the third game (which I absolutely loved!). It would be great if these sorts of things could be included in Uncharted 4, maybe the underwater diving level I mentioned? And Naughty Dog, I would love more horse riding (The Last of Us style maybe?).
Puzzles
The same as before really when it comes to the puzzles. I love exploring old tombs and ancient ruins in Uncharted, and Naughty Dog have already done a stellar job with the puzzle solving in my opinion. I'd just like to see more of them really, and maybe a couple of really clever ones that require you to think out of the box.
Combat (more stealth and melee combat)
Combat (more stealth and melee combat)
As far as combat goes I would love more stealth combat. In Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3 (3 especially) it was great sneaking around and picking off enemies one by one. I hope they further improve those mechanics in Uncharted 4, the same with the melee combat, so that being the sneaky type is a viable alternative to running in and gunning. What would be even better is if you could manage some entire levels just by sneaking; it would add more choice when going through the game and help with replay value.
With regards to the shooting there isn't a whole lot I would want to change, maybe just a realistic difficulty mode that make the enemies far less bullet spongy whilst at the same time reducing the number of hits Nate can take substantially.
With regards to the shooting there isn't a whole lot I would want to change, maybe just a realistic difficulty mode that make the enemies far less bullet spongy whilst at the same time reducing the number of hits Nate can take substantially.
More of those quiet moments
More of those quiet moments
Remember the Tibetan village chapter in Among Thieves? a chapter dedicated purely to wondering around, chasing chickens, petting yaks, trying to communicate unsuccessfully with the villagers and attempting to teach two little children how to play football/soccer. Simple moments like these make for a nice change in pace in a game where most of the time there is someone shooting at you. It would be great to see this sort of thing in Uncharted 4 too.
Something unexpected
Something unexpected
Now this is something Naughty Dog will have to figure out, but if they could surprise us with something completely unexpected (a'la the young Drake chapters); for example a brand new gameplay element (as I mentioned above), a chapter or two playing a different character (cough' Elena cough'), or even a dramatic plot twist (again involving Nate's past maybe?) it would really make the Fourth game stand out (here's hoping they include all of these things).
Just as a side note, please don't kill anyone off, Naughty dog, at least not any of the main 3 (after all Sully has already 'died' twice).
Just as a side note, please don't kill anyone off, Naughty dog, at least not any of the main 3 (after all Sully has already 'died' twice).
The ending
The ending
I can't be all that specific with regards to the ending; that will depend on the story. But if this really is the very last Uncharted game, it needs to finish in a way that is both satisfying and perhaps emotional too (in a good way). It needs to be wrapped up nicely with no loose ends.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer
I'll confess, I haven't played all that much of the multiplayer in the Uncharted games; having bought the third game nearly a year after everyone else I couldn't last five seconds in a match against players who were all level 50+. So of course a lot of people will have more to say about the multiplayer than me. But I did really enjoy playing the Co-Op adventure levels. If that could be further expanded with an original story of its own (rather than just being a heavily tweaked version on the single player campaign), that would be great.
Having said that, a whole separate storyline would take a lot of work; and I would rather Naughty Dog focused on making a great single player story than trying to make a good Co-Op adventure. However, I've heard people talking about having the Co-Op incorporated into the the main campaign; which is an interesting idea, but how easy that would be to actually implement I don't know.
Having said that, a whole separate storyline would take a lot of work; and I would rather Naughty Dog focused on making a great single player story than trying to make a good Co-Op adventure. However, I've heard people talking about having the Co-Op incorporated into the the main campaign; which is an interesting idea, but how easy that would be to actually implement I don't know.
Overall
Overall
If there's one thing Uncharted 4 needs to be, it's different, whilst at the same time still feeling like an Uncharted game. The last thing we want is Uncharted getting stale. Naughty dog need to blow us away with great visuals, a compelling story, good dialogue, improved and expanded gameplay, stand-out cinematic moments, some dramatic and quiet scenes and something that will both surprise and exite (or shock) us. To pull off such a game is no mean feat, but if anyone can do it, its Naughty Dog.
*And if they really are making Uncharted 4, I sincerely hope they take their time, so they can make it the best they possibly can.
Overall, I just want the fourth and possibly final Uncharted to be the very best in the franchise. All of the games are incredible, arguably some of the best video games out there, and all deserve a place in this generation's hall of fame. But as far as Uncharted 4 goes, let's hope it will be yet another of Naughty Dog's masterpieces.
Let me know what you'd like to see in Uncharted 4 in the comments! :-)
*All images/screenshots are under the copyright of their respective owner. I do not intend to distribute my blog for profit and will gladly remove any images if asked to.
I Hope You've enjoyed this post, I'm new to blogging and feedback is always appreciated :-)
Undiscovered Adventure
