Updates!

• Microtransactions - Not too much of a surprise really, though hopefully it won't devolve into the Pay2Win bullshit that eventually plagued The Last of Us's multiplayer later in its life.

• Runs at 900p60fps as opposed to the story's 1080p30fps - That's real neat, and for multiplayer in particular the added fps really goes a long way. The slightly reduced graphical quality is a fair price to pay to assure the controls are as responsive as they can be.

• Peer-To-Peer - This is pretty disheartening to hear, as dedicated servers for console multiplayer is generally preferable to help get rid of host advantage & the like. This got to be especially damaging in the prior games for their lack of region locking, so you could potentially face players on the other side of the world and with the lag to show for it... Can't speak wholly to how it may affect Uncharted 4's multiplayer, but still, somewhat disappointing.

• Vehicle DLC?? - That'd be a first. Vehicles have never been featured in either of the two prior Uncharted multiplayer modes, least not ones that can be controlled by the player, so I wonder if vehicles will exist specifically for its own mode? Maybe a kind of a large-scale Assault type thing, akin to the days of yore with Unreal Tournament. Probably a pipedream if I was to be realistic about it...

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It was already technically announced to exist long before, though we've now got ourselves our first (highly stylised) look at Uncharted 4's multiplayer courtesy of that Sony Paris conference thing from yesterday! As someone who's invested a lot of time into both prior Uncharted's competitive offering (though preferred Uncharted 2's overall), I'm pretty excited to jump back in with their third take.

Lots to take note of during the trailer too, such as how a number of classic characters already look to be available, such as Katherine Marlowe, Harry Flynn, Zoran Lazarevic, Charlie Cutter (though hopefully he'll actually star in the game proper), and Eddy Raja - who continues to be the butt of jokes. The grappling hook looks to be available for use as well, which should add to Uncharted's already unique mix of third-person shooting and traversal mechanics. Seems that grenades can also stick to surfaces now, and can potentially be used as proximity mines? Judging from Eddy Raja falling prey to what appears to be a trap set by Chloe. Also looks to feature a Down-But-Not-Out mechanic as well akin to TLoU & Gears, complete with insta-revive grenades it seems.

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The two most notable mechanics announced within it all are NPC allies and the 'mystical abilities'. The allies are a little vague as of now; it seems that you potentially summon one of three different units, though how they operate is still a mystery. Do they follow you around until they die, or do they operate on a timer? Or do they only show up to provide a single use ability, such as a sniper downing the nearest enemy player before skedaddling? EDIT: Turns out they can be 'bought' mid-match similar to in TLoU and will then follow you around until they die.

The mystical abilities allow the supernatural jargon from previous games for use, such as what people may remember to be the Djinn transformation from Uncharted 3 (which were technically hallucinations) and even the El Dorado statue from way back in Drake's Fortune. Such weirdness follows up from the killstreaks from Uncharted 3, like the one where you could turn into a mess of spiders, or could throw an idol that turns everyone into a skeleton.

Uncharted 4's multiplayer thusly looks to be doubling down on the chaoticness of Uncharted 3's anywhoo, which is welcome as it helps it stand out from the ever populated listing of third-person multiplayer shooters. No look at any cooperative stuffs, though it's almost assured to exist given the series history.

I'm still somewhat peeved that the Nathan Drake collection didn't include either of Uncharted 2 or 3's multiplayer--couldn't they have at least brought over one of them?--but getting early access to Uncharted 4's beta should tide me over a little.

@yummylee: I never played the multiplayer of 2 or 3 but will probably jump into the beta for 4 at some point.

Did you buy the Nathan Drake collection? As that appears to be the only way in to the beta. Though that's not to say they won't potentially extend it a little for public use too, but those first 9 days at least look to be NDC owners only.

I didn't mind the extra everything they piled into Uncharted 3, though I did find that a lot of their maps were really poorly designed. Many like that desert village in particular were sort of a mess with no real structure, often resulting in a lot of finding yourself getting shot from all sides. There was no sense of direction, as everybody just runs around in the hopes they run into another player before someone gets to them. That ship graveyard DLC map was also a fucking travesty at that. Fortunately a majority of Uncharted 3's map DLC just so happened to be Uncharted 2 maps, which were more traditionally designed all symmetrical like. They've said that Uncharted 4's maps are to harken back to Uncharted 2 in that regard as well, which is great to hear.

@yummylee: I'll probably pick it up soon and if its before the beta start date then I'll probably good it a look.

I was okay with everything until peer-to-peer was read. Sorry, man, but after the shit I had to put up with in Gears of War and other console multiplayer games, I am going to consider that shit unacceptable. No multiplayer for me on this game.

Have all the Gears games used peer-to-peer? I know that Gears 2 was said to be especially awful in that regard, though I don't recall any such controversies surrounding Gears 3.

Honestly it's weird how ND aren't willing to host dedicated servers considering how much investment they've put into their multiplayer suites. Uncharted 3 in particular received a lot of stuff after the fact, and even eventually became free2play. While Uncharted is still undoubtedly seen by most as a single-player first series, the multiplayer tends to receive enough attention and has enough of a thriving community that it's a shame they're not willing to go the extra mile.

fucking micro transactions in everything...

@yummylee: Gears 3 had dedicated servers, I don't know if it still does but it did for most of its life at least. P2P is fine as long as the game supports host migration. Any game that doesn't support host migration shouldn't be allowed have multiplayer.

I take it then you'll be giving Uncharted 4 a pass alongside Tomb Raider?

Nope! Why would you guess that?

@yummylee: I just re-read your post and I may have misread. I read it as you asking me if I was going to give it a free pass since it's Uncharted but I now see that you could have meant that I was going to pass on buying it.

Uncharted 4 is one of the games I was going to for sure buy. I love the series, I love Naughty Dog, they have made some of my favorite games of all time, but I'm not going to buy Uncharted 4 since it has micro transactions. It's a full retail release. It's indecent to ask for more from your fans. That's a huge bummer for me.

I'll still play it but I'm either buying used or renting. Shit.

I remember buying the supposed definitive edition of Last of Us and being shocked at how egregious the microtransactions were for a full priced game. You don't even see that level of crap in Call of Duty.

@spraynardtatum: Ah, yeah, I should used the word 'skip' instead or something!

It's a shame because TLoU's multiplayer was originally pretty fantastic, but all I've heard since its PS4 re-release is how all of the DLC weapons break the balance of the game =/ Man, DLC weapons for a multiplayer shooter?? Such a terrible idea.

The microtransactions don't really bother me. I'll probably mess around with the multiplayer for a couple hours total and that's it. That's not really why I play Uncharted.

They should do 900p 60fps for single player, or at least give the option for it. I know its the whole "ps4 does 1080p over xbones 900p" but man 60fps would be great as i doubt i'll even touch the multiplayer longer than a day.

I MAY have to buy the Nathan Drake collection so I can get into the beta. As someone that liked 2's MP but not 3's, I'm hoping this will bring me back in.

Hopefully this leans more towards Uncharted 2 multiplayer...... The coop in 3 was great, but the competitive side was not on par to 2.

Glad to see 60 fps in multiplayer catching on. 900p is a decent compromise

Here's hoping Gears 4's multiplayer will be able to nail that sweet 60, too.

If you mean in terms of being more minimalistic, well, that already sounds pretty far off from the mark from what we've seen! Though hopefully they will at least include a 'Hardcore' mode as in Uncharted 3 that strips away all of the flourish and gets things back to basics.