I may get chewed out for posting this but I was pretty let down with the quality of Uncharted 4. The graphics and all that were top tier and really highlight how powerful the PS4 is but the game overall just seemed sort of empty to me. I may be going crazy or something because I don't understand how the vast majority of people are praising the game up and down and saying it isn't a question about it being the best game in the series.

The pacing in the front half of the game is just straight up atrocious. I was a couple hours in and started wondering when (if ever) it was going to pick up - it eventually did but jeez the gunfights are so few and far between. Does anyone share somewhat of the same opinion as me or am I becoming out of touch?

I'll be an unpopular guy to the unpopular opinion guy and say I like the slower pacing because the game gives time to develop character. There's a reason chapter 4 is heavily praised, it built character and stakes. If all you want is gunfights, yeah, I guess it will disappoint?

I kind of agree, i wouldn't call it the worst game in the series though. Uncharted 1, while still great, was so samey all the way through.

Uncharted 2 is the best in the series. I dont agree with you however becouse the pacing in the front half of the game was the best part of the game for me. The gunfights was a pain through and through, i could do without any of them.

I really enjoyed the game, but I do think there are some sections with too much climbing and too fewgunfights (escpecially since I really enjoyed the combat in this game). The climbing is fun, but it is also pretty simple.

From a story perspective though I liked the pacing.

I haven't played 4 yet, but I have been replaying the first game. My biggest complaint is that you are always in a gun fight. I really wish there was more time in between them. I guess I should look forward to playing 4. It sounds more like what I would want.

Actually, the real unpopular opinion (albeit the correct one) is that Uncharted game just aren't as good as everyone claims they are. They just look pretty. The actual game play is pretty bad.

I'm a secret lover of slow opening's in games. It makes the ramp-up and raising-of-the-stakes seem much more natural. So I loved the first half of the game. I'd even say its better than the entire first Uncharted. This game has a lot of really good slow moments, which I think is key in these type of blockbuster games. Jumping from set piece to shootout is cool,but I appreciate it when a game takes a moment to breathe. Its a good way for games that aren't super mechanical to pace itself and stop it from feeling samey.

The gunfights always were the worst part of uncharted imo, Im actually glad they are (at least for me) better spread out this time around. In U4 Im at chapter 12 now and I havent been anoyed by the gunfights yet to my surprise.

OK, so I bought the Uncharted Collection, which is my first experience with the Uncharted series. I'm still only making my way through the first game, but if you're trying to claim that there is something worse than the Sea-Doo levels in that game, then you, sir, are crazy. Nothing can be worse than the Sea-Doo levels.

Based on my experience so far, I can totally believe this. Everything feels so damn floaty and the combat arenas are designed with no rhyme or reason to them (hey, here's some cover, but we'll spawn enemies in from a direction that makes it completely useless.)

@sterling: That's ridiculous. The Uncharted games, specifically Uncharted 2 are to video games what the original Matrix was to movies. They completely changed how encounters and set pieces in all action adventure games going forward were designed.

As for OPs opinion, you're of course entitled to it, but as someone who loves all the Uncharted characters, the first few chapters really felt special. They also helped set up Sam, who despite only being a character in one game, was as well established and defined as the other characters by the end of the game.

I'm up to Chapter 8, and I haven't had an issue at all with the pacing. First off, all of Naughty Dog's games have crap pacing. Every single segment goes on for far too long in terms of gameplay. But in regards to story, they always do a good job. I've enjoyed the slower pace of the story at the start of UC4, because it has had the best character work so far in the series, just in the first few chapters. Chapter 4 in particular was great, and not just because of the "cameo". The toy gun in the office was a really fun beat in and of itself, not including all of the other stuff. Everyone just feels much more human and layered so far, and they were already good characters. There's a weight to the events of this so far, that really help make it feel like a finale.

Uncharted 4 is probably tied with 2 in terms of being the best. I think 2 might just edge it out, though, because it's just such a much more tighter experience throughout, whereas 4 does meander a little in places with far too much time spent climbing around. Plus Harry Flynn is still the series' best villain.

The shooting is pretty poor in Drake's Fortune, but it's much better in the second game, and Uncharted 4 in particular has some pretty good shooting by general video game standards let alone Uncharted.

Also, Drake's Fortune blog over yonder if you're at all curious!

In hindsight, yeah those Sea Doo levels are atrocious. The controls are god-awful.

The idea that this isn't better than Uncharted 1 or Golden Abyss is insane

I appreciate the fact that you guys aren't taking a dump on my stance unlike some places..ahem..r/ps4

You're entitled to your opinion. I think you're flat out wrong.

So my question to you, is what in your opinion is considered a good game?

I can honestly say that "Oh, man. This Uncharted game is so slow, where are all the gunfights?" is a thing I've never said. Shooting in those games have always been horrible. For that reason, I'm sympathetic to this opinion, because I didn't LOVE it either. Still, the worst? Sorry, man. Uncharted 1 exists, so I have to disagree.

It's the toughest to go back to, for sure.

@coffinvarnishh: you are correct that is an unpopular opinion

From my perspective the gunfights are by FAR the worst aspect of Uncharted 4, and it's their quality and not the lack thereof. Shooting already felt a little bad in Uncharted 2 and it has neither evolved nor aged particularly well over the years. Spongy enemies with jittery aiming and a pretty uninspiring arsenal make for some terrible combat encounters. I've not enjoyed a single one and choose the stealth approach whenever I can, or heck, sometimes even save-scum by dashing towards the next checkpoint and dying hoping that I'm back to exploration.

As far as the platforming goes, well there are plenty of set pieces that rival and out-do even the famed Uncharted 2. All manner of historical ruins collapse over and under you and it all looks quite spectacular with beautiful camera angles and jaw dropping environments. That is not to say these have gotten better over time, as they barely innovated on that either. Tomb Raider required some amount of dexterity to it's platforming while Uncharted is still very much an autopilot affair.

All that said it's the story and presentation that make it an excellent game to me. If you were looking for extremely satisfying gameplay then I'd recommend Tomb Raider instead. If you want a really good story that revolves much more around relationships between human beings rather than pirate treasures then Uncharted 4 really excels in that regard.

I think Chapter 4 is a great litmus test for this newest entry. If you played through Chapter 4 and didn't have this huge smile on your face or at least appreciated what it was doing, and were instead yawning and getting annoyed because of the pacing, then Uncharted 4 could very well be the worst one in the series for you.

ive been replaying 4 and the gripes you have honestly come down to how you like pacing in video games. uncharted is a series that banks on story/character development. 4 is the most full realized version of that. it starts off very slow, thats true. however, the level of interactivity during these slow moving parts make up for the lack of actual core gameplay. again, this is a story driven game, so these moments play to the series strengths. now, if you dont like that, then its more likely that you arent a fan of the game itself, rather than the game itself being the problem.

Strictly speaking about the gameplay itself. The moment to moment action. The gunplay/shooting and the platforming. Lots of games do it better. Tomb Raider. The Last of Us (which is the same people).

Actually, having a hard time thinking of games that are similar without being something else. Like say open world or the like. Kind of hard. A lot of the games I would list aren't comparable because they aren't the same exact type of thing. So if I list those, you will just ignore the comparison. And most likely rightfully so.

But I do feel the new Tomb Raiders do everything Uncharted does better. I also think The Last of Us did everything better. I haven't played UC4 yet myself. Maybe this one is the best. But I still think people claim them to be better games than they actually are. Strictly speaking game play wise. Not talking about set pieces or anything else.

EDIT: I guess what I am saying, is I feel people get so caught up in the grand spectacle of the games, the set pieces, the story cut scenes. That they over look just how mediocre, run of the mill the actual game play is. The platforming and the shooting. And they say things like Uncharted games are the best games of all time. Granted they aren't garbage, but they aren't the greatest either.

I thought Uncharted 4 had a pretty weak final hour, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. If you talked to me a few hours in, I would have gushed a bunch of hyperbole. Now that I've finished it, I can't help but feel that the ending / epilogue left me feeling empty. I got a strong sense that the story was wrapped up because it had to be. I can't deny how much fun I had with it, though, and a few chapters were really something special. Shame I don't remember those parts nearly as vividly as I thought I would.

I massively disagree. I thought the pacing, gunplay and music were fantastic. But each to there own!

Uncharted 4 (and Uncharted 2 for that matter) is much better than Tomb Raider 2013 - Rise of The Tomb Raider is a pretty good competitor, though, but the story stuff is awfully boring and weirdly enough I think the core shooting of Rise isn't as good as TR 2013. It's also absurdly easy even on the highest difficulty to the point that I'd consider it a drawback.

Yeah, I don't agree either. The slow pacing, exploration of the environment, and unrivaled character interaction is why I think it's the best in the series. ND realized what was dumb about Uncharted (tacked on supernatural crap in the final stretch) and got rid of it, but unfortunately didn't address the combat. At least not enough for my liking. I dug the environmental takedowns but the shooting isn't good, never has been good and won't ever be good. Uncharted 5 needs to have a prompt: "You are about to start a combat scenario. Press X to skip."

I don't agree. But that's fine. You liking someone else's creation isn't an obligation or anything.

also, isnt this like the third thread about someones opinion on how they didnt like uncharted?

Man, I think Uncharted 4 was so good that it made me look at the previous three in a different light. I wound appreciating Drake's Deception moreso, too, because of how they set up Nate's tragic past and even set up the themes of mother and sons that were really well done in U4. Using Sam as a stand in for Nate in U4, and giving Nate the position and credence in this story to look at him and himself as an obsessed man, an addict really, who needs to let some stuff go, was just amazing. I mean, in the same ways I feel that The Witcher 3 has masterful storytelling...this does too, but even great storytelling won't appeal to everyone if they don't like certain things. If there needs to be X and Y, or you don't like a genre (like fantasy settings, or action movie settings where there's a different kind of rule set for death and violence) then I get it, I mean it won't be everyone's thing.

But, I do think if we're talking about storytelling...it's hands down the greatest one in the Uncharted series Everything else felt in line for me with what I want from the series, too. I mean, that entire Madagascar section was as great and bombastic as I want Uncharted to be.

While I greatly enjoyed both I would argue that Tomb Raider 2013 is better than Rise in that it has a lot more focus. Rise suffers from being a little too open for it's own good, losing that tightly driven narrative along the way that makes UC4 stand out so much, and a little too much of it happens in a snowy geome. The shooting in both games (TR2013/Rise) is much more satisfying than anything Uncharted has ever done if not for the variety aspect alone. The Uncharted series has always been about spectacle first and gameplay second, with this newest release really hammering that point down. As a story it is hands down an amazing game that I was really invested in which is way more than I can say for Lara's latest foray into the wild. As a game that challenged me to think or be nimble on the gamepad in any sort of way it really doesn't do a whole lot. Difficulty was never an issue for me in neither Tomb Raider games so I'm not sure what your gripes are with that, but maybe I'm just turning into a dirty casual after all these years. Enemies seemed proficient enough when they became aware of my presence, and there was a decent variety to the different foes I faced in that it never got too boring or repetitive.

I really do wish both studios could merge or have a nice relaxing retreat where they exchanged ideas and techniques, because both series do some things extremely well while other elements not so much, and it's a very ying-yang situation.

First of all, I will say this. I respect that you have an actual valid reason to dislike the series rather than just saying 'it sucks' like most people would say

While I disagree with your opinion in terms of Tomb Raider. I loved the 2013 one (haven't played Rise cause its not on PS4...yet) but the gameplay mechanics might be tighter if nothing else. But that's post-Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 2. But Uncharted appealed to me, because it took the original Tomb Raider concept but did everything better. 'Dude Raider' if you will.

TLoU is similar, but different bird so to speak. Since you haven't played 4 yet, its more like TLoU than you'd think in terms of gameplay wise. I mean its still Uncharted, but its got a ton of TLoU influence (obviously)

And yes people get caught up in the grand spectacle of the games.. that's kind've the point isn't it? I mean the series and more so, Uncharted 4 is praised almost universally for everything its done. Even the things some people don't like, the overall experience is spectacular, but again not everyone is going to have the same opinions.

'The greatest game of all time' is always a weird debate because its ALWAYS based on someones personal experience as well as the whole different type/styles of games. Uncharted 4 is undoubtedly the best looking game ever made.

Maybe you will like it. Maybe you won't. The sun will still rise either way.

Halfway through and it's better than 1, but not the others. The climbing could've been trimmed significantly. The character development of those sections isn't much aside from "drop the ladder for me."

And people called it a character study, but I dunno... seems like another standard treasure hunting story to me. Again, just halfway through but I've had no desire to go back in over a week.

As far as the gameplay, dudes spawning behind me at an alarming pace works for Doom, but not a cover shooter. Quantum Break made 3rd person shooting exhilirating again, as I spent a minute or two in cover through the whole game. So it was hard to go back to this.

Its better than 1, worse than 2, and about even with 3 to me. And i agree the pace was terrible, uncharted is supposed to be a swashbuckling adventure not a slow paced character study. Every character moment where you walk around clicking x on stuff while characters talk could have been cut in half. It wasnt until you get to the place your looking for that the game picks up and becomes great, but thats over half way through.

Its a good game but 2 is still best in show

I actually love the shooting in uncharted 4 and actually wish there was more shooting. Talk about an unpopular opinion!

@pompouspizza: That's not an unpopular opinion, it's grounds for having you committed.

I haven't played 4.

That said, the gunfights in 1-3 took too long, were far too frequent, and were absolutely the worst parts of those games

The action was always the least interesting part of Uncharted for me. I'd take a bunch of climbing and puzzles over the combat segments any day of the week. So the early parts of the game are pretty great IMO. I like the slow build and how they set the rest of the game up.

I loved the game but the whole time I was expecting that volcano to erupt with an awesome sequence where you are racing down the volcano shooting dudes and getting dragged and all that goodness. Why didn't that happen? Just why...?

That is my only complaint.

Uncharted 4 is a great shooter - Fact.

I was playing Uncharted 4 and DOOM for 2 weeks and the last thing I ever wanted to do in Uncharted was shoot anything. I know one is third person and the other isn't and such and so on, but it really is hilarious going from one to the other when it came to shooting and mechanics. Whenever any type of heavy combat situation would rear its ugly head I just kinda wanted to switch to my PC and go back to DOOM. But the set pieces and character work are so well done it was enough to keep me going through the whole thing. I guess the only thing those two games have in common though is that their campaigns overstay their welcome a bit and they end strongly.

Uncharted 2 set a standard for action set pieces in games, it was a watershed moment, but you can't really do that again. It's already been done, things are different now. I think people were maybe expecting a little too much from 4.

one think i know about these forums is nothing makes people in here happier to hate on something, especially if it is popular. I put it up right there behind last of us

To me, this game was near perfectly balanced in terms of the different gameplay styles. Maybe a little less climbing was in order, but beyond that I rarely felt like there was too little/much shooting/story/chases/setpieces/vehicle segments/open world type stuff (like the boat)/puzzles. The series is a jack of all trades, master of none, it works because of the variety of experiences at play, and all the "slower" sequences only add to that.

Best Uncharted for me, most definitely.

Unpopular Opinion: People expect too much from pretty much everything.

This is the first time in the series that I've heard of someone wanting more gunfights. Might show that the directors hit their mark, which I think was to have a slower quieter story less based on combat sequences.

What I can say is this, I want to consider it the best of them, but it is perhaps not the most enjoyable from a gameplay perspective. I found it hard to want to get through it on crushing; I just wasn't having the much fun with it honestly. I got to the end part of where you escape the island, trying to get back to Sully's plane, and I was bored. I kind of don't want to chalk it up to me being sick either (as that can kind of lessen some of my want to play games at the moment). I was going to go into some detail about how I really felt, but I want to finish it on crushing, especially when I'm not sick to really decide how I feel about it all. I will just say, I'd rather go back and play through The Last of Us, and I've already beaten that game multiple times.

Overall, I love Uncharted, and have fond memories of it, but The Last of Us is still better than the best moments of Uncharted to me. As for worst Uncharted, I wouldn't agree with that. Here's an unpopular opinion: two's my least favorite, though I did become to enjoy it a bit more on the remaster. When it comes to Uncharted 4, I want to really enjoy the combat, and at first, I kind of did, but now, the combat moments aren't that great, but after that's over, I think 'I wish there was more combat instead of all this climbing'. I think Uncharted 4 does character in these games best though, and I love the slower paced moments that don't have to deal with climbing on islands.

Okay, for now, I'm going to chalk it up to having a cold, which is why I couldn't enjoy it quite as much. So much so I took it off the PS4, which I generally do when I'm not going to play the game for a long time. I have Doom to beat anyways, which I'm waiting to start after my brother beats it, and then The Witcher 3 DLC is out very soon too.

@sterling: Right there with you man, I've never understood what people see in these games. The shooting isn't great and the stories are forgettable. They are pretty but that has never been much of a draw for me. I played a little bit of one and stopped and then played two up until the blue people appeared and never picked it up again. They are very bland games for me.

The gun fights are the absolute worst part of the game and the series so I'm glad they reduced their frequency.

Climbing around the environments, moving through the story, the reveals of the next amazing area and the exploration is what it's about. Every time I saw the waist-high cover about I sighed.

Claiming that the shooting in Uncharted 2, 3 or 4 is anything better than "serviceable" (and that is being generous) is in fact grounds for labeling someone certifiably crazy. Fact.

@sterling: When Tomb Raider came out, that's what really solidified this for me. Tomb Raider just feels better in every conceivable way, I have more fun with it as a game, whereas the main draw for me when it comes to Uncharted is the story. By the time I finished 4, I felt it was exactly one half bad and one half good. The gameplay was miserable, the story was great. In the end I should have just watched all the cutscenes on youtube.

Droppong the fun codes from Uncharted 2 still is a bummer.