Video Game Review: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Last night I just finished playing the 4th game in the Uncharted series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the series and I think is the best game so far. Fortunately there is another installment in the form of "Lost Legacy." I will give that a shot after playing a few other games in between.

The game starts off with an exciting boat chase and then moves to the beginning of the story. Doing this received a lot of acclaim when they did it in Uncharted 2. The thing that I didn't like with the 2nd game is that when you got back to that part of the game, you had to go through the whole scenario again. I appreciated that Uncharted 4 just shows highlights of the encounter and lets you continue without having to redo anything.

The scenery in all of the Uncharted games is amazing and the 4th game does not disappoint. There are the usual tropical islands but other parts of the world as well. While pictures can give you an idea of the detail in the game, you really need to play the game to appreciate it.

I felt a real connection with the story and think it is the best one yet. I felt that Uncharted 2 really just repeated the same story from the first game. I also didn't like the "mystical" aspect of those two games. With Uncharted 4, the story is very believable and it really felt like I was discovering ancient ruins.

During the story, you continually add entries to a journal. Once I completed the game, I would have paid a healthy sum of money to get one sent to me in print. Perhaps Naughty Dog, the game developer,  should make a completed journal available for fans of the game like myself. You can purchase a blank journal but I want one already filled in with drawings from the game.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and Uncharted 4 is the last game featuring Nathan Drake as the main character. It is clear that he won't be going on any more adventures. When I first heard that, I thought something bad happens. I don't want to give any spoilers but it is a happy ending and not tragic.

Uncharted 4 is rated "M" for mature because of violence and language. You wind up killing a lot of bad guys and people do use some colorful language. The language is not as bad as some of the other "M" games I have played but you should be aware of it. You can purchase the game new for around $40 or used for $15. I don't know why anyone would sell their copy as this is one of the few games I would consider replaying. I definitely recommend this game for teenagers, young adults, and those of us older guys that still like playing video games. I got my copy using an industry discount for around $11 and plan to keep it in my library.

My standard disclaimer is that I do work in the video game industry, know several people who worked on the game, and may even be associated with the developers in some way shape or form. I still hope you find the review somewhat objective.

Happy Halloween

This year Halloween is on a Tuesday and so I find myself in the Bay Area. Nobody will come trick-or-treating to my boat and so there is no need to provide anyone with candy. That is a good thing because I don't need any candy tempting me to eat more sugar than I already do. So I am wondering what I will do to make today unique from any other day of the week that I am on the boat.

I thought about playing a scary game. One of the free games for PS Plus subscribers is called Amnesia and is supposed to be scary. I started playing it at work last week and decided it is not a game that I enjoy, so I stopped playing it. This surprised a lot of my coworkers as they have all seen the critical acclaim it has received. Instead I will continue playing Uncharted 4. It should be a fun evening but not really different than last night as I did the same thing.

While I may not be in the Halloween mood, I have decided that tomorrow I will string up Christmas lights on my boat. Last year I did that for the first time and liked it so much I am looking forward to doing it again this year. Sure Christmas is several months away but I always enjoy the season and am looking forward to starting early this year. In the mean time, I hope everyone enjoys Halloween this year.

Video Game Review: Uncharted 3 Drake's Deception

Monday evening I finally finished playing Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception on my PlayStation 4. This is a game I started playing with my son over Christmas last year but didn't have time to finish until now. Rather than pick up where I left off, I started over a few weeks ago. I'm glad I did as I had forgotten a number of the controls. Besides, the beginning of the game is a lot of fun and worth playing over again.

I have mentioned that I am a fan of the Uncharted series of games and really looked forward to finishing up the original trilogy. I have to say that my favorite of the 3 is the last one. I felt that Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 2 were the same story with just a bit different window dressing. I think that 2 did a much better job telling the story than 1 but they had a lot of similar elements. Uncharted 3 continues to share some of those elements but also has a lot of new elements that increased my enjoyment.

I felt like the end of both Uncharted 1 and 2 required me to fight some pretty difficult battles with superhuman monsters. Naturally I would die and have to restart the battle.  Eventually it got rather tiring and only my desire to finish the game kept me playing. With Uncharted 3, the end battle also felt difficult but I didn't have to worry about superhuman monsters. I will confess I didn't make it through without dying once or twice, but the battle felt more natural and I enjoyed it significantly more.

Uncharted 3 is part of the Remastered Uncharted Collection game available for the PlayStation 4 and has an ESRB rating of T for "Teen." There is some mild language and violence but I have and would allow my teenage boys to play the game. If you have a PlayStation 3, you can find the game for that platform relatively inexpensively and it is definitely worth the price.

Now that I have finished Uncharted 3, I will take a bit of a break and play a different type of game. Playing the same game series one after another can lead to a bit of a burnout. Once my next game is complete, I am really looking forward to Uncharted 4 and will play that.

My Sons and Video Games

Normally I like to hang out and play video games during the Christmas break. I have 2 PlayStation 4's and so I didn't think I would have to worry about getting time on a console to play video games. This afternoon my youngest son wanted to play Uncharted 4 on the PS4 in my bedroom. My oldest son thought that looked like fun and so he went down to the TV room and played Uncharted 3. When I realized I couldn't play, I went to tune my skis in the basement.

At the start of the break I thought about bringing my 3rd PS4 back to Utah from my boat. Then my two sons and I could play games all at the same time. I didn't think it would be a problem but now I can see that bringing it home may have been the smart move.

Christmas List 2016: Video Games I Want to Play

Every year I try to put together a Christmas list for that technically minded person in your family based upon what I want. Sometimes I have listed feel-good gifts but most of the time I list video games and other items that I would like to receive. Today I am going to restrict it to just video games. I must confess that I already own a bunch of these games and so this list is what I would like to play during the Holiday break when I am not skiing. Some of these are old games while others have just come out. That should give you a healthy mix of economical gifts as well as more expensive ones. Here is the list, in alphabetical order:

Battlefield 1: I really enjoyed playing Battlefield 3. I tried Battlefield 4 but lost interest after about an hour. I understand that EA figured out they need compelling story lines so that Battlefield 1 is much more engaging. I already have my copy of this game and look forward to finding some time to play it.

God of War 3: I have finished playing both 1 and 2 on the PlayStation 3 so now I want to play the remastered version of 3 on the PlayStation 4. I had hoped to start this evening but am getting really tired after waking up at 4:15 this morning to catch my flight to California and may begin tomorrow. Naturally I have a copy of this game already and have had it for quite some time.

Rise of the Tomb Raider: The Tomb Raider reboot is one of my favorite video games. It is along the same lines as the Uncharted series with a female protagonist instead of a male one. Those of you with XBox One consoles have been able to play this game for the past year, while those of us that favor the PlayStation 4 console have had to wait. The exclusivity is now over so I am looking forward to picking this game up and continuing the adventure.

Steep: I am a huge fan of skiing and so I look forward to any well-done skiing or snowboarding video game. When the oppressive heat of summer kicks in, I head to my cool basement and pretend it is winter again. That will probably be the case with this Ubisoft title as I don't own it yet. However I have it on my Christmas list in the hopes that someone who loves me will get me a copy.

Uncharted 3 & 4: I love the Uncharted games and have finished both 1 and 2. Now that I have more time, I will try to finish 3 and 4. It may take me some time as I don't have huge amounts of time to play video games. I already have my copies of each game.

The Walking Dead Season 3: I just saw that this will be released shortly. I played the first and second seasons and am eagerly anticipating the next one. I have yet to purchase the game but will look for it as soon as I complete one or two other games on my list.

Yes I work for a video game company but I have tried to include a number of titles from other game publishers. I have also listed those games that have risen to the top of my want-to-play list. As I browsed through the catalog of video games I own and those available for video game consoles, I came across a number of games that sounded interesting but I didn't want my list to be too long. I want it to be honest. Now we will see how many of these I actually play this Christmas season.

My E3 Favorites

I have had the pleasure of walking the E3 show floor for the past couple of days and have been amazed by the high-quality games soon to be available. I thought I would take a paragraph or two and mention my favorites from the show. Before I do that I have to provide the disclaimer that I work for a video game company and may be promoting one of my own games. I don't think that is a real issue as there are a number of games from different studios that I mention. Hopefully I am seen as objective and not playing favorites. So in alphabetic order (to keep it fair), here they are:

Call of Duty: Black Ops III - I have always been a fan of first-person shooters and Call of Duty is the most popular franchise out there. I have played a number of COD titles and they all have felt very well put together. This one looks like it will be a great game when it is released on November 16, 2015.

Doom - Doom is the original first-person shooter. I remember playing it on the PC when it first came out and spent many hours crawling around the dungeon-like setting. The latest version is a major advancement in graphics and looks to be the same great fun available in the Spring of 2016.

Just Cause 3 - I never played the first two versions of this game but was drawn into the Square Enix booth at E3 and really enjoyed the rich environment found in this game. I sat through the demo movie more than once and look forward to the release some time this year.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - Several years ago one of my coworkers gave me a copy of Metal Gear Solid and suggested I play it. I loaded it onto my PlayStation 3 but couldn't really figure it out. Today I spent 45 minutes in the Konami booth watching an expert go through a mission. There is a lot to the game and I could see why it was so tough to figure out the first time. This is one of those games that will take hours to master but will be well worth the effort. It will be available September 1st of this year.

Star Wars Battlefront - When EA released Star Wars Battlefront II for the PlayStation 2, I went and bought 2 copies. One for each of my PS2 consoles. That way each of my sons could play each other over the network. It was a really great Christmas break. When the latest version was announced, I was excited to see game play footage at E3. It did not disappoint me and I will immediately rush out and get this one when it is available on November 20th of this year.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Uncharted has to be one of my favorite game series ever. I have to admit that I am not very good at it but my youngest son is. I could sit and watch him play for hours. It was a toss-up between 2 or 3 being better but they were all a lot of fun. I have only been able to see small sections of 4 and it looks like it will be another immediate purchase I make when it is available in 2016.

There were a lot of other games I thought looked pretty amazing and are eager for their release. I didn't mention them only because I don't have an unlimited amount of time to write this evening. Besides, these are the ones I am most excited about. Judging by the E3 crowd reaction, I don't think I am the only one.