UNCHARTED 4 (PS4)

I wasn't an Uncharted fan initially, since the first one felt a little bit "more of the same": Just a nice combination of platforming, puzzles and shooting. All those experiences I knew from other games

And now, I was just waiting for this game to buy the PS4. I gradually realized (see here my previous posts about U1, U2, U3) another aspect of the series: How it achieves to make you feel into an adventure movie, but still interactive. Make no mistake, the story is set in stone and you can't affect the outcome, but there is a combination of visual elements, story tricks (like the use of sidekicks for witty dialogues) and ingredients borrowed from movies that makes the experience unique (you can check out a previous article I wrote about that here)

Uncharted 4 may be the best of the series so far. The main reason is the story, which is much more compelling due to playing with family ties. Aside from that the game features some new functionalities during platforming (the rope and the climbing stick), traversing (sliding) and dialogues (at least once you get to choose between comeback lines, and the optional conversations they used in Last of Us). The rest I think I've seen in the previous games

This is another topic it's important to highlight: Naughty Dog has been building on top of what was developed (and succeeded) in the previous games. They don't need to invent the wheel every time. They use some of the previous systems (like the chases with reversed camera) occasionally but it becomes a nice addition instead of a unique selling point. Still, the game often feels fresh because this variety

On the minus side I could say the game felt a little long to me. There was a little too much standard climbing and shooting here and there I could have lived without because it didn't add anything new. Also the multiplayer is ok but nothing impressive: They've borrowed the challenge systems from CoD this time, and that's pretty much it. No reason for not enjoying it, though

All in all, I highly recommend Uncharted 4. The best game I've played on this generation!

STARCRAFT 2 – WINGS OF LIBERTY (PC)

After many months I finally found the time to finish Starcraft 2. As suspected, nothing revolutionary from the extremely successful original game, but quality content nonetheless. The gameplay remains the same – classic RTS with a superb balance – but they’ve added some new features:

• A hub, mostly UI work, where you can interact with your crew and unlock new units / technology with the credits you obtain completing missions
• Choices: At 3 times during the campaign you’re given the opportunity to choose among 2 possible strategies during the next main mission. At least the last one actually changes the gameplay during the final encounter

There are some other goodies – Play an arcade game, watch the TV news, check your new equipment’s specs – but they’re cosmetic. The core of the game is still the combat between the 3 races - with the addition of some new units - and it still works smoothly. I can only imagine the countless hours of playtesting and balancing they went through. Also each mission tries to offer a twist over the basic "destroy their base" approach, using plenty of level design tricks. You can genuinely say no mission is similar to another. which is very well appreciated

I also played some MP games but it’s just shameful, people there are super pros and the encounters are resolved within seconds in some cases. If you don’t have the basic skills to start up the ladder you’re going to have a hard time until you start being competitive / have fun

All in all, nothing you haven’t seen before, but great content if you like the IP or genre. It certainly works and the Korean professional players will be super-happy but I still kinda suspect the RTS genre is not showing much evolution. Who knows, maybe the expansions will offer something brand new?