Naughty Dog is making some major changes to Uncharted 4 as far as the dialogue and story narrative is concerned. For the first time ever in the series they're putting the power of narrative choice in the hands of gamers. That's right, you'll be able to choose certain dialogue choices for Nathan Drake in Uncharted 4.
Gamespot picked out some choice moments from an interview that creative director on Uncharted 4, Neil Druckmann, had with Kinda Funny Games, where he reveals that there are going to be a few moments peppered throughout the gameplay experience of Sony's exclusive third-person action-adventure for the PlayStation 4 where players will have the option of choosing the dialogue responses for Nate.
In one sequence it's recounted how when Nate and Sam meet again after Nate thought that he was dead. Players are greeted with the option of what they want Nate to say during the sequence, one option including going back over the adventures that took place in Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3.
According to Druckmann, this was a perfect way to add a bit of replayability and immersion for the player for Nate's final outing. According to the creative director this is the final game in the series and they won't be doing another Uncharted sequel. It seems weird to end it at number four, but that's what Naughty Dog seemed to agree upon, with Druckmann telling Kinda Funny Games...
Each Uncharted has been more successful than the [last]. So if you think about it, it's a horrible business decision [to end the franchise], […] What's awesome about Sony and how they treat us is they let us make whatever game we want to make. With Uncharted, these characters are real to us.Nathan Drake is letting us know, 'Tell the final story.' And we felt like we really came up with something that looks at the three previous games as the start of an arc and this is the finish.
It's not a bad way to go out if they go out shining. My only worry is that Druckmann is known for taking some dark turns in his writing and I do wonder if Uncharted 4 will suffer from that feels-factor that The Last of Us carried with it? They weren't afraid to drop bodies quick or throw in some heart-wrenching turns to keep players alert and focused on both the story taking place and the action happening on screen.
There is a part of me that was hoping that Amy Hennig had finished Uncharted 4 because it seemed like it would have been guaranteed to end on a high note. While I have no doubts about the writing and directing abilities of Druckmann and the rest of the crew at Naughty Dog, there is that nagging issue that despite all the fancy graphics, cool new gameplay upgrades and the addition of being able to choose some narrative directions in the dialogue sequences, that maybe things may not end so well for Nate and his rag-tag band of adventurers. I guess we'll find out once March 18th, 2016 approaches and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End releases exclusively for the PS4.
