Uncharted 4 has a surprisingly intriguing multiplayer

When you think Uncharted, you think of an awesome, funny, over the top story, never does the multiplayer portion get mentioned nor get a lot of time played. But with the outstanding job with The Last of Us multiplayer, Naughty Dog managed to capture the same sort of magic and bring it over to Drake and the gang in a whole new way.

The Uncharted multiplayer is now available for download for players who bought the Nathan Drake Collection, it runs from December 3rd to December 13th. It currently only features one mode — Team Deathmatch and it is surprisingly super fun. As of now there are 2 maps, the Jungle scene Uncharted fans are so used to and an urban city location. Unlike Uncharted 2 or 3s multiplayer, Uncharted 4 captures some sort of magic that just makes it an endless amount of fun to play. So now that you know the basic overall is positive, you might ask what actually makes Uncharted 4 different from previous titles?

Well, there’s quite a lot. When you first boot up the beta, you will be greeted to an introduction tutorial, here is where you get to see how all the new items and features work. Starting off first is the grappling hook, you might remember it from the gameplay demo that was shown at PSX last year. The grappling hook allows you to swing from different platforms without touching the floor. Not only is it strategically implemented, but it's also totally awesome to glide from post to post.

Similar to the Last of Us multiplayer, everything you do earns money. This currency will allow you to buy in-game items, for example, Rocket Launchers or an AI support buddy. Each time you use an item, the price will increase, making you question each time you use one.  This is where things really get interesting, as the game progresses, players can opt to spend their cash early to set the momentum of the game or save it for the end of the match where they might be in a tight jam. This very mechanic was vital in TLoU multiplayer and it paid off greatly. Uncharted 4 has now adopted this feature which creates their own heated up tensioned matches.

Here is the list of Sidekicks and abilities that you can purchase:

Here is the list of Mystical items you can purchase:

1. Wrath of El Dorado – When thrown, the El Dorado sarcophagus from Uncharted 1 appears to unleash spirits that track down the enemies near where it is placed, and damage them.

2. Spirit of Djinn – The Djinn magic from Uncharted 3 imbues the player with the ability to teleport short distances, but they won’t be able to take cover.

3. Cintamani Stone – Activating this mystical from Uncharted 2 revives Downed allies within its area of effect to full health instantly.

4. The staff of Ayar Manco – This staff, from the Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth novel, casts a magical force across an entire map revealing where the opposing team is located. It will also show up on the mini-map and can be destroyed.

5. Indra’s Eternity – From the Uncharted: Eye of Indra motion comic, this Mystical slows down any enemy that enters its visible area of effect.

In addition to all the actual new items and features, another big change to Uncharted 4 is the movement and gunplay. Right off the bat you can tell that the characters have a lot more weight to them, kind of similar to how the Last of Us felt. Just recently coming off an Uncharted 1-3 binge playthrough, it is one of the first things I noticed. I personally think it feels great, the heavier weight makes Drake feel more grounded and less wobbly. It probably will come down to preference as some might feel it changed too much for their liking, but I think it's an improvement.

Following up on movements, the gunplay has also changed. The shooting has more recoil and a smaller reticle. Once again, coming off previous Uncharted titles, I think it's a step up. The gameplay feels more realistic and when downing an enemy, it just feels good. I will say, though, jumping into Uncharted 4 will take some adjusting too, yes the gameplay feels better, but getting used to the new physics will take some time. Plus the buttons are little confusing, with the new grappling hook on L1, it changes some buttons around, which at first make the game feel unnatural, but after playing a couple rounds it all starts to flow.

Within seconds of starting this game up, you will see how great it looks. Just from the home screen where you see Drake, it really displays its beauty. As this is just the multiplayer portion of the game, you can expect the single player to even look better which is going to be amazing to see. As Naughty Dog stated in the past, the multiplayer will run at 900p 60FPS and single player portion will be 1080p 30FPS. Naughty Dog says that  they rather have a locked 30fps rather than a variable 60fps.

"We want to have the best-looking game. To have it be consistent, locked 30fps." co-lead designer Anthony Newman said."To me, a locked 30fps is way better than a variable 60fps.”

As great as of an experience this was, Naughty Dog has to fix their matchmaking quick. When first starting the game, it took maybe about 15 minutes before finding a lobby of people and a server to play on. However within an hour of playing, Naughty Dog issued a patch that made it a little better. Hopefully by the time more people jump on they will have the problem completely fixed.

It is surprising to see that the Uncharted multiplayer might have some substance to it, making it last longer than just its single player campaign. As of now Uncharted 4 is scheduled to release on March 18th, this will presumably be the only beta we get, so live it up while you can.

Have any of you try the beta yet? How do you feel about it? Let us know in comments below!