Uncharted : The Lost Legacy – The Legacy Continues!

Uncharted as we know it is at a close and we will still haven’t had enough of the adventures of Nathan Drake. However, does the Lost Legacy quench my thirst for adventure? Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is as polished and story driven as its predecessors. While we get a new story based on great characters, we get the same mechanics that bring nothing new or even improve its solid foundation.

Storyline

The story follows the charismatic and witty Chloe Frazer who is on the hunt for The Tusk of Ganesh. The job requires her to join forces with the mighty Nadine Ross whose livelihood is now gone after the dismantle of Shoreline. The two race to find the artifact before the war profiteer Asav, who only wishes to obtain the tusk for his gain. The charm of the story is the relationship that Chloe and Nadine develop through their journey. Tensions ease between both of the leading women as they reveal personal stories of family and become an elite pair that rivals the relationship of Nate and Sully.

In many ways, Chloe can be similar to Nathan Drake, but she has a signature charisma that makes one fall in love with this character. Nadine Ross is always a stern character but develops into a more well-rounded character that one begins to appreciate. The relationship between the two is the star here, and its a sisterhood that I hopewill soon become a consistent aspect of games.

Gameplay

Despite an excellent story that fleshes out great characters, the game has nothing really to show regarding mechanical innovation. The climbing system from all previous games is similar. During gameplay when your character slips you know to expect it as we have seen it a thousand times. A significant flaw in the game is the way enemies interact with the player and the shooting system. Enemies have what I like to call “laser vision.” No matter what type of weapon or action sequence enemies are in they can always shoot the player and one cant even figure out its direction. If the enemy has a pistol, they can hit you from across a forest, or if the enemy is on top of a frantic movie truck, they still land hits that drain your health entirely.

Fighting back is just as frustrating. When aiming a weapon, the crosshair always seems to flair out and about and is never steady to get a clear shot. A better system to be incorporated is the ‘Last of Us‘ shooting system that when focused right allows for great headshots and the ability to master it well. The player can be taken out of immersion because failure can be frequent especially in the harder difficulties it just doesn’t feel fair. A disappointing section in the game was when the game opens up to find coins that seemed to open award. Finding these coins are time-consuming and only lead to a bracelet that glows and makes noise to locate other artifacts that also give no reward.

Graphics

The in-house Naughty Dog engine has one agan given us amazing visuals that when staring at distant parts of the world, they look and feel like a real landscape. Characters and environments in Lost Legacy,  look amazing with detail that is down to the smallest wrinkle on a leaf. As the game progressed, little details in the hand of the characters show brittle and cut up they have become from all the combat and climbing. Naughty Dog has created a real graphical masterpiece what will only continue in future Naughty Dog games.

Sound

Uncharted wouldn’t be complete without its marvelous music. The sense of adventure and tension is in every note of Henry Jackman’s composition. He expertly crafts pieces that transmits the same atmosphere as other Uncharted games but still hold fresh essence. The soundtrack flows perfectly from beginning to end that allows Uncharted The Lost Legacy to possess a signature sound.

Replayability

There is nothing worth playing this game again for, unfortunately. Only a few in-game modifications can be unlocked that were already seen in Uncharted 4. Only Platinum Trophy hunters will return to get every single artifact. The online portion is available with this game that I highly recommend for some quick online fun.