So funny story. The developers behind these two great games and their respective franchises, were at one time part of the now defunct Universal Interactive and have since been making games solely for PlayStation over the course of its lifespan since the original PS1 (and occasionally doing games on other platforms as well). Insomniac Games are known for their third person shooters, the creative weapons in their games, the storytelling aspect of games and the importance of original IPs and aside from being a first party developer for SCE, have created games for other platforms such as Fuse and Sunset Overdrive as well.
Naughty Dog on the other hand, were known for making games for one franchise for each PlayStation console one game at a time, a trend that would later be broken with the release of The Last of Us for PS3. They created Crash Bandicoot for a while, but following their acquisition to SCE, Universal held the rights to that franchise and thus, Naughty Dog were forced to create a new IP in the form of Jak and Daxter. By the time the PS3 came around, Naughty Dog would then start creating realistic games as opposed to games with fantasy and a fictional setting, starting with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Uncharted become their first franchise to have new instalments on two home consoles (not counting HD remakes) which in addition to The Last of Us, would stop the trend they once had.
Now you know a bit about each developer, now let's look at the re-imagining of Ratchet & Clank and the final entry in the Uncharted series:
Ratchet & Clank (2016)
Its hard to explain exactly what game this is considering that its a tie in to a film of the same name which in turn is a re-imagining of the very first game and therefore, this too is a re-imaging of the very first game. A bit confusing yes, but let's just talk about the game before I ramble. The story is told from the perspective of Captain Qwark (reprised by Jim Ward) who is a prisoner being held in some inter-galactic prison. We then meet Ratchet (reprised by James Arnold Taylor), the only known Lombax in the galaxy who longs for the day to leave his job as a mechanic to join the Galactic Rangers. However, despite performing well in the physical exam, Qwark rejects him because of his criminal background. Meanwhile in some robot factory somewhere, a robot who would later be called Clank (reprised by David Kaye) escapes the factory, only to be shot down and crash lands on Ratchet's planet. The two meet and together, they set out to stop an evil corporate mastermind from destroying worlds. As fans like myself will come to expect, the game follows similar gameplay to previous games along with updated graphics. All the crazy weapons are here, the grinding is there and its just got about everything to make it a Ratchet & Clank game. Plus it builds upon areas of previous games that were never really answered such as where Doctor Nefarious came from in the first place, just to name a few. Most people will say that the game is better than the film and even though I personally haven't seen the film yet, there really isn't any competition here. The game wins hands down, no questions asked. 9/10
Uncharted 4: A Theif's End
Its good to see Uncharted again after a long hiatus (at least in the home console market anyway). For a while, it was a glorified Tomb Raider if Lara Croft was male and looked and behaved like Nathan Fillion and to this day, some people could still call it that. While Tomb Raider is now a firm Microsoft franchise given that its got some exclusivity on their Xbox platforms despite being multi-platform, its safe to say that Uncharted is its main competition. The games are cinematic, but unlike other cinematic games, there is actually some really good gameplay thrown in and the 4th and final entry is no question. So the game starts by taking us right into the action where Nathan Drake (reprised by Nolan North, a beloved voice actor in gaming) and his brother Sam (who was never heard nor mentioned until now for some reason, voiced by Troy Baker, another beloved voice actor in gaming) are heading towards an island while fending off many enemies along the way. We then get some back story on how the brothers know each other and why they haven't been seen together which of course takes place before the first game. And then after an awesome opening credits, we then go straight to the present (approximately 15 years after those events and 3 years after the third main game) where Nate has retired from being a treasure hunter to instead work for a salvage company while living with Elena (reprised by Emily Rose). However things soon go back to the way they used to be when Sam returns and offers Nate treasure that he naturally cannot refuse and sets out to find it with Elena and Sully (reprised by Richard McGonagle) being pulled in from time to time as it happens. Just like with Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted 4 has the same gameplay that we fans have been used to with the free running and wall climbing as well as shooting enemies and other things and finding treasure along the way, while listening to Nate's entertaining commentary as you go. Just like with any new entry done right, everything in the game has been enhanced and expanded with bigger maps, more paths to follow and a whole pile of other things. Plus for all you long time Naughty Dog fans out there, there will be a moment in the game that makes you feel nostalgic and old, no spoilers here, just check it out for yourself. So for Uncharted 4, it is a great game and just shows how great a cinematic game can be and doesn't always have to be about the graphics or motion capture. Uncharted was known for being the game that showed everyone what the PS3 was truly capable of at the time and Uncharted 4 does exactly the same for the PS4. Go out and buy it. That's all I can say. 9/10
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