Game review: Nathan Drake’s return in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is a triumph on almost every level

Uncharted 4 stands out for its gorgeous graphics with gloriously detailed scenery. Sony Interactive Entertainment America via AP

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Sony

PlayStation 4

Five stars

Everyone has a relative like Sam Drake – you know, a seedy brother (or uncle, or in-law) who shows up every now and then with a new neck tattoo. You love the guy, but you know his sudden arrival means there is trouble ahead.

Sam is the older brother of Nathan Drake, the hero of Sony's Uncharted series, the latest of which – Uncharted 4: A Thief's End – is available now. The twist here is that Nathan is kind of rakish himself, as we've seen in his earlier adventures. But as this new chapter begins, Nathan has settled into domestic bliss with his lovely wife, Elena, and sworn off the globe-trotting, ­treasure-hunting ways that got him into so much bother in the past.

Nathan thought his brother died during a caper that went bad 15 years ago – so when Sam reappears with a price on his head and a tall tale of lost pirate booty, his brother feels obliged to help – and so begins another high-stakes, life-or-death romp around the world.

The best parts of the ­Uncharted games have always been the sequences in which Nathan is exploring new vistas, whether climbing mountains or descending deep underground.

Your job is to guide the impossibly athletic rogue to his destination, with the most exotic settings turning into elaborate mazes. The puzzles never get too difficult – even when Nathan seems trapped, careful observation will help you find a way out.

Of course, the Drakes aren’t the only ones on the trail of the treasure – and their path is often blocked by heavily armed mercenaries. The resulting firefights are much less rewarding than the exploration, even though they are slickly executed.

Then there are the gonzo action sequences that are a speciality of developer Naughty Dog. A Thief's End is filled with enough explosions, chases and hairsbreadth escapes to fuel a summer's worth of Hollywood blockbusters.

One in particular – a frantic race through a seaside town – left me giggling and breathless.

All of this is presented with the most gorgeous graphics that have ever been created for a video game. Whether you are lost in a jungle or perched on a lofty mountaintop, it is worth taking a moment to appreciate the gloriously detailed scenery.

Amid all the spectacle, Naughty Dog also takes the time to carefully build the relationships among its four main characters – Nathan, Sam, Elena and Sully, Nathan’s old partner-in-crime. The banter between the Drake brothers (played by video-game voice-acting all-stars Nolan North and Troy Baker) is eerily lifelike, filled with the kind of ­silly in-jokes, affectionate concern and genial jibes I share with my own brother.

In the end, the more humble personal concerns of these four people mesh nicely with the globe-spanning fable of greed, ambition and hubris that they uncover.

Uncharted 4 is one of the most ambitious video games yet created, and succeeds on almost every level – but its most impressive accomplishment may be its creation of four central characters that I actually cared about.