What I've Been Playing #1

Hey there, Gamers and Game Makers!

This past weekend I had the chance to do some much needed catch up on a couple of games I've been meaning to get to for some time. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Hitman Season 1..

I managed to complete both games over the course of the weekend and both were great. I loved both games for very different reasons. Let's start off with uncharted 4. As a game developer who tends to create very narrative driven games, Uncharted 4 is a dream to play. The story is crafted so well with fantastic characters, each with their own traits that make you love or hate them. The gameplay is balanced very well too. The world artists and level designers do a fantastic job of making it clear where you have to go and what you can interact with without once making something seem out of place. It all blends perfectly to make for an enjoyable exciting experience.

As someone who has followed this series of games since the beginning, it was also quite an emotional game to play. It being the final installment is the series had my expectations very high and very curious as to how they would end it. Now, I won't spoil the ending as I'm sure there's more like me who are taking their time getting to it. But, it was a perfect ending in my mind.

Ok, let's talk about Hitman Season One. Once agin, I've been a fan of this series of games since the start with Contracts and Blood Money some of my favorites in the series. Absolution, while a solid game, was I found lacking in some of the classic elements that made the Hitman games so good. It went for a more linear style that suited the story they wanted to tell. However, Hitman Season One has gone back to the design that made me fall in love with the games.

While there is still a story and it is interesting, the game is structured in such a way that you can just completely ignore the story and it won't be a problem. What I love about Hitman is the open ended levels that are so detailed. The characters all have their own routines to go about and the possibilities for how you can take out your targets are almost endless. I have to hand it to the game designers on this one. The ability to be able to craft a world that not only feels alive but also giving the player the ability to interact and manipulate the routines in that world to benefit yourself but for it all to come together and make sense is amazing.

Often times when I'm replaying a mission, I'll ignore my objective and simply explore the level just listening in on conversations, observing ways I could plan out a way to kill my target and even just enjoy the attention to detail in the levels. The game design and level design in a good Hitman game is some of the best you'll see. One of the best things about this Hitman game is how much you can replay it and you can be sure I'll be jumping back in once I get some free time.