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Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016)
'Uncharted 4: A Thief's End' concludes a great series on a bad note
After years of playing the "Uncharted" video game series, I had a high expectation for its finale, "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End." This final edition to such an amazing game series, however, fell a great distance short of that expectation. Throughout my life, and my video game-playing career, "Uncharted" has consistently been among my favorite games to play. Unique characters, creative game play and compelling stories are a common trend within each edition, but "Uncharted 4" contains none of these traits. There are a few specific aspects that make the final edition by far the worst. Each of the first three games were made with identical combat systems, animation styles and other smaller things, such as menu layouts and fonts. With "Uncharted 4," for whatever ludicrous reason, they decided to change almost everything. Everything from aiming and shooting to even the characters themselves are drastically different. Elena Fisher, sidekick and wife of main character Nathan Drake, looks entirely different than she has in the previous games, and it's hard to see her as the same character as before. Additionally, this game was much easier to beat, which made it less entertaining to play. Previously, Drake has fought off terrifying monster like zombies and yetis, yet no such creatures take part this time around, making for a boring conclusion. For the first half of the game, it takes willpower to push yourself through the agonizingly slow chapters of the introduction, and even when you're a decent amount into the game, it doesn't get any better until the ending chapters. Despite the latter chapters providing better game play, the ending of the game seems to rush up on you, and you think, "That's it?" One huge flaw is how unrealistic almost every intense situation is. Being shot at while hanging from a cliff with one hand? No worries. Drake can use his grappling hook to latch onto a rickety pole one hundred feet away, in which he uses his supernatural upper body strength to fling himself past all of his problems. The chances of Drake surviving all that he does and finishing the game alive are unfathomably low, and it becomes comical every time he survives another blunder. The only thing that keeps this game from being a complete disgrace was its online multiplayer feature. Similar to developer Naughty Dog's last game "The Last of Us," the multiplayer kept me entertained and determined to get better. Having been a devout player of Naughty Dog's games for the majority of my life, I was significantly underwhelmed and disappointed with their latest work. I would recommend playing any other game developed by them, but this one falls short, and I can affirmatively say it was not worth buying.
Logan (2017)
'Logan' draws a triumphant close to lackluster series
The X-Men have had a turbulent experience acclimating to the big screen. Since the turn of the century, nine movies have been produced as a part of the X-Men series, each providing varying results. Installments such as "Days of Future Past" and "Apocalypse" have shown and fulfilled the potential of the series, while others such as "X-Men 3" and "The Wolverine" lay on the opposite end of the spectrum. Due to the uncertainty that comes with each new release, there was a tangible anticipation leading to the release of "Logan." Being the final addition to the series, this was the filmmakers' last opportunity to give their fans a movie they can appreciate. And fittingly, their last venture was definitively the best. After 17 years of reprising his role as the Wolverine, Hugh Jackman has capped it off with his best performance yet. A wild and ferocious, yet tender and human beast lies within Logan, and Jackman portrays this with amazing clarity. Physical characteristics of the scenery and characters were obviously essential to the set directors, as every scene was strikingly realistic and every face finely detailed. Personality exuded from each and every character, not only due to talented makeup artists, but to the enormous talent shown by almost every actor who was given screen time. Stephen Merchant gave a particularly chilling performance as Caliban, which was memorable to say the least. Apart from the previous films, "Logan" has a much more dramatic, emotionally-driven tone, going against the usual superhero movie archetype. Perhaps what gave the film the final push past its predecessors was the plot itself. In previous installments, it was at times difficult to find any genuine connection to the story, instead being forced to comprehend outlandish relationships between heroes and villains, family members, or others. In this edition, the plot was arguably the best part of the movie, during which one can't help but shed a tear once closure is drawn and the curtains close. Unlike many other long-running sequels, "Logan" was able to properly conclude the X-Men series. The story ran smoothly, logically, and at points, unbearably forward. Before its end, the film was able to forgive the X- Men of all their past transgressions, and tied all strings together for a grand finale of the ages. "Logan" deserves every bit of the high praise it has received since its release, and has wholly fulfilled and even heightened the reputation of the X-Men series.