Uncharted 4, PS4 beta impressions: five things we learned from A Thief’s End

Uncharted fans last week caught their first proper glimpse of A Thief's End – in the form of a two-day multiplayer beta.

But despite its short duration, it still gave gamers plenty of clues as to what to expect when it launches later this year.

Here are five things we learned from getting stuck into the beta – and while there were plenty of positive moments, we're hoping for a few improvements too.

1) The gameplay has been tweaked – for the better

Finally, Uncharted’s gunplay has been noticeably improved. Enemies are no longer bullet sponges, with a simple shot to the head bringing them down with a thud. There's a real sense of impact now, rather than bullets simply travelling 'through' enemies.

Other annoyances, such as having to press triangle to pick up ammo, also seem to have been ditched – pick-ups are now automatically acquired by running over them.

The maps seem well designed, with plenty of vertical elements to allow for more tactical combat. Oh, and it runs at a silky smooth 60 frames per second.

2) Drake’s the king of swing

For the first time, Drake is able to lasso a rope on to certain areas and swing from it. And it's as simple as a press of the L1 button – making it easy to master. It works very well indeed - with plenty of opportunities to swing around the multiplayer arenas.

It definitely came in handy to evade pursuits, adding another element to the chaos. Plus, time it right and you'll pull of a one-hit kill.

3) Calling for help doesn’t work so well

In the beta, when characters take critical damage they fall to their knees: in one last attempt to stay alive, gamers can press X to call for help.

It’s an idea that’s worked well in other titled – but not so much here, as you're quickly finished off before getting a chance to press it.

Most of the time, your soon-to-be-killer toys with you for a few seconds before delivering a final blow with a boot to the head, which quickly becomes frustrating.

4) There’s been another delay

Given the weight of expectation on their shoulders, it's no surprise that developers Naughty Dog want to take as much time as possible to ensure Uncharted delivers – and that’s no bad thing.

Disappointingly, that means another delay, with the game now shipping on May 10 – but fingers crossed it’ll mean a more polished end result.

5) The graphics aren’t quite there yet

Speaking of polish – there's no doubt A Thief's End is a great looking game, but after the glitzy trailers and 'photorealistic' characters featured in the cut scenes, some may have felt slightly underwhelmed by the visuals.

While the environments look stunning up close, some background elements are a bit of a let-down. For example, whilst the cliff jungle level looked lush and dense for the most part, the sea in the distance was flat and unrealistic.