How PS4's Power Is Improving Uncharted 4

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End creative director Neil Druckmann has spoken out to explain how the power of the PlayStation 4 is doing a service to Naughty Dog's upcoming action-adventure game. Speaking with GamesRadar, Druckmann explained that some of the game's scenes in which Drake drives a jeep, including the demo we saw at E3 (see the video below), might not have been possible on PlayStation 3.

"Because of the PS4, we do not have the constraints with memory that we had in the past," he said. "So in the set piece, normally, we'd be going down one road [now] you can see the road branches and splits up. There's a ton exploration in this game."

The PS4's power has also brought a new level of visual fidelity to the Uncharted series. Naughty Dog said previously that it was aiming for a "filmic, cinematic" look for Uncharted 4. The game's new Drake character model is so detailed that you can see sweat on his forehead, as well as stubble and even chest hair.

What's more, the PS4's technical prowess has allowed Naughty Dog to implement 850 possible facial animations for Drake, compared to 120 in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception for PS3. In terms of specific figures, Uncharted 4's single-player campaign runs at 1080p/30fps, while multiplayer is aiming for 60fps.

Also in the interview, co-director Bruce Straley said what we saw from Uncharted 4 at E3 was just a taste of what's to come in terms of missions where you get to drive the jeep. You'll get to drive it in "much larger areas," he teased.  But overall for Uncharted 4, you won't be able to drive the jeep whenever you want.

"We're going wide when we want to [and] we're going to narrow it down when the story calls for it. It's all about pacing," Straley explained.

Check out the full GamesRadar interview for more on how the jeep plays into Uncharted 4, which has been delayed to 2016. 

You can also read GameSpot's in-depth interview with Druckmann to learn more about Uncharted 4, the final game in Drake's story.