I guess I'm in the minority here but I think the new direction is pretty dumb.
You're taking God of War; a series founded on violence and tits, and try to tidy it up? If that's what they're trying to do then I can't help but feel that maybe this franchise should have just retired instead. I'm not opposed to the reboot idea and taking it in a new direction, but then why the hell would you bring back Kratos? Feels like this kind of weak half-step.
The fact that they are going away from the Devil May Cry roots and into more Dark Souls territory is also disappointing to me; but hey, I was never a huge fan to begin with.
Personally I think what they're doing is sort of genius.
Just a casual gamer? They have the Xbox One S at 300. PC player with no interest in consoles? Their games are also coming to Windows 10. Dedicated console gamer but no interest in PC but still want the latest high end experience? That's were the Xbox Scorpio comes in.
They are covering all the bases in a really smart way.
The main characters are sometimes laughably uninteresting. Geralt is supposed to be an emotionless mutant warrior ostracized by society. The game says this over and over, but it's clearly not the case. He shows very strong emotions to other characters, makes puns, and is fortunately quite pretty despite the horrors of his training and life. He's a transparent vehicle for power fantasy. He's simultaneously no one and potentially anyone so the player can make him who they want to be. This is fine, but it clashes with the character from a story perspective and takes away any potentially interesting story to tell with his character.
Isn't that pretty much the whole point of Geralt's character though? He supposed to be cold and detached, to be neutral and professional, but he's not, he's very much a human being. I haven't read much of the books but a recurring theme is that Geralt is totally not neutral and often don't abide by his Witcher code.
I think the choices you make fit Geralt's character very well in these games, because he's kind of a hypocrite. There are enough blanks to fill in by the player to give a sense of agency over him. But the choices are so muddy and shades of gray that they very rarely feel like they clash with Geralt's already established personality.
I rather enjoyed the bait and switch, it kept me on my toes throughout the game, but I would have enjoyed it even more if the title screen changed and the classic theme started playing after you had beaten the game. That would have been perfect.
Ultimately I don't think the sugarsweet ending detracts from the themes Uncharted 4 explores.
You know what? I could totally see that happening.
Companies seem that have realized that pulling a "Hey, you know that thing you thought would never happen? Well guess what, we're totally making it happen!" earns them a lot of goodwill, something Sony proved last E3. Doing something a lot of people have been clamoring for builds up a lot of buzz on social media, firing off youtubers and forums that willingly market the game for you with their passion.
Resident Evil 6 suffers from the same issue Devil May Cry 4 has, it's really fun gameplay stuck in a pretty poor game.
It really highlights the strengths and weaknesses of japanese game development. Often the mechanics and the nuts and bolts of the gameplay is the first thing that gets made, while designing the actual campaigns and story is secondary.
This is super evident in RE6, where mechanically there is a ton of potential, but it's held hostage inside 4 campaigns that are cramped, poorly paced and riddled with overbearing set pieces and quick time events.
I imagine it will have you playing as Sam either before the start of the game (when he gets out of prison.) or after the ending with Nate being retired and Sam having a solo adventure.
It will probably also feature some more Nadine, she just sort of walked out of the story at the end. Possibly having Sam and Nadine fight or team up.
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