Just finished. What a beautiful, beautiful game. I still can't believe video games have reached the point where they can elicit the same emotions from me as great movies can. Still in awe, but yes, my favorite of the series, without a doubt. And I'll be honest, I kinda geeked out that the final boss fight was [blackout]a friggin' sword fight! I've always had a weakness for sword fights, so OBVIOUSLY this was a much better final boss battle than the non-existent one in the 3rd, though not quite intense as the one in UC2. I still liked it better, though, cuz swords! In a pirate ship![/blackout] Perfect.
That said, NO ONE should play this without having played the others first. The emotional attachment to the characters is everything in this game. Finishing this was like finishing an epic book series, having to bid farewell to characters I've grown so invested in, and just wanting to dive back in and pretend it hasn't ended, lol.
Henry Jackman's score deserves a shout, too. I know he was using existing themes, but I still think he did a better job with this than with Cap: CW.
Also, watching the end credits, I liked the special dedication they had to Amy Hennig and her contributions to the series. I know there was some behind the scenes turmoil with her and relationship with Naughty Dog didn't end on the best of terms, so I thought that was a pretty classy, tbh.