Uncharted 3: the Uncharteningest

[syntheticgerbil]

I finished this one and was really looking forward to it. I did all the way past crushing mode on single player in a week.

The main issue is while it has a lot that will please people of Uncharted 2, minus a lot of gunplay plus added brawler type gameplay (which I love), the game does really let you control much. There's levels where I'm just walking through things while people talk. There's way too much of this. In fact, there's a ridiculous amount in the last third, where I'm of the opinion it shouldn't be at all. For instance, there's a part where you ride a horse near the end and some guy talks to you. There is no way to make the horse fly off of a cliff, even though the character tells you not to. You do nothing at all but press up. It's so dumb. Also, almost all of the puzzles are concentrated in the first third of the game, leaving some crazy unbalance where the game moves really slow in the beginning and then loses any kind of cerebral stuff at the end.

The game just feels incredibly rushed. The story has a stupid amount of plotholes and the final act of the story is not very eventful and feels very forced. Sure it all looks amazing as usual, but the quality greatly dipped after the cruise ship.

However, the game was simply amazing and I couldn't put it down, even with the slow start, for the first two thirds. The mentioned cruise ship part is so amazing. I loved every bit of it. There's a lot of awesome chase sequences that I couldn't get enough of. The puzzles that were there were trickier than the dumb crap in 1 and 2, which was nice.

And the game looked amazing as usual, I wish I could have seen more of those parts. The sand effects were so awesome but used so little to great effect.

[Nappi]

I have played an hour or so of this. Definitely an Uncharted game, for better or worse. Looks great (although, PS3 has really started to so its age at this point), plays quite well and then someone decides that a reasonable number of bodyguards spontaneously chasing a little kid on the rooftops is hundreds.

[Thyroid]

I've been playing Uncharted 3 at four hour spurs with my friend on weekends.

I really, really like it so far.

The bit that showed how Sully and Drake met is so great

. The Arabic in this game is the real thing, although (amusingly), the

people in Yemen all speak with Egyptian accents; the police, especially, speak the way stereotypical Egyptian police speak, even resorting to the same insults ("Come here, you dog!")

.

However, the best moment so far was a man yelling the Arabic word "Sharmoot". You have no idea how much that made me and my friend laugh. "Sharmoota" is a word that works only for females, and it means "bitch", but in the most degrading way possible; by removing the "a", it applies to men, and it essentially means that the character called Drake a "bitch", but implied he was also fuckable. It's...one of those things that's way funnier for us.

One thing I didn't like is

having Elena be Drake's ex again. After the wonderful way Uncharted 2 ended ("You put clowns above my death?"), I really hoped there'd be a new dynamic there. So I was happy when he put his head on her lap and they just sighed, like old lovers. That's just what they should have gone with

.

Anyway, we just finished-up the

part with the boats

. Fucking loved it, too. Don't think we'll be playing for two weeks, though. Shame. I miss it already.

[Gwardinen]

The Uncharted games are actually great for playing with people around. Since they're so cinematic and generally visually interesting, they're almost as enjoyable to just watch as they are to play. I've played all three games in the presence of a friend who doesn't really play games herself, but finds watching many of them interesting.

[Thrik]

Yeah I hear you on that. My girlfriend loved watching UC2 when it came out, and now she brave enough to tackle UC3 herself with me watching (although I've been zipping through it ahead of her to remove spoilage ) and it's very entertaining seeing how others handle the manic shit that happens. I personally play in a very stealth-orientated way and often intentionally blow myself up if I raise an enemy alert, whereas she just goes nuts and takes on the billion reinforcements they dispatch if you raise an alert — so it's still like a fresh experience.

Regarding the game itself, I've just reached the airfield that was in like every trailer and TV spot. Really been enjoying it although it does take getting quite a bit in before it clicks that actually the game is ace and you get to visit all sorts of awesome environments. I am a little disappointed about the number of glitches as I literally can't recall a single issue in UC2, whereas in UC3 I've encountered things such as enemies spazzing out, one of my companions developing a crazy twitch, and Sully walking right through a closed door and disappearing. Then of course there's the fact that the game's original aiming controls felt like shit, since fixed with an optional setting.

Also there are some areas which look a bit underdeveloped, still beautiful but lacking the intense polish and detailing that Naughty Dog put into UC2. Virtually every scene in UC2 was crammed with animated detail and environmental beauty, whereas in UC3 there are some (but to be clear, not many) areas that just look static, as if they didn't have time to put in all the wind-animated details and shit.

Another thing I spotted that speaks of a slightly rushed development time is the cutscenes; while many of them look superb, some have noticeably flat visuals, obvious pop-in, and other things like that which simply weren't present in UC2. I think part of this is that more (but weirdly not all) cut-scenes are now rendered in-engine, which also introduces a weird disconnect where some are anti-aliased and smoother and some aren't. There's one part where Sully and Drake are talking and their mouths aren't even animated which stuck out like a sore thumb to me.

Of course there're plenty of moments that're absolutely stunning to make up for it. The biggest issue UC3 has to overcome really is the fact that UC2 already came along and blew our minds, and while UC3 throws some epic shit at us none of it goes that far beyond what UC2 did. So whereas the difference between UC1 and UC2 was insane (UC1 practically had no set pieces at all if you've forgotten), UC2 and UC3 are much closer cousins.

Whatever the case, it's a great game that I've been having an amazing time with. If this post seems a bit negative it's because everything else relating to the gameplay, music, humour, etc is fantastic, just like UC2. I can't see many people playing this and not having a great time with it, it's just a shame that whereas UC2 was absolutely polished to perfection UC3 seems like it could have used just a bit longer in the oven.

[syntheticgerbil]

Anyway, we just finished-up the

part with the boats

. Fucking loved it, too. Don't think we'll be playing for two weeks, though. Shame. I miss it already.

Too bad it's all downhill from there.

[Gwardinen]

Giant Bomb just interviewed Nolan North regarding an Uncharted-related book he's created. The interview itself is actually pretty great, and my favourite part comes early on when

Nolan implies he euthanised his own father, and Ryan Davis doesn't even notice.

Can't wait for this year's Northies!

[Thyroid]

So I beat it with a friend of mine. And it is *so* much fun. Not as good as Among Thieves, but probably better than the original.

Too bad it's all downhill from there.

Oh man, no. Some parts were a bit, uh, underused, but some others were crazy fun. I ended-up liking the game a lot.

They chickened-out on all the foreshadowing the game did regarding

Sully's death

, but in a way I'm happy because I love the bastard. I also didn't like that the

Elena-Drake

angle was basically a rehash of Among Thieves's. However, I'm happy that was resolved in a satisfying way too.

Elena

is the heart of this series. The friendship between Drake and Sully is great, but she's the one who brings-out all the emotional stuff in me. I mean, sure; her character development needs some work.

In the first game, she goes from confused reporter to terrorist-killing, gun wielding expert in a few minutes

. But I just find her very likable. I know the games aren't particularly good, storywise, but the three main characters, as well as the occasional misfits they run into, are very fun.

Co-op is fun, fun, fun. Can't wait to try more of it.

[Thrik]

For the first time in UNCHARTED series history, play as your favorite series villains -- Eddy Raja, Zoran Lazarević, and Harry Flynn -- as you embark on a co-op adventure with up to 2 of your friends. Download now to discover the prelude to the co-op adventure mode found in-game in UNCHARTED 3: Drake's Deception™. Why are these villains after a Janus head statue? Where did they find it? What's guarding it?

CPaHRQF_Tbo

[elmuerte]

I have been playing the game quite a bit. I'm now post-boat.

This game really has a lot of those annoying running sequences where you fail if you make a single mistake. I hate those. I'm also having occasional problems with getting Drake to do what I want. I'm pretty sure climbing in Uncharted 2 was much more fluently and he didn't miss ledges that often. But that could be just me.

I didn't change the aiming thing, I think. I'm not really have any problem with the aiming, or at least, not more than I usually have with aiming on gamepads.

[elmuerte]

ugh... I reached the point where you have to kill a shitload of very tough enemies that also trow serious explosive at you that don't show up as handgrenades on the HUD. I've played that part about 15 times now and I keep getting killed, sometimes even within 30 seconds. There's nowhere to take cover because those guys teleport on all sides.

[Gwardinen]

Yeah, I forget exactly when it was but near the end of the game I just turned the difficulty down. I'd already had the combat experience of the game by that point, and just pretty much wanted to see the story come to a close.

[Nappi]

I never reached the point you are in now, but yeah, I just lowered the difficulty at some point because I wasn't interested in dying. Frustrating bits were still frustrating, though.

[Thrik]

Haha, yeah the 'let's throw a new type of enemy at you that's unbelievably difficult to kill' Uncharted tradition most definitely returns in UC3. I found that unless you use the RPGs and grenade launchers scattered around you've got pretty much no chance, although they do go down quite fast when you find them.

Fortunately they don't appear very often after the one or two times they fuck your shit up.

[toblix]

Just finished the three or four first chapters of this (

just returned to the present after the rooftop chase

) and I'm quite excited and sad. Excited because it's always great to jump into these games.

Incredible production value and attention to detail, every beat is perfect and it's all so overwhelmingly fun and great and awesome. Sad, because I know what the gameplay will inevitably become as the game progresses.

I'm not expecting to be disappointed, as I loved the previous two games, and there's nothing so far to indicate it'll be less exciting or fun. It's just that, as I wander through the Francis Drake museum in Colombia, looking at exhibits, hearing the conversations of the other groups of visitors, everything looking super slick with bright sunlight coming in through the windows and the hundreds of hours of work behind Nate's every little movement, wondering if that one guy is watching me or just happened to look in my direction just now... I'm instantly transported to adventure game mode (in particular, Broken Sword's uncanny ability to create a sense of real locations) and want the game to be just this – just walking slowly through beautiful, exotic locations, and instead of the inevitable shootout with a helicopter, maybe sweet puzzles.

Anyway, it's a great feeling to just having started a new Uncharted game.

Also, the hidden treasures are somewhat of a pace-breaker for me, as I tend to navigate every location slowly and methodically, avoiding obvious trigger points, in hopes of finding another one of those slowly blinking things. I wish they'd turn that stuff off until the second playthrough, as I'm powerless to resist it.

[elmuerte]

That's almost exactly how I feel.

Drake's museum is exceptional, that level of detail doesn't return anywhere else in the game. Which is a real shame, because there are some places you might want to check out other stuff that isn't vital for the puzzle.

Finding treasures in U3 is actually useless, unless you want to get those trophies. It doesn't unlock anything, so you might as well just ignore them.

[toblix]

Finding treasures in U3 is actually useless, unless you want to get those trophies. It doesn't unlock anything, so you might as well just ignore them.

I want to, but I can't! I had the same problem with Gears of War. I probably spent most of the time scouring every location for stupid collectibles.

[toblix]

Aaand done! What a fantastic game! Bonus points for having a proper explanation for the inevitable super-enemies towards the end. Also, more bonus points for keeping them to a minimum. Just when I was getting tired of their supernatural antics, I was back to regular mans.

Most of all, of course, super thousand bonus point for having an ending that doesn't grind to a complete halt on some lame boss fight! The pacing of the whole last part of the game was fantastic because of it. Also, the guy from American Horror Story is a good Nathan Drake likeness.

Also, I almost never smile, but I can't help it when they go completely overboard with the action. The aquarium section is one of my favorite game parts ever.

Also, vaulting over a ledge and then falling through the floor is the new jumping a too-wide gap and having someone "I gotcha!" at the last minute.

[juv3nal]

Finding treasures in U3 is actually useless, unless you want to get those trophies. It doesn't unlock anything, so you might as well just ignore them.

Really? I thought collecting sets gets you upgrade money in multi/coop? Oddly I haven't played through the coop adventures this time around even though I really liked them in 2. Lending the game to a friend right away once I finished the SP might have had something to do with that.

[toblix]

Satisfyingly, I got the 80/100 trophy as I neared the end. Since I knew I had missed some along the way, there was no point in looking for them anymore and I could focus on the game proper. So dumb.

[syntheticgerbil]

You can replay the chapters from the menu and get the missing treasures if you really want them. They tell you how many is in each and how many you're gathered so far.

Surprised you thought the end parts were paced well. I felt like the game was just chugging to a halt in good ideas once I started on horse back up until I had to fight all of the supernatural jerks/minions right before the final confrontation. Just seemed so uninspired after the greatness of the cruise ship.

The cruise ship was very much like a Little Nemo comic to me, that could be why I loved it so much.

[elmuerte]

I thought those supernatural fights were very unbalanced. 90% of my deaths of the whole game were in those 3 fights.

[twmac]

Oh fuck, they brought back the supernatural fights for a third time? Do they not learn?

Have steamrolled throught the first two Uncharteds in about a week. I spent the whole tme scratching my head over why people liked Uncharted 1 (the only thing I can think of is that it is one of those early release platform games when there wasn't much worth getting that people latched onto). I finished it in less than a day and spent a lot of time trying to come up with reasons why it was good. Then I played Uncharted 2 and the difference between the two games is night and day.

For what it is Uncharted 2 is a masterpiece. Pretty much everything was tweaked for the better, the shooting (although not perfect was a massive step up), the platforming (felt more fluid and there were definitely some influences from Assassin's Creed) and the setting (everything was more vibrant and varied). There was very much the feeling that I wasn't doing anything that was any different from anyone else but the sheer spectacle was enough.

Uncharted 3 feels wonky so far, it isn't as buggy as Uncharted 1 but I got Drake stuck in the 'rotating jesus' position in the museum and I have had the title crash on me twice. The shooting has gone back to the crumminess of U1 and the platforming just doesn't seem to be as fluid as Uncharted 2. The puzzles, always the weakest point of the Uncharted series are abundant and worse. I don't enjoy hidden item searches and this game throws three of them at you in a short period of time. I am dragging my feet on this one but I should finish it by the end of the week. Overall, I wish I had just stuck with 2 and not bothered.

[Thrik]

Surprised you thought the end parts were paced well. I felt like the game was just chugging to a halt in good ideas once I started on horse back up until I had to fight all of the supernatural jerks/minions right before the final confrontation. Just seemed so uninspired after the greatness of the cruise ship.

I'm completely with toblix here, I absolutely loved the section at the airport as I got to do some proper stealth action, and I really enjoyed the desert section. Yes the chase section was reminiscent of UC2 and UC1's similar sequences, but then it's not a bad thing for a game or film to have signature moments like that (look at Bourne or Bond).

Admittedly it did feel overly recycled once I got to the secret city, as the big doors opening was basically done verbatim in Uncharted 2 — and UC2 did it better, with the city's revelation being considerably more impressive. However I thought they paced the last chapter much better than in UC2, as there were a number of ridiculously hard sections during UC2's. The side-effect of this seems to be that people think UC3's ending is kind of brief although really it's no shorter than UC2's when you take away the parts you spend 10,000 hours trying to beat (ie: Guardians and Lazarevic).

I was initially really underwhelmed when they brought back the supernatural element, but they riffed on it in such a way that actually played to my expectations after UC2 and where it led caught me by surprise. I think it was pretty cool use of misdirection actually, and as mentioned before they didn't keep it going long enough to get tedious as in UC2.

Overall I rate the fuck out of UC3. Some parts might have been a little weaker, but I can't say it's better or worse than UC2. It sits on pretty much the same level in every regard, short of some kind of retarded bugs that I would hope were patched out by now (thankfully the aiming was sorted out before I started).

[elmuerte]

I liked UC2 more than UC3; but that's mainly because of the background story and environments.