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Uncharted 3 |OT| All Developers Dream, But Not Equally

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
So from chapter 8, does it get better or worse?
 
Ship graveyard was awesome. And that part on the floating shit with the waves thrashing around. Great stuff.

Some of the battles in the final few chapters were really annoying. I hard a harder time with some of these on normal than I did playing UC2 on hard. Dreading doing this on Crushing.
 

Woffls

Member
Just got to chapter 18, I think. It was so fucking boring until chapter 12, and even now there are still a lot of things missing from the experience that make an Uncharted game. Very little character development, hardly any banter. Easily the weakest in the series so far.
 

jett

D-Member
StuBurns said:
It would be kind of strange to talk about what a game doesn't have I think.

A technical downgrade(or omission) from the previous game is something that most definitely belongs in a piece like that.
 
Thanks guys.

I'm pretty tolerant, so I'll go for it. This is just one of those franchises where you want everything to be as good as it can be when you sit down to play it. I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.
 
jett said:
I thought it was a lame article, didn't mention anything about motion blur missing either. Talked more about the gameplay than the technicalities.

Haha damn Jett you and this motion blur thing is getting to be pretty hilarious.
 
something amazing happened, definitely a glitch.
At the attacking the caravans with horses part all the trucks exploded at once, the twisting burning wreckage was flying through the air and I rode my horse under the smoke trails. After that the road was empty. No trucks at all. Had to restart, but it was a very cool moment.
 

CozMick

Banned
Wow, this thread turned into your typical gaf OT.

Bitching about non-issues once again, sigh :\

Just enjoy/hate the game and move on.

Anyway what does having no connection whatsoever in the lobby actually mean?
 

BeeDog

Member
The Digital Foundry article is pretty damn bad. Doesn't touch upon the technology that much and is mostly a piece to discuss the gameplay, which I don't want from DF.
 

StuBurns

Banned
jett said:
A technical downgrade(or omission) from the previous game is something that most definitely belongs in a piece like that.
If it's a downgrade or not is subjective though. But I guess you're right, and I believe it's in the multiplayer, so it probably was worth mentioning.
 

Anteater

Member
CozMick said:
Wow, this thread turned into your typical gaf OT.

Bitching about non-issues once again, sigh :\

Just enjoy/hate the game and move on.

Anyway what does having no connection whatsoever in the lobby actually mean?

hrrm, so what are we suppose to talk about in an OT if we're suppose to enjoy/hate a game and move on? I'm still playing the game too!
 

PhiLonius

Member
Calavera520 said:
something amazing happened, definitely a glitch.
At the attacking the caravans with horses part all the trucks exploded at once, the twisting burning wreckage was flying through the air and I rode my horse under the smoke trails. After that the road was empty. No trucks at all. Had to restart, but it was a very cool moment.

Drake's
awesomeness could not be contained. I'm convinced the guy is actually a God.
 

CozMick

Banned
Anteater said:
hrrm, so what are we suppose to talk about in an OT if we're suppose to enjoy/hate a game and move on? I'm still playing the game too!

This thread is 73 pages long and 69 of those pages have been people bitching about the aiming and lack of motion blur.
 

StuBurns

Banned
CozMick said:
This thread is 73 pages long and 69 of those pages have been people bitching about the aiming and lack of motion blur.
Not only is that mindless hyperbole, so what if it was? You're not a mod, until one of them says what people can and can't talk about, tough shit.
 

Anteater

Member
CozMick said:
This thread is 73 pages long and 69 of those pages have been people bitching about the aiming and lack of motion blur.

People have been talking about other stuff too! You could contribute by talking about other stuff, and some people just got the game too so they'll most likely bring up the same issues.
 

CozMick

Banned
StuBurns said:
Not only is that mindless hyperbole, so what if it was? You're not a mod, until one of them says what people can and can't talk about, tough shit.

Thanks for the advice, will take it onboard.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
Up to Chapter 20 so far, and wow is this game a complete and utter disappointment. I played up to Chapter 12 and complained about the linearity, and people said to keep playing as it gets better. Well, the set pieces definitely get bigger and more impressive, but the gameplay is the same linear, force-fed, hand-held shit that plagued the first half of the game. Not only that but half the time you don't know WHERE you're supposed to go because the game does a shit job at actually telling you where/how to get stuff done.

To be fair, I think this is a game that is more enjoyable on a second playthrough. The reason I say that is because you will know exactly where you need to go and what triggers you need to hit, and so it takes out all the frustration of having to figure out what to do next and allows you to enjoy the gunplay/exploration. As it stands though, it's probably my biggest gaming disappointment of the year. Definitely does not approach the magnificence of Uncharted 2.
 

El-Suave

Member
The stuff they do with multiple moving surfaces really impresses me so far. Watching that in a demo was ok, but playing it yourself can be pretty mindblowing.

Also I'm enjoying the big arena battles more than I did in UC2.

However as far as the story is concerned so far (chapter 16) I'm not sure I like the game better than UC2 or even UC1 and I don't see why some critics have been so very impressed yet.
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
El-Suave said:
The stuff they do with multiple moving surfaces really impresses me so far. Watching that in a demo was ok, but playing it yourself can be pretty mindblowing.

Also I'm enjoying the big arena battles more than I did in UC2.

However as far as the story is concerned so far (chapter 16) I'm not sure I like the game better than UC2 or even UC1 and I don't see why some critics have been so very impressed yet.
I really liked the story in this one. Some of the scenes were presented really well and the background on
Drake and Sully's relationship
is great. It's mostly the character moments that make the story in this one so if you don't love the characters as much as others I can see how the story might not seem as great.
 

StuBurns

Banned
I think this game had my favourite story, and my least favourite script. It's almost never funny, but always interesting, UC2 was the opposite.
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
StuBurns said:
I think this game had my favourite story, and my least favourite script. It's almost never funny, UC2 was the opposite.
I agree that it wasn't as funny overall as 2 but the lines that were funny caught me totally off guard and made me laugh a lot harder.
 

Thrakier

Member
ilnadmy said:
Up to Chapter 20 so far, and wow is this game a complete and utter disappointment. I played up to Chapter 12 and complained about the linearity, and people said to keep playing as it gets better. Well, the set pieces definitely get bigger and more impressive, but the gameplay is the same linear, force-fed, hand-held shit that plagued the first half of the game. Not only that but half the time you don't know WHERE you're supposed to go because the game does a shit job at actually telling you where/how to get stuff done.

To be fair, I think this is a game that is more enjoyable on a second playthrough. The reason I say that is because you will know exactly where you need to go and what triggers you need to hit, and so it takes out all the frustration of having to figure out what to do next and allows you to enjoy the gunplay/exploration. As it stands though, it's probably my biggest gaming disappointment of the year. Definitely does not approach the magnificence of Uncharted 2.

That's a real weird opinion imo. I'm only up to chapter 12 but so far I had no frustrating moment at all regarding "not finding triggers". The flow and pacing was pretty good so far, I was never stuck. I can't even imagine where you got stuck. I also don't get how this should be more enjoyable the second time through, if anything I think it's LESS enjoyable because there is less gunplay than in U2 and experiencing the movielike stuff isn't as exciting as the first time around.
 

hsukardi

Member
ilnadmy said:
Up to Chapter 20 so far, and wow is this game a complete and utter disappointment. I played up to Chapter 12 and complained about the linearity, and people said to keep playing as it gets better. Well, the set pieces definitely get bigger and more impressive, but the gameplay is the same linear, force-fed, hand-held shit that plagued the first half of the game. Not only that but half the time you don't know WHERE you're supposed to go because the game does a shit job at actually telling you where/how to get stuff done.

To be fair, I think this is a game that is more enjoyable on a second playthrough. The reason I say that is because you will know exactly where you need to go and what triggers you need to hit, and so it takes out all the frustration of having to figure out what to do next and allows you to enjoy the gunplay/exploration. As it stands though, it's probably my biggest gaming disappointment of the year. Definitely does not approach the magnificence of Uncharted 2.

I laughed when I read this comment from Lemarchand on the Eurogamer DF interview:

"We came to it with what Zen Buddhists call the 'Beginner's Mind', not resting on any laurels, not making any assumptions."

Forgetting and not understanding all the good about Uncharted 2 and wiping them away with Uncharted 3 is a big mistake. Most of the criticism here centers around:

- Shooting model
- Melee model
- Spawn/setplay scenario design
- Player guiding design
- Plot and character

All of which were excellent or at least better in Uncharted 2, and all of which are the KEY hallmarks, the core gameplay, of a third person shooter. In contrast, things like graphics and setpieces are icing on the cake. The relevant game directors on U3 need to own up to this.

That Naughty Dog are messing up on the core gameplay and making more impressive set pieces is NOT the way they should be evolving.




Going forward, if the studio is going to continue working on the Uncharted series they need a little bit of reorganization and spend more time in preproduction. They need to sit down and really figure out what gameplay defines Uncharted, and what key models or gameplay loops keep the game ticking over -- for example control sensitivity & input lag have importance that far exceed contextual animation.

The Uncharted series deserves a lot more than what it produced with U3, a brainless blockbuster with not a lot of genuine heart.
 

Greg

Member
ilnadmy said:
Up to Chapter 20 so far, and wow is this game a complete and utter disappointment. I played up to Chapter 12 and complained about the linearity, and people said to keep playing as it gets better. Well, the set pieces definitely get bigger and more impressive, but the gameplay is the same linear, force-fed, hand-held shit that plagued the first half of the game. Not only that but half the time you don't know WHERE you're supposed to go because the game does a shit job at actually telling you where/how to get stuff done.
You're frustrated that the game holds your hand too much... but you're also frustrated that the game doesn't tell you what to do and where to go?

The entire series has been linear. I'm not sure how I'd rate the game compared to the others, but I didn't have expectations for the game to play differently than the first two.
 

goodfella

Member
hsukardi said:
I laughed when I read this comment from Lemarchand on the Eurogamer DF interview:

"We came to it with what Zen Buddhists call the 'Beginner's Mind', not resting on any laurels, not making any assumptions."

Forgetting and not understanding all the good about Uncharted 2 and wiping them away with Uncharted 3 is a big mistake. Most of the criticism here centers around:

- Shooting model
- Melee model
- Spawn/setplay scenario design
- Player guiding design
- Plot and character

All of which were excellent or at least better in Uncharted 2, and all of which are the KEY hallmarks, the core gameplay, of a third person shooter. In contrast, things like graphics and setpieces are icing on the cake. The relevant game directors on U3 need to own up to this.

That Naughty Dog are messing up on the core gameplay and making more impressive set pieces is NOT the way they should be evolving.




Going forward, if the studio is going to continue working on the Uncharted series they need a little bit of reorganization and spend more time in preproduction. They need to sit down and really figure out what gameplay defines Uncharted, and what key models or gameplay loops keep the game ticking over -- for example control sensitivity & input lag have importance that far exceed contextual animation.

The Uncharted series deserves a lot more than what it produced with U3, a brainless blockbuster with not a lot of genuine heart.

Yeah, you are absolutely right, but to be honest, the reviews for U3 have been so great that if I was the creator of the game, I would think that I had done everything right.
 

jaypah

Member
I came home from 11 hours at work and my girlfriend left UC3 and Kinect Sports 2 on the counter in my bathroom. Totally unexpected awesomeness! We got drunk and played KS2 last night but I'm about to dive in to UC3 now. Aiming issues be damned, if they patch it I'll just play it again.
 
Yes, the game is not as good as U2, but exceeding it was pretty much an impossible task. Stuff like "mindless blockbuster" is the typical GAF hyperbole.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
EatChildren said:
Scratch what I said about the game getting good at Chapter 10. The
ship graveyard
is one of the most blatantly awful combat/stealth encounters of the entire series. It does a woeful job of communicating it's structure and design to the player, and goes entirely in the face of what Uncharted 2 did with it's encounter design.

It is absolutely awful. The worst part is that if you stealth through the entire thing, and then get caught by the second last guy you need to take out, ALL OF THE
BOATS
RESPAWN ENEMIES. It's like a nightmare, but it's real. :(

Greg said:
You're frustrated that the game holds your hand too much... but you're also frustrated that the game doesn't tell you what to do and where to go?

The entire series has been linear. I'm not sure how I'd rate the game compared to the others, but I didn't have expectations for the game to play differently than the first two.

There is a difference between hand holding and eliciting where the player should go next through the environment. If you need an example, play any Valve game. Half Life 2 is a perfect example of how to push a player forward without saying "HEY YOU SHOULD GO HERE". Uncharted's environments do very little in some parts to show where to go next. The
boat graveyard
is a perfect example.

The difference is simply that you're technically pushing the player forward, but you're cheating them into believing that they discovered it on their own. It's just like the difference between leaving subtle clues to a puzzle all around the room, and having Sully yell at you "HEY I THINK THIS IS A HINT WHY DON'T YOU TRY THIS".
 
Metal B said:
That is the problem. There is no difference. Besides a much more weaker story. But without a good story, there is not much left for the game. Properly the gameplay was just as weak as in UC2, but they could hide it better or i didn't care this much then. But know there is just one ugly true. UC3 is not bad, its just boring. A much more horrible conclusion then beeing a bad media product.
Alright, then let's get some recommendations of a good action adventure games... some of us like this genre. So if this series is complete trash, whats better? Tomb Raider? I really would like to know.
 

Chamber

love on your sleeve
thetrin said:
It is absolutely awful. The worst part is that if you stealth through the entire thing, and then get caught by the second last guy you need to take out, ALL OF THE
BOATS
RESPAWN ENEMIES. It's like a nightmare, but it's real. :(
I really don't understand that design decision. Same thing happens
in Chapter 16
and to top it off, the enemies spawn in completely illogical places.
 

hsukardi

Member
schennmu said:
Yes, the game is not as good as U2, but exceeding it was pretty much an impossible task. Stuff like "mindless blockbuster" is the typical GAF hyperbole.

Fortunately, and I am a big fan of Naughty Dog, I believe they don't believe that. None of them will (or should) believe that U2 is the best they could ever do. If they were people to believe in stuff like that, they would've never been good enough to make Uncharted 2.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
Chamber said:
I really don't understand that design decision. Same thing happens
in Chapter 16
and to top it off, the enemies spawn in completely illogical places.
I think the whole idea behind it was that they wanted to make stealth more prominent, but I don't think they really thought about what makes a stealth encounter good. I certainly wouldn't have wanted an automatic fail when I get caught, but the lack of a caution phase made stealth incredibly annoying. There is calm mode, and there is SOUND THE ALARMS AND SHOOT THAT GUY mode.

Spawning more enemies when you trip alarms is adding insult to injury.
 

Greg

Member
thetrin said:
There is a difference between hand holding and eliciting where the player should go next through the environment. If you need an example, play any Valve game. Half Life 2 is a perfect example of how to push a player forward without saying "HEY YOU SHOULD GO HERE". Uncharted's environments do very little in some parts to show where to go next. The
boat graveyard
is a perfect example.

The difference is simply that you're technically pushing the player forward, but you're cheating them into believing that they discovered it on their own. It's just like the difference between leaving subtle clues to a puzzle all around the room, and having Sully yell at you "HEY I THINK THIS IS A HINT WHY DON'T YOU TRY THIS".
I don't think there was a single moment in the game where I was confused where to go next. The camera pans during chase sequences were good indicators on the direction to go, and I don't recall the game ever lacking a somewhat obvious visual cue in any of the traversal sections.

I understand the difference, but the complaints in his post have been there since the original Uncharted. There are definitely reasons I could see someone being disappointed in this game compared to the others (or even enjoying this more than the others), but being linear isn't one of them if you've enjoyed the other two games.
 

Anteater

Member
Are there any known problems with music not playing? I think there were quite a few gun fights that was just silent for me, no music or anything. Or is my bluray drive getting too old :(
 

jett

D-Member
Anteater said:
Are there any known problems with music not playing? I think there were quite a few gun fights that was just silent for me, no music or anything. Or is my bluray drive getting too old :(

No, that's how the game is.
 

BeeDog

Member
Has anyone else encountered some weird sound problems? During the boat chapter, my sound was cut off partially twice, preceded with a loud pop that almost sounded like one of my speakers imploded.
 

Auto_aim1

MeisaMcCaffrey
Anteater said:
Are there any known problems with music not playing? I think there were quite a few gun fights that was just silent for me, no music or anything. Or is my bluray drive getting too old :(
I really don't remember actually, although, there is an audio skipping issue; it's much more prominent if you use an headphone.
 
Just beat it.

I really enjoyed the game but it does fall short of Uncharted 2. The ending could have been a bit better and Cutter really deserved more screen time. I guess the setpieces in UC2 were more seemless and inspired.


A solid 9/10 though, a very fun ride.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
Greg said:
I don't think there was a single moment in the game where I was confused where to go next. The camera pans during chase sequences were good indicators on the direction to go, and I don't recall the game ever lacking a somewhat obvious visual cue in any of the traversal sections.

I understand the difference, but the complaints in his post have been there since the original Uncharted. There are definitely reasons I could see someone being disappointed in this game compared to the others (or even enjoying this more than the others), but being linear isn't one of them if you've enjoyed the other two games.
There were definitely a few times when I asked myself "where the hell am I supposed to go?" and it was always during a quiet section. Action packed sections elicited the direction to go pretty obviously.
 
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