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[Lemming_JRS]

.

Thought I'd post the whole text of Amy Hennig's twitter messages regarding Talbot and the

Spoiler

Tarot card.

Spoilers, obviously, but not specific plot spoilers so much as her providing some background on the character and plot elements...
original links:
http://forums.naughtydog.com/t5/Gen...xplanation-via-Amy-Hennig-SPOILERS/m-p/627565
http://forums.naughtydog.com/t5/Gen...-Hennig-Regarding-Talbot-SPOILERS/td-p/630275

Hey - I saw people are also confused about Talbot

Spoiler

getting shot, and disappearing...

maybe I can elaborate a little...

Spoiler

Marlowe's crew is supposed to be a highly-trained clandestine organization, with roots stretching back to Elizabeth I and earlier. Sort of like CIA/MI6 secret intelligence service type ops... so the idea is they have lots of means to confound their enemies like a secret arm of the CIA or MI6 might, for example. Like Cutter says, manipulating their enemies through espionage, deception, fear.

This is based on real-life clandestine ops, and "the art of deception". Groups like the CIA really used magician's tricks as well as drugs, etc. to trick and frighten their enemies. So - you can assume there's a rational explanation behind these mysteries... e.g., a bulletproof vest, an escape rope/wire, whatever--which looks "magical" but has a rational explanation, just like a magician's trick.

Magic, tricks, deception, illusion, perception vs. reality - these are themes throughout the game. Abra-godd*mn-cadabra. "

- at this point I interjected a few comments and then asked about the

Spoiler

Dead Agent

found in the Chateau - Her reply:

Spoiler

"Yeah, the spiders got him. (If you can manage to get a peek at Agent Harris' body in the crypt puzzle room, he looks the same"

next part:


If you watch closely,

Spoiler

you can see that Cutter had three Tarot cards pasted in his journal - The High Priestess, The Magician, and The Tower. (When you get Cutter's journal later, notice that the Tower card is gone...)

When Talbot takes the journal from him, they remove the Tower card and slip it into Cutter's jacket.

You can also see notes in Cutter's journal about the other cards - The High Priestess = Marlowe, The Magician = Talbot.

The Tarot is full of Hermetic symbolism, which ties into what Cutter was saying in that one scene, about the ancient secret society. And how Hermetic mysticism is all tied up in it. So planting the card on Cutter is sort of an ominous, creepy warning to him and the others. Since it predicted his own fate - or at least the fate they orchestrated for him.

Try googling some stuff about Tarot and The Tower, too. (And the other cards) There's other symbolism there, too, it's just more oblique. Plus it's all payback for him duping them as Drake's "inside man", earlier. Fitting payback, since he's the one that has deduced all this. Sort of like showing him "oh you think you're so clever, looking who you're f*cking with"

- at this point, I asked if I could post these replies to the forum-, the rest of her replies:

Sure. I tend to like to write stories that require interpretation, rather than laying everything out, so I'm happy to elaborate. "

 

[Teknoman]

Uncharted 3 Cinematic action multiplayer thread

London Underground is pretty cool, but i'm a sucker for shootouts on trains.

 

[lucius]

I got the game on release date but just started playing earlier today. What did you guys pick: normal or hard?

I picked hard and I am not having any problems and I usually get owned in multiplayer.

 

[tigerin]

We already got 4 UC2 maps. I'd rather get new maps, especially if they're going to be DLC.

really? i don't remember playing some f these maps. were they part of the original u2 game or map packs? i didn't buy the map packs for u2. also, the one with the tank coming in was also good too.

 

[Papercuts]

I played some co-op adventure last night...pretty fun, but why do the normal enemies not die from headshots? :\

 

[btkadams]

Just finished it - fun, although lacked the polish of UC2 outside of the (amazing) setpieces though. Things like checkpoints not remembering I'd just stealthed an entire section and spawning me with all enemies alerted, cinematics requiring player input not being clearly readable as such, and SFX/music being occasionally nonexistent were just some of the little niggles. Also design choices I felt weren't particularly great - being able to be killed by gunfire during melee combat that you can't break out of, some of the later more fantastical enemies having rather frustrating behaviour, stealth options being fairly lacklustre, and some relatively uninspired levels amidst the rest of the game.

BUT, there were a lot of awesome setpieces, great writing, really nice animation, and some really fun design of combat encounters that gave the player a lot of choices. The above stuff is really just minor problems amidst a great game.

yes! this happened to me today and it pissed me off enough for me to stop playing lol. i'll probably get back to it tomorrow.

 

[Killthee]

really? i don't remember playing some f these maps. were they part of the original u2 game or map packs? i didn't buy the map packs for u2. also, the one with the tank coming in was also good too.

High Rise, Museum, Facility, and Molten Ruins are all U2 DLC maps with slight tweaks. High Rise is set during the day, Museum is set during sunset (iirc), Facility isn't frozen, and Molten Ruins is Flooded Ruins In U2.

 

[Teknoman]

I knew those ruins looked familiar.

 

[tigerin]

High Rise, Museum, Facility, and Molten Ruins are all U2 DLC maps with slight tweaks. High Rise is set during the day, Museum is set during sunset (iirc), Facility isn't frozen, and Molten Ruins is Flooded Ruins In U2.

they picked the wrong maps to bring over. these maps sux, the only one i find tolerable is molten ruins. they should have brought the one with the tanks, the one with the snow cave, the one with the pillars temple, and the one with the river streams rainforest.

 

[TheMissingLink]

Man, for every cool sequence in this game, there's like, 3-4 shitty combat situations.

So far (about 3/4ths of the way through U3):

U2 > U1 > U3

 

[Teknoman]

they picked the wrong maps to bring over. these maps sux, the only one i find tolerable is molten ruins. they should have brought the one with the tanks, the one with the snow cave, the one with the pillars temple, and the one with the river streams rainforest.

If high rise is the map I think it is (the one with all the scaffolding) then that was pretty fun.

Man, for every cool sequence in this game, there's like, 3-4 shitty combat situations.

So far (about 3/4ths of the way through U3):

U2 > U1 > U3

How so?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

.

Thought I'd post the whole text of Amy Hennig's twitter messages regarding Talbot and the

Spoiler

Tarot card.

Spoilers, obviously, but not specific plot spoilers so much as her providing some background on the character and plot elements...
original links:
http://forums.naughtydog.com/t5/Gen...xplanation-via-Amy-Hennig-SPOILERS/m-p/627565
http://forums.naughtydog.com/t5/Gen...-Hennig-Regarding-Talbot-SPOILERS/td-p/630275

This is stuff I'd already figured out, but I can see how some people might be confused. It's cool for Hennig to explain what's up.

 

[kaskade]

My ratings would go U2>U3>U1. I did enjoy it though, I'll wait for my second play through when they patch the game.

I also felt like there wasn't as much platforming in this one. I thought the balance was a bit better in 2.

 

[paperheart]

Lemming_JRS, thanks for posting that Amy Hennig chat. It was very informative.

 

[The Lamp]

I was recalling some of Uncharted 2's banter/dialogue.
"(something something) diabolical warlord (something something) mythological gemstone?"
"I'm sensing some history here"
"Elena Fischer, last year's model"

Snappy, witty, charming dialogue like that just doesn't exist in Uncharted 3 to the extent that it did in Uncharted 2. It's really a shame. Nothing like "Is that an ancient Tibetan ritual dagger in your pocket?" or "My relationship with Flynn is strictly professional...well.....mostly". Elena and Chloe felt like such boring people in Uncharted 3, it almost hurt. Chloe was so adventurous before and in U3 I don't even feel like I know why the hell she's even around.

Spoiler

and then she takes care of that sentiment by bailing the game halfway through and never showing up again

Multiplayer in U3 is an absolute joy but I've been thinking about it a lot and I feel that U2 will ultimately be my favorite game in the series. Plus I don't see the obsession with Cutter...I feel that he's largely a bland side character that was undeveloped. I miss Flynn so much....

 

[tigerin]

Man, for every cool sequence in this game, there's like, 3-4 shitty combat situations.

So far (about 3/4ths of the way through U3):

U2 > U1 > U3

you serious? i can agree if you say u2 is better than u3. but u1? c'mon man....

 

[Loudninja]

I was recalling some of Uncharted 2's banter/dialogue.
"(something something) diabolical warlord (something something) mythological gemstone?"
"I'm sensing some history here"
"Elena Fischer, last year's model"

Snappy, witty, charming dialogue like that just doesn't exist in Uncharted 3 to the extent that it did in Uncharted 2. It's really a shame. Nothing like "Is that an ancient Tibetan ritual dagger in your pocket?" or "My relationship with Flynn is strictly professional...well.....mostly". Elena and Chloe felt like such boring people in Uncharted 3, it almost hurt. Chloe was so adventurous before and in U3 I don't even feel like I know why the hell she's even around.

Spoiler

and then she takes care of that sentiment by bailing the game halfway through and never showing up again

Multiplayer in U3 is an absolute joy but I've been thinking about it a lot and I feel that U2 will ultimately be my favorite game in the series.

Are you kidding me?

 

[The Lamp]

Are you kidding me?

No I'm not. It's not as prevalent as it was in Uncharted 2. From the Harry/Flynn/Nate scenes to the Chloe/Elena/Jeff/Nate scenes, it was non-stop charm and brilliant dialogue. Uncharted 3 felt so much more serious and colorless in its dialogue to me...although there are still a few gemstones in hilarious writing, it doesn't feel as central as it was in Uncharted 2, to me.

 

[leng jai]

Are you kidding me?

UC2 is far better than UC3 in this regard. Chloe is a useless character now and lost all her appeal.

 

[tigerin]

UC2 is far better than UC3 in this regard. Chloe is a useless character now and lost all her appeal.

true. elena was fine, but chloe seems to be in this game just for the fan service. replacing her with another character wouldn't make a difference.

 

[rhino4evr]

Just made it to Chapter 15 WOW.

 

[Teknoman]

No I'm not. It's not as prevalent as it was in Uncharted 2. From the Harry/Flynn/Nate scenes to the Chloe/Elena/Jeff/Nate scenes, it was non-stop charm and brilliant dialogue. Uncharted 3 felt so much more serious and colorless in its dialogue to me...although there are still a few gemstones in hilarious writing, it doesn't feel as central as it was in Uncharted 2, to me.

I liked the back and forth between Nate and Cutter. Also everyone telling Nate to chill out was kinda cool...especially considering all that happened to him this adventure.

 

[JB1981]

The graphics outside the Chateau

 

[Loudninja]

No I'm not. It's not as prevalent as it was in Uncharted 2. From the Harry/Flynn/Nate scenes to the Chloe/Elena/Jeff/Nate scenes, it was non-stop charm and brilliant dialogue. Uncharted 3 felt so much more serious and colorless in its dialogue to me...although there are still a few gemstones in hilarious writing, it doesn't feel as central as it was in Uncharted 2, to me.

Sorry I cant agree with that, the dialogue between Cutter Drake and Sully was to me better than UC2 dialogue.

 

[Teknoman]

Oh yeah and:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iram_of_the_Pillars

Always nice to read up on the stuff in the Uncharted series.

 

[Soulscribe]

Chloe was as subdued in UC3 as Sully was in UC2. Characters trade off in importance with each title.

As for which had better writing, gotta give it to UC3. It just felt more organic and movie-like. I had a more positive impression of the script this time, and it made the characters more real to me.

Uncharted 2 will always be the game that had my jaw planted on the floor. It was the first game of its kind that I had played so my impression of it is a lot more rose-tinted than other games. That said, Uncharted 3 kind of does everything better. If Uncharted 3 was the first one I had played I think my brain would have exploded.

 

[AEREC]

Finally finished on Hard...enjoyed the hell out of the game but I still felt UC2 was better in almost every aspect...the end felt a little rushed too.

Are there really no unlockable cheats this time around? I started a new game but didnt see any?

 

[Loudninja]

Finally finished on Hard...enjoyed the hell out of the game but I still felt UC2 was better in almost every aspect...the end felt a little rushed too.

Are there really no unlockable cheats this time around? I started a new game but didnt see any?

No cheats.

 

[jett]

I'm seeing a couple of my friends with reset stats. Has ND implemented that prestige crap from COD?

 

[RyanardoDaVinci]

I'm seeing a couple of my friends with reset stats. Has ND implemented that prestige crap from COD?

Of course they did.

 

[Massa]

I'm seeing a couple of my friends with reset stats. Has ND implemented that prestige crap from COD?

Any crap is better than the level up system in Uncharted 2's multiplayer.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

This is the back of Nolan North's book, 'Drake's Journal'

 

[Kagari]

That's awesome... need to order that book.

 

[jett]

Lol at those quotes, I love Cutter's. Definitely my favorite character of UC3, wish he had more "screen time".

 

[BPK]

In multiplayer, are the other players still bullet sponges. I realize this phrase is overused - and I apologize - but in the Subway beta I definitely noticed that it took a lot more bullets to bring people down than it did in UC 2.

 

[brandonh83]

I finished all chapters on crushing but didn't get the trophies, what gives?

 

[AgentChris]

That's a badass cover. I'll pick that up soon.

 

[ThisWreckage]

Introducing a new character is going to ultimately take screen time away from established characters. Cutter was an awesome addition, but his screen time ate into Elena's and Chloe's. This will be an issue from here on out unless someone dies.

 

[Grisby]

That book will be mine. I like Chloe's line.

 

[Square Triangle]

It's listed on Amazon but no way to purchase. What in the what.

 

[Auto_aim1]

Man, I spent too much money on this game. First the Explorer Edition, Piggyback guide, Ring Steelbook and now this. ;-;

I finished all chapters on crushing but didn't get the trophies, what gives?

Check the chapter select screen, you may have missed one or two.

 

[jett]

I finished all chapters on crushing but didn't get the trophies, what gives?

Are you sure you didn't change difficulties somewhere along the way?

 

[Cruzader]

I just saw the TV spot and holy cow mega spoilers, batman!

Damn I think I'd kill myself if I wanted to get the game and saw that ad. Thank god I got it day1 and skipped all media.

 

[brandonh83]

Positive. On the chapter select, every single chapter says completed on crushing.

 

[LightofRohan]

No cheats.

Wait, really? There is no bonus stuff this time?

:O

 

[Kagari]

It's listed on Amazon but no way to purchase. What in the what.

Click on this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615554407/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[patsu]

UC2 is far better than UC3 in this regard. Chloe is a useless character now and lost all her appeal.

Chloe's exposure does not encompass all the dialogue in U3. Her part may be diminished but overall U3 character interaction still is better than U2.

 

[AEREC]

No cheats.

What the heck...that what I loved about the first 2 games (changing character model, enabling slow mo, floating weapons, etc...).

I wonder why they skimped on this for the third game?

 

[Auto_aim1]

I just saw the TV spot and holy cow mega spoilers, batman!

Damn I think I'd kill myself if I wanted to get the game and saw that ad. Thank god I got it day1 and skipped all media.

They already showed off most of the locations before that ad.

Reveal trailer (VGA's) -> E3 gameplay -> Gamescom gameplay -> Beta 1 -> TV spot 1 -> Beta 2, etc.

Yeah, I saw them all except that last TV spot. :\

Positive. On the chapter select, every single chapter says completed on crushing.

You must not have noticed it, check the trophy list. Otherwise, bad luck lol.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

This is the back of Nolan North's book, 'Drake's Journal'

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/294449_267583466616084_252929644748133_757926_1614699820_n.jpg[/MG]

[IMG]http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/301915_267583423282755_252929644748133_757925_1573227173_n.jpg[/MG][/QUOTE]

lmao!

Theres snippits of the book on Amazon. Holy shit @ the [spoiler]ship graveyard[/spoiler] concept art. Looks mindblowing.


[URL]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615554407/?tag=neogaf0e-20[/URL]