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[Hot Coldman]

People would've been complaining twice as much as they already are, had that been the case. And rightfully so, ND really should've incorporated some proper means of bailing out of the melee animation.

As it is, the melee is naff. If they'd given the option to properly tussle with players, with appropriate opportunity to bail out when a madman with a shotgun comes along to break you up forcibly, that would have been fun. Standing around, swinging guns at each other like you've both got some sort of nerve-degenerating disease... bleh. Fuck that.

 

[lucius]

Is it crazy I am waiting for the patch for the motion blur not the aiming which I got use to already?

 

[ced]

Holding out for a patch just didn't work out, so I played to Chap 12. The aiming is frustrating still but I did force myself to adjust, well just aim a different way than is natural. I also just rush and crush a lot.

I like it about as much as the other two, but it was clearly rushed. I had two freezes last night, maybe it's just my PS3 but I never get freezes in games. Elena looks funny, controlling Drake can be janky as hell sometimes, and the damn on foot chase of Talbot was way too long. I will say controlling Drake when in that chase at full speed on foot was perfect, it's the slower pace running that is all kinds of janky.

The puzzles have been kick ass so far though.

 

[JohngPR]

People would've been complaining twice as much as they already are, had that been the case. And rightfully so, ND really should've incorporated some proper means of bailing out of the melee animation.

I agree. I love the game, but that's probably one of the bigger problems with it.

 

[Interfectum]

Played up to chapter 4 so far. Liking what I'm playing but not sure about the overall controls and/or the melee mechanic yet. I'm hooked though so ND wins.

 

[we.are.the.armada]

So, um, the multiplayer is still fantastic. Wish they'd found some way of incorporating the melee combat into it though.

I totally agree - I did a 32 hour binge of multiplayer over the weekend and that free flow melee would have helped out a lot in the co-op modes.

 

[Mest30]

Charted. Fantastic game. Not as good as U2 but still a very good game.

 

[Struct09]

I completed the game last night, and overall thought it was great. It's the most cinematic game I've ever played, and definitely one of the most gorgeous. Normally I find the story in games to be overly convoluted, but here I always knew what was going on and was actually interested.

There are only a couple of bad things I can say about the game. First, I found the core gameplay to be simply just OK. There were a number of gun fights that went on too long, and getting through them wasn't necessarily fun to me. But the reward for getting through was the awesome progression of the story, so it was worth it. If they tune-up the controls it may alleviate some of my problems with the gameplay.

The other problem is one I've had with the series since it started, and I know it's shared by others. It's the narrative disconnect of Nathan Drake being a mass murderer when they kind of set him up as an unlikely hero. While playing the first third of this game I thought they were well on the path to fixing this, but then came all the gun fights.

I would post everything I loved about the game, but I don't have time to write that long of a post. So I'll just touch on what I liked: the story, the colorful characters, the banter, the gorgeous graphics and art direction, the variety in environments, the pacing, and the grenade toss-back mechanic. I could go on, those are just off the top of my head.

My favorite part:

Spoiler

The final melee fight with Talbot at the end. It was extremely intense - my girlfriend was watching me play it and was on the edge of her seat. LEAGUES better than that annoying boss fight at the end of Uncharted 2

I may replay the game when they patch in the updated controls and motion blur. Awesome job Naughty Dog!!

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Anything about a cutscene viewer added in this patch?

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Co-op arena is such a blast, especially when you are randomly paired with the teamwork inclined. There was a point where we took turns taking three-medal treasures for maximum badassery. So far, I think Highrise is the funnest map in arena. The verticality is just insane. Back to it...gonna squeeze in a game before work. XD

 

[lucius]

I was playing the free Uncharted 3 game on Home last night and compared to other Home games it is actually a well done fun game, I mean for Home don't expect the awesomeness of the retail game.

 

[TripOpt55]

Beat Crushing. It wasn't tough at all. I was worried about a few spots in particular, but they didn't give me much trouble. I still have a quite a few trophies I am going to try and grab, but I think I will take a rest and focus on multiplayer for a bit.

 

[Mifune]

I'm up to Chapter 12.

I think this game started absolutely beautifully with the

Spoiler

Young Drake

sections. The writing and pure storytelling on display there was really great. The chateau segment was awesome. I like the harder puzzles.

But all in all, I'm just not feeling this as much as I did Uncharted 2. The core shooting mechanic has started to feel stale. And the explore-discover-fight structure that is all over this series has made things predictable.

That said, I keep hearing how great the second half of the game is, so I'm hopeful it will completely win me over.

 

[cpp_is_king]

Beat Crushing. It wasn't tough at all. I was worried about a few spots in particular, but they didn't give me much trouble. I still have a quite a few trophies I am going to try and grab, but I think I will take a rest and focus on multiplayer for a bit.

Kinda how I felt. I was worried about the ship graveyard, the ballroom, the part where you're in yemen and you're about to go back up to the surface but the guys drop down from above, and the red sandstorm. I still felt the ship graveyard was the hardest part, but I think it only took me 5-6 attempts.

One part that was hard on Crushing but not so much on Hard was at the very end of the game when you're trying to escape, and there's that long walkway with the gears in the center and cover platforms behind each gear. You have no weapon so you have to immediately hand-kill the guy with the sniper rifle. But you have grenades (hand-thrown and hammer launched) coming at you from both sides. It wasn't hard in the sense of having to try it a million times though, you just had to get lucky with aiming and immediately kill the 3 key enemies really fast with the sniper rifle, which isn't always easy.

 

[Edag Plata]

Yeah, I was a lot more worried about Crushing. I even got all the other trophies in advance besides the ones for hard and crushing...but so far I haven't had THAT much trouble. I don't remember the first game being this easy. Should have the platinum by tonight at this rate.

 

[JumpingTheGun]

So im going for my combat trophy run and my god is obtaining the Throwback Master a combination of sheer luck and placement. Theres a great place in Chapter 22 to snag it, but its a serious feat. Why Nate only throws back 'naders 30% or so of the time is beyond me. It can be lying right next to me, newly thrown, and the Triangle prompt doesnt show up whatsoever.

 

[cpp_is_king]

So im going for my combat trophy run and my god is obtaining the Throwback Master a combination of sheer luck and placement. Theres a great place in Chapter 22 to snag it, but its a serious feat. Why Nate only throws back 'naders 30% or so of the time is beyond me. It can be lying right next to me, newly thrown, and the Triangle prompt doesnt show up whatsoever.

I got this one in the first combat area in the deserted village where you accidentally barge in on a bunch of dudes. there will always be 2 guys hanging out on the staircase up on the left in the first group of enemies. hang out there and wait for them to throw a grenade.

Actually got this one accidentally, lol.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

I'm up to Chapter 12.

I think this game started absolutely beautifully with the

Spoiler

Young Drake

sections. The writing and pure storytelling on display there was really great. The chateau segment was awesome. I like the harder puzzles.

But all in all, I'm just not feeling this as much as I did Uncharted 2. The core shooting mechanic has started to feel stale. And the explore-discover-fight structure that is all over this series has made things predictable.

That said, I keep hearing how great the second half of the game is, so I'm hopeful it will completely win me over.

Bwahahaha.

First half of the game is great, second half is Naughty God-tier.

 

[TripOpt55]

I got this one in the first combat area in the deserted village where you accidentally barge in on a bunch of dudes. there will always be 2 guys hanging out on the staircase up on the left in the first group of enemies. hang out there and wait for them to throw a grenade.

Actually got this one accidentally, lol.

This is exactly where I got it too. I wasn't trying for it, it just happened.

Kinda how I felt. I was worried about the ship graveyard, the ballroom, the part where you're in yemen and you're about to go back up to the surface but the guys drop down from above, and the red sandstorm. I still felt the ship graveyard was the hardest part, but I think it only took me 5-6 attempts.

The ballroom, ship graveyard and sandstorm part were what I was worried about. Only the ballroom really pissed me off a bit because I think at the one checkpoint where they put you kind of sucks.

 

[Evolved1]

Here is my biggest complaint about this game after a few days to stew on it: their traditional platforming is boring, and it's their weakest animation. It's completely disconnected from reality (lacks weight, etc) and there's no variation or even the illusion of choice when you're climbing through their predetermined path... so you might as well make it look awesome. But it doesn't look awesome. It looks dumb.

So what you do to fix this is make realistic, elaborate animations so at least it will look cool. Because it's boring anyway. Nothing to lose here.

The action-platforming is frigging awesome, but the reg stuff is ZZZzzzzZzzZZZzzzzz.

I mean it's not even actual gameplay... you're basically just watching it. There's no risk of falling, no variation. So make the animation more realistic.

And I'd seriously consider introducing some kind of stamina mechanic... something to make these sections more interesting. Or just get rid of them.

They kind of suck.

 

[Pie and Beans]

has a timeframe been mentioned on the patch? Have the game sat here waiting to play, but just want to play it through fixed from the beginning. Fed up of broken games in the first month and late adopters swooping in post price-crash to better games :/

 

[NeoUltima]

Is it crazy I am waiting for the patch for the motion blur not the aiming which I got use to already?

I am. For my second playthrough though.

 

[HunkyDory]

Here is my biggest complaint about this game after a few days to stew on it: their traditional platforming is boring, and it's their weakest animation. It's completely disconnected from reality (lacks weight, etc) and there's no variation or even the illusion of choice when you're climbing through their predetermined path... so you might as well make it look awesome. But it doesn't look awesome. It looks dumb.

So what you do to fix this is make realistic, elaborate animations so at least it will look cool. Because it's boring anyway. Nothing to lose here.

The action-platforming is frigging awesome, but the reg stuff is ZZZzzzzZzzZZZzzzzz.

I mean it's not even actual gameplay... you're basically just watching it. There's no risk of falling, no variation. So make the animation more realistic.

And I'd seriously consider introducing some kind of stamina mechanic... something to make these sections more interesting. Or just get rid of them.

They kind of suck.

This is one of the main issues that I've had with the game so far. It seems worse in this game compared to the others, but that's probably because of how the first half of the game or so is structured.

I wouldn't say that it ever gets boring, but the first ten or so chapters are can be really frustrating. It felt like I wasn't playing the game for longer than 15 minutes before there was another cut scene. It also doesn't help that there are seemingly lengthy portions of the first chapters where you're not actually doing anything other than walking around. It's not until the second half of the game that you actually get to play uninterupted for any extended period of time.

It picks up in the second half, but I'm finding the shoot outs to be frustrating rather than fun - which isn't something that I'd say about either Uncharted 1 or 2. The enemies charge you, determined to get you into a brawl that you can't seem to get out of, and you've got guys spawning from nowhere behind you with shotguns at the same time. When you get through the first wave, it feels like they always just pile on a bunch of snipers for seconds.

Meh, I don't like to whine about games but I've been disappointed with what I've played so far.
I am still enjoying it, but it feels wonkier and more frustrating than the other games were. Seeing Drake reach out to stroke everything that he walks past is really distracting too!

 

[Scotch]

I finished it today. I keep trying to figure out if I like it more than Uncharted 2 or not (like it matters). The high points of U2 were higher, but the low points were also lower. Uncharted 3 felt more consistent to me. I remember when I first finished U2, I had really mixed feelings because I HATED the blue guys. I'd say U3 has the best last act of the whole series, and left me totally satisfied watching the credits.

However I agree with others who say the shooting and platforming don't feel quite as impressive as they did two years ago, and the animation in some spots was almost downright poor. That said, I enjoyed both previous games more when I played through them a second (and third and fourth) time, so my verdict is still in the air.

Will wait for the patch before I begin my second playthrough, though. I don't understand why they changed the aiming.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

has a timeframe been mentioned on the patch? Have the game sat here waiting to play, but just want to play it through fixed from the beginning. Fed up of broken games in the first month and late adopters swooping in post price-crash to better games :/

It's a bit of a stretch to call the controls broken. The game is completely playable, it's just worse than UC2. If you're eager to play you should just fire it up and see how it feels for yourself. There are lots of reasons a person *might* have a less than perfect experience with the game, and the aiming controls is just a small one.

And don't mistake me for a control-ocaust denier; I'm looking forward to the patch as much as anyone.

 

[Bowdz]

I have been out of the loop this weekend, can someone tell me what is going to be in the patch? It is really a control fix AND motion blur?

If so, ND will have cemented themselves in the God-tier of developers. I'm on my fourth play through now and I will definitely play through the game a couple more times if motion blur is coming.

 

[mrklaw]

parent-GAF, would you consider this a safe game to play in front of the kids? Its a '15' rating in the UK which has me confused, as I don't remember UC2 being particularly graphically violent or sweary. Maybe the online?

Bearing in mind I don't have a problem with my kids watching me play Dark Souls.

 

[BeautifulMemory]

parent-GAF, would you consider this a safe game to play in front of the kids? Its a '15' rating in the UK which has me confused, as I don't remember UC2 being particularly graphically violent or sweary. Maybe the online?

Bearing in mind I don't have a problem with my kids watching me play Dark Souls.

There's swearing and some of the scenes can be a bit violent

 

[spats]

parent-GAF, would you consider this a safe game to play in front of the kids? Its a '15' rating in the UK which has me confused, as I don't remember UC2 being particularly graphically violent or sweary. Maybe the online?

Bearing in mind I don't have a problem with my kids watching me play Dark Souls.

They don't call him Victor 'Goddamn' Sullivan for nothing.

 

[Massa]

You can easily adjust to the controls, it's what I imagine PSP games will play like on the Vita where the d-pad is mapped to the right analog stick by an emulator.

 

[Slurpy2k20]

I have been out of the loop this weekend, can someone tell me what is going to be in the patch? It is really a control fix AND motion blur?

If so, ND will have cemented themselves in the God-tier of developers. I'm on my fourth play through now and I will definitely play through the game a couple more times if motion blur is coming.

Wait.. so let me get this straight. Naughty Dog is in the 'God-tier' of developers for shipping an unfinished game, and adding a major visual change like motion blue to a patch after the fact, as well as 'fixing' aiming, one of the biggest gameplay components of the game? What, did they 'forget' about motion blur? Deciding to apply it later in a patch is a positive thing now? As is fixing aiming in a future patch? Many people will never benefit from this, including me, as I've already beaten the game and have no plans to do another run through (as is the case with most people, that don't include OCD message-board posters- and certainly there's only an insignificant percentage that do 4+ playthroughs as you have, and even more insignificant percentae that will play through the entire game again for frikkin motion blur) This approach does NOT benefit most people who bought this game.

This kind of bullshit cements devs as God-tier? Wow, fuck me then. Some things are a matter of opinion, but with all due respect your perspective on this is pretty fucked up.

 

[mrklaw]

They don't call him Victor 'Goddamn' Sullivan for nothing.

Goddamn's not swearing. Shit upwards would be my yardstick.

Graphic violence or just some fisticuffs? Don't recall it being a bloody franchise

 

[Evolved1]

Wait.. so let me get this straight. Naughty Dog is in the 'God-tier' of developers for shipping an unfinished game, and adding a major visual change like motion blue to a patch after the fact, as well as 'fixing' aiming, one of the biggest gameplay components of the game? What, did they 'forget' about motion blur? Deciding to apply it later in a patch is a positive thing now? As is fixing aiming in a future patch? Many people will never benefit from this, including me, as I've already beaten the game and have no plans to do another run through (as is the case with most people, that don't include OCD message-board posters- and certainly there's only an insignificant percentage that do 4+ playthroughs as you have, and even more insignificant percentae that will play through the entire game again for frikkin motion blur) This approach does NOT benefit most people who bought this game.

This kind of bullshit cements devs as God-tier? Wow, fuck me then. Some things are a matter of opinion, but with all due respect your perspective on this is pretty fucked up.

You know the game is pretty darn good even w/o motion blur...

 

[Lord Error]

parent-GAF, would you consider this a safe game to play in front of the kids? Its a '15' rating in the UK which has me confused, as I don't remember UC2 being particularly graphically violent or sweary. Maybe the online?

Bearing in mind I don't have a problem with my kids watching me play Dark Souls.

How old are your kids? From what I've seen so far, UC3 is not any more violent compared to UC2, I'd say. If anything it's less so because the brawling is so much more prominent in encounters than it was before, so the amount of shooting is scaled back. If you want to call the kind of shooting that's here violent to begin with, because it visually looks about as violent as when kids play war with plastic guns. Also, there's very little in terms of enemy encounters until maybe chapter 7 or so.

 

[mrklaw]

Wait.. so let me get this straight. Naughty Dog is in the 'God-tier' of developers for shipping an unfinished game, and adding a major visual change like motion blue to a patch after the fact, as well as 'fixing' aiming, one of the biggest gameplay components of the game? What, did they 'forget' about motion blur? Deciding to apply it later in a patch is a positive thing now? As is fixing aiming in a future patch? Many people will never benefit from this, including me, as I've already beaten the game and have no plans to do another run through (as is the case with most people, that don't include OCD message-board posters- and certainly there's only an insignificant percentage that do 4+ playthroughs as you have, and even more insignificant percentae that will play through the entire game again for frikkin motion blur) This approach does NOT benefit most people who bought this game.

This kind of bullshit cements devs as God-tier? Wow, fuck me then. Some things are a matter of opinion, but with all due respect your perspective on this is pretty fucked up.

Perhaps they are god-tier for reacting to negative comments regarding aiming quickly and positively? And they aren't adding motion blur, they're putting it back in

 

[Pai Pai Master]

parent-GAF, would you consider this a safe game to play in front of the kids? Its a '15' rating in the UK which has me confused, as I don't remember UC2 being particularly graphically violent or sweary. Maybe the online?

Bearing in mind I don't have a problem with my kids watching me play Dark Souls.

It's a lot like the first two games. Violent shooting and hand-to-hand combat, nothing really gorey or gruesome. Plenty of mild cursing (shit, son of a bitch, asshole, etc.) and one or two drug references (

Spoiler

Chloe's hilarious "tripping balls" line.

)

I certainly won't spoil who's involved but there are a couple of cutscenes where

Spoiler

people are shot and there is a bit of blood seeping through their clothes.

Again, it's not gorey but it's a little more grim than the series has shown before. Then again, Drake's Fortune had a pretty graphic point-blank headshot scene and some gruesome monsters. UC2 had some pretty explosive violence as well. This one's more realistic than the last two, but I'd say if your kids are watching you play Dark Souls it's not really going to be anything awful.

This is actually something I really like about Uncharted. It's certainly not childish and they never go into the realm of being very immature and graphic. It is of course a little bit edgier than Indiana Jones was back in the day, but that's more of a sign of the times than anything else. It's something I'm able to play with my family around without feeling embarassed for video games.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Goddamn's not swearing. Shit upwards would be my yardstick.

Graphic violence or just some fisticuffs? Don't recall it being a bloody franchise

There are blood effects when you shoot a guy but they are minimal. The way enemies react to being shot isn't all that realistic so I wouldn't worry about that. Even the melee move where you pull the pin on a grenade on their belt and then kick them away results in an almost comically tame outcome. People say "shit" a few times but more often Drake says "crap." I think they say "assholes" a couple of times in there too.

 

[mrklaw]

How old are your kids? From what I've seen so far, UC3 is not any more violent compared to UC2, I'd say. If anything it's less so because the brawling is so much more prominent in encounters than it was before, so the amount of shooting is scaled back. If you want to call the kind of shooting that's here violent to begin with, because it visually looks about as violent as when kids play war with plastic guns. Also, there's very little in terms of enemy encounters until maybe chapter 7 or so.

7 and 10. They're *loving* Dark Souls at the moment, which I know is dark but thematically I think its pretty ok for them. I do try and keep swearing out of the house and violence if graphic. They won't be playing, just watching sometimes.

 

[spats]

Goddamn's not swearing. Shit upwards would be my yardstick.

Graphic violence or just some fisticuffs? Don't recall it being a bloody franchise

Shit gets thrown around a bunch. I think both Marlowe and Cutter used it.

There's cutscenes with (very mild spoiler)

Spoiler

people getting shot at point blank and fair amounts of blood

but it's not exactly snuff porn. If they're ok with watching Indiana Jones films there shouldn't be anything too harmful in Uncharted 3.

 

[Struct09]

Shit gets thrown around a bunch. I think both Marlowe and Cutter used it.

Drake throws around a good number of S-bombs too

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

7 and 10. They're *loving* Dark Souls at the moment, which I know is dark but thematically I think its pretty ok for them. I do try and keep swearing out of the house and violence if graphic. They won't be playing, just watching sometimes.

I don't have kids, but I can only imagine that Dark Souls could be really fascinating for them. It's mysterious, has a minimum of boring talky parts, and who doesn't love monsters and cool-ass knights?

On the general topic of parental guidance: What the fuck was News Corp thinking buying Whattheyplay.com and then shutting it down? It must have had too much rational information about video games that would conflict with their agenda of casual fear-mongering.

 

[TrAcEr_x90]

Is this patch gonna fix the mic problems? I looked online and it seems alot of people are having them. I have the first official sony ps3 mic. My friend has the newer slimmer one. I just hear robot voices the whole time between him and I in a party. Our voices are all distorted and low. When in a game i can hear other people talk just fine. I read online people are having similar issues, some day it has something to do with the new sony wireless headset? the firmware update for that caused problems? anyone else having troubles?

 

[The Lamp]

Goddamn's not swearing. Shit upwards would be my yardstick.

Graphic violence or just some fisticuffs? Don't recall it being a bloody franchise

Well I guess it depends. It was originally called "cursing" when you said damn/goddamn in the olden days, and shit/etc. are more modern, vulgar terms.

Naughty Dog is god-tier because of Uncharted 2, and keeps the title for the fact that Uncharted 3 is almost as good or better in different aspects of itself.

 

[TUSR]

Spoiler

What I don't understand with this game compared to the others is the amount of doubt everyone has in Drake this game. Evil people have been shooting guns at him the past two games, but this time its all outta control.

 

[mickcenary]

Impressions (so far):

Let me preface this by saying that I loved the absolute shit out of UC1 and UC2, but this game is starting to feel like a bit of a chore. Everything just feels as if it has been tweaked detrimentally.

Yes, it's well-established that the aiming model is beyond mediocre, but the traversal and cover mechanics also seem slower and far more prone to eliciting an unwanted action - something that can get you killed quick-smart in this game, even on Normal.

And had I not played Arkham Asylum/Arkham City, I'd probably be impressed with the combat system that ND have crafted here, but now, I'm left sorely wanting for a bit more than glorified button mashing. It's also annoying that hand-to-hand combat is so audaciously encouraged - goons coming at you from left and right in small spaces - yet, the game won't hesitate to dole out a cheap death from a shotgunner out of your limited periphery once engaged in combat.

It might seem that I'm only focusing on the negatives here, but UC3 really doesn't bring much to the table that hasn't already been brought by UC2 way back when and with more polish. It's definitely better than most of its contemporaries in its own right, but you simply have to compare it to the awesomeness that is UC2; there's no way around that. And with that in mind, it's not a 10/10. A prerequisite for such an accolade should be a quality jump akin to Assassin's Creed 1 > 2, or Gears of War 2 > 3; being "as good" as your predecessor, which may very well be a 10/10 product, does not automatically qualify you for the same grade.

Granted, I'm only just into the

Spoiler

Ship Graveyard

, but the pacing isn't there, the storytelling isn't there and the setpieces have been weaker (nothing even comes close to the Tank Cat & Mouse segment of UC2), but I understand that the game may still be building.

TL;DR - still fun, still unique, but it kinda feels like a step back.

Does it improve exponentially from here, Gaf?

 

[jackb2424]

Wait.. so let me get this straight. Naughty Dog is in the 'God-tier' of developers for shipping an unfinished game, and adding a major visual change like motion blue to a patch after the fact, as well as 'fixing' aiming, one of the biggest gameplay components of the game? What, did they 'forget' about motion blur? Deciding to apply it later in a patch is a positive thing now? As is fixing aiming in a future patch? Many people will never benefit from this, including me, as I've already beaten the game and have no plans to do another run through (as is the case with most people, that don't include OCD message-board posters- and certainly there's only an insignificant percentage that do 4+ playthroughs as you have, and even more insignificant percentae that will play through the entire game again for frikkin motion blur) This approach does NOT benefit most people who bought this game.

This kind of bullshit cements devs as God-tier? Wow, fuck me then. Some things are a matter of opinion, but with all due respect your perspective on this is pretty fucked up.

Haha, its not that serious man. The game even with its problems is better than most games out right now. ND would be a shitty dev if they did not address these issues but they are addressing it now because they want you to have the best experiment possible. ND is is a top developer because they make great games not just an Uncharted game.

 

[Papercuts]

Impressions (so far):

Let me preface this by saying that I loved the absolutle shit out of UC1 and UC2, but this game is starting to feel like a bit of a chore. Everything just feels as if it has been tweaked detrimentally.

Yes, it's well-established that the aiming model is beyond mediocre, but the traversal and cover mechanics also seem slower and far more prone to eliciting an unwanted action - something that can get you killed quick-smart in this game, even on Normal.

And had I not played Arkham Asylum/Arkham City, I'd probably be impressed with the combat system that ND have crafted here, but now, I'm left sorely wanting for a bit more than glorified button mashing. It's also annoying that hand-to-hand combat is so audaciously encouraged - goons coming at you from left and right in small spaces - yet, the game won't hesitate to dole out a cheap death from a shotgunner out of your limited periphery once engaged in combat.

It might seem that I'm only focusing on the negatives here, but UC3 really doesn't bring much to the table that hasn't already been brought by UC2 way back when and with more polish. It's definitely better than most of its contemporaries in its own right, but you simply have to compare it to the awesomeness that is UC2; there's no way around that. And with that in mind, it's not a 10/10. A prerequisite for such an accolade should be a quality jump akin to Assassin's Creed 1 > 2, or Gears of War 2 > 3. Being "as good" as its predecessor, which may happen to be a 10/10 game, does not automatically qualify it for the same grade.

Granted, I'm only just into the

Spoiler

Ship Graveyard

, but the pacing isn't there, the storytelling isn't there and the setpieces have been weaker (nothing even comes close to the Tank Cat & Mouse segment of UC2), but I understand that the game may still be building.

TL;DR - still fun, still unique, but it kinda feels like a step back.

Does it improve exponentially from here, Gaf?

I think it gets a lot worse, but I'm interested to see how you feel about it since I agree with everything else you said.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Does it improve exponentially from here, Gaf?

For a lot of people the game really starts to shine post-Chapter 12. You still have some magnificent set pieces coming up. I, personally, really disliked what happened to the combat right around where you are right now and for the rest of the game which brought my mood down a ton, but you may not feel that way at all.

 

[The Lamp]

Impressions (so far):

Let me preface this by saying that I loved the absolutle shit out of UC1 and UC2, but this game is starting to feel like a bit of a chore. Everything just feels as if it has been tweaked detrimentally.

Yes, it's well-established that the aiming model is beyond mediocre, but the traversal and cover mechanics also seem slower and far more prone to eliciting an unwanted action - something that can get you killed quick-smart in this game, even on Normal.

And had I not played Arkham Asylum/Arkham City, I'd probably be impressed with the combat system that ND have crafted here, but now, I'm left sorely wanting for a bit more than glorified button mashing. It's also annoying that hand-to-hand combat is so audaciously encouraged - goons coming at you from left and right in small spaces - yet, the game won't hesitate to dole out a cheap death from a shotgunner out of your limited periphery once engaged in combat.

It might seem that I'm only focusing on the negatives here, but UC3 really doesn't bring much to the table that hasn't already been brought by UC2 way back when and with more polish. It's definitely better than most of its contemporaries in its own right, but you simply have to compare it to the awesomeness that is UC2; there's no way around that. And with that in mind, it's not a 10/10. A prerequisite for such an accolade should be a quality jump akin to Assassin's Creed 1 > 2, or Gears of War 2 > 3. Being "as good" as its predecessor, which may happen to be a 10/10 game, does not automatically qualify it for the same grade.

Granted, I'm only just into the

Spoiler

Ship Graveyard

, but the pacing isn't there, the storytelling isn't there and the setpieces have been weaker (nothing even comes close to the Tank Cat & Mouse segment of UC2), but I understand that the game may still be building.

TL;DR - still fun, still unique, but it kinda feels like a step back.

Does it improve exponentially from here, Gaf?

The

Spoiler

ship graveyard

and beyond is where the game's pacing, level design, and setpieces start to take off and shine. Granted, your problems with the melee and combat persist throughout the game, but the game gets better. This one starts off rather slow compared to UC2.

I'd never played Arkham Asylum/City and I played U3 first, and liked the melee, although I got bored with it by the end of the game. Just now played Arkham City and I'm blown away by how good that game's combat system is and how bad U3's is in comparison lol but I guess U3 wasn't trying to be like Batman, it was just trying to add a bit more depth to U2's light melee system. Which they did, but they overemphasized it this time around, as if they were too proud of it.

I'd have to agree that campaign-wise, U2 is better.

 

[Niblet]

Dear god, what is the best strategy for dealing with the heavily armored guys in co-op adventure and arena? Specifically on harder difficulties. My favorite way to play co-op is using run and gun shottie. The shotgun is worthless against them. I have to use a automatic rifle, but they take so many damn shots and they're so powerful, especially the ones with the LMG and of course they're accompanied by grabbers and snipers.