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[Auto_aim1]

FedEx tried to deliver my copy today.... noooooo. Wife is making me go out Friday and Saturday night for Halloween, too

No free copy?!

Anyway,

So... ND's creative director responded to the EG review. It's a good read.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ad-game-designer-discusses-uncharted-3-review

The way we design the Uncharted games is a very deliberate creative choice on our part," he said. "We've said many times in public we don't think it's the only way for video games to go. Indeed, when you look at Rockstar's games, whether it's Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption or L.A. Noire, those three games map out very distinct creative approaches to storytelling action games, which are quite distinct from what we do, but which we think are magnificent, and push forward the form in very important ways. Those games are so well crafted, and they take quite a different approach than we do.

I don't think anyone at Naughty Dog thinks ours is the only approach. We love the diversity of approaches to storytelling in games. We're just trying to do what we've chosen to do as well as it can possibly be done. Hopefully, when people play it they'll agree we have made a leap forwards in Uncharted 3.

 

[Irish]

L.A. Noire - so well crafted

Does not compute

 

[Corto]

So... ND's creative director responded to the EG review. It's a good read.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ad-game-designer-discusses-uncharted-3-review

Though I admire the effort of Eurogamer and the willingness of Lemarchand to talk about the issues Parkin pointed in his review. This article doesn't advance much more than what we already knew. I would love for ND to talk more in-depth about player agency, cinematic experiences, story telling and what can be done to balance those in this medium. Maybe they already done it?

 

[dankir]

Does the gametrailers review have any spoilers?

 

[ProfessorMoran]

Does not compute

I think he was just being respectful to R* for publishing an utter piece of crap that was LA Noire.

 

[Metalmurphy]

Does the gametrailers review have any spoilers?

They show some locations they probably shouldn't have. I'd stay clear of that review.

 

[Nert]

Heh, I can only imagine how much more fun last week would have been if this review from A.V Club had been released earlier: http://www.avclub.com/articles/uncharted-3-drakes-deception,64220/

Spoiler

They gave the game a "C."

 

[Pranay]

Heh, I can only imagine how much more fun last week would have been if this review from A.V Club had been released earlier: http://www.avclub.com/articles/uncharted-3-drakes-deception,64220/

Spoiler

They gave the game a "C."

Just saw the Review

have only one thing to say -

Spoiler

:lol

 

[Hyuga]

A.V Club

....who? Seriously!

 

[Nert]

....who?

You're probably just joking, but they're affiliated with The Onion and they cover TV/Film/Music/Books/Games. Their television coverage in particular is really thorough (and generally well-written).

 

[Ridley327]

Scott Jones has always been a severe hardass when it comes to his other reviews, so this doesn't surprise me.

I wonder how long it's going to take for someone to point out and rage over the fact that he liked Rage and Dead Space 2 (marginally) better...

 

[Snuggles]

You're probably just joking, but they're affiliated with The Onion and they cover TV/Film/Music/Books/Games. Their television coverage in particular is really thorough (and generally well-written).

Yeah, the AV Club is pretty great. I don't really follow their gaming reviews, but they make some quality content.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Heh, I can only imagine how much more fun last week would have been if this review from A.V Club had been released earlier: http://www.avclub.com/articles/uncharted-3-drakes-deception,64220/

Spoiler

They gave the game a "C."

but targeting is as twitchy as ever, bad guys still require three or four shotgun blasts to the head before they’re deterred, and the game’s star, Nathan Drake, still has no clue whatsoever about how to crouch. Two years after Thieves, Uncharted’s gameplay mechanics and conventions are no longer dated; they’re borderline archaic.

Much would be forgiven if the gameplay weren’t so woefully faulty. Creeping up on a goon for a stealth kill can result in Drake inadvertently performing a somersault—ta-dah!—into the goon’s backside. Drake moves like a staggering stew-bum, and as a result, cheap, undeserved deaths abound. The fuzzy mechanics also hamper the game’s superfluous multiplayer, which gamers will likely flock to for a few nights before returning to the more reliable confines of Black Ops and Halo.

Yikes, it's almost like the game is broken. I've got to see this somersault, that sounds crazy.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

The "still requires 3 to 4 shots" comment makes me realize they don't know how to play these games. At close range, shit takes one blast. Then there are the gamey "armored" foes that require more shots. Welcome to the Uncharted club, AVclub.

 

[jett]

No free copy?!

Anyway,

So... ND's creative director responded to the EG review. It's a good read.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ad-game-designer-discusses-uncharted-3-review

"I guess that's what I was a little disappointed about in Simon's review. We have done even more than we did before to keep the player in control from moment to moment, and to return control to the player really promptly whenever we possibly could. It's almost an obsession of ours. Players are going to notice it."

After playing and finishing the game, this remark is really true, unfortunately to the detriment of the animation in the game. Sometimes the game gives you an unnatural amount of control and responsiveness, and it ends up looking weird on screen.

 

[Callibretto]

but targeting is as twitchy as ever, ]bad guys still require three or four shotgun blasts to the head before they’re deterred, nd the game’s star, Nathan Drake, still has no clue whatsoever about how to crouch. Two years after Thieves, Uncharted’s gameplay mechanics and conventions are no longer dated; they’re borderline archaic.

Much would be forgiven if the B]gameplay weren’t so woefully faulty.[] Creeping up on a goon for a stealth kill can result in B]Drake inadvertently performing a somersault[/B]—ta-dah!—into the goon’s backside. Drake B]moves like a staggering stew-bum/B], and as a result, cheap, undeserved deaths abound. The fuzzy mechanics also hamper the game’s superfluous multiplayer[/B], which gamers will likely flock to for a few nights before returning to the more reliable confines of Black Ops and Halo.[/B]

Yikes, it's almost like the game is broken. I've got to see this somersault, that sounds crazy.

he thinks Uncharted 2 control is dated 2 years ago? I thought it was streamlined and overall a nice step forward for any 3rd person game.

 

[EatChildren]

Our review is up.

 

[Snuggles]

Our review is up.

Is this your work?

 

[Yoshichan]

Our review is up.

Your writing ? Any spoilers?

 

[EatChildren]

Not my work, no. I didn't get the luxury of playing the game early .

And no spoilers.

 

[Number45]

The OPM UK review is up in full (at least I assume it's the full review).

 

[AlphaSnake]

The "still requires 3 to 4 shots" comment makes me realize they don't know how to play these games. At close range, shit takes one blast. Then there are the gamey "armored" foes that require more shots. Welcome to the Uncharted club, AVclub.

I've racked up headshot trophies like a mother in the game. Those guys just need to learn how to fucking shoot - I have no problems taking guys out in 1 or 2 shots.

 

[BruiserBear]

I ended up noticing that the same guy who did the Eurogamer review of Uncharted 3 gave the same 8/10 score to Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.


I bought Ace Combat, and I've been enjoying it, but in no way shape or form would I ever imagine it was an equal piece of work to Uncharted 3.

Nothing about the execution of Ace Combat is exceptional. The graphics are decent, the gameplay is solid and entertaining, and the storytelling is mediocre.

I wonder how a "professional" who writes for a respected site like that could honestly give the two games equal scores and feel comfortable doing so. I don't say that with any childish disdain for him, or even sarcasm. It's a genuine question I'd love to ask him about, because I think it's a position that would be very hard to defend.

 

[web01]

I ended up noticing that the same guy who did the Eurogamer review of Uncharted 3 gave the same 8/10 score to Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.


I bought Ace Combat, and I've been enjoying it, but in no way shape or form would I ever imagine it was an equal piece of work to Uncharted 3.

Nothing about the execution of Ace Combat is exceptional. The graphics are decent, the gameplay is solid and entertaining, and the storytelling is mediocre.

I wonder how a "professional" who writes for a respected site like that could honestly give the two games equal scores and feel comfortable doing so. I don't say that with any childish disdain for him, or even sarcasm. It's a genuine question I'd love to ask him about, because I think it's a position that would be very hard to defend.

Scores are not comparable against different games let alone those of different genres.

 

[Lovegooder]

I ended up noticing that the same guy who did the Eurogamer review of Uncharted 3 gave the same 8/10 score to Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. I bought Ace Combat, and I've been enjoying it, but in no way shape or form would I ever imagine it was an equal piece of work to Uncharted 3.

But would you consider it 8/10 as far as fighter jet combat games go? How does it stack up against other titles in that genre?

 

[AiTM]

Any word on single player game length? From either reviews or impressions from people who played it here.

 

[Ra1den]

but targeting is as twitchy as ever, bad guys still require three or four shotgun blasts to the head before they’re deterred, and the game’s star, Nathan Drake, still has no clue whatsoever about how to crouch. Two years after Thieves, Uncharted’s gameplay mechanics and conventions are no longer dated; they’re borderline archaic.

Much would be forgiven if the gameplay weren’t so woefully faulty. Creeping up on a goon for a stealth kill can result in Drake inadvertently performing a somersault—ta-dah!—into the goon’s backside. Drake moves like a staggering stew-bum, and as a result, cheap, undeserved deaths abound. The fuzzy mechanics also hamper the game’s superfluous multiplayer, which gamers will likely flock to for a few nights before returning to the more reliable confines of Black Ops and Halo.

Yikes, it's almost like the game is broken. I've got to see this somersault, that sounds crazy.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the controls being broken. The controls in Uncharted 2 were not broken at all, and there is no way in hell the controls got worse. This guy most likely just sucks at 3rd person action games...its actually fairly common.

 

[BruiserBear]

Scores are not comparable against different games let alone those of different genres.

I guess we'll have to disagree on that. I think the overall score is a benchmark value to say how entertaining that game was in general. I personally have no problem assigning a score to any game I play, regardless of genre. Don't know it would be any different for a Eurogamer writer.

But would you consider it 8/10 as far as fighter jet combat games go? How does it stack up against other titles in that genre?

Does Uncharted 3 have competing titles that do that genre better? Because scoring it an 8/10 would seem to indicate that is the case.

 

[SuperSonic1305]

4 shotgun blasts to the head? Blatant lies in that review.

 

[Ra1den]

4 shotgun blasts to the head? Blatant lies in that review.

It's obvious this guy was determined to give the game a bad review, and was willing to exaggerate minor faults or outright make stuff up(as in this case) to justify his position.

 

[AlphaSnake]

4 shotgun blasts to the head? Blatant lies in that review.

Yeah, first of all...shotgun blasts are extremely wide and that's the last fucking gun in the world you use for a headshot! Derp.

 

[jett]

4 shotgun blasts to the head? Blatant lies in that review.

It's not lies, it's horribly misleading. There are armored enemies that will withstand that kind of firepower, just like in Uncharted 2.

 

[TheOddOne]

I thought this might be intresting:

Sony has praised a publication’s Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception review for saying it’s a “much better game than Gears of War 3.

Sr. Director, Corp Comm & Social Media – SCEA, Patrick Seybold, said on Twitter:
Uncharted 3 Review “we rated Gears of War 3 at 92 and this game is a lot better than that one” Well said VentureBeat http://bit.ly/th4kdz

Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 3 currently sits at a Metascore of 93 on review aggregation site Metacritic. Epic Games’ Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War 3, meanwhile, has a Metascore of 91.

In regards to each exclusive of their respective consoles featuring perfect scores from critic, Uncharted 3 received 15 perfect scores while Gears of War 3 managed to rack up 10.

This seems to suggest both the reviewer’s and Seybold’s comment aren’t made out of thin air, as all the facts – at least as far as scores are concerned seems to suggest likewise.
Uncharted 3 launches tomorrow in the United States, and a day after in the day.

 

[Ashes]

Oh this thread is still going? I was going to post something I read about book criticism in the other thread:

It was just I had just been reading on John Updike, and he said the following on books reviews:

"Updike was also a critic of literature and art, one frequently cited as one of the best American critics of his generation.[34] In the introduction to Picked-Up Pieces, his 1975 collection of prose, he listed his personal rules for literary criticism:
Updike delivering the 2008 Jefferson Lecture.

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give enough direct quotation — at least one extended passage — of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy précis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's œuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser. Do not accept for review a book you are predisposed to dislike, or committed by friendship to like. Do not imagine yourself a caretaker of any tradition, an enforcer of any party standards, a warrior in any ideological battle, a corrections officer of any kind. Never, never ... try to put the author "in his place," making of him a pawn in a contest with other reviewers. Review the book, not the reputation. Submit to whatever spell, weak or strong, is being cast. Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys of reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.[35] "

 

[Ra1den]

It's not lies, it's horribly misleading. There are armored enemies that will withstand that kind of firepower, just like in Uncharted 2.

Oh, you think he was talking about those armored guys? If so, this reviewer truly is a dumbass.

Edit: He is actually a dumbass regardless of who we was referring to.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I thought this might be intresting:

The question becomes whether as a reviewer I should dock the game some points in my review score because of these annoyances, which if they go unmentioned will almost certainly wind up in Uncharted 4. I feel like I’ve collected a big bag of coins and have nowhere to put them. Yes, I’ve got to dock them. But we already rated Gears of War 3 at 92 and this game is a lot better than that one, in my opinion. So we’ll let Naughty Dog skate by with 93 out of 100. I honestly hope that the developers pay close attention and deal with some of the annoyances for Uncharted 4. Hopefully, by then, they’ll have some new Sony hardware to build it upon.

First off, respect to them for being self referential. Not enough reviews do that these days. But it's funny because after playing Uncharted 3 it seems like he realized that he overrated Gears 3 and kind of painted himself into a corner because of it. Last time I checked "a lot better" wasn't a jump from 92 to 93, so I think I'm not assuming a lot in sensing a bit of hindsight changes all.

But yeah, hats off.

 

[Metalmurphy]

It's not lies, it's horribly misleading. There are armored enemies that will withstand that kind of firepower, just like in Uncharted 2.

Even with those guys in Uncharted 2 it was 2 shots not 4. First headshot with a shotgun would take the helmet off right away.


In U3 beta in the coop I think they were more powerful though.

 

[jett]

Even with those guys in Uncharted 2 it was 2 shots not 4. First headshot with a shotgun would take the helmet off right away.


In U3 beta in the coop I think they were more powerful though.

Well only thing I can tell you that there big armored guys in UC3 that take a fuckload of bullets to kill.

 

[Auto_aim1]

Even with those guys in Uncharted 2 it was 2 shots not 4. First headshot with a shotgun would take the helmet off right away.

It's 4. I was just playing UC2 right now.

 

[EatChildren]

Does Uncharted 3 have competing titles that do that genre better? Because scoring it an 8/10 would seem to indicate that is the case.

As a third person? Shit yes. As far as I'm concerned as a third person shooter the Uncharted series is about as mid-tier as you can get.

 

[Massa]

4 shotgun blasts to the head? Blatant lies in that review.

He's probably exaggerating to complain about how many bullets enemies take to die in Uncharted games. A lot of people felt the same way about Uncharted 1 and 2, in fact it was a pretty common complaint for the original game.

 

[Metalmurphy]

It's 4. I was just playing UC2 right now.

You suck then

I remember perfectly always trying to get their helmets off with the first shot. Sometimes I'd succeed other times I wouldn't. I direct head shot would take the helmet off right away, second one would kill him.

Spoiler

Don't make me put U2 back on my PS3.

 

[Kintaro]

As a third person? Shit yes. As far as I'm concerned as a third person shooter the Uncharted series is about as mid-tier as you can get.

Really? Mid-tier? What titles would be top-tier for you to regulate UC to mid-tier?

 

[Patapwn]

As a third person? Shit yes. As far as I'm concerned as a third person shooter the Uncharted series is about as mid-tier as you can get.

Like what? I'd say the only 3rd person shooter to up uncharted is vanquish but that's definitely the exception and there's a chasm of difference between the two game's mechanics.

 

[Ashes]

Really? Mid-tier? What titles would be top-tier for you to regulate UC to mid-tier?

Vanquish in terms of story.
Gears in term of doing something other then running whilst crouching and jumping, climbing.
Tomb raider in terms of boob jobs. Why can't drake have a boob job?

Lots of third person stuff pushes uc down.

Criticising a game for what it's not seems valid.

 

[EatChildren]

Really? Mid-tier? What titles would be top-tier for you to regulate UC to mid-tier?

For this generation? Vanquish, and when at its best the Gears series.

Uncharted works, but it's the sum total of parts that makes the experience as attractive and enjoyable as it is, as far as I'm concerned. The investment into well written and likeable characters, an enjoyable plot, sense of adventure and environment progression, and gorgeous graphics and presentation.

But on a purely mechanical level I don't really consider the Uncharted series able to hold a candle to the pure third person shooters. Uncharted 1 in particular is rank with shitty collision detection, weird aiming, and a botched cover system. Uncharted 2 is significantly more polished, but I still don't like the feel of the guns and the hit boxes still lack the tightness and precision of a game like Vanquish. I also don't really like Naughty Dog's enemy encounter and level design.

I don't rate Uncharted as a bad shooter, just not a particularly amazing one. If someone were to ask my recommendation of a pure third person shooter, where the hook of the game is tight, polished and balanced third person shooting, I wouldn't even consider Uncharted. But if they wanted something more, especially something that delivers on story and adventure, I would.

 

[Kosmo]

Cannot wait for this game to arrive. It's really the only "blockbuster" series in the past 4 years that I bother to play through from beginning to end.

 

[eXistor]

Even though I would score the game a bit higher, I do agree with Eurogamer's assessment. It's the interactive movie-game perfected. But don't play the games expecting deep gameplay mechanics even if it does continue to amaze on a technical level. I've always considered the Uncharted games to be wonderful snacks instead of a main course, which I will get with Skyrim and Zelda in a few weeks. It really shouldn't win any prizes (outside some technical ones), but this is the best kind of Hollywood blockbuster and I love it for it and I think an 8 is a fair score to give (I should note that I've been playing the game for a few days now).

 

[ULTROS!]

Does Uncharted 3 have competing titles that do that genre better? Because scoring it an 8/10 would seem to indicate that is the case.

Well... Since Uncharted 3 is a TPS, does RE4 count? Because RE4 is definitely the pinnacle of TPS games for me.

 

[Ashes]

For this generation? Vanquish, and when at its best the Gears series.

Uncharted works, but it's the sum total of parts that makes the experience as attractive and enjoyable as it is, as far as I'm concerned. The investment into well written and likeable characters, an enjoyable plot, sense of adventure and environment progression, and gorgeous graphics and presentation.

But on a purely mechanical level I don't really consider the Uncharted series able to hold a candle to the pure third person shooters. Uncharted 1 in particular is rank with shitty collision detection, weird aiming, and a botched cover system. Uncharted 2 is significantly more polished, but I still don't like the feel of the guns and the hit boxes still lack the tightness and precision of a game like Vanquish. I also don't really like Naughty Dog's enemy encounter and level design.

I don't rate Uncharted as a bad shooter, just not a particularly amazing one. If someone were to ask my recommendation of a pure third person shooter, where the hook of the game is tight, polished and balanced third person shooting, I wouldn't even consider Uncharted. But if they wanted something more, especially something that delivers on story and adventure, I would.

Can you jump from a plane taking off?