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[nib95]

I personally don't think UC4 will be able to top UC2. Not in overall pacing, characters, sense of place or set pieces. I think UC4 will be amazing in its own right, but I honestly can't see it topping the second. The latter is pretty close to perfect as far as blockbuster pop corn experiences go.

I feel the new one will be less over the top and more grounded, but I hope it's not all like that because I love the over the top set pieces in this franchise, and the sense of awe, scale and wonder. Even in the moments of exposition, like the whole climbing the giant daggers mirror puzzles room, or making your way through the secret ice cave area in UC2. That stuff is Indiana Jones turned up to 11.

I don't think any of the gameplay they've yet shown from UC4 quite matches the set piece spectacle of some of the other key moments so far from the franchise. Eg the train or collapsing building levels.

 

[Generic Power Ranger]

With the Uncharted games I just feel like I'm not performing relevant actions for quite enough of the playtime. Walk or jog slowly here, linear climbing section there (I fucking hate chapter 1 of UC2 and think it's a huge grind with zero tension), occasionally grind the action to an unskippable halt so the characters can exchange a few quips. Game is a bit weak for me outside of combat.

I certainty don't hate the games. I platinumed all of them on PS3 and plan to do the same on PS4. But I find myself really souring on certain aspects over time.

I wish they had less combat (especially 3. only one i think i only completed once .... Until now )

 

[Brandon F]

U2 on crushing has been a total joke so far, especially compared to U1. I even double-checked to ensure, in fact, the difficulty was set properly given how painless it's been. Granted I'm only 7 chapters in, but I have yet to bump into a challenging encounter. The headshot hitbox is noticeably larger and enemies react to your reticle highlight with far less deftness and swaying compared to the first game. They also seem less adept at flanking and rushing Nate. Regardless, not having played U2 since 2009, it is incredible how well it stands up, far more so than U1.

 

[The Xtortionist]

U2 on crushing has been a total joke so far, especially compared to U1. I even double-checked to ensure, in fact, the difficulty was set properly given how painless it's been. Granted I'm only 7 chapters in, but I have yet to bump into a challenging encounter. The headshot hitbox is noticeably larger and enemies react to your reticle highlight with far less deftness and swaying compared to the first game. They also seem less adept at flanking and rushing Nate. Regardless, not having played U2 since 2009, it is incredible how well it stands up, far more so than U1.

Chapter 12 is pretty rough.

 

[el87]

I really miss the ability to rotate the remote to jump backwards off ledges in UC2.

I always thought that this was the best example of motion gaming.

 

[0.1.1.2.3.5.8.13.21.34.55]

If U4 blends TLoU stealth/weapon feel with Uncharted 2s story/set-pieces... It's gonna be incredible.

 

[TEH-CJ]

With the Uncharted games I just feel like I'm not performing relevant actions for quite enough of the playtime. Walk or jog slowly here, linear climbing section there (I fucking hate chapter 1 of UC2 and think it's a huge grind with zero tension), occasionally grind the action to an unskippable halt so the characters can exchange a few quips. Game is a bit weak for me outside of combat.

I certainty don't hate the games. I platinumed all of them on PS3 and plan to do the same on PS4. But I find myself really souring on certain aspects over time.

Fair enough man. I actually felt the same way you did when I originally played them on PS3. Not sure why my opinion has changed so much now lol.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

I personally don't think UC4 will be able to top UC2. Not in overall pacing, characters, sense of place or set pieces. I think UC4 will be amazing in its own right, but I honestly can't see it topping the second. The latter is pretty close to perfect as far as blockbuster pop corn experiences go.

I feel the new one will be a less over the top, more grounded experience, but I hope I'm wrong because I love the over the top set pieces in this franchise, and the sense of awe, scale and wonder. Even in the moments of exposition, like the whole climbing the giant daggers mirror puzzles room, and making your way through the giant secret ice cave area in UC2. That stuff is Indiana Jones turned up to 11.

The fact that A) Nate has a brother and B) Elena is upset again have me a little annoyed going in. Tackling Nate's inner demons with guilt over his spelunking is sort of a mood killer when you just want to go on an adventure in exotic locales.

 

[TEH-CJ]

I personally don't think UC4 will be able to top UC2. Not in overall pacing, characters, sense of place or set pieces. I think UC4 will be amazing in its own right, but I honestly can't see it topping the second. The latter is pretty close to perfect as far as blockbuster pop corn experiences go.

I feel the new one will be less over the top and more grounded, but I hope it's not all like that because I love the over the top set pieces in this franchise, and the sense of awe, scale and wonder. Even in the moments of exposition, like the whole climbing the giant daggers mirror puzzles room, or making your way through the secret ice cave area in UC2. That stuff is Indiana Jones turned up to 11.

I don't think any of the gameplay they've yet shown quite matches the set piece spectacle of some of the other key moments in the franchise. Eg the train or collapsing building level.

The entire Nepal level is 10/10 masterpiece in pacing and level design. Still hasn't been topped.

 

[Putty]

Time...Inception, is that you?

Grab a listen to his Big Hero 6 score, terrific fun with lots of VG inspirations.

 

[WordsintheWater]

I personally don't think UC4 will be able to top UC2. Not in overall pacing, characters, sense of place or set pieces. I think UC4 will be amazing in its own right, but I honestly can't see it topping the second. The latter is pretty close to perfect as far as blockbuster pop corn experiences go.

I feel the new one will be less over the top and more grounded, but I hope it's not all like that because I love the over the top set pieces in this franchise, and the sense of awe, scale and wonder. Even in the moments of exposition, like the whole climbing the giant daggers mirror puzzles room, or making your way through the secret ice cave area in UC2. That stuff is Indiana Jones turned up to 11.

I don't think any of the gameplay they've yet shown from UC4 quite matches the set piece spectacle of some of the other key moments so far from the franchise. Eg the train or collapsing building levels.

I don't think we should underestimate them on the set piece point just yet. They're playing with new technology they didn't have before I find it hard to believe there won't be at least 1 set piece that matches the train or collapsing building. The set piece that we've seen from the latest E3 demo and the second part already shows some crazy things going on.

 

[TEH-CJ]

Grab a listen to his Big Hero 6 score, terrific fun with lots of VG inspirations.

Awesome. Listening to it now

 

[WordsintheWater]

The entire Nepal level is 10/10 masterpiece in pacing and level design. Still hasn't been topped.

You know what part is so underrated in that whole chapter on an emotional level? Gonna spoiler tag it just in case.

Spoiler

When you wake up in Nepal and walk around the village interacting with all the villagers, only to later find it burning down. It caused me to have an emotional connection to random NPC characters just by going around saying hello, kicking a soccer ball, and shaking their hands.

 

[mikelly]

I really miss the ability to rotate the remote to jump backwards off ledges in UC2.

I always thought that this was the best example of motion gaming.

Same here! I thought I was the only one that missed that. I find myself doing it hoping it'll magically work one of these times. lol

 

[Dominator]

Drake's Fortune is kicking my ass on Crushing. I beat it on PS3 (all 3 games actually) but I somehow got worse it seems lol Chapter 6 is fucking me.

 

[nib95]

The entire Nepal level is 10/10 masterpiece in pacing and level design. Still hasn't been topped.

Pretty much. From the way it starts

Spoiler

through the rubble filled streets, the hotel, the rooftop and sign fighting, collapsing building, meeting Elena and the camera guy, the temple itself and the mirror puzzle room, the train station following on to the train journey itself, then getting through the snow, waking up in the village, the snow caves, the secret ruins, the village fight, the monestary etc.

It's all just perfectly woven together, expertly designed and incredibly well realised.

People were discussing whether these games have aged or not, but in reality nothing else has even caught up or matched them, let alone superceded them. So not only have they not aged, they're actually still ahead of the curve, even 7 years on.

 

[MMarston]

Grab a listen to his Big Hero 6 score, terrific fun with lots of VG inspirations.

Also again, listen to the Captain America 2 soundtrack.


It's just dripping with Metal Gear now that I think of it.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

for the people that haven't played Uncharted before and have tried it now.. what do you think?

I played a little of Uncharted 1 back when it came out and stopped because I didn't think it was very interesting. I beat it today and I feel like I was right.

The plot was good, the characters were fun, and the character and environment art design are all great.

Unfortunately a lot of the game play was janky. The platforming is pretty repetitive and unresponsive/flawed at times. The puzzles were all pretty easy and kind of just felt like busy work. You could see the enemy encounters coming from a mile away. I feel like using anything but a pistol or shotgun puts you at a disadvantage, though the actual gun play wasn't bad. It just...needs more variation as far as effectiveness goes. Really the only reason to switch up guns was to get Trophies. If the game didn't have them I would have used a pistol like, 90% of the time. Which seems pretty unfortunate in a game with about a dozen guns. I barely used the hand to hand or stealth combat, because it didn't seem very necessary at many points.

Overall it was fine, but not something I'd ever revisit. That said, I bought the collection because even people who love the Uncharted series seem to think that the first game isn't fantastic, and that the series really shines in the second and third entries. I started Uncharted 2 earlier tonight and I'm only two chapters in, but I'm very happy that the second chapter

Spoiler

makes use of stealth mechanics

. This is something that they had in the first game, but I felt went woefully underused. The platforming so far is more of the same, but it at least feels tighter and easier to use. Which is going a long way, because the mediocre platforming was really my biggest complaint from the first game.

 

[zsynqx]

I personally don't think UC4 will be able to top UC2. Not in overall pacing, characters, sense of place or set pieces. I think UC4 will be amazing in its own right, but I honestly can't see it topping the second. The latter is pretty close to perfect as far as blockbuster pop corn experiences go.

I feel the new one will be less over the top and more grounded, but I hope it's not all like that because I love the over the top set pieces in this franchise, and the sense of awe, scale and wonder. Even in the moments of exposition, like the whole climbing the giant daggers mirror puzzles room, or making your way through the secret ice cave area in UC2. That stuff is Indiana Jones turned up to 11.

I don't think any of the gameplay they've yet shown from UC4 quite matches the set piece spectacle of some of the other key moments so far from the franchise. Eg the train or collapsing building levels.

I really disagree and will be shocked if UC4 isn't the best Uncharted. The game director (Bruce Straley) of Uncharted 2 taking all the knowledge from that game and then from TLOU (a superior game). Also Neil Druckmann...

As for your worry about set pieces that is what gets me excited. Quote from Neil on UC4 set piece design philosophies. (From opm interview last month)

"I guess our approach in the past has been go bigger" says Druckmann talking about uncharted 3. "But we felt with this one we felt like if we went any bigger, it would become comical; we would become a parody of ourselves. So it became really about how do we make them unique? How do we make them more playable?"

The part in bold makes me really excited. Similarly he talks about left behind and how those intimate set pieces such as the photobooth scene are just as exciting to him as the bombast and now there will be more room to breath between combat citing the Tenzin village in Uncharted 2 as well as left behind.

As for characters, Neil created the most well written and rounded characters in videogame history with Ellie and Joel (imo ) so you shouldn't have to worry on that front.

 

[MMarston]

I wish Tenzin makes a comeback in UC4.


I don't care how illogical it would be.

 

[0.1.1.2.3.5.8.13.21.34.55]

Damn, you guys are making me want to start UC2 right now, despite it being 1:30am.

 

[antitrop]

I'm a Troy Baker fanboy, so yeah, Uncharted 4 give it to me, please.

 

[zsynqx]

I'm a Troy Baker fanboy, so yeah, Uncharted 4 give it to me, please.

 

[nib95]

I really disagree and will be shocked if UC4 isn't the best Uncharted. The game director (Bruce Straley) of Uncharted 2 taking all the knowledge from that game and then from TLOU (a superior game). Also Neil Druckmann...

As for your worry about set pieces that is what gets me excited. Quote from Neil on UC4 set piece design philosophies. (From opm interview last month)

"I guess our approach in the past has been go bigger" says Druckmann talking about uncharted 3. "But we felt with this one we felt like if we went any bigger, it would become comical; we would become a parody of ourselves. So it became really about how do we make them unique? How do we make them more playable?"

The part in bold makes me really excited. Similarly he talks about left behind and how those intimate set pieces such as the photobooth scene are just as exciting to him as the bombast and now there will be more room to breath between combat citing the Tenzin village in Uncharted 2 as well as left behind.

As for characters, Neil created the most well written and rounder characters in videogame history with Ellie and Joel (imo ) so you shouldn't have to worry on that front.

I get all that, but Uncharted is not LoU. Some serious elements to the characters and narrative, as well as more realistic gunplay are certainly welcome, but ultimately it's supposed to be a super fun, light hearted, Indiana Jones style over the top adventure.

That quote you bolded is exactly why I'm a little apprehensive. No it wouldn't be comical to create bigger and crazier set pieces, that's Uncharted, that's what people expect, and given this could be the last part of Nate's tale, no need to downsize that set piece formula at this stage. That said, they don't necessarily need to be bigger, but hopefully they're at least as big.

 

[zsynqx]

Pretty much. From the way it starts

Spoiler

through the rubble filled streets, the hotel, the rooftop and sign fighting, collapsing building, meeting Elena and the camera guy, the temple itself and the mirror puzzle room, the train station following on to the train journey itself, then getting through the snow, waking up in the village, the snow caves, the secret ruins, the village fight, the monestary etc.

It's all just perfectly woven together, expertly designed and incredibly well realised.

People were discussing whether these games have aged or not, but in reality nothing else has even caught up or matched them, let alone superceded them. So not only have they not aged, they're actually still ahead of the curve, even 7 years on.

Structurally, Nepal through to the Tibetan village is really hard to fault; most people claimng that it has dated are probably speaking on a strictly mechanical level to do with quirks with the aiming and guns lacking visceral feedback etc. The whole of Nepal is incredible and honestly kinda reminds me of Pittsburgh in TLOU to some degree.

I get all that, but Uncharted is not LoU. Some serious elements to the characters and narrative, as well as more realistic gunplay are certainly welcome, but ultimately it's supposed to be a super fun, light hearted, Indiana Jones style over the top adventure.

That quote you bolded is exactly why I'm a little apprehensive. No it wouldn't be comical to create bigger and crazier set pieces, that's Uncharted, that's what people expect, and given this could be the last part of Nate's tale, no need to downsize that set piece formula at this stage. That said, they don't necessarily need to be bigger, but hopefully they're at least as big.

The E3 demo clearly showed there is still spectacle that matches the past games and that it is still a romp. The point is that there will now be far more interactivity within these set piece moments. Look at all the branching paths during E3 car chase as an example. Also, i mentioned the stuff he said about Left Behind/ Tenzin as if you have those down moments it means that when you do turn it up to 11 it is that much more impactfull,

 

[Papercuts]

UC2 wrapped up on hard. Really interested in actually going into 3 again since it's been a long time and I don't think highly of the game at all(to put it mildy). Going into it with an open mind directly after 1 and 2 should also be enlightening. 2's pacing is still great, from nepal onwards I always want to just play through it within a single session.

Uncharted 1 Checkpoints Failed/Restarted = 97
Uncharted 2 Checkpoints Failed/Restarted = 155
Uncharted 3 Checkpoints Failed/Restarted = 133

All full playthroughs on normal difficulty. I suck at these games.

Oooh, didn't think to check stuff like this in stats.

For just 1 and 2 on Hard

Enemies defeated:
UC1 - 777
UC2 - 958

Playtime:

UC1 - 6:32 playtime
124 restarts

UC2 - 9:33
94 restarts

I can tell just by the time to enemy ratio that UC1 throws a TON of stuff at you.

 

[TripOpt55]

Finished up the platinum on Drake's Fortune and moved onto Uncharted 2. This game is just amazing. One of my all-time favorites and reminding me why already.

 

[Ogawa-san]

Finished UC2, on hard. I can see why it was 2009's GOTY, holy crap.

Not a fan of the vertical collectibles though, in UC1 I ended up with 40 but here I had even less. Also screw armored guys and everything else that had to be shot by their weight in bullets to drop dead.

 

[jediyoshi]

Onto UC3. Still definitely not my favorite, but oh lordy did they upgrade the lighting and weapon sounds.

 

[leng jai]

Was playing Witcher 3 maxed on on PC prior to UC2 and the remaster still looks ridiculously gorgeous. I can't even comprehend how good these graphics looked in 2009. Everything is just so consistent and intricately crafted.

Onto UC3. Still definitely not my favorite, but oh lordy did they upgrade the lighting and weapon sounds.

Really? UC1 and 2 sounded exactly the same to me.

 

[Alo0oy]

Really? UC1 and 2 sounded exactly the same to me.

That's what I thought before playing the collection too, but the upgrade is actually massive, I don't know why I haven't noticed that until now, I always had in my mind that the guns in the entire trilogy sounded like peashooters, but I was wrong, the guns in UC3 sound like actual guns.

 

[StevePharma]

Was playing Witcher 3 maxed on on PC prior to UC2 and the remaster still looks ridiculously gorgeous. I can't even comprehend how good these graphics looked in 2009. Everything is just so consistent and intricately crafted.



Really? UC1 and 2 sounded exactly the same to me.

You will notice the first time you're firing an AK/KAL/M4.

 

[hamchan]

Uncharted 2 from chapter 5 all the way up to chapter 25 is the best action game ever made and not much comes close to it.

 

[Papercuts]

Onto UC3. Still definitely not my favorite, but oh lordy did they upgrade the lighting and weapon sounds.

I never realized that, but yeah, guns sound a lot better over 2.

But holy crap the lack of reaction to bullets is insane. I was originally focused so much on wonky aiming but even with that fixed...bleh. :\

 

[Alo0oy]

I've been watching a stream that has the lead artist of Uncharted, lots of fascinating insight on UC3 & UC4.

 

[zsynqx]

I've been watching a stream that has the lead artist of Uncharted, lots of fascinating insight on UC3 & UC4.

I have been watchnig these for like the last week, Teagan Morrison

 

[Loudninja]

UC4 guns sounds even better.

Glad they improved them.

 

[zsynqx]

You should go on the archive, they have played through the first 2 already

 

[Alo0oy]

Thanks zsynqx, I wasn't aware that they played through 1 & 2, I just stumbled upon the stream in the twitch directory.

 

[zsynqx]

Thanks zsynqx, I wasn't aware that they played through 1 & 2, I just stumbled upon the stream in the twitch directory.

Lots of interesting tidbits

 

[Alo0oy]

Lots of interesting tidbits

The funniest part was the "paintings" in the chateau, lol.

 

[zsynqx]

The funniest part was the "paintings" in the chateau, lol.

Yeah, his girlfriend was cracking up!

 

[Unknown One]

I wish the enemies reacted to bullets like Killzone 2 enemies.

 

[cyba89]

You know what part is so underrated in that whole chapter on an emotional level? Gonna spoiler tag it just in case.

Spoiler

When you wake up in Nepal and walk around the village interacting with all the villagers, only to later find it burning down. It caused me to have an emotional connection to random NPC characters just by going around saying hello, kicking a soccer ball, and shaking their hands.

Problem is

Spoiler

I found it really predictable that there will be a fight there just because of the level architecture. Tommy's Dam in TLOU had a similar problem.

 

[Audette]

Just got my Uncharted 2 plat. Started up 3 right away, compared to uncharted 1/2 I notice that drake is quicker and more responsive to my stick movements! Feels good, I'm totally surprised. Looking forward to this replay of the game!

Edit: game has a lot of extra graphical touches, very pretty! A lot closer to The Last of Us level of quality. Very good job by Naughty Dog. I'm kicking myself for not enjoying the game as much when it first came out, but the snappier controls probably help hahaha.

 

[Alo0oy]

Just got my Uncharted 2 plat. Started up 3 right away, compared to uncharted 1/2 I notice that drake is quicker and more responsive to my stick movements! Feels good, I'm totally surprised. Looking forward to this replay of the game!

Edit: game has a lot of extra graphical touches, very pretty! A lot closer to The Last of Us level of quality. Very good job by Naughty Dog. I'm kicking myself for not enjoying the game as much when it first came out, but the snappier controls probably help hahaha.

Uncharted 3 looked much better than TLOU imo, TLOU had a lot of low quality models (like the cars & some walls), UC3 was much more consistent throughout, & performed at a solid 30fps as well.

 

[Bishop89]

I heard Greg Edmonson will not be composing u4.
Please tell me that is not true?

Replaying the games, and listening to that score is just amazing.

 

[Eggbok]

Can't unsee Delsin looking @ beardless Baker.

 

[DKHF]

I heard Greg Edmonson will not be composing u4.
Please tell me that is not true?

Replaying the games, and listening to that score is just amazing.

It is true, Henry Jackman is the composer for it.

 

[mindsale]

I'm halfway through 3 now, which has always been my favorite, and there're so many Naughty Dog-isms I'm noticing across all four of the PS3 games. Being chased by vehicles, pressing triangle to boost someone to a vantage point, trying to get to areas that have been sealed off for good reason (El Dorado, Shambala, Atlantis of the Sands, the Fireflies' lab).

3 is, for lack of a better word, more modern than the first two. It uses the yellow tinges in background art as an indication of where to go (used again in The Last of Us). This makes it much harder to get lost or not notice a handhold, without [fuck this pun], holding your hand.

The flamenco guitar work is clearly a precursor to Gustavo Santolalla's work on The Last of Us and a move away from Greg Edmunson's score that Uncharted 4 is finally doing. Treasures are way less obscure. Areas and arenas for firefights are larger. The stealth and melee are much-improved. Character interactions are more plentiful. Voice acting is better. Character motivations are deeper. There's a greater focus on more emotive scenes and backgrounds are explored.

The big difference between 2 and 3, and I think the explains folks' preference for 2 over 3 more than the initial hype of 3, is the pacing in 3. It uses a lot of downtime to artistic effect and to shine light on character dynamics. 2 never stops being intense. 3's got a slow burn.

Also I suppose if someone didn't initially like the multiplayer (unfortunately not included in the remaster - it's the best unnecessary multiplayer since Mass Effect 3), that could potentially detract from their enjoyment of 3, as it is slightly shorter than 2. It's also easier, for what it's worth. Guns are more powerful, enemies take WAY fewer shots on crushing.