Support NeoGAF

[Lord Error]

Alright I take back some of my comments about texture quality.

Jesus Crysis level 5. :lol

Yeah, I think you've probably been spoiled with Beowulf textures that night, or something :lol

They looked pretty insanely detailed in the demo, not smudgy in the least - and don't forget the game has 2xMSAA while gears didn't have it.

I think developers still have trouble in making realistic faces and skin, many times Drake and Elena would look odd and even creepy (too shiny, no texture), but not all the time. I believe this is a problem with many next-gen games that attempt realistic graphics.

I have to say that despite all the awesomeness of Uncharted's visuals, Heavenly Sword still has it beat in that one area, just as it has every other game beat. YYZ, you should give that game a shot if you want to see what the realistic looking human skin can be like in realtime. Then again, Uncharted goes for a more stylized, less realistic look to begin with, and I appreciate that all the facial animation is hand made, which gives it a bit of a warmer, cartoony style.

 

[Esperado]

I'm about 33% done and am really enjoying the game, but I thought I should take some time to address how I feel about the game so far.

Visually, Uncharted is probably one of the best, if not the best, looking games I've seen to date. When you take the time to slow down and just look around, you really get a sense of the time and effort put into the visuals.

That said, I really think they could do a better job with the pacing on the shooting parts of the game. It seems like every area has 3 waves of enemies, with each wave showing up after the last wave is killed. It could also be that the shooting mechanics are kind of "off". While it didn't bother me when the AK-47 was like a BB-gun in the demo, it bothers me in the final release because I thought it would have been tweaked. With the AK-47, you can shoot a guy 6 times in the chest before finally killing him, but with the pistol it only takes 3 hits. To me it just seems like a way to compensate not having an auto-aim system implemented, but if that were the case, why not just include one?

Storyline wise, the game exactly what I wanted it to be. This was my most anticipated game of the year, and while I don't think the game as a whole delivered like I wanted it to, the story definitely does.

All in all, I think I should bring up my thoughts on Gears of War. While I was impressed with the visuals of that game, I thought it was just an average game with super high production values. And, given the similarities between the two, I would probably say the same thing about Uncharted so far, albeit an awesome storyline. When I first saw the reviews in EGM for the game, I instantly thought, "8.5, I hate how reviewers will just rate games .5-1.-0 lower just because it's on PS3," but after actually playing the game so far, it seems spot on. Now that I wrote this I feel like I really need to finish it before I post my opinions, but I've written too much to go back..

 

[Metalmurphy]

Probably one of the most awesome chase scenes I've seen in a while on a game:





So awesome.

 

[JB1981]

Playing the game on Hard and I'm stuck on, well, a really hard shootout. I think it's chapter 7 or 8. Just got done with the jet skis, I swam through a little canal and now I'm pinned down by a dude with a grenade launcher and a bunch of other baddies. I died about a dozen times, so I'm gonna take a break and come back to it later. So far I am enjoying the game but I feel like it's missing something. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel kind of like I"m just going through the motions a little.

 

[Kittonwy]

The lighting and shadowing is definitely amazing, as well as the animations. Like I said last night, I fired the game up after a long day so perhaps I was a little to hard on the game. My concerns about the shooting getting stale still stand, though.

.

I found that when I tried to fire up Gears after playing this, Gears became literally unplayable because it got stale the first 2 minutes, especially because the lancer was just so damn weak and inaccurate, and the controls felt really clunky, seriously no joke. The controls and the amount of tactical freedom are just night and day. I guess there's a lot of shooting in Uncharted, it hasn't gotten stale for me yet but it can get pretty intense when you have wave after wave of pirates rushing Drake all the time. Best single player campaign I've played all year (my list includes HALO 3 - finished on normal and heroic, COD4 - in progress, Bioshock, Heavenly Sword - finished, Ratchet and Clank - finished on normal).

 

[JB1981]

I found that when I tried to fire up Gears after playing this, Gears became literally unplayable because it got stale the first 2 minutes, seriously no joke. The controls and the amount of tactical freedom are just night and day. I guess there's a lot of shooting in Uncharted, it hasn't gotten stale for me yet but it can get pretty intense when you have wave after wave of pirates rushing Drake all the time. Best single player campaign I've played all year (my list includes HALO 3 - finished on normal and heroic, COD4 - in progress, Bioshock, Heavenly Sword - finished, Ratchet and Clank - finished on normal).

As a straight-up shooter, I prefer Gears. I love the active reload. I love the way the guns feel. I love the gibs. It's just a really visceral experience. The mechanics in Uncharted are great too, I just have issues with the AK and the waves of respawning enemies. I also feel like the scenarios are always heavily weighted against me. And by that, I mean, Drake often times seems to be placed at a tactical disadvantage where sometimes cover is not even an option. For instance, there is that one sequence in Act 4 where you have to run up a flight of stairs and you cannot avoid being shot at. By the time you get up the stairs, you have taken so much damage that going for cover is kind of impossible. The only way I could get by that particular sequence was by dying first, then taking out the baddies from below with a few grenade tosses and then heading upstairs. I just feel like sometimes the game should give you the opportunity to have an actual shootout with the AI, rather than constantly dodging and fleeing from them because they advance on you so aggressively.

I don't mean to suggest that there aren't cases where I had my way with the AI, because I have. I just feel like ND overuses the kinds of scenarios I described above. It's kind of similar to the way some of the engagements are designed in Resistance, for instance.

 

[Kittonwy]

As a straight-up shooter, I prefer Gears. I love the active reload. I love the way the guns feel. I love the gibs. It's just a really visceral experience. The mechanics in Uncharted are great too, I just have issues with the AK and the waves of respawning enemies. I also feel like the scenarios are always heavily weighted against me. And by that, I mean, Drake often times seems to be placed at a tactical disadvantage where sometimes cover is not even an option. For instance, there is that one sequence in Act 4 where you have to run up a flight of stairs and you cannot avoid being shot at. By the time you get up the stairs, you have taken so much damage that going for cover is kind of impossible. The only way I could get by that particular sequence was by dying first, then taking out the baddies from below with a few grenade tosses and then heading upstairs. I just feel like sometimes the game should give you the opportunity to have an actual shootout with the AI, rather than constantly dodging and fleeing from them because they advance on you so aggressively.

I don't mean to suggest that there aren't cases where I had my way with the AI, because I have. I just feel like ND overuses the kinds of scenarios I described above. It's kind of similar to the way some of the engagements are designed in Resistance, for instance.

I couldn't stand the way the guns work in Gears myself, the explosive bow took way too long to aim, bows were way too precious and for some reason I was never able to "unaim" once I decided to aim it at someone, sniper rifle seemed ok, shotgun was good, but the automatic machine guns just didn't work for me. LT aiming puts you under far too much enemy fire when you can blind-fire cheese an enemy to death more effectively as long as one of the locusts vaults over the cover and become exposed, you didn't feel the lancer was too inaccurate? Or maybe the locusts were just too much of a bunch of damage sponges on hardcore for me. In Uncharted I just try to aim for the head, I make my shots count but I feel there's a more generous window of opportunity for me to take my aim.

You didn't like enemies pouring out in Uncharted but were you ok with locusts literally spawning from holes in Gears? Did you play COD4 single player campaign? Because I was going through the TV station level the night before and man that problem you described with spawning enemies was MUCH, MUCH WORSE, the single player campaign so far for me is so overrated, and it doesn't look all that pretty either.

There are quite a few instances where enemies are already there and you're approaching a situation in Uncharted. I found that I was able to at least take out a couple of them before they start applying pressure on me.

I didn't have as much trouble as you probably did, because I was just deadly accurate with my handgun. It wuz like boom headshot.

Man I love the music in Uncharted, it's so awesome.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I saw the Uncharted commercial on College Gameday earlier. It starts with Drake running through a forest and into a cave. There's a bunch of pirates in there so he tries to get hidden when his walkie talkie goes off and everyone turns and points at him, he pulls the phone out and says "It's for you" and throws it at them and then opens up fire on them. After that it cuts into some gameplay footage.

 

[dfyb]

There are 20 chapters

there's actually 22

 

[Captain N]

I'm on Chapter 11 and there's only one thing I wish I would do...I went from playing Assassin's Creed to this game so it could be the reason I want to see it...When you can't reach something he just jumps up and kind of reaches up in the sky. I'd rather him run up the wall even if there isn't something to grab there.

 

[Firewire]

MTV Interview with Amy Hennig

Naughty Dog: ‘Uncharted’ Could’ve Been ‘BioShock’ or ‘Resistance’

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2007/11/16/naughty-dog-uncharted-couldve-been-bioshock-or-resistance/

 

[M3Freak]

I think I'm going to have Uncharted in about 2 hours. Hopefully. ::crosses fingers::

 

[JB1981]

You didn't like enemies pouring out in Uncharted but were you ok with locusts literally spawning from holes in Gears?

Whenever locusts spawn from the ground in Gears you are given enough of a heads up to get in position think about your attack. I never had a problem with that.

I will say this, the interplay between Drake and Elena is maybe the most convincing and most natural piece of videogame acting I've ever seen. It's not just them either. It extends to ever member of the cast. The presentation all around is maybe the best I've ever seen.

 

[dfyb]

As a straight-up shooter, I prefer Gears. I love the active reload. I love the way the guns feel. I love the gibs. It's just a really visceral experience. The mechanics in Uncharted are great too, I just have issues with the AK and the waves of respawning enemies. I also feel like the scenarios are always heavily weighted against me. And by that, I mean, Drake often times seems to be placed at a tactical disadvantage where sometimes cover is not even an option. For instance, there is that one sequence in Act 4 where you have to run up a flight of stairs and you cannot avoid being shot at. By the time you get up the stairs, you have taken so much damage that going for cover is kind of impossible. The only way I could get by that particular sequence was by dying first, then taking out the baddies from below with a few grenade tosses and then heading upstairs. I just feel like sometimes the game should give you the opportunity to have an actual shootout with the AI, rather than constantly dodging and fleeing from them because they advance on you so aggressively.

I don't mean to suggest that there aren't cases where I had my way with the AI, because I have. I just feel like ND overuses the kinds of scenarios I described above. It's kind of similar to the way some of the engagements are designed in Resistance, for instance.

i thought it was refreshing. i was playing on hard and actually had to position myself intelligently or i'd find myself surrounded. with other games, you're only ever surrounded and in danger if you stupidly put yourself in that situation -- uncharted makes you constantly evaluate the situation and make adjustments to your plan.

 

[Kittonwy]

I think I'm going to have Uncharted in about 2 hours. Hopefully. ::crosses fingers::

U gettin' it from TRU? I was so very glad I went and called Markville TRU last night and picked it up, it was SO TOTALLY WORTH IT.

 

[Kittonwy]

Whenever locusts spawn from the ground in Gears you are given enough of a heads up to get in position think about your attack. I never had a problem with that.

I will say this, the interplay between Drake and Elena is maybe the most convincing and most natural piece of videogame acting I've ever seen. It's not just them either. It extends to ever member of the cast. The presentation all around is maybe the best I've ever seen.

Probably some of the best, smartest friendly AI in console games.

 

[sprocket]

Probably some of the best, smartest friendly AI in console games.

yeah she actually kills people too! lol

 

[Synless]

Lol, I found the worst spot for texture pop up ever in this game, beginning of chapter 12 walk towards the water look out at it and then turn around and look at the wall, it is all blurry and then BAM! it all comes into place, then look at the jetski and it does the same, and you can continue doing this everytime you look out at the water, I'm not complaining about it just so you know, just something I noticed.

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

100 Headshots!!!!!

BOOM!!!

 

[Synless]

100 Headshots!!!!!

BOOM!!!

I was so happy when I got that one, I'm still trying to get 20 stealth kills. Hey does anyone know how many shots it takes to soften someone up because I'll shoot them 2 times with a pistol and then try to hit them once and it doesn't kill them, but if I shoot them three times they die so what the hell?

 

[Kole_Koiott]

I'm not complaining about it just so you know, just something I noticed.

I wouldn't worry about saying it really. Hopefully it hasn't come this far, that you can't say anything negative about the game without being ripped apart.

But i love all the opinions. It keeps me sane, because i'm not able to play the game before December.

 

[Synless]

I wouldn't worry about saying it really. Hopefully it hasn't come this far, that you can't say anything negative about the game without being ripped apart.

But i love all the opinions. It keeps me sane, because i'm not able to play the game before December.

No really I wasn't complaining I think this game is better looking then anything else I can think of and really it was the only place I found where it was really noticeable.

 

[FrankT]

+1 NPD November

Just got my PS3, so at least some of us new owners know when to buy worthwhile software.

Anyhow, need some PSN friends, so if you like, add me: Jtyettis1.

 

[Captain N]

+1 NPD November

Just got my PS3, so at least some of us new owners know when to buy worthwhile software.

Anyhow, need some PSN friends, so if you like, add me: Jtyettis1.

I'll be out all day today..in the city, but you can add me and we'll play some games in the future.

Captain_N.

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

As a straight-up shooter, I prefer Gears. I love the active reload. I love the way the guns feel. I love the gibs. It's just a really visceral experience.

Gears falls flat after a while though due to featuring little in the way of enemy reaction to being shot. One second they are firing at you despite getting 8 bullets in the face, and the next they fall over or go splat into pieces. By far the coolest thing about Uncharted is the enemy movement, and reactions to getting shot, and I hope every other developer of over the top games take some cues from this.

 

[Ceb]

By far the coolest thing about Uncharted is the enemy movement, and reactions to getting shot, and I hope every other developer of over the top games take some cues from this.

Killzone 2 is still the golden standard that needs to be followed when it comes to hit reactions.

 

[dfyb]

Killzone 2 is still the golden standard that needs to be followed when it comes to hit reactions.

the actual impact yeah, but i never saw helghast limping or holding their gut and shooting with their free hand like i saw uncharted pirates doing.

 

[deejay8595]

I NEED HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

Spoiler

IM ON CHAPTER 10....On the part where their are 4 statues on you need to rotate them either north,south,east, or west.

IM SOOOO CONFUSED!!!!...I read the Dairy and have the statues pointed in the direction it tells me and nothing happens...WTF. ANY HELP?

 

[dfyb]

I NEED HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

Spoiler

IM ON CHAPTER 10....On the part where their are 4 statues on you need to rotate them either north,south,east, or west.

IM SOOOO CONFUSED!!!!...I read the Dairy and have the statues pointed in the direction it tells me and nothing happens...WTF. ANY HELP?

Spoiler

the names are on the left, the direction they should face is on the right (rather than what position the statues are in). use the compass in the center of the floor to know what direction is what.

 

[spwolf]

Gears falls flat after a while though due to featuring little in the way of enemy reaction to being shot. One second they are firing at you despite getting 8 bullets in the face, and the next they fall over or go splat into pieces. By far the coolest thing about Uncharted is the enemy movement, and reactions to getting shot, and I hope every other developer of over the top games take some cues from this.

ppl gotta love when you hit someone 3 times, and they limp enough for you to do it 4th . Thats definetly really good.

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

Killzone 2 is still the golden standard that needs to be followed when it comes to hit reactions.

Killzone 2 is also still for all intent and purposes a prototype. Uncharted is here right now, so I'd say it's a bit unfair to use future games as golden standards of anything. Besides, I haven't seen any entertaining reactions from enemies in Killzone 2. Realistic, perhaps, but it's not half as entertaining as the over the top action stuff that goes on in Uncharted.

 

[JB1981]

Gears falls flat after a while though due to featuring little in the way of enemy reaction to being shot. One second they are firing at you despite getting 8 bullets in the face, and the next they fall over or go splat into pieces. By far the coolest thing about Uncharted is the enemy movement, and reactions to getting shot, and I hope every other developer of over the top games take some cues from this.

That is definitely a good point.

 

[Synless]

Anybody notice that when your in a room with a flashlight and you just stand still and spin the camera around drake the flash light continues to shine forward yet the light goes in the direction of the camera.

*Edit* funny thing is it only happens in one room in the game and not anywhere else.

 

[Systems_id]

Call of Duty 4 is still the golden standard that needs to be followed when it comes to hit reactions.

Fixed. No game I've seen, including Killzone 2, does hit reactions better than CoD4.

 

[JB1981]

Fixed. No game I've seen, including Killzone 2, does hit reactions better than CoD4.

I hate to continue the comparisons, but whaaaa?

That's just crazy talk.

 

[Systems_id]

I hate to continue the comparisons, but whaaaa?

That's just crazy talk.

Have you played CoD4? Everywhere, everytime you shoot an enemy, they properly react. Hit them on the run in the legs? They stumble down or flip over themselves. Shoot them in the shoulder? They realistically react by favoring that shoulder. Shoot someone in anywhere and they react in a realistic manner. The animation is what really makes it though and CoD4 has the best animation I've seen in a game yet including Uncharted and Killzone 2.

 

[Con]

Fixed. No game I've seen, including Killzone 2, does hit reactions better than CoD4.

-> http://www.glassesdirect.co.uk/release_000/



Killzone 2 rapes every other game in that aspect, no question about it.

 

[JB1981]

Have you played CoD4? Everywhere, everytime you shoot an enemy, they properly react. Hit them on the run in the legs? They stumble down or flip over themselves. Shoot them in the shoulder? They realistically react by favoring that shoulder. Shoot someone in anywhere and they react in a realistic manner. The animation is what really makes it though and CoD4 has the best animation I've seen in a game yet including Uncharted and Killzone 2.

Yea i actually bought the game twice. They kind of do what you're talking about but their animation has very little weight to it. Have you seen how bullets effect the Helghast in KZ2? It is really impressive.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Okay I just got the

Spoiler

Chapter 5: The Fortess

And I have to say this game is the single most shockingly beautiful piece of software I have ever played. Not since MGS2 have I literally paused the game called all my friends into the room and listened to the oohs and ahhs as I showed them:

Spoiler

The first time you run your flashlight over the stacks of wood in the cave and light it on fire

Spoiler

Come around the bend into the open area and see the enormous submarine sitting in a river casting perfect reflections on the surface with the sun just about to set tinting everything slighty red

I seriously stopped and looked at that

Spoiler

sub

from every angle high,low,in the water out of the water just amazing.

Spoiler

Your climbing the rocks in the waterfall and everything realistically breaks and falls away

Spoiler

When you grab onto the tree and it starts pulling down and the roots spring out of the ground throwing dirt everywhere O_0!

Spoiler

When you first come into the clearing and see the Fortress and the sea endlessly going to the horizon. And once inside looking out the window to the rocky cliffs below

I cant believe I can see something that far away and know that at some point I am going to get to it and climb inside with no loading it does so much to create a believable world.

I actually find the pacing and gunplay in this game to be perfect. The one thing that annoyed me to gears was how hard it was sometimes to get to the cover you wanted and once you got there how absolutely panicked I would get if a lot of guys started rushing me you just feel so cemented and slow. In Uncharted you can slam behind cover pop up shoot a guy in the head in the distance as a guy rushes me blind fire him with the shotty(Which feels so so satisfying) I see another guy running up the side so I quickly jump out of cover grab the guy and beat the poo out of him you can just adapt so easily to any situation its fantastic.

The animations oh the animations just when Drake was in the

Spoiler

Submarine

and he entered every passageway and entrance a little different it just looks so good. I also love if one of your feet is close to the edge of some cliff he picks that one foot up and balances with this really nervous look on his face just classic.

The characters in this game are better than anything I have seen either the interaction between

Spoiler

Drake and Sully

is especially good. They talk so naturally nothing seems forced and I genuinely was either laughing or grinning from ear to ear over what they said. It just sells me on the whole story and engages me completely in everything that happens to them. They seem truly a part of this world and dont just do things the developers would think I would like but react to whats happening around them.

The platforming also seems really solid and I love how everything you need to climb or scale looks like a natural part of the environment nothing sticks out.

And the achievement esque accomplishments and the treasures further add to the polish of the game and are a easy excuse to look at every square inch of this beautiful world.

So far its definitely the best game so far I have played this year. I have not checked out Mass Effect or Assasins yet but this feels like such a breath of fresh air.

Absolutely love it great job ND and this better selll a Fton so you guys can get right on the sequel.

 

[steve]

Having to wait until Christmas to play this is killing me.

 

[Metalmurphy]

Fixed. No game I've seen, including Killzone 2, does hit reactions better than CoD4.

Erm... no. CoD4 isn't even that impressive as far as hit reactions go.

 

[dammitmattt]

Reading through this thread and am I the only person who is annoyed by the frame rate in Uncharted? It's never as smooth as it should be, though I don't know if it's due to the camera movement, controls, motion blur, or a combination of all three. It just feels slightly....off and jerky. Especially when coming from games like COD4 and Halo 3 where the aiming is so perfect.

I've only played a few levels, but it feels rushed in sluggish so far. I would've rather had a more polished Uncharted in March, but I'm sure that Sony felt they needed more than Ratchet to compete this fall.

 

[Kintaro]

I hope no one thinks this is advertising for my site, but I really didn't want to post a wall of text in the thread. If anyone objects, I can edit the post and delete the link.

Weekend Gaming - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

My thoughts as I play through the game this weekend as posted on my blog. It's probably pretty lengthy for the board, but as I progress. I'll update and cut and paste here so I don't have to rewrite everything twice. =x

 

[antiloop]

It's never as smooth as it should be

How smooth should it be?

 

[BobTheFork]

O-o ok just about halfway thru my second play-thru. Damn I love this game! I still only have 25 treasures, I can't seem to spot more but I'm playing pretty fast with lots of run and gun : )

Spoiler

Holy Shit! The twist near the end really caught me by suprise. I didn't expect somthing lke that at all. Got freaked out when it happened. It totally changing my opinion abot future uncharted games

I can't stress enough how good this looks (the shadows is crazy), or how well it plays. I haven't had any of the cover issues I had in the demo. Can't wait to try crushing difficuly

 

[YYZ]

The last few chapters of this game are amazing.

Spoiler

They really ramp up the intensity with the cursed Spaniards running around, it really creeped me out, especially in the German bunker-like complex. That area where you have to fight the elite soldiers and the monsters at the same time really impressed me visually.

I never had any screen tearing BTW, either it's because I'm playing on a PC monitor or there was tearing and I didn't notice. Is it something really noticeable to the untrained eye?

 

[BobTheFork]

The last few chapters of this game are amazing.

Spoiler

They really ramp up the intensity with the cursed Spaniards running around, it really creeped me out, especially in the German bunker-like complex. That area where you have to fight the elite soldiers and the monsters at the same time really impressed me visually.

I never had any screen tearing BTW, either it's because I'm playing on a PC monitor or there was tearing and I didn't notice. Is it something really noticeable to the untrained eye?

I noticed it and I almost never do. Its only near the top of the screen from what I've seen, os unless yo just starting at ranomd stuff not in front of you while running arond, you won't see it much.

 

[Laguna X]

I hope no one thinks this is advertising for my site, but I really didn't want to post a wall of text in the thread. If anyone objects, I can edit the post and delete the link.

Weekend Gaming - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

My thoughts as I play through the game this weekend as posted on my blog. It's probably pretty lengthy for the board, but as I progress. I'll update and cut and paste here so I don't have to rewrite everything twice. =x

You need to make a little fix near the beginning of your blog entry. Nathan is Sir Francis Drake's descendant, not ancestor.

 

[Kintaro]

You need to make a little fix near the beginning of your blog entry. Nathan is Sir Francis Drake's descendant, not ancestor.

Edited. Danke. Back to playing!

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Do you remember when Tomb Raider first came out on the PlayStation and there was nothing like it? You would take Lara and stare at the vast tombs in which you must traverse taking huge leaps of faith to progress? That’s the kind of feeling you will find here(except with MUCH better gun-play). The views and the scale of this adventure is huge.

Drake is probably the best new character to come around this year…or in the past few years actually. Maybe even farther back!

This right here is spot on I couldnt agree more, great impressions.

Reading through this thread and am I the only person who is annoyed by the frame rate in Uncharted? It's never as smooth as it should be, though I don't know if it's due to the camera movement, controls, motion blur, or a combination of all three. It just feels slightly....off and jerky. Especially when coming from games like COD4 and Halo 3 where the aiming is so perfect.

I've only played a few levels, but it feels rushed in sluggish so far. I would've rather had a more polished Uncharted in March, but I'm sure that Sony felt they needed more than Ratchet to compete this fall.

I have no idea what your talking about. I just got done playing some COD4 and aside from the frantic pace and nature of COD4 it didnt make me feel Uncharted isnt smooth.