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[Awntawn]

I vote Nate best new character of this year.

Unfortunately I have to go with Zacks from FF7CC 3; You'll all understand next year D;

But then again technically he isn't "new", so maybe we'll have to settle for good ol' Nate after all ;o

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

King Bohan and Nariko were pretty good characters too

 

[deepbrown]

King Bohan and Nariko were pretty good characters too

And KAI!

 

[quetz67]

And KAI!

ESPECIALLY Kai

I found Bohan and his overacting crowd pretty annoying at times

 

[deepbrown]

ESPECIALLY Kai

I found Bohan and his overacting crowd pretty annoying at times

They weren't overacting. grrr

 

[J-Rzez]

I vote Nate best new character of this year.

Agreed. He's actually one of my fav characters of all time. I think it's because they went so out of the way to make him seem like an actor in a movie as opposed to a gaming character.

 

[mabuza]

You know, I can maybe understand that something like Ratchet would have a hard time selling right now, given the platform and the tastes of gamers these days. But if this game doesn't sell at least to current PS3 owners, then games and gaming can kiss my ass because all hope is lost.

In other news, holy shit at the customs house.

you see the strange thing is ps3 owners are buying tons of third party games.madden,AC, COd4, fifa, pes as well as rock band. but sony's first party games just arent selling. they need to take a serious look at that. maybe its marketing or they just arent appealling to the owners

 

[cjtiger300]

I have no doubt this game will sell. Just word of mouth alone will get this game good sales. Everyone I know with a PS3 either has this game or is getting it over the holidays.

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

you see the strange thing is ps3 owners are buying tons of third party games.madden,AC, COd4, fifa, pes as well as rock band. but sony's first party games just arent selling. they need to take a serious look at that. maybe its marketing or they just arent appealling to the owners

As said, I can understand Ratchet being a slow burner based on its style and the current market conditions. But an action adventure game with amazing graphics and blockbuster production values, that should sell. It may not inspire people to buy systems, but it should damned well sell to PS3 owners.

King Bohan and Nariko were pretty good characters too

Sure, if you are stuck in the dark ages of acting and get a boner from stage performance.

 

[chespace]

As said, I can understand Ratchet being a slow burner based on its style and the current market conditions. But an action adventure game with amazing graphics and blockbuster production values, that should sell. It may not inspire people to buy systems, but it should damned well sell to PS3 owners.

Maybe PS3 owners really do want bald space marines after all.

 

[JB1981]

The two highest selling games on the system are first party: resistance and motorstorm

i think the only 3rd party game that's sold well is Madden. Everything else has been either bad or average. I wonder what Heavenly Sword sold WW. Gotta be over 200k.

I think COD 4 will be the best selling game on the system this holiday, though.

 

[Madman]

As said, I can understand Ratchet being a slow burner based on its style and the current market conditions.

Didn't the new Ratchet sell about 50% better than the previous Ratchet? (~50,000 as opposed to ~75,000) It did pretty good in comparison, especially considering it was 10 dollars more and had much smaller install base to sell to.

 

[Kintaro]

It may be a little late to post, but what the hell.

Final Thoughts - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

In retrospect, it was clear right from the start. As the haunting, exotic theme of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune began to play from the moment Naughty Dog’s logo flashed on screen. A theme that will come to mark the birth of a new franchise one year after the PlayStation 3’s launch. It was right then and there that this game announced that it was truly special. It was just waiting for you to push the start button.

You play as Nathan Drake, a descendant of famed English explorer Sir Francis Drake. A treasure hunter in the vein of Indiana Jones, who believes that Sir Francis left behind clues to a great treasure. A hunch that turns out to be correct. Following clues in Sir Drake’s diary, Nathan, along with a plucky reporter Elena and his old, down on his luck pal Sully, take off on the trail of El Dorado. The lost city of gold. Of course, it’s not that easy. A man looking to collect on a huge debt owed to him by Sully named Gabriel Roman is hot on the trail for the treasure as well.

Immediately, what grabs you about Uncharted is it’s graphics. They are absolutely gorgeous and it’s probably the best looking game of this console generation thus far. The game spans various locales across an island in which El Dorado is located. From lush jungles, ancient catacombs and majestic waterfalls to a towering fortress, forgotten city and much more in between. Each and every locale is presented in amazing detail from the top to the bottom. There will be many, many times where you stop and stare at the environment around you in awe. The game’s lighting and texture work is just second to none here.

The game-play of Uncharted has been called a mix of Tomb Raider and Gears of War which isn’t too far off from the truth. Putting it that way though really feels like it’s selling the game short because once you get settled into the game’s world, neither of those games never really enter your mind. In the case of it’s gun-play, it really improves on what Gears brought to the table and has set the new standard in this style of combat. The game is broken up into half exploration and half gun-play with moments in which the two merge.

As Drake, you make your way through each chapter by doing pretty much whatever it takes to progress. The game’s first real chapter is the perfect introduction to the mechanic as you will scale walls, hand-holds and edges to move around obstacles or solve puzzles. Controlling Drake to accomplish this is quite easy but if you get too carried away jumping across ledges thinking you’re Spider-Man, you will fall to your death. The real reward in this mechanic is the sheer scale of the environments you will traverse throughout the game. This aspect really does take you back to when Tomb Raider was first released. The feeling of scale that game first presented us with as Lara leapt from platform to platform (and sometimes landing head first on the ground below) barely making each jump by the skin of her teeth. Uncharted takes that feeling and brings it into this generation with sexy results.

The action in the game revolves around a cover system made famous by Gears of War one year earlier. As Drake stumbles across various hired goons, all hell breaks loose and you must find cover to figure out how to deal with the situation. You can “stick” Drake to different types of cover such as large pillars, smaller boxes, stones and more. From there, you can move him freely from one side to the other, lean him out over the edge, pop out to aim and shoot, blind fire, or leap out or around said cover to change positions. As the game progresses, you will be able to pick up progressively more powerful weapons. Starting with your trusty 9mm, you are able to equip one large weapon (shotguns, AK-47s, etc), one small weapon (9mm, revolver, etc), and grenades.

Using cover wisely is the name of the game as your opponents will be doing the same. The classic pulp adventure nameless bad guys will use their own cover, flush you out with grenades and use teamwork to flank you and gain the angles in which you shoot you down. Even on normal difficulty, the game will present itself as a challenge to most players as the AI is very crafty in using the environment against you. On hard and above, they can be downright brutal in their execution and success in hunting you down.

When an enemy gets too close, you have the option of resorting to fisticuffs to down them with a selection of timing based melee combos. There’s a variety of them based on your relationship to the goon and to the environment including a “Brutal Combo” (as well as a satisfying “Gunslinger Combo”) which nets you more ammo. However, you must be careful when you want to take it to melee range, as you will be leaving yourself out in the open to gun fire. Not to mention your enemy will try to take you down as well. In short, on normal and above (I haven’t played on easy) the game’s AI is smart, resourceful, and challenging. Never cheap.

While the vast majority of the game is made up of these two aspects, there are times where Uncharted will present a different type of game-play sequence to break things up a bit. There is a thrilling car chase through the dense jungle that left me saying “holy crap!” to myself as well as a couple of jet-ski sections in which you navigate through a flooded city to progress farther, shooting down explosive barrels and baddies along your way. The second jet-ski section is far less enjoyable than the first as you find yourself controlling an unwieldy machine through adverse conditions. The combination of which might have you pulling out some hair depending how quickly you manage to get a hang of the controls. There are also some random QTEs (Quick Time Events) thrown around here and there with no warning as to when they will come up. Thankfully, they are few and far between.

After you become accustomed to the game’s graphical prowess and the game-play, it will be the little things that catch your eye next. Specifically, it’s animation system. Drake has a ton of different animations for every situation he’s thrown into. He will react to being shot at in different ways, he will approach cover differently, he will jump, hang, run, climb and even go up and down stairs differently as the game goes on. His animations depend on how his relationship to the environment is at that point in time. If you dive into cover and plant yourself against the edge of a wall, his stance will differ than if you approached the same wall from the middle. If you make a jump and your timing is a bit off, he could end up making the jump just barely, hanging on with one hand as compared to landing cleaner. There’s just simply too many different looks Drake will give you throughout the game to count. All of which to their part to pull you completely into the game.

Finally, an oft overlooked aspect to a game is it’s sound design. This is not the case with Uncharted. This game’s sound design is second to none with only Mass Effect’s design coming close to touching it. Coming through in DTS 5.1 surround sound, every sound effect comes to life crisp and clear. From the subtle environmental sounds in the tropical jungles (birds, leaves, water and more), the sound effects of the guns (the best sounding guns in any game, ever), to the exotic beauty of the game’s soundtrack, everything sounds so good it’s hard to believe. In addition, the game uses every single channel to it’s fullest. It could be that waterfall you just passed still lingering in the back channels, a gun shot from your left, some bad guys talking idle chit-chat echoing through the hall to your right, or an explosion rocking the subwoofer. This is the type of sound I’ve been waiting for in my games. It forms a space around you telling your ears “you are here”. It’s awesome.

Uncharted does feature some wrinkles here and there. Depending on your take, these could be big or small. However, they are worth pointing out. In a couple of chapters there is some texture pop-in (the game rendering the basic look first, then all of the complete textures), usually at the beginning. Some people have reported the same when you view some of the optional treasures you find throughout the game. The problem is usually very quickly resolved as the effect lasts maybe five seconds tops.

There is also some screen tearing here and there, usually when you move the camera back and forth. Not all the time of course, but it can be noticeable at times. Naughty Dog was actually asked about this and stated that if it was a choice between a steady frame-rate and some screen tearing or an unsteady frame-rate and no tearing, they will take the tearing. I find myself agreeing here as the game’s frame-rate is rock steady and the tearing really is kept to a minimum.

Combined with some random, out of nowhere, QTEs that will probably cause some people a cheap death and a potential curse-laden jet-ski level, these make up the flaws of the game. Personally, the technical problems were really so minor and so few that I wasn’t bothered one bit by them. The QTEs did annoy me a bit and the jet-ski thing was a pain in the butt until you realize the secret (hint: speed through the level and just shoot with R1. Elena will auto-aim the rest). If only one chapter out of twenty-two was sub-par while the rest kicked ass, I’ll take it.

Uncharted does share one other thing with Gears of War besides the cover mechanic. Both came out at a time in their system’s life when they really needed it. Like the 360’s first year, the PS3 has suffered with the stigma of having “nothing to play” despite some good quality games hitting the system. At this time last year, 360 fans cried out “finally!” as Gears somehow justified the system’s existence. Now, at the end of the PlayStation 3’s first year, Uncharted comes out and does the same. It undeniably takes the crown for the best looking console game ever and it has the game-play to back it up.

This game will go on to become the next wonderful franchise for Naughty Dog as all of their hard work has payed off in spades. There is so much packed into this game that upon it’s completion, you will want to start it right back up on the next difficulty level to see how good you really are. With a wealth of hidden goodies to collect and options to unlock (the more secret treasure you find throughout the game, the more bonuses you unlock such as “making of…” features and on the fly game-play options like “mirror world”), there is a good amount of replay value to be had.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is a technically superb game and more importantly, a game with tons of personality and just plain fun to play. Nathan Drake is the best new character to be introduced this year or even in the past five years. His supporting cast is lively and they all play off each other with a fun, pulp humor sort of way. Through the story full of mystery and little plot twists, you will become attached to the cast and hope to see them again soon. I usually do not wish for sequels right away. I like to see some space in between projects so that when a franchise is revisited, it will be fresh and not seem like more of the same. With that being said, I want more. I want it now. I wanted it as soon as I saw the credits roll. So, to tide me over, I restarted immediately on hard.

I don’t know if I can pay any higher compliment to a game than that.

Meant to write and post earlier, but the week got all busy and such.

 

[Kittonwy]

Agreed. He's actually one of my fav characters of all time. I think it's because they went so out of the way to make him seem like an actor in a movie as opposed to a gaming character.

He's got a great personality, and so many cool lines.

 

[Kittonwy]

It may be a little late to post, but what the hell.

Final Thoughts - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune



Meant to write and post earlier, but the week got all busy and such.

Nice review. I think gunplay wise Uncharted has ruined other shooters for me, because of the great AI, character movement/aiming/climbing mechanics as well as just the absolutely smart design decisions that make the game extremely fun to play instead of trying so hard to be cinematic that it makes the game less playable. I really would like to see not only Drake (he'll be in the sequel for sure) but the rest of the cast as well in the future.

 

[SaitoH]

Beat the game on Hard and got all the treasures (Cheated and used a FAQ for the last two which were both on Chapter 4). I probably should of played through on hard mode first, it really wasn't that difficult. Going to play again on crushing after I finish up with a couple more games.

 

[jmd494]

Nice review. I think gunplay wise Uncharted has ruined other shooters for me, because of the great AI, character movement/aiming/climbing mechanics as well as just the absolutely smart design decisions that make the game extremely fun to play instead of trying so hard to be cinematic that it makes the game less playable. I really would like to see not only Drake (he'll be in the sequel for sure) but the rest of the cast as well in the future.

Agreed...after beating the game on Crushing last night, I believe Uncharted has the best AI of any game that I personally have played. Un-freakin-believable.

Some standout things I noticed from the AI:
- They flank you intelligently and at the right times (usually when you aren't aiming at them).
- If there are three of them behind three pieces of cover, they will oftentimes all stay in cover and then as soon as one pops out and starts shooting, the others will come out too because they know you're distracted.
- If they peak from behind cover, they pull their heads back if you are aiming at them.
- If you shoot at them and miss while they were lining up their shot, they'll stop aiming at you to find new cover (most noticeable with the laser-sight enemies).
- They seem to know right when I'm about to fire and they duck and sway away from my line of fire.

Areas for improvement in the AI:
- Sometimes, if you sneak up on them while they are in cover-mode, they'll continue to look where you were as opposed to where you are now, even if you are definitely/obviously in their peripheral vision.
- They don't protect themselves from grenades.
- Better team chatter would be cool. While I did like "Shoot to kill!", it would have been cool to hear things like, "Flank him!"

 

[Kittonwy]

Beat the game on Hard and got all the treasures (Cheated and used a FAQ for the last two which were both on Chapter 4). I probably should of played through on hard mode first, it really wasn't that difficult. Going to play again on crushing after I finish up with a couple more games.

Yeah you need to be ready for Crushing because it's hard. >:0

 

[jmd494]

I vote Nate best new character of this year.

Well, really it's a tossup between Drake and your dragon from Lair...but I'll go with Drake too.

 

[jmd494]

Yeah you need to be ready for Crushing because it's hard. >:0

Crushing was significantly harder. I promise you:

1. You will die in the

Spoiler

basement room with all the water.

2. You will die in the room when you

Spoiler

first get the M4.

 

[Kittonwy]

Crushing was significantly harder. I promise you:

1. You will die in the

Spoiler

basement room with all the water.

2. You will die in the room when you

Spoiler

first get the M4.

That level (1) was freakin' hard. RELENTLESS FLANKING AM TOTAL. >:0

 

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

2. You will die in the room when you

Spoiler

first get the M4.

No doubt about that. The Trapped! level on Crushing was intense. By far the toughest battle in the game, imo. Surprisingly I had more trouble with that section than I had with the other big battles like the one towards the end that takes place in and around the cathedral.

 

[Pimpwerx]

WTF were people complaining about play length for? You have to just fly through disregarding all exploration to get this done in under 10 hours. That of the last half of the game unfolds in just a couple of hours. I'm at 25 treasures and chapter 7 or 8 or so. Something like that. Great game. I hope to beat it today or tomorrow. PEACE.

 

[Costanza]

I need help.

I'm on "Sanctuary?" and there's this huge door with the press Y repeatedly chains to open it, but I can't seem to get it open no matter how many times I've tried.

...am I not supposed to open this and find another path or something? This is getting frustrating.

edit: Nevermind.

Spoiler

Didn't see the barrels to let Elena through.

 

[jmd494]

I need help.

I'm on "Sanctuary?" and there's this huge door with the press Y repeatedly chains to open it, but I can't seem to get it open no matter how many times I've tried.

...am I not supposed to open this and find another path or something? This is getting frustrating.

edit: Nevermind.

Spoiler

Didn't see the barrels to let Elena through.

Press Y :lol

 

[evolution]

I need help.

I'm on "Sanctuary?" and there's this huge door with the press Y repeatedly chains to open it, but I can't seem to get it open no matter how many times I've tried.

...am I not supposed to open this and find another path or something? This is getting frustrating.

edit: Nevermind.

Spoiler

Didn't see the barrels to let Elena through.

:lol I did the same thing, took me a minute to figure it out

 

[Mesijs]

Press Y :lol

Legendary :lol :lol

 

[patsu]

Crushing was significantly harder. I promise you:

1. You will die in the

Spoiler

basement room with all the water.

2. You will die in the room when you

Spoiler

first get the M4.

1. was the toughest for me in Normal. They were all over the place ! I had an M79 when I fell into the room and had to conserve my ammo. Too scared to play higher difficulty at the moment.

I can't remember #2.

 

[deepbrown]

WTF! If you play the game mirrored...even the cutscenes are mirrored! I was trying to see if the cutscenes would look weird, but it all seemed to line up...and then Drake opened a book in one of the cutscenes and all the writing was backwards! lol Insane...all games should have this mirrored world...it's GENIUS.

 

[number1jagsfan]

Christ. Didn't get the game today either. Had the weekend off but now I will have to wait until Monday.

Yeah, what the fuck? Did yours ship last Friday as well? I thought VG+ were supposed to be quick, this is getting ridiculous.

 

[Mesijs]

1. was the toughest for me in Normal. They were all over the place ! I had an M79 when I fell into the room and had to conserve my ammo. Too scared to play higher difficulty at the moment.

I can't remember #2.

Yeah 1) is insane on crushing. Died around 30 times there. I'm also having trouble now with

Spoiler

the fight before you enter the library and after you're in the monastery. The combination of enemies with shotguns AND grenade launchers is killing it for me. Also there is so much chance to get outflanked there.

 

[YYZ]

Anyone finish Titan mode in God of War? Reading all these comments reminds me of that and I would remember since I wrote a damn FAQ for it. Insane. It was less about AI and more about tougher enemies and weaker Kratos though. I thought it was impossible.

 

[Wollan]

Yeah, what the fuck? Did yours ship last Friday as well? I thought VG+ were supposed to be quick, this is getting ridiculous.

Yup, shipped last Friday. DS3 (YesAsia) & Silent Hill 0 (Play.com) shipped this week so I guess I will end up getting them on the same day now.

 

[number1jagsfan]

Yup, shipped last Friday. DS3 (YesAsia) & Silent Hill 0 (Play.com) shipped this week so I guess I will end up getting them on the same day now.

I got my DS3 last week, just waiting for Uncharted to test it out.

 

[·feist·]

I just started playing and after about 2 hours I have 2 quick questions.

1. Is there a new game+ feature to this after beating it once where everything carries over? I ask because there was a medal I could see in the distance in one of the scenarios, but I was forced forward and now can't return to that section to collect it. It's early enough that I wouldn't mind getting it on the 2nd play through, but I don't think I want to re-do the past two hours of play if you have to get all 60 in one full game.

2. I got the

Spoiler

Kill 50 Enemies w/o being killed

achievement and then died by falling off a cliff by accident. If this achievement has a higher consecutive number string, does dying outside of combat stop that string?

 

[Greg]

I just started playing and after about 2 hours I have 2 quick questions.

1. Is there a new game+ feature to this after beating it once where everything carries over? I ask because there was a medal I could see in the distance in one of the scenarios, but I was forced forward and now can't return to that section to collect it. It's early enough that I wouldn't mind getting it on the 2nd play through, but I don't think I want to re-do the past two hours of play if you have to get all 60 in one full game.

2. I got the

Spoiler

Kill 50 Enemies w/o being killed

achievement and then died by falling off a cliff by accident. If this achievement has a higher consecutive number string, does dying outside of combat stop that string?

1) Yes, there is a game+ (and chapter select), so you can collect it the next time around.
2) Nothing > 50, so you don't have to worry.

 

[BlindMonkey]

My Uncharted Shipped last Friday from Videogamesplus and my DualShock 3 shipped from YesAsia the same day.

My DS3 arrived this morning, my Uncharted hasn't.

So I'm slightly happy, but very pissed.

 

[Mesijs]

Anyone finish Titan mode in God of War? Reading all these comments reminds me of that and I would remember since I wrote a damn FAQ for it. Insane. It was less about AI and more about tougher enemies and weaker Kratos though. I thought it was impossible.

I think games like God of War are much more about the perfect timing, while Uncharted is about making the best use of all the tools the game gives you. I like this A LOT more. It feels so great to perfectly complete a firefight. Not because you got a supernatural timing, but because you perfectly make use of everything the game offers you. I don't really like a Ninja Gaiden-esque challenge (insane timing) but I love the challenge in Uncharted.

 

[DarkKyo]

I think games like God of War are much more about the perfect timing, while Uncharted is about making the best use of all the tools the game gives you. I like this A LOT more. It feels so great to perfectly complete a firefight. Not because you got a supernatural timing, but because you perfectly make use of everything the game offers you. I don't really like a Ninja Gaiden-esque challenge (insane timing) but I love the challenge in Uncharted.

Agreed. I can remember one of the parts where you're sneaking around the fortress and I pulled off the coolest run-through using everything I had and every thing the environment provided. Perfect cover in perfect time, perfect shots, a few perfect grenade throws.. It's one of the only times in a video game I've felt that cool before.

 

[·feist·]

Thanks, Greg. Back to gaming.

 

[bran]

Is there no fucking way to get blood/gore out on Uncharted if I have a Japanese PS3? I'm loving the game but without the blood SOMETHING IS MISSING!

 

[Kosma]

So any Europ VGP customers get it today? Oh yeah it's Saturday

 

[Maggot9]

Bought the OST yesterday night, will give it a listen when I sleep tonight.

 

[Oneself]

..Coming through in DTS 5.1 surround sound, every sound effect comes to life crisp and clear. From the subtle environmental sounds in the tropical jungles (birds, leaves, water and more), the sound effects of the guns (the best sounding guns in any game, ever), to the exotic beauty of the game’s soundtrack...

The most impressive "subtle environmental sound" I've heard in the game was coming from the spotlights in the dark caverns. At first I thought there was a problem with my receiver or back speakers, until I moved and noticed that it was coming from those lights. Best. Sound. Ever.

 

[IzumiK]

Omg finished, gotta play again! So hard on easy gonna be hard on hard.

Well, I just was trying to unlock stealth kill and failed many times.

 

[Costanza]

Just beat it. Definitely my GOTY and probably in my top 5 ever.

 

[the_id]

I just realised the pirates speak malay. LOL!

Tahi kamu = shit you
buka pintu = open the door

they must indonesian pirates.

 

[YYZ]

shit you, lol.

 

[deepbrown]

shit you, lol.

lol...I believe it actually translates as "you shit" lol "Shit you!" ha...i think not.

 

[deepbrown]

The

Spoiler

third jetski level was much funner once I realised you could fire without aiming

....stupid barrels lol