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[CitizenCope]

Well I finally got around to playing GAFs infamous Uncharted.
I'll give it a C+
It started off so well with some exploration and puzzles. It fell hard for me when the gunplay came along. It just never felt right and that's not even including the silly jet ski level.
Then there was the twist. Why?!?!?!
Anyways a fun game that was surprisingly so heavy on gunplay and cover. I wish they had nailed those mechanics down because in my opinion it's where this game slipped.

 

[Kittonwy]

Nope, im a good shot its just bullshit.

At most it takes five to six shots to off a guy with a flak jacket, regular pirate takes four, headshot takes one, if you're a good shot then it would only take one.

 

[Kittonwy]

I got Platinum late last night (3 days of hardcore gaming)... wow. What fun. lol

Crushing wasn't as hard as some made it out to be, but as the guy with the Brock avatar mentioned - it's bullshit that the enemies were made into walking tanks while Nate can only take 1-3 hits to go down.

Aside from that, Crushing is the way to go. Made me alter my strategy considerably from Normal and Hard.

Anyway, I can't wait for Uncharted 2. Hurry up Naughty Dog!! :lol

Enemies don't take more damage on higher difficulties, it's only Drake whose health goes down faster with each shot. It's always 4 body shots for pirates and 5 or 6 body shots for mercs and headshots being one-hit kills, and close-range shotgun and dragon being one-hit kills. Crushing IS the way to play it especially since it gives the AI the opportunity to really shine.

 

[Kittonwy]

Finished it, all trophies, gots me platinum, note to developers FUCK YOU, to make a game hard i dont want invinsible foes, i want the ones that take the same amount of damaged but are smarter, ducking, flanking etc. Crushing was fucking ridiculous, it made them smarter n shit but made the enemies invinsible and Drake as weak as shit.

Crushing doesn't do ANYTHING to the enemies, only the amount of damage Drake can take, which goes down from 5 shots on hard to 3 shots on crushing. Even the mercs are hardly invincible. The enemy AI is always smart, except on crushing you have to stay in cover alot and that gives them a chance to move in on you and pin you down, on the easier difficulties they really don't get as many chances to do that.

 

[Mesijs]

Crushing doesn't do ANYTHING to the enemies, only the amount of damage Drake can take, which goes down from 5 shots on hard to 3 shots on crushing. Even the mercs are hardly invincible. The enemy AI is always smart, except on crushing you have to stay in cover alot and that gives them a chance to move in on you and pin you down, on the easier difficulties they really don't get as many chances to do that.

But the AI is altered, they're a lot faster to move in on your position on crushing.

 

[psycho_snake]

I bought the game. I've completed the first chapter and done a fair bit in the second chapter. There's not much good or bad I can say about the game so far because I've played too little but the one thing thats impressed me is the script. In too many games the the script is rubbish or way too cheesy, but in Uncharted its very good. On top of that the voice acting is great. Naughty dog have a habit of doing a good job with voice acting and scripts. I thought they did a great job with the Jak games and they seem to have done it in Uncharted.

 

[Kittonwy]

But the AI is altered, they're a lot faster to move in on your position on crushing.

They move faster because they don't have to duck and stay in cover as much, because you're staying in cover more often, the more they have to stay in cover they slower they appear. The AI is the same going from hard to crushing, they just seem smarter because the AI actually has a chance to do what it's supposed to do.

 

[alr1ght]

Completed Normal just now. It gets 1 9/10. It would have been a 10/10 if it didn't turn into Silent Hill meets The Descent meets Uncharted during the last few chapters. Loved the gunplay and puzzles.

 

[Menaged]

Started chapter 4 (I think) and I'm really impressed by it.
The graphics are simply gorgeous. I'm playing it on a SDTV and find myself saying "WOW" every now and then.

The gameplay is really fun, although I'm having trouble with getting into cover sometime. I love getting those headshots, and spice things with some melee.

Already worth the 40$ (imported it from UK).

 

[PuppetSlave]

Can't belive you guys playing it on crushing and actually liking it. I started to replay it on hard earlier this week and got to the water temple fight. So freaking frustrating... I just gave up after a while.

 

[worldstiniestpenis]

i don't think crushing is the most fun way to play - on replays i've stuck with hard - but compared to your average game it's not cheap at all, and i rarely found it frustrating. when you die, you don't think "i can never do that!", you think "right, i know how to do that."

 

[PuppetSlave]

Yeah I guess my strategy is not so good or something. I run out of bullets in that fight also... I need to improve the speed of my aiming. When popping out from cover I only have time for quick spurts of bullets on the general body area and that uses up the bullets too fast. Not really that good with analog sticks... I thought I was ok but uncharted on hard seems to demand to much of me.

Not a big deal really. Gonna start over this weekend I think on normal instead. It really is a great great game and deserves another playthrough regardless.

 

[urk]

Can't belive you guys playing it on crushing and actually liking it. I started to replay it on hard earlier this week and got to the water temple fight. So freaking frustrating... I just gave up after a while.

Living up to the name. It's called Crushing for a reason.

 

[ScrabbleBanshee]

Can't belive you guys playing it on crushing and actually liking it. I started to replay it on hard earlier this week and got to the water temple fight. So freaking frustrating... I just gave up after a while.

This is one of the rare gems in gaming where the game is good enough to actually want to work through the frustration. Crushing is more about finding the best choke/cover points and extreme levels of patience to take out the bad guys one at a time without exposing your position to fire than anything else (at least this was the only way I could finish crushing). I tried to play crushing in the same way I played through normal and hard but it just doesn't work at all. The bad guys flank you, and you're too fragile to take enough shots to let that happen and still find alternate cover.

 

[ScrabbleBanshee]

When popping out from cover I only have time for quick spurts of bullets on the general body area and that uses up the bullets too fast. Not really that good with analog sticks... I thought I was ok but uncharted on hard seems to demand to much of me.

If you're not good with cover, you don't NEED to use it. You can use traditional FPS cover techniques by just finding a line of sight that you can't get shot and peeking in and out of it. In certain situations, you can find a line of sight that allows you to shoot them but they can't seem to shoot you. Use either L3 or R3 (can't recall right now) to switch shoulders in the over the shoulder camera to further increase your advantage.

 

[FlyinJ]

Is there anything special I have to do to the game to make it start giving me trophies?

I started a new game on hard, and I'm up to chapter 6 and I haven't received a single one. Do I have to manually update the game to support them? Do I need to make a new profile or something, or is just restarting the game supposed to be enough?

 

[Grayman]

Is there anything special I have to do to the game to make it start giving me trophies?

I started a new game on hard, and I'm up to chapter 6 and I haven't received a single one. Do I have to manually update the game to support them? Do I need to make a new profile or something, or is just restarting the game supposed to be enough?

Restart the game without carrying over your statistics. I started one on crushing and saved over my old game.

 

[FlyinJ]

Restart the game without carrying over your statistics. I started one on crushing and saved over my old game.

How do I know if it's carrying over my stats? I can only really see one way to start a new game from the title... and that's what I did.

 

[Grayman]

How do I know if it's carrying over my stats? I can only really see one way to start a new game from the title... and that's what I did.

It should explicitly ask about your stats.

 

[Menaged]

Finished the game about a hour ago.
I really enjoyed it all the way through, except for a few of the last chapters. I just didn't enjoy fighting these things :\

But in the end, it didn't take away from the game that much. The story was quite engaging, the script was amusing and the charachters were very likeable. All of this, combined with great and fun gameplay, AMAZING graphics (even in SD) and great sound - makes Uncharted a must have IMO.



One question though. After finishing the game on Normal, I wanted to start a new game on hard. So I selected "Play" but the game didn't asked me on what difficulty do I want to play. Should I assume it's Hard, since crushing isn't available yet?

 

[slider]

I love this game. Because it's such a complete package I find it really compelling. Really very excited about a sequel - I guess the earliest we can expect news on that is E3 '09.

But loving it so much I'm ashamed to say I only finished it on Hard a couple of weeks ago. Restarted on Crushing. I'm determined to get a Platinum trophy.

Menaged: Did you restart immediately? I think you have to quit out to the main screen to select difficulty. I could be wrong though... :/

 

[_Angelus_]

Oh shit.
Somebody call the pound-Kittonwy hasn't posted in here in 9 days.

 

[Menaged]

I let the credits roll and the "Press start" screen showed up. Then, I saw "Play", and thought that I'll get a chance to select a difficulty, but instead, the first cutscene started playing.

 

[slider]

I let the credits roll and the "Press start" screen showed up. Then, I saw "Play", and thought that I'll get a chance to select a difficulty, but instead, the first cutscene started playing.

Ahh, same thing happened to me. Quit out right to the main screen.

 

[RpgN]

Finished the game about a hour ago.
I really enjoyed it all the way through, except for a few of the last chapters. I just didn't enjoy fighting these things :\

One question though. After finishing the game on Normal, I wanted to start a new game on hard. So I selected "Play" but the game didn't asked me on what difficulty do I want to play. Should I assume it's Hard, since crushing isn't available yet?

I loved fighting those things! They were so scary and smart. They would hide when I'm from above, but when I came down they would run towards me 5 at a time. There was one time I screamed so hard, I scared my little sis next me

When I finished normal the first time, I looked at my savefile and it said crushing instead of normal. So I assume you don't have to select the difficulty, you'll get it anyway.

 

[StreetDisciple]

But the AI is altered, they're a lot faster to move in on your position on crushing.

Co-sign. I just beat it on crushing and it was one of the hardest things I've done for a game difficulty. Certain enemies with powerful guns can kill you in one shot, the enemies are a lot smarter. One thing I noticed off the bat is that they rush you a lot, sometimes two or three at a time. They will surround you faster and their accuracy is definitely bumped up.

 

[Mesijs]

They move faster because they don't have to duck and stay in cover as much, because you're staying in cover more often, the more they have to stay in cover they slower they appear. The AI is the same going from hard to crushing, they just seem smarter because the AI actually has a chance to do what it's supposed to do.

Pay more notice! Look what they guy above said. The AI HAS changed. Their movements are at least twice at fast, they just don't take a break anymore and immediately surround you and rush you. You have to act A LOT faster. On hard you could sometimes just wait and then choose the best solution, on crushing you can't wait because the enemy keeps moving.

Completed the game already on hard an crushing before. Now on a new PS3 (bought a retail one after my debug was gone to another reviewer) beat it again on hard and will beat it another time at crushing.

 

[Replicant]

I finally got my Platinum but it was ridiculously hard.

On hard you could sometimes just wait and then choose the best solution, on crushing you can't wait because the enemy keeps moving.

Eh, that's not entirely true. Even on Crushing, there are some perfect crevices where you can just wait and gun them down one by one. Or if that's not possible, greet the thugs who try to come with you with a random shooting from behind the cover (without actually popping your head out). If you do it from the right angle/close distance, it's guaranteed that the enemy will get mowed down.

The Spaniards are actually easier to take care of on Crushing in comparison to the thugs/mercenaries with laser sight gun and grenade launcher. Just run and shoot while running towards them (as opposed to blind shooting).

And oh, during that last battle in the church, after you take care of all the laser sight/shotgun thugs, RUN OUT OF THE CHURCH and into the courtyard (hiding behind the library pillar is the best solution) before the 2nd wave come. It'll save you a lot from frustration. You can then go back to the Church before the 3rd wave and hide on the right wing of the church.

 

[drakesfortune]

Completed Normal just now. It gets 1 9/10. It would have been a 10/10 if it didn't turn into Silent Hill meets The Descent meets Uncharted during the last few chapters. Loved the gunplay and puzzles.

I disagree. Without the Silent Hill part the whole story makes no sense and falls apart. In fact, the whole premise for the game makes no sense without the twist. IE, there'd be no WWII sub sitting at the top of a waterfall. There'd be no abandoned Spanish colony. Francis Drake would not have disappeared. The Spanish wouldn't have mysteriously died. The Germans wouldn't have mysteriously died. None of it would make a lick of sense if they didn't meet some strange demise. That great Spanish colony and all of those set pieces are there, and abandoned because of the silent hill premise. Plus, fighting the twisters is fun once you get the strategy down. I also thought that on crushing the silent hill parts were the easiest parts of the game, and I actually looked forward to them for that reason.

The creepy atmosphere that hangs over the game from the moment you crash on the island all exists because of what the twist represents. You know something isn't right on the island, and it sets this creepy mood that foreshadows bad tidings for all. It's awesome, and again, without the twist none of that exists. At first I hated the twist too, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that all of the reasons I loved the game up to that point wouldn't make any sense without the twist. I'm sure there's a way they could have made the game without the twist, but it wouldn't have had the creepy overtones that made the game feel so good, IMO.

 

[Grayman]

"And oh, during that last battle in the church, after you take care of all the laser sight/shotgun thugs, RUN OUT OF THE CHURCH and into the courtyard (hiding behind the library pillar is the best solution) before the 2nd wave come. It'll save you a lot from frustration. You can then go back to the Church before the 3rd wave and hide on the right wing of the church."

Geez I think I found all the dirty tricks except this one. I'll try that whenever I get that far. I am taking it really slow for platinum since I've already beat crushing once.

 

[Zoc]

I disagree. Without the Silent Hill part the whole story makes no sense and falls apart. In fact, the whole premise for the game makes no sense without the twist. IE, there'd be no WWII sub sitting at the top of a waterfall. There'd be no abandoned Spanish colony. Francis Drake would not have disappeared. The Spanish wouldn't have mysteriously died. The Germans wouldn't have mysteriously died. None of it would make a lick of sense if they didn't meet some strange demise. That great Spanish colony and all of those set pieces are there, and abandoned because of the silent hill premise. Plus, fighting the twisters is fun once you get the strategy down. I also thought that on crushing the silent hill parts were the easiest parts of the game, and I actually looked forward to them for that reason.

The creepy atmosphere that hangs over the game from the moment you crash on the island all exists because of what the twist represents. You know something isn't right on the island, and it sets this creepy mood that foreshadows bad tidings for all. It's awesome, and again, without the twist none of that exists. At first I hated the twist too, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that all of the reasons I loved the game up to that point wouldn't make any sense without the twist. I'm sure there's a way they could have made the game without the twist, but it wouldn't have had the creepy overtones that made the game feel so good, IMO.

Hmm. I always hated the twist until now, but I like this way of looking at it. Thanks!

 

[Gibb]

platinum.. at long last! Started new game.. Lost ability to select chapters =/

 

[crispyben]

I disagree. Without the Silent Hill part the whole story makes no sense and falls apart. In fact, the whole premise for the game makes no sense without the twist. IE, there'd be no WWII sub sitting at the top of a waterfall.

By the way, how did this sub get up there? And how is it related to this SH part of the game?

 

[drakesfortune]

By the way, how did this sub get up there? And how is it related to this SH part of the game?

How it got up there is a mystery to me. I'm not sure how they thought that one through. That said, the reason it's stranded there is because the crew obviously was killed by the zombie type things as they sat in their sub.

 

[the_prime_mover]

I beat the game on Crushing last week in a whirlwind 3 day playfest that netted me a platinum (from 0 -100% in 3 days). In the past year I have beaten this game (I think) 7 times, 3 on Crushing. Honestly, other than the enemies being more aggressive, better at flanking, and better shots in general there is absolutely no difference in their starting positions, the weapons they carry or the amount of damage they take. The difficulty comes from their speed and the fact that they are better shots and better at covering. Crushing really is the most even way to play the game (where Drake isn't a sponge). Next I am going to try Crushing with Fast enemies . . .

This time through I was able to pretty much breeze through Crushing because I knew where everyone was and was able to get headshots maybe 80% of the time. I love this game . . . the cover mechanic is very well implemented and (personally) the shooting mechanic just never gets old and is always responsive (any game that doesn't allow me to switch shoulders is pretty much a pass now). Plus, even though the emphasis is reminiscent of the Indiana Jones type adventure games, the pacing between platforming and shooting always seems ideal (though in the sequel a few more dynamic platforming elements and bigger puzzles would be great).

This game is a definite A+ in my book and is probably my most visited game since its release.

 

[endlessflood]

By the way, how did this sub get up there? And how is it related to this SH part of the game?

Doesn't Drake mention something about the river being flooded at the time that the

Spoiler

Germans

were there? So there's that, along with the fact that the sub might have drifted over a waterfall once the crew was dead.

I don't believe the chronology is ever accurately explained. Did the

Spoiler

Germans build a U-boat pen on the Island and then discover El Dorado, leading them to search for more clues at the site of the original resting place in South America? Or did they find the original South American resting place and then work their way to the Island? I like the former, because I picture the survivors from the massacre at the U-boat pen fleeing to the original resting place, hoping to find a cure. Instead it turns out they have a stow away, and as they make their way down river in South America it all goes bad. Final result: lifeless U-boat drifting over the crest of a waterfall...

 

[crispyben]

How it got up there is a mystery to me. I'm not sure how they thought that one through. That said, the reason it's stranded there is because the crew obviously was killed by the zombie type things as they sat in their sub.

Uh, isn't the sub on a totally different island? Or do you mean the curse of El Dorado began right after the Spaniards stole it? Where were the zombies in the first chapters then?

Edit: I didn't think of the downriver option, makes much more sense...
Edit2: on second thought, it doesn't make any sense river-wise! :lol

 

[Replicant]

Geez I think I found all the dirty tricks except this one. I'll try that whenever I get that far. I am taking it really slow for platinum since I've already beat crushing once.

No one says that Nathan has to stay in the church. I mean the first time around (without Sully) you have no choice since the door is closed. But in the second battle? Hah! I was going to run out the minute the battle begin but then I'm not sure if Sully can take care of everyone on his own (and it sounds cruel). So I figure I'll take care of all the laser sights gunmen and the grenade launcher guys (sorry it's not shotgunners). Then when it becomes quiet momentarily and before the 2nd wave arrives (which include some nasty SOB shotgunners), I run out of the church and first hide behind the nearby wall. But when the shotgunners start to come out into the courtyard as well, I run into the library pillars and pick them off one by one. After that the 3rd wave is quite a breeze (plus, if you die during 3rd wave, you don't have to repeat 1st and 2nd wave but if you die on 2nd wave, you have to repeat the 1st wave ALL OVER AGAIN).

 

[the_prime_mover]

No one says that Nathan has to stay in the church. I mean the first time around (without Sully) you have no choice since the door is closed. But in the second battle? Hah! I was going to run out the minute the battle begin but then I'm not sure if Sully can take care of everyone on his own (and it sounds cruel). So I figure I'll take care of all the laser sights gunmen and the grenade launcher guys (sorry it's not shotgunners). Then when it becomes quiet momentarily and before the 2nd wave arrives (which include some nasty SOB shotgunners), I run out of the church and first hide behind the nearby wall. But when the shotgunners start to come out into the courtyard as well, I run into the library pillars and pick them off one by one. After that the 3rd wave is quite a breeze (plus, if you die during 3rd wave, you don't have to repeat 1st and 2nd wave but if you die on 2nd wave, you have to repeat the 1st wave ALL OVER AGAIN).

Yup, this is definitely a winning strategy. Plus, if you don't take out the laser sighted shooter who is located on the near right platform then the laser sight shooter that comes out at the far back won't appear (until you kill the other guy). In essence this slows things down a bit so that you can take out the grenade launcher guys using the sniper rifle and then collect some of the weapons before taking out the last two laser sight guys and triggering the second wave. Once the second wave starts Sully can take care of himself, and if you hide outside the door on the left hand side then you have a clear view of everyone coming down the right and get to shoot the guys that come down the middle/left in the back (ideally you will have an assault rifle equipped).

This whole section (including the part just before entering the church) and the part where you locate the crashed plane are definitely the two hardest sections of the game and they really show how the cover mechanic works and how intelligent the enemies become at higher difficulties.

 

[Chiggs]

Well I finally got around to playing GAFs infamous Uncharted.
I'll give it a C+
It started off so well with some exploration and puzzles. It fell hard for me when the gunplay came along. It just never felt right and that's not even including the silly jet ski level.
Then there was the twist. Why?!?!?!
Anyways a fun game that was surprisingly so heavy on gunplay and cover. I wish they had nailed those mechanics down because in my opinion it's where this game slipped.

I'd give it a little higher than a C+, but I agree with you for the most part. The exploration was great, and I kept hoping the game would be like the 1st Tomb Raider, but alas...we get fairly boring combat and a really, really stupid plot twist.

 

[endlessflood]

Uh, isn't the sub on a totally different island? Or do you mean the curse of El Dorado began right after the Spaniards stole it? Where were the zombies in the first chapters then?

Edit: I didn't think of the downriver option, makes much more sense...
Edit2: on second thought, it doesn't make any sense river-wise! :lol

Well it could make sense river-wise, if there was a forked river (i.e. joins the coast at two different locations). You could head up river from the coast, get to the fork, and then take the other fork downriver. That other fork could potentially feature a waterfall etc. (all downriver of the sub's intended destination and thus not an issue for them), before it joins up with the sea.

 

[drakesfortune]

Uh, isn't the sub on a totally different island? Or do you mean the curse of El Dorado began right after the Spaniards stole it? Where were the zombies in the first chapters then?

Edit: I didn't think of the downriver option, makes much more sense...
Edit2: on second thought, it doesn't make any sense river-wise! :lol

Hmm, good point it is on that first island. I wonder how they died and what the fuck the sub was doing at the top of the waterfall?!? Too bad we don't have someone from Naughty Dog here to explain that. To say that the place flooded is totally ridiculous given that waterfall has an enormous drop. Then there's the fact that on one side of the sub there's the giant rock wall. Seriously, WTF is the sub doing up there? Yes, the Germans were certainly at that spot following the path of the Spaniards, but it doesn't explain at all why the sub is up there and how it possibly go up there, and why/how the Germans on board are dead. That's a pretty big hole in the story. Maybe I'm just forgetting the answer to all of that.

Calling Kittonwy, do you know?? Anyone?

Edit: Here's an old screen shot of the area, which kind of gives you a feel for it. There's a rock wall behind the sub, which given the direction the sub is facing would mean the sub either came over that waterfall, or it came through that rock wall. Either way, it doesn't make much sense. You have one waterfall above, a landing area where the sub is, and then another waterfall which the sub is sticking out over. If you look at the area in the context of the game, the sub is at roughly the same level as the ruins where Drake comes out after running over those platforms/fallen pillars. So maybe they were bringing the sub there to transport the treasure? Who knows, I guess that maybe the mystery of it is simply there to make you feel like something not quite right is going on here and that in itself makes the mystery that much more interesting and intriguing. The screen shot is from an old build of the game, and I can't recall off hand how much different the actual space is in the game. I kind of picture a U shape for the cliffs surrounding the sub if memory serves me on this. Regardless the way there's a waterfall above and below the sub makes sense, and so getting the sub there would seem an impossibility, unless they built the sub there with no intention of ever getting it out of there. The magnitude of a storm that create a storm surge that's 50 to 100 feet would be completely impossible.

 

[arne]

Too bad we don't have someone from Naughty Dog here to explain that.

yeah. too bad.

 

[WTFing]

I am still 're-re'playing Uncharted. Yes, I really like how this game is done. The ennemies move like they supposed to, Drake too. The sounds, the animation, the atmosphere everything is so perfect (almost). Sincerely bravo once again, I am playing it since day one. Give me Uncharted 2.

 

[Kittonwy]

It's a magical submarine built by teh germanz.

 

[WTFing]

It's a magical submarine built by teh germanz.

Exactely!
It's a pink magical submarine built by teh lovely germanz.

Game of the PS3.

 

[crispyben]

Well it could make sense river-wise, if there was a forked river (i.e. joins the coast at two different locations). You could head up river from the coast, get to the fork, and then take the other fork downriver. That other fork could potentially feature a waterfall etc. (all downriver of the sub's intended destination and thus not an issue for them), before it joins up with the sea.

You got me there, nice work. Still doesn't explain who killed the Germans and where are the creatures now...

 

[slider]

yeah. too bad.

:lol

There's no reasonable way for that sub to have got there. Subs don't generally leave sea-water in any case do they? It's spooky. But I'm not too concerned by it. I just remember discovering it for the first time and saying "whoa".

 

[Grayman]

I never worry about these issues in my entertainment, what a boob i am.

 

[Bearillusion]

yeah. too bad.

Well played.

I don't care how it got there. It was just a plot device.