Pristine_Condition
Member
My demo impressions:
Visuals: Game looks gorgeous. Period. Animation is inspiring and really adds so much to the feel of the game. But hey, you can see how good it looks with your own eyes. All those awesome pictures aren't bullshots. 'Nuff said about the visuals...let's move on.
Gameplay: This is where it got good for me. Love that the demo has three difficulty levels. Started on "Normal" which was surprisingly tough from the second firefight on. The AI is very aggressive, even on "Normal" and on "Hard" those guys go nuts trying to kill you. I've played a lot of Gears, so I had the combat action pretty much down from the get-go, and I still died a lot more than I was expecting to. I was very impressed by how the AI behavior changes depending on how much damage your enemy takes. They charge out very aggressive, especially if they are carrying big guns, but when you injure them, they get way more conservative, as you'd expect. Nobody seems to just want to die. On "hard" especially, you really need to finish your kills; if you don't, and you just injure a few of the guys, they will go into "fortress mode" which makes your job clearing them out that much tougher.
Cover system works just like you'd want it to, if you played Gears, you'll love it, meaning it's familiar like Gears, but has been smoothed out a bit. The remarkable animation engine doesn't "slam" you into cover like Gears, (which is good, because you aren't armored up) it is much more natural-looking, and Drake never seems to settle into the same stance twice. Blind fire and "stop-and-pop" from cover works great. Basically, it takes Gears to the next level. If Gears was your game, Uncharted is your next step.
Weapons feel good. Pistols feel light, but precise, AK feels like an AK and has a nice, realistic muzzle-climb in rapid fire. Shotty is tremendously satisfying. Splat!
I did have a little difficulty with the melee combat. I finally figured out the timing though, and it got good. I'm kinda glad it takes a little more discipline than a button-mash.
Traversal also feels good. Not very much "platforming" in the demo, but you get a feel for how it works, and it works well. After a lot of R&C this week, I missed the double jump and Clank glide, but, hey, you can't have that in this style of game! :lol The awesome animation adds a lot to the feel of running and jumping and climbing.
I liked the SIXAXIS use for balancing over the logs. I was kinda worried about that part, but it actually works well. All you have to do is leave it level and watch Drake. When he starts to tip to one side, you make a simple correction with the controller and that's it. I feared it would be a lot more of a hassle. Thankfully, it isn't. I had a little more difficulty getting the SIXAXIS controls down for grenade throwing, (since the control was inverted from the way I initially thought it would be) but I quickly adjusted to it, and haven't had a problem since.
Other thoughts: Sound and music are great. Really surprisingly good. I had no idea what to expect from ND, since they hadn't done a "realistic" or "adult" game like this before, but they got it right. Guns sound good, and explosions have a nice sub "thump" as well. Other sound effects are really nice too. On a really good sound system like mine, everything sounds really good. The surround sound is on the money, directional to the point where you can easily pinpoint where things are, (but isn't too directional, like some other games where surround effects are too "studio dry" and don't seem to have any "bounce to them,) but still envelops you well. Soundtrack is fantastic.
Bottom Line: This demo is a lot of fun, and shows a lot of polish. When the game comes out, I'll be there. Good Job ND.
Visuals: Game looks gorgeous. Period. Animation is inspiring and really adds so much to the feel of the game. But hey, you can see how good it looks with your own eyes. All those awesome pictures aren't bullshots. 'Nuff said about the visuals...let's move on.
Gameplay: This is where it got good for me. Love that the demo has three difficulty levels. Started on "Normal" which was surprisingly tough from the second firefight on. The AI is very aggressive, even on "Normal" and on "Hard" those guys go nuts trying to kill you. I've played a lot of Gears, so I had the combat action pretty much down from the get-go, and I still died a lot more than I was expecting to. I was very impressed by how the AI behavior changes depending on how much damage your enemy takes. They charge out very aggressive, especially if they are carrying big guns, but when you injure them, they get way more conservative, as you'd expect. Nobody seems to just want to die. On "hard" especially, you really need to finish your kills; if you don't, and you just injure a few of the guys, they will go into "fortress mode" which makes your job clearing them out that much tougher.
Cover system works just like you'd want it to, if you played Gears, you'll love it, meaning it's familiar like Gears, but has been smoothed out a bit. The remarkable animation engine doesn't "slam" you into cover like Gears, (which is good, because you aren't armored up) it is much more natural-looking, and Drake never seems to settle into the same stance twice. Blind fire and "stop-and-pop" from cover works great. Basically, it takes Gears to the next level. If Gears was your game, Uncharted is your next step.
Weapons feel good. Pistols feel light, but precise, AK feels like an AK and has a nice, realistic muzzle-climb in rapid fire. Shotty is tremendously satisfying. Splat!
I did have a little difficulty with the melee combat. I finally figured out the timing though, and it got good. I'm kinda glad it takes a little more discipline than a button-mash.
Traversal also feels good. Not very much "platforming" in the demo, but you get a feel for how it works, and it works well. After a lot of R&C this week, I missed the double jump and Clank glide, but, hey, you can't have that in this style of game! :lol The awesome animation adds a lot to the feel of running and jumping and climbing.
I liked the SIXAXIS use for balancing over the logs. I was kinda worried about that part, but it actually works well. All you have to do is leave it level and watch Drake. When he starts to tip to one side, you make a simple correction with the controller and that's it. I feared it would be a lot more of a hassle. Thankfully, it isn't. I had a little more difficulty getting the SIXAXIS controls down for grenade throwing, (since the control was inverted from the way I initially thought it would be) but I quickly adjusted to it, and haven't had a problem since.
Other thoughts: Sound and music are great. Really surprisingly good. I had no idea what to expect from ND, since they hadn't done a "realistic" or "adult" game like this before, but they got it right. Guns sound good, and explosions have a nice sub "thump" as well. Other sound effects are really nice too. On a really good sound system like mine, everything sounds really good. The surround sound is on the money, directional to the point where you can easily pinpoint where things are, (but isn't too directional, like some other games where surround effects are too "studio dry" and don't seem to have any "bounce to them,) but still envelops you well. Soundtrack is fantastic.
Bottom Line: This demo is a lot of fun, and shows a lot of polish. When the game comes out, I'll be there. Good Job ND.
