Uncharted 3

[biggytitbo]

I'm not much of a gamer these days but I really loved both the previous Uncharted games, so am eagerly awaiting the 3rd.


And the reviews are in -  http://www.computerandvideogames.com/323695/uncharted-3-review-round-up/


And they're excellent, but seem to be falling slightly short of 2, which is inevitable as the expectation levels are sky high this time.

[Jim Jarmusch]

IGN giving it a 10. I haven't bought or played any games in over nine months but will have to get this.

[jutl]

IGN giving it a 10. I haven't bought or played any games in over nine months but will have to get this.

The comments under that review are hilarious. Large numbers of people who have not played the game commending IGN on getting the review right. Dullard fanboyism at its worst.

Having said that I am really looking forward to this and will almost certainly be buying it.

[biggytitbo]

What I loved about the first 2 beyond the lovely envious rents and variety of gameplay is the characters.


Best writing and acting in a game ever, by a mile.

[ThickAndCreamy]

I disagree, I found the whole plot to be pretty uninvolving and trite for the second game. By the end I found myself rather bored as well, despite the enjoyable cinematic presentation of much of it.

There was never really a point throughout where I remember it being particularly well plotted or characterised.

[Jim Jarmusch]

I only found out a few days ago that the games director did Blood Diamond and Defiance.

[Subtle Mocking]

GTA IV also garnered a 10 from IGN. Take from that what you will.

It does look stunning though, and it's sad that it'll probably get buried under the bullshit FPS war this Christmas.

[biggytitbo]

I disagree, I found the whole plot to be pretty uninvolving and trite for the second game. By the end I found myself rather bored as well, despite the enjoyable cinematic presentation of much of it.

There was never really a point throughout where I remember it being particularly well plotted or characterised.

The plot is purposefully hackneyed, but the realisation of the characters, the dialogue and the acting was the best I've seen in a game anyway.

[chand]

The plot is purposefully hackneyed, but the realisation of the characters, the dialogue and the acting was the best I've seen in a game anyway.

Indeed, it's enjoyable because it doesn't take itself seriously, in a world of games full of games where most of the dialogue is overly portentous. I mean, I liked the recent Deus Ex but it was less fun sitting through gravelly-voiced cutscenes written as if The Matrix is still the coolest thing in the world. Uncharted does a good job of capturing the feel of a dumb popcorn-suitable action movie; the plot isn't anything special but the interaction between the characters is fun in and of itself.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

GTA IV also garnered a 10 from IGN. Take from that what you will.

I will, it's the greatest piece of satire of the 21st century and the gameplay and environment is the first game to fulfil the ambition of an all singing all dancing RPG set in the present. It's a masterpiece and blows everything out of the water, a landmark achievement and will last as a waymarker that signalled a change in what games are- it completely deserves a 10 as it executes everything it's trying to do. The benchmark in how to make a game like that now unbelievably high.

[mobias]

Uncharted has been a great new franchise this generation but the fact that it's seen as setting a great high benchmark for gaming character script writing and general storytelling says much more about how dreadful other games are than about how supposedly fantastic Uncharted is. Basically it's a very generic adventure movie script dotted along the way with variously amusing quips from Nathan Drake. It's all entertaining enough but it rarely deserves the adulation it gets from some gaming critics and fans. If it were a movie it would be another generic here today forgotten about tomorrow action adventure romp.

For me Uncharted has always been about the epic gaming set pieces and level design. Some of the levels in Uncharted 2 just blew me away and I can't wait to see what they've done with Uncharted 3. From some of the game play clips I've seen so far it looks like it delivers.

My only other real criticism of it is that it's a shame it's all so linear. You do feel like you're taking part in an interactive movie rather than a game that's inviting you to make decisions. It's all just so procedural.


   

[Consignia]

Uncharted has been a great new franchise this generation but the fact that it's seen as setting a great high benchmark for gaming character script writing and general storytelling says much more about how dreadful other games are than about how supposedly fantastic Uncharted is. Basically it's a very generic adventure movie script dotted along the way with variously amusing quips from Nathan Drake. It's all entertaining enough but it rarely deserves the adulation it gets from some gaming critics and fans. If it was a movie it would another generic here today forgotten about tomorrow action adventure romp.

I agree with everything you say there. It's fun while it lasts, and it keeps you plodding along, even amused with some of the lines, but it's otherwise forgettable.  What it does do nicely though is keep the narrative moving along with the gameplay, which does make it a joy to go through.

My only other real criticism of it is that it's a shame it's all so linear. You do feel like you're taking part in an interactive movie rather than a game that's inviting you to make decisions. It's all just so procedural.

I don't think this is so much of a problem myself. Games have been largely linear since antiquity, I think that some people have this issue with Uncharted because it looks like you should be able to do so much more, because the visuals are so expansive. However, I do feel this is rather offset by fact the game keeps moving a fair old lick, so your always wanting keep moving forwards in the way the game takes you.

[Famous Mortimer]

I will, it's the greatest piece of satire of the 21st century and the gameplay and environment is the first game to fulfil the ambition of an all singing all dancing RPG set in the present. It's a masterpiece and blows everything out of the water, a landmark achievement and will last as a waymarker that signalled a change in what games are- it completely deserves a 10 as it executes everything it's trying to do. The benchmark in how to make a game like that now unbelievably high.

Blimey, I wish I'd played the same GTA 4 you did. The one I did was a bit boring and samey, compared to the previous games in the series at least.

[biggytitbo]

I gave up on GTA after i'd got bored of exploring. The missons were just too tedious and the much vaunted satire and storyline seemed to have passed me by.

[ThickAndCreamy]

Blimey, I wish I'd played the same GTA 4 you did. The one I did was a bit boring and samey, compared to the previous games in the series at least.

Agreed, it was an amazingly boring game once you realising the huge set of limitations imposed on you and the environment compared to SA or VC.

Also, comparing the satire of GTA IV to something like The Thick of It is ridiculous. It's humorous certainly, but the satire is usually heavy handed and trite, and dealt with in a much more simplistic, and less humorous way compared to something like the Daily Show.

[thehungerartist]

Is Uncharted 2 the huge improvement on the first that it's universally made out to be? I played the original - a couple of years after it came out admittedly - and thought it was no great shakes (dodgy script; repetitive to the point of tedium) and have been too tight to fork out the tenner it might cost to be taken through more of the same, with prettier graphics.

I will, it's the greatest piece of satire of the 21st century and the gameplay and environment is the first game to fulfil the ambition of an all singing all dancing RPG set in the present. It's a masterpiece and blows everything out of the water, a landmark achievement and will last as a waymarker that signalled a change in what games are- it completely deserves a 10 as it executes everything it's trying to do. The benchmark in how to make a game like that now unbelievably high.

*bites hard*

Where is the satire? I'm genuinely open to being convinced here.

[MojoJojo]

EuroGamer's 8/10 review generates some reaction: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=32102086&postcount=3251

[Famous Mortimer]

That's pretty hilarious. Who are those people?

[mobias]

That's pretty hilarious. Who are those people?

I've always kind of presumed die hard Uncharted fanboys are mostly made up of 16 year school kids who can't really remember a time in gaming when the Uncharted franchise didn't exist. Don't get me wrong its a great game with mega high production values but at the end of the day its yet another derivative as fuck gaming franchise wrapped around some fantastic level design. People go on about how annoying the cut scenes are in games like GTA but Uncharted sometimes feels like one huge interactive cut scene. It annoys me how often and how randomly it cuts in and out of them. 

[Famous Mortimer]

AV Club (which I believe feeds into Metacritic) gave it a C, which I'm surprised hasn't caused someone to hack their site and take it down:

http://www.avclub.com/articles/uncharted-3-drakes-deception,64220/

[mobias]

Its interesting reading some of the comments underneath, looks like a backlash to the fanboys is starting to happen, which is a good thing I think. I despise fanboys and for some reason Uncharted gets the worst of them, maybe because they're all a bit younger.

I'm not sure whether to get this or Skyrim now. I was really looking forward to both but Uncharted 3 just looks like more of exactly the same thing and I've read a few reports that Skyrim has its flaws. Some of the gameplay sequences make it look quite clunky. Both will get me through the dark winter nights though.   

edit. U3 does look completely stunning though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr4lIyfErSQ

[jutl]

I despise fanboys and for some reason Uncharted gets the worst of them...

I think it gets a fairly normal amount for a platform exclusive. Uncharted is an essential weapon for PS fanboys to beat Xbox fanboys over the head, and if there's some doubt over its continued AAA status it's a less effective weapon.

[biggytitbo]

edit. U3 does look completely stunning though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr4lIyfErSQ

Wow an outdoor place that actually has lots of people in it for once!

[HappyTree]

I would like to play these games but of course am not going to buy a PS3 just for that. I have nothing against Playstation apart from the controller. Pity they couldn't port it over to Xbox. Oh well.

[Steve Lampkins]

U3 does look completely stunning though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr4lIyfErSQ

Why does Simon Cowell keep touching all the walls?

[mobias]

I would like to play these games but of course am not going to buy a PS3 just for that. I have nothing against Playstation apart from the controller. Pity they couldn't port it over to Xbox. Oh well.

Don't want to seem too much like a fanboy but if you were ever thinking about buying a PS3 now would be it. Get one second hand, the first generation ones and backwards compatible with PS2 games and you can get a 60GB one for about 70-80 quid. Money well spent now the nights are well and truly drawling in.

[HappyTree]

A PS3 would be quite cool, yes. As I said, I'm not ideologically against them but the controller is too spindly. But don't pity me on these long winter nights. The 360 is warm enough!

[Subtle Mocking]

Don't want to seem too much like a fanboy but if you were ever thinking about buying a PS3 now would be it. Get one second hand, the first generation ones and backwards compatible with PS2 games and you can get a 60GB one for about 70-80 quid. Money well spent now the nights are well and truly drawling in.

Although the first-gen can be slightly more susceptible to yellow light of death, and they're generally louder, I do agree that this is the best time to get a PS3. You get loads of great bundle deals coming up to Christmas.

[jutl]

Also, only the very first fat PS3s had backward compatibility. Most second hand fat ones you see these days wont play PS2 games.

[Subtle Mocking]

And the ones that are backwards compatible are being sold for higher amounts.