First thoughts on Uncharted

TelePaul

Downloaded the demo last night. I'm really in two minds as to what to make of it, alot of things annoyed me.

Firstly, the camera angles during shooting - that over the shoulder view is pretty ropey, and the switching between left and right shoulder view is also a bit awkward. It makes aiming really awkward when you're trying to keep behind cover.

Secondly, the amount of enemies is just crazy. I'd have preferred more climbing/swinging/jumping to fighting a world war against wave after wave of pirates. They take an obscene amount of damage from an AK 47 too and it gets a little boring.

Thirdly, the use of the six axis. It seems rather ridiculous to have to use it for balancing purposes when the only result of a fall is recovery by pressing x. Throwing a grenade is also needlessly complex. This tendency amongst PS3 games to incorporate Wii-like shenanigans for the sake of it got old in Call of Duty 3.

Lastly, I guess the graphics didn't blow me away. Maybe I've just been spoiled by COD4, but certain GUI elements seemed a bit basic (the box detailing your equipped weapon for example.)

I did like certain things, namely that this game isn't a FPS. That was refreshing but I wonder if it's undermined by the sheer amount of shooting you have to do.

Story line and cut-scenes look cool, reminds me of a good action movie.

I do like the tomb-raider style exploring too, the climbing, jumping etc is all very nice and fun to do. I'd have liked to see more of it, as I said I just played the demo.

Finally, the duck-and-cover system is pretty great, diving from one piece of cover to the next is great.

So yeah, dunno whether to buy this or not, just looking for your opinions.

Clover

spot on there as far as i'm concerned .

i also downloaded the demo and up until i had played the demo i was giving serious thought to picking this game up , but i'm not going to now.

i was hoping for more of a tomb raider feel about it but after playing it and both myself and herself turning to one another numerous times saying " wow the amount of shots it took to kill him " got a bit tiresome .

shame really.

vibe666

ditto, pretty much.

a major bugbear for me was the spawn points. if you really wanted to, you could trip 2 or 3 spawn points without killing any enemies and they just come charging at you all at once.

it's no good starting with limited ammo and having to kill 6 or 7 guys then more spawn before you get to pick up more ammo as you tripped a spawn point.

projectmayhem

the annoying things are very annoying but it looks beautiful without trying to look "real" or anything. the gameplay reminds me of how i felt originally playing tomb raider 2... which is a good thing.

TelePaul

projectmayhem wrote: »

the annoying things are very annoying but it looks beautiful without trying to look "real" or anything. the gameplay reminds me of how i felt originally playing tomb raider 2... which is a good thing.

It's funny, I remember thinking that tomb raider two revolved too much around shooting people. The setting looks quite nice, quite lush but I was just left feeling pretty underwhelmed by it.

steviec

I agree that the demo was way too combat heavy, but the reviews I've read say the final game is about a 50-50 balance between combat and exploring and that there's a lot of variety in there, I think I've read nothing but positive reviews so certainly going to give the full game a chance.

Retr0gamer

Got the game this morning and have been playing it now for the last few hours.

It's a gorgeous looking game but I'm not totally blown away. lots of reviews say it's better looking than anything on the 360 which is bull. There are far better looking games on the 360.

Platforming is great, not as fluid as PoP or assassins creed but never frustrating. Combat is handled well but it can get repetitive, there's just a little too much. Cover system isn't great when compared to GoW etc. and can be a little frustrating.

Six-axis implementation is terrible as usual. Balancing is fine but throwing grenades is awful.

Storywise I'm very surprised. It's nothing special but it's told extremely well. Never too over the top. Voice acting is superb. However it's the characters that deserve special mention, all are excellent, Drake in particular is a very likable character.

Overall it's a great game on the PS3 and that alone makes it worth buying. Definitely the best thing on the PS3 but it's not without it's flaws.

AnCapaillMor

Got it monday, said i'd give a go last night, just to see what it was like, 5 hours later wearily went to bed. As for the static duck and cover battles, wait till you get around 70% into the game. combat takes a while but once you figure it out, its pretty cool, grenades are'nt worth a feck, i like when the go to throw a nade and you shoot the guy he stumbles back and drops it. Takes alot to knock down one guy.

2 nitty bitty gripes with the game, when you're going through a jump\swing\grab sequnece the angle can be horrible sometimes. Ledges at times are pretty hard to spot, sometimes hard to differ between ones you can't ggrab and ones you can.

So far, its knocked my socks off.

TelePaul

Just played the demo again, and I have to be honest, I think this is an awful game. As soon as you draw a gun it imposes that stupid salvador dahli perspective that just doesn't flow. I've realised that the cover system is a little awkward too, you have to let go of circle and press it again to displace from one side of a column to the other. And the bad guys! So many enemies! I'm gonna have to pass. I can't belive the reviews this is getting.

Mossy Monk

TelePaul wrote: »

I can't belive the reviews this is getting.

You are playing the demo. Not the game.

McDermotX

Interesting.......
Realise everyone is different and entitled to their opinions, but personally, I found it to be an excellent title which is certainly up there with the best of the year
One of the most impressive aspects of the game is how the merits of a platforming/exploration game and a shooting game are married into a single playing experience near-flawlessly. Of course no game is perfect, even the best ones, but its very encouraging to see a new IP start so encouragingly.

Argubably some the finest graphics seen on a home console so far, with some extraordinary texture work and shader effects, an unparralled animation system which easily ranks as one of the best around, excellent audio ambience and overall presentation which is up with any second-gen release
Gameplay is fast and fluid with tight controls and always gives you the impression of being in total control, unlike the "platforming" of Assasin's Creeed which while nice to watch, becomes distanced and annoying after an hour's play. Funny how some people are having issues with the grenade throwing......don't have an issue myself but I can understand some people's misgivings, especially when they first start playing it. Its more of a practice thing than anything I feel.
Controls are much improved with a DS3 as well, far better than with light touch of the original SixAxis
Cover and fire system is well done for me, feel is far better than the clunky and non-intuitive feel of likes of Gears of War, although still not without is own issues. Don't think any game has really cracked this aspect of shooting 100%, but its certainly the best effort in recent memory for me.

Combat maybe a little on the heavy side for some, probably because they were expecting a more direct platforming experience with minimal combat ala Tomb Raider's limited enemies. But its a different animal I feel. Playing on hard mode is not too frustrating with decent enemy AI for a console release, and a forgiving enough capture area for jumps etc

On the whole, excellent effort from Naughty Dog and certainly one of the better titles released this year following the disappointing averageness of some of the main hitters for all machines in the last 6 months. PS3 owners would be well advised to pick up the full game next week.

TelePaul

Mossy Monk wrote: »

You are playing the demo. Not the game.

Yeah, I've said that and repeated that in my posts. But ND should know better than to release an inherrently poor demo if the actual game is going to be radically different.

WellyJ

TelePaul wrote: »

Just played the demo again, and I have to be honest, I think this is an awful game. As soon as you draw a gun it imposes that stupid salvador dahli perspective that just doesn't flow. I've realised that the cover system is a little awkward too, you have to let go of circle and press it again to displace from one side of a column to the other. And the bad guys! So many enemies! I'm gonna have to pass. I can't belive the reviews this is getting.

Finished this this afternoon and you couldnt be more wrong in my view.

The over the shoulder aiming is great once you get used to it. Works excellently.

The cover system is fine too, found no faults with it at all. Yes there are a lot of enemies, but so what?? There is a nice balance between exploring/jumping and killing.

Loved the game, probably a little better than Assassins creed for me, and i really enjoyed that too.

By far the best exclusive on PS3. Of course that doesnt mean much, but great game.

TelePaul

WellyJ wrote: »

Finished this this afternoon and you couldnt be more wrong in my view.

The over the shoulder aiming is great once you get used to it. Works excellently.

The cover system is fine too, found no faults with it at all. Yes there are a lot of enemies, but so what?? There is a nice balance between exploring/jumping and killing.

Loved the game, probably a little better than Assassins creed for me, and i really enjoyed that too.

By far the best exclusive on PS3. Of course that doesnt mean much, but great game.

I appreciate different strokes/different folks and you're obviously in a better position than me to judge having played the whole thing. The over the shoulder view would be fine if it didn't incur the most awful perspective I've seen in a game in a long time. Who remembers Syphon Filter and the pretty cool lock-on aiming feature?

I'm worried to hear you say it's better than Assasins Creed though, as I havn't played the latter. I like the fact that innovative games are being made for the PS3, I understand that the only way to offset the risk and cost of developing a game is by making that game a FPS, but I havn't warmed to uncharted.

TelePaul

TelePaul wrote: »

Just played the demo again, and I have to be honest, I think this is an awful game. I can't belive the reviews this is getting.

I loved the demo and completely disagree with every criticism you made. I will be picking up the game first thing next friday.

satchmo

Yeah I played through the demo last night and really enjoyed it, I'll definitely be getting it.

TelePaul

Fair enough, but I don't think I'm being hyper-critical. Maybe I just expected something better.

Retr0gamer

Well it's a little bit short. Started yesterday and finished it today. Still overall is was very enjoyable and kept me playing right to the end. The end was a little disappointing but at least it didn't end with a terrible boss battle but something a little different. I started enjoying the combat a lot more towards the end but I still feel that the cover system is flawed and at times awkward compared to GoW etc. Anyway I'd recommend it to anybody with a PS3. Far from the best game of the year but still very entertaining. I really hop the Tomb Raider team are taking notes because this game is what Tomb Raider should really be like.

AnCapaillMor

Really liked it, i can see myself replaying this a few times.

Froot

I really like the game.

Personally I hate the PS3 but this is the first game that made me want to play it. The game isn't perfect but it has more cinematic and playability value than any PS3 game I have seen/played thus far.

People should just buy a 360 with COD 4 tbh.

DILLIGAF

This is basically Gears Of War for the PS3,only better!lol and I loved GoW once upon a time! This is beautiful looking,great immersion,excellent combat system,great story line(all beit an Indiana Jones style script) and bloody funny! Even the bad language feels so natural where it's placed! Everything about this game confirms that the PS3 has a long bright future ahead of it. For those that don't agree, you really need to play the game through, I only found myself "involved" in it after an hour or two, then I got well stuck in!
The only thing this game is lacking is an online mode! It's pretty much GoW and should have had a battle feature installed for some online play!

humanji

Yeah, I have to agree with that. It has incredible production values and really sucks you in. I think the gameplay is a bit substandard (it's just Tomb Raider, after all), but it's the story and characters that really make it stand out.

Podge2k7

great game!

nealmac

I actually didn't find any problem with any of these 4 points. Fair enough, the graphics aren't as good as CoD 4, but they're still very good. The over the shoulder view never caused me any problems when aiming, (although an auto-aim would have been nice). The six axis is probably a bit pointless, but it's not really a problem. It's fairly simple stuff, and it makes it an ideal game for people who are just getting used to using it.

Yes, there are quite a lot of enemys, (but not "an insane amount") but this is for a reason. No point in making the game too easy. I didn't have any major problems completing it.

All in all I think it was a great game.

wayne040576

Good game but issues with the combat are really annoying me and are the reason I wouldn't have put this in my top 5 of 2007:

A few problems I've come across:

1: I shoot an enemy point blank in the face with the magnum and he gets back up?

2 Sometimes when you shoot the enemies they go into this stupid animation were they stagger around a bit. You can't shoot them while they are in this animation as the hits don't count.

3. The enemy spawning is terrible and looks like a blatant attempt to stretch the gaming time out a bit. I've had a few cases were I'd leave one area that is clear of enemies and drop down to a new area only to have enemies appear directly behind me from where I have just come.

There's a part in one of the later levels were you're up on a ledge and kill all enemies in the area below. As soon as you drop down, 2 or 3 of the lads with the desert eagles and laser sight appear from behind two pillars. I even tested this scenario by throwing a grenade right at the pillar just before I jumped down. The game forces the grenade to explode early as my character is falling
so that it doesn't kill the enemies that are about to spawn.

This type of stuff has been really annoying me when playing. Thought the platforming sections were good though.

0ubliette

Its the best game on PS3. The best exclusive easily, anyway. The demo i tohught was good, but the full game blew me away. As retro said the characters are really lieable, and the interaction between sully and drake on the opening level or 2 is very believeable and genuinely amusing. Its an excellent game, and anyone comparing it to cod4 (WTF??) needs their head examined.

CiDeRmAn

Enjoyed this one a lot, finished it a couple of weeks ago, only negative thing is how short it is, but the ride is fab, great action, nice graphics, although it's hard to see how "this game could only be made on the PS3" to paraphrase Sony, it looks no better than similar titles on the 360.

The voice acting and the motion capture really set this one apart, as said above the interation between charcters is superbly handled and this, above everything makes this game a must have.

Can't wait for the sequel...

Best game on the PS3?
Maybe, not a patch on Bioshock though!

prodigal_son

The spawning issue, isnt an issue at all, They stop spawning when the music stops, not before, not after.

If you run to the next level with the music still playing, you will have to fight off new and old enemys.. Just clear each area properly...

Great game, and one of the most enjoyable games out at the moment, Lovely graphics, and after some practice some brilliant controls. The only downside is the shortness of it.. but it does have a lot of replay value.

tman

Aye, the spawning was never an issue for me, I always just cleared an area and double checked for treasure before moving on. I'd heard that the game was short so was in no rush to get through it...
Fantastic game, definitely the best reason to own a PS3 imo.

wayne040576

prodigal_son wrote: »

The spawning issue, isnt an issue at all, They stop spawning when the music stops, not before, not after.

If you run to the next level with the music still playing, you will have to fight off new and old enemys.. Just clear each area properly...

Great game, and one of the most enjoyable games out at the moment, Lovely graphics, and after some practice some brilliant controls. The only downside is the shortness of it.. but it does have a lot of replay value.

That's not true. Several times I noticed the music stopping after killing off all enemies on screen. I'd walk around the same area picking up ammo etc only to have new enemies spawn directly behind me.