Uncharted 3: DRAKE'S DECEPTION

Ugh, so addicting, even if I'm not that good.  I'm at Level 16, and there's people that are at Level 34 already.

Managed to unlock the three Subway clothes items, and Marlowe's M9.  It kinda sucks that the treasures you collect still go back into the rotation.  I ended up getting the same treasure something like three times in a row.  It'd be nice if they were cumulative and you could then trade them to someone that had multiples of something you're missing.

I think there's some other promo items you need to unlock through the Subway code that aren't on the subway yet.  Drake's pistol said it needed to be unlocked with a code, but it doesn't seem to be one of the reward items yet.

I need to get me one of those cups!

I played the beta a bit, and thought it was great fun.  I did love that cargo plane scenario.

There's only one thing better than seeing Harrison Ford playing U3 on Japanese TV.  And that's me playing it.

Multiplayer is a fun diversion, but I hope they don't focus much on it at the cost of the single player experience.  Uncharted 2 was mindblowing and I'm already worried about how U3 can possibly top it.

You guys all checked out the IGN review right?

A perfect 10. As expected.

My mouth is literally watering. Thank God for Arkham City to keep me occupied.

Dammit, Erix!

Sigh.

Pre-ordered.

This thing will be out in most places tomorrow...

I'm a little shocked at the lack of activity.

Maybe there are more Xbox owners around here?

I'm perfectly comfortable with abandoning Arkham City for the roughly one week period it will probably take me to beat this. I'm trying to take my time with Arkham City anyway, finding all the secrets and stuff. So Uncharted 3 will be a good break from that.

My first playthroughs of the Uncharted games are always story focused. Then I go back and look for all the treasures at a leisurely pace.

Normally, I can't abandon a game. Unless it's open world, since those things take months out of my life anyway.

I probably would have had a harder time if this were Arkham Asylum. But the story in City is rather slapdash, with more focus seemingly placed on the extra things happening around the story. It just feels more episodic. So, it won't be so hard.

Stay tuned to this space, I expect to be raving about it before the week is out.

Uncharted, Batman, and Skyrim are my games this year.  Everything else is just a distraction.  I'm so pumped for Amazon's before lunch work delivery of this game...

My gf is the one who has the PS3, and alas, we do not live together. Luckily, I told her to disregard any noises she might hear in the night starting tomorrow, as it will be me making a ton of coffee and playing Uncharted 3 until the wee hours of the morning.

This is the first PS3 game I have ever bought.

This game is great!  But if you played, and loved, the first two then that's already a given.  No spoilers here, I promise.  I attended some preview event a couple of weeks ago and paid for the more expensive ticket, the cost of the game, which included them sending it out a few days early.  So I got it from Sony on Thursday last week, and finished up the single player last night (the multiplayer is locked until 11/01).  I'm totally ready to play it again.  Plenty of tense moments and I was in it more for the story than the gameplay.  They really have done a great job of establishing the characters over the course of the series.  Good stuff all around.  And they seem to be better looking games with each new one, which is amazing considering how nice it looked when they first started.

I never put a lot of thought into the multiplayer on these.  Heck, I never even tried it on Uncharted 2, but the preview event I went to had a mini tournament with the multiplayer, and it actually looks like fun.  It was in a movie theater, and one of the players was up on the big screen (in 3D no less), and there were still a handful of pretty cool moments when the randomness of the human element in multiplayer is at play.  Enough to get me eager to actually give it a shot myself when it's open.

As expected, I will probably have to wait a few days to get my hands on this. (Fuck you Bolivia) ... But I also can't wait.

Rich... Being into it for the story is pretty much normal for these games. I play them over and over again and it's much like revisiting a favorite movie. I enjoy playing through them just for the story.

I picked up my copy of Uncharted 3 this morning. Now comes the agonizingly slow work day where the game case will be taunting me all day from the side of my desk.

I am definitely looking forward to the story the most. I can't wait to see what kind of mess Nathan Drake and company have gotten themselves into this time around. I played very little of the multiplayer for Uncharted 2, but it seemed fun enough.  I might have to give it more attention this time around.

Just finished this game and it is indeed amazing. Even though for some reason I thought the ending was more satisfying in Uncharted 2, although that was the first Uncharted I played and it caught me off guard by how awesome it was. After playing the first two, this had a lot to live up to and it most definitely did that, but I'll have to play it again to see if it's better than 2 for me.

Just got this in the mail today, but I'm holding off until I get a week's worth of work done.  So that means I have to restrain myself until at least next week.  GAH!

You got release day shipping, but you aren't going to play it?  Waaah?

I was hoping I'd have more free time by the time I got it.  Didn't work out.

Also, I'm stupid.

Played it for about 2 hours or so last night. Nothing groundbreaking yet. Just a seriously great Last-Crusade-at-its-best vibe so far. The Young Nathan/Younger Sully section is just pitch perfect. Im already sad I can't spend the day on this thing.

I also played for a couple of hours last night, just long enough to get through the intro chapters and the setup for the big mystery this time around.  The tutorial section in the London pub was pretty great.  If a game makes even the tutorial stuff fun, you know it's going to be really good.  The young Drake section was also pretty damned great, if you ask me.  I think they did a great job of keeping Drake's character traits but making them rougher and a little more juvenile without getting hamfisted with it.  Also, it cracked me up that young Drake had his T-shirt half tucked.  Apparently habits start early.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Clark 

Played it for about 2 hours or so last night. Nothing groundbreaking yet. Just a seriously great Last-Crusade-at-its-best vibe so far. The Young Nathan/Younger Sully section is just pitch perfect. Im already sad I can't spend the day on this thing.

SPOILERize that shit. You... .... f--f---FOOL!

.....

Heading out to the boondocks (Bolivian Black Market) to see if it came in yet. If so, I WILL spend the day with it. God bless holidays.

I'm excited to play this once I finish Batman. Probably like December or something, ugh.

The melee combat is rather similar to Batman actually.  It's cool, but a tad quicktimey in feel.

The contextual moves are pretty cool, but it's kinda silly when I flip three guys over my head in a row while coming up a staircase.

I'm up to chapter 8. I'm enjoying it a lot, but it's not abosultely blowing my mind in the way number 2 did. Some of it is a bit too easy and hand holding. In the early running-across-the-rooftops section, when I failed I swear it actually reset me closer to the goal rather than further back. Another weird thing was an odd 'forced fist fight' with an unarmed bad guy who seemed immune/resistant to bullet fire.

Anyway the section with the castle fire  had me absolutely on the edge of my seat. Just a series of epic visuals, fun fights and traversalls. 

I do hope the amount of strategic gunplay increases from here on in. As much as the set pieces and characters are great, I do want to spend my time playing the game rather than watching it.

You in Syria yet?  There's a great shootout in a courtyard in Syria.   Wide open space with multiple levels, staircases, and cover positions.  Standout gunfight so far.  I'm up to about Chap. 11.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neoolong 

You in Syria yet?  There's a great shootout in a courtyard in Syria.   Wide open space with multiple levels, staircases, and cover positions.  Standout gunfight so far.  I'm up to about Chap. 11.

I'm in Syria, but haven't done anything of note yet.

On chapter 11 or 12 now. Have yet to encounter a gun fight where I didn't want to throw my controller at the television. I don't remember being this frustrated with the previous games.

The first one had some pretty endless and even tedious gun battles. But it didn't make it any less engaging a game.

They improved the combat greatly for 2. I find it hard to believe they've backtracked.

There's one on the cruise ship that's kinda annoying.  The heavy shotgun dudes are the worst.

I know someone who simply can't stand the controls for the previous Uncharted games.  I was fine with them for the most part once I got used to them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erix 

 

 

They improved the combat greatly for 2. I find it hard to believe they've backtracked.

 

Unfortunately, they have taken a big step back from 2. The aiming in this game is pretty damn terrible at times.

Just watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5-9oV9cXwY

This also effects the grenade throwback mechanic a great deal, which makes it seem kinda broken. Enemies are not only bullet sponges to a much larger degree here, they also have a horrific sense of direction, often times it it appear as if they're flanking, but then they opt to run around in circles instead. Not to mention how many times they'll just run up to you and stand & wait to be shot-which is probably because they know they can take a shitton of bullets like a champ. The only part of the gameplay that feels complete is the melee combat, which I love.

The presentation in this game is absolutely fucking stunning both artistically and technically, it's easily one of the best looking games out there. Its just too bad the gameplay isn't nearly as polished. Story feels fairly rushed and convoluted as well, though some of the set-pieces are second to none. I'm having fun with it, because when it works it really fucking works, but its definitely got some flaws that I'm having a hard time overlooking.

This series is the reason I'm glad my bluray player also occasionally plays games. Redboxed it and managed to beat it in 3 days. I'll probably pick it up when it's a little cheaper and I don't have Batman and Skyrim to deal with (can't believe I haven't picked up Batman yet).

Thought it was great.  Every level was beautiful, the setpieces were awesome, and the story was maybe their best yet.

I probably need to go back and replay the second for comparison's sake. My one annoyance was the shotgun dudes. Please game devs, don't spend all the time on great cover mechanics, then introduce enemies that march right up to you.  I loved that I found myself doing a lot of hand to hand, but I wonder if that's why enemies seem hell bent on getting up close to you. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, I mean the hand-to-hand stuff works great and is fun, but it sucks getting killed by some asshole that shoots you while you're brawling it out with a guy who walked right up to you (you're gonna shoot your friend!).

Also this game almost feels like a re-imagining of Last Crusade. Like in fifty years, if someone decided to remake it and have it set in the 2010s with more extreme action, you'd have it here. That's not a complaint, just something that I noticed over and over again. Give us a fedora/leather jacket alternate outfit! I also was getting a good John McClane vibe at certain points when Nate seemed a little more haggard (why can't we have a good Die Hard game instead of a mediocre Die Hard movies?).

I'd love to see Naughty Dog give this series a rest next year and do a scifi game. If they'd do for Star Wars, what Uncharted did for Indiana Jones...

Put me down with those who hate the new shooting controls. The game still looks jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and the writing and acting may be the best in the medium, but the gameplay is not as fun as the first two.

In UC1 and UC2, the shooting felt perfect. I felt that I earned headshots, and got good at getting them. Here, the aiming feels stiff and floaty. I've tried fiddling with the sensitivity settings, but neither direction feels any better. And in this game when you're getting swarmed with armored goons, headshots are a must. 

Still a fine game, but it's big bummer. 

Apparently they're patching it, so it should get better I suppose.

Weird, I'm not noticing any difference in the gunplay at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jacob Singer 

Weird, I'm not noticing any difference in the gunplay at all.

 

Color me jealous. There's 25+ pages of this, but all you need to read is the first post - the problem (as I'm experiencing it) is articulated well. 

Yeah, I noticed the issues with aiming almost as soon as I started playing. Its not a huge problem...you can get used to it.

My biggest issue was that it felt like the developers couldn't figure out if they wanted cover based battles, straight up run and gun, or a stealthy brawler. They ended up smashing them all together into a hugely annoying mess.

Each battle would usually consist of me dying 3 or 4 times until I learned when and where the enemies come from. The game ended up feeling like a chore.

Yeah I'm at Cruise ship level, and I'm really having a hard time giving a fuck anymore, purely because the gameplay goes from amazing to god awful within the span of minutes.

I like a great challange, don't get me wrong, but I like it when it's fair. Dark Souls for example is insanely difficult but its also very fair and refined, when you die it's your fault, not the fault of bad game design.

I haven't played a game in a long time that felt like it was working against not just my progression, but also my enjoyment of it like Uncharted 3 does. The combat in this game is not in the least bit challenging, its just incredibly cheap and frustrating. I already talked about how terrible enemy A.I. is, and the fact that they're bullet sponges, but I should also mention how bad their placement is. It feels so random, there's no room for any legit strategy because 90% of the time they just rush you like madmen, and then you're forced into multiple fistfights while either getting grenade spammed or shot at(or both) by enemies offscreen. It's not fun, its infuriating.

on 

There's no fucking way this game deserves the praise its getting. I'm thinking the graphics have some kind of placebo effect on people.

I suck at multiplayer, and pretty much only comment here about single player campaigns in whatever the game du jour is, and I'd just like to say I think you guys are nuts. I love the combination of light weapons, heavy weapons, and balls-to-the-wall fistfights in this thing.

Yeah, the combat's the best it's ever felt in the series for me and I'm having a blast with it. I actually love that fist-fighting has become a much bigger deal,considering the genre influences.

I will admit to not being fully won over by the story though, but I think it that's because there's so many parts of the game that feel as if the designers said "Oh we've GOT to have that set-piece!" and it all gets a little overwhelming.

I'm must be in the final third now. I have enjoyed it, but there have been some terribly frustrating fights. The ballroom fight on the boat has to be a standout. 2 snipers and a grenader up on a balcony, 2 shotgun guys and some other regular guys and rushing you right from the restart point. Maybe there's an awesome way to beat that, but for me it was un-fun trial and error.

Same goes for that mini-boss guy also on the boat.

Controls haven't bothered me too much except the enemies can run from left to right faster than I can aim.

The guns definitely look & feel great in terms of the animation, there's a tremendous sense of weight to them, and the sound effects are really impressive too. I just think they control terribly.

I also really really love the hand 2 hand combat, maybe even more so than the combat in Arkham City. I've thoroughly enjoyed every single fight that was thrown at me, especially the one at the beginning of chapter 12.

Wow, people are all over the map then. Hmm, maybe I'll wait till the price drop and just play some of the other huge games coming out. Or maybe I'll just keep Riddler hunting.

Just finished it. Somewhat disappointed. It's a good game, but a lot of what's here was done better in Uncharted 2. And for the final fights having the camera shake about constantly isn't the most fun thing in the world. Same goes for the sandstorm with machine gun trucks you can barely see and need to spend countless lives exploring and dying till you know where the rpgs are.

I liked a lot of the story, but in the end it didn't feel 100% thought out. Like what is the deal with the spiders? Also, I kept assuming Talbot was going to be a djinn. Cutter shot him and he survived and he also had access to the fear drugs earlier. Ultimately it seems to be the most supernatural-lite of the games.

One of the more disappointing things, and no spoiler text for this, is there is no unlockable content. ie the old games hand unlimted ammo and stuff you could use when you finished the game. I read that they removed it because it made bugs, but seems crap. There's 4 featurettes and concept art and that's it.

I'm wondering if I want to trade this in for Batman : AC. 

Or it's just a hell of a lot of fun.  Of course, I don't seem to be dying nearly as much as you guys are.

While I think the aiming worked better in UC2, I haven't been all that bothered by it in UC3.  The thing that is annoying me in UC3 is the "chase" camera has killed me countless times by now.  It is either too close to the action, too far, or is at a poor angle, resulting in you not knowing where to go in the next split second.  They want you to keep running towards the camera during these sections, and it feels absolutely great and cinematic....until you die during the same little section a couple dozen times in a row. 

During the final bit of the burning castle, I died a ton of times trying to run across the rooftop.  Drake kept jumping into the fire, walking off the edge when I wanted him to merely go left to stay on the roof, and he got smashed by the falling tower because I happened to be a half step too far to the left.  I got seriously pissed off when I finally beat it because I couldn't believe how close I had come so many times, just to get screwed over.  There was plenty of this same kind of sequence in UC2, but it worked better there.  Perhaps there was a bit more room for error or something, but every chase sequence so far in UC3 has gone from thrilling straight into frustration for me.