Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Review

[sheah1]

No game makes such great use of huge spaces and dramatic set pieces better than uncharted.

To which i reply, "what of Assassin's creed?"

Also I have a feeling Yahtzee is going to have a very different take but then that's his thing.

....What about AC? I actually can't think of a single interesting set piece in the entire series, like, at all. I mean, the combat is exactly the same no matter where you are in the game and the stealth never really works, especially in a series about choice and adaptation (hey, you know what people used to love? Losing the game as soon as an enemy sees you! That was awesome!).

 

[Kopikatsu]

snip

I forced myself to go back to it as this is the only day I have off for the rest of the week, and I finished it in about 45 minutes from where I left off...

I really am not sure what I feel about it. Yes, the new animations add to the fluidity of movement and the gameplay is as good as it was from the first moment of Drake's Fortune. It just feels like they have tried too hard to make it into an amazing spectacle, and it doesn't need that.

I honestly feel that this is the weakest in the series. It did have some really good sections (I'm sure you know the ones I'm talking about), but I'd still play DF before either of the other two

For me the Uncharted games are comparable to the Spider-Man movies:

- The first one was good, but you could tell they were still struggling with certain issues.
- The second one built upon what they learned from the previous title and struck an almost perfect balance.
- And the third needed to be bigger than the second so they just added stuff for the sake of stuff, completely destroying any pacing or structure.

They also added too much focus on the brawling mechanic in UC3 and from the second game on they should've realized that Drake's movements as a game character lacks the swiftness to pull that off. So where left with akward and twitchy fist fights wich look worse than the previous games because it's trying to be something it's not.

For me from the plane section onward it finally started to get pretty good. Eventhough most if not all of the shoot-outs felt very sloppy.

Well...I actually thought the brawling was pretty good. HOWEVER, I think it should have been left for melee-only sections and the Brute mini-bosses. Attempting to have a full-fledged battle with every random enemy is...very...can't think of a word for it, but I think the melee system from multiplayer should have been how melee was handled outside of brawls.

I felt like the game started to get weaker after the plane section...the parts of the game I enjoyed most were the ship, chateau, and the plane. That was kind of it...

Although, I would agree that Uncharted 2 was more or less a perfect balance. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of that game and played through the story many, many times.

 

[Danny91]

I've liked all the Uncharted games, because they feel like the closest I'll ever have to playing a really good Indiana Jones game...However, having played Uncharted 3 now, I think of it much the same way I think of the Dark Knight Trilogy. Of course, I'm needing to assume things about the Dark Knight Returns here, but from my expectations of it, it won't be a bad movie, far from it; it just won't be as good as the second. This is similar thing to the original Star Wars trilogy; Empire Strikes back was to me a better movie than Return of the Jedi, but ROTJ was still good. Thats how I feel about Uncharted 3 compared to Uncharted 2.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Eh. I'll pick it up, down the line, or whenever Gamefly decides to send it to me. Nothing was that impressive to me in either of the other Uncharteds that screamed that I should run out and buy it, it being perfectly fine, well tooled, and smooth, but having mediocre platforming, stamped out encounters, and occasionally-funny-but-mostly-smarmy dialogue just left me wanting more. The amount of visual greens and blues is fun, and so I might get them later in a big bundle, for a reasonable price, but visuals alone cannot make a game. Visuals, an overplayed story, time-tested platforming and gunplay, "witty" dialogue, and randomly inserted emotions, sure, that'll make a good game.

Oh, though it is nice to see he stuck with the blonde from the last one, if for nothing else than consistency. At least it means the big dramatic jesture at the end of the last one actually meant something. So that's fair.

 

[Logan Westbrook]

As is an argument that is irrelevant.

I'm sorry if you took any sort of offense at my post.

And of course your colleague is but another opinion in the whole scheme of things, no different than thinking Dragon Age 2 is the best RPG out there. Therefore, not truth.

It's not an argument. It's me telling you that your comment crossed the line, and you refusing to accept any responsibility for it.

 

[Logan Westbrook]

As is an argument that is irrelevant.

I'm sorry if you took any sort of offense at my post.

And of course your colleague is but another opinion in the whole scheme of things, no different than thinking Dragon Age 2 is the best RPG out there. Therefore, not truth.

It's not an argument. It's me telling you that your comment crossed the line, and you refusing to accept any responsibility for it.

My comment crossed the line in your eyes.

I once again never said that the reviewer (Greg Tito) should be put down. You took it that way.

Move on, pretty please?

And again, you're trying to shift the blame onto me. Is it really so hard to hold your hands up and admit that you did something wrong?

 

[Logan Westbrook]

I didn't shift the blame to anybody.

All I stated that it was your opinion of what I meant to say in my post.

I stated that your opinion was not correct.

You stated I was wrong to make the post, knowing that your view of it, even your colleague's, is incorrect.

You're taking blame upon yourself now when there is no blame to be had.

I made a post, you took X message, I stated that message is incorrect, you keep going on.

And I stated to move on.

That pretty much sums up this scenario.

Not quite. You made a comment that multiple people thought went too far, and rather than accept that you could have communicated your point more clearly and properly apologise, you've tried to fob me off with insincere gestures. That sums up this scenario.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

Uncharted is a great game, but don't you think you're exaggerating?
This article makes it sound like it's the best game of all time.

 

[KafkaOffTheBeach]

Awwwww, isn't this cuuuuute?
An internet argument between a random user and an Escapist Gold Club Member.
One taking it too far, the other being oblivious to one half of the conversation.

 

[Greg Tito]

I once again never said that the reviewer (Greg Tito) should be put down. You took it that way.

Move on, pretty please?

You'll never keep me down!

OP: Based on Susan's review, I'm looking forward to playing Uncharted 3.

 

[Levethian]

Can't afford a PS3 :/

Uncharted is a great game, but don't you think you're exaggerating?
This article makes it sound like it's the best game of all time.

But it was only awarded 4.5 stars.

We all know Dragon Age 2 was the best game EVAR!

 

[Susan Arendt]

Uncharted is a great game, but don't you think you're exaggerating?
This article makes it sound like it's the best game of all time.

I called parts of it tedious and frustrating. Hardly calling it the best game of all time. But I do think the writing, acting, visuals, animation, and overall storytelling are exceptionally well done.

 

[Marshall Honorof]

Impressions on the first hour or so: it definitely doesn't start with quite as much of a bang as 2, but there's still that lovely platforming/gunplay/puzzles trifecta. The controls are a little imprecise, and the platforming is way, way more restrictive than something like Assassin's Creed.

Otherwise, the dialogue is spot-on, and I'm really happy to see some unexpected characters from the previous games. Can't wait to see where the story goes.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Spoiler: Disclaimer: If anyone who hasn't finished the game clicks here, you waive all rights to kick me in the nuts...

Also, did you not think from the plane onwards was just a copy/paste of the end of UC2?....With sand of course.

Abandoned village in the desert/Abandoned monastery in the Himalayas
Beautiful ahead of it's time hidden for thousands of years city/Beautiful ahead of it's time hidden for thousands of years city
Unkillable with most weapons 'Fire demons'/Unkillable with most weapons 'Blue Yeti guys'
Collapsing city with collapsing bridge/Collapsing city with collapsing bridge

Just seems like they lost ideas for how to finish the game....

To quote Yahtzee, immersion is paramount, and I didn't get any with this installment

Yeah, that was pretty much straight from the second game.

Except ofcourse that in Uncharted 2 you spend way more time in the lost city and you actually had a boss fight. Sure, it wasn't the best boss fight in the world, but atleast there was a confrontation between you and the main antagonist.

But yeah, when I saw those great big temple doors opening I was like, "Really? This again?"