Uncharted 3 Gameplay Footage: Now With More Gameplay

[Mr. Mike]

Uncharted as a series isn't supposed to be realistic. Hell, it's going for that unrealistic action movie feel. Realistic graphics does not immediately warrant realistic gameplay. Hell, one could say the reason Uncharted has regenerative health is because heroes in action movies either rarely get hurt or manage to take a beating and keep on going. Your rant is a little bit void.

Tell you what, next time you watch something like Die Hard or Lethal Weapon, count how many times the main characters actually get shot. Not nearly shot, not dodge a bullet, but actually take a bullet. For all Hollywood plays down the effects of violence, action hero characters tend to at least be pretty alright at not getting shot. Rambo manages to go through the entire first film without taking a single bullet.

Generally, even the characters that do get shot, they at least react as if they've taken some damage. Mel Gibson didn't spend the last scene of Lethal Weapon 2 hiding behind boxes waiting for the bullet inside him to magically disappear, he spent it lying semi-unconscious on the ground while Danny Glover made terrible quips.

This is why games, for all they try and emulate Hollywood blockbusters, can't be compared. Action heroes in games don't dodge bullets like their cinema brethren do, they simply soak them up and spit them back out. John McClane reached the end of Die Hard looking like some half-dead animal brought in the house by a cat. Nathan Drake reaches the end of each Uncharted level looking like the same handsomely scruffy arse he was at the start.

Bolded for emphasis. They are not trying to emulate or replicate action flicks. They are trying to capture the feel, sure, but not to copy it to the letter. Games and movies are very different beasts. Sure, in a movie, they can choose how the scene plays out, the hero managing to get through the fight without taking a hit. Taking the same scenario in a game, the developer can't be certain the player will be good enough to avoid fire through the whole action sequence.

Sorry if I'm conveying juxtaposing ideas, but I do agree with you somewhat. The thing is, there has to be a compromise SOMEWHERE. And the thing is, if Uncharted's gunplay was like the movies, it wouldn't be fun. Simple as that. There has to be a sacrifice of realism for gameplay somewhere. If you want something realistic, go play ARMA 2 or some other ultra-realistic military shooter.

 

[Mr. Mike]

Bolded for emphasis. They are not trying to emulate or replicate action flicks. They are trying to capture the feel, sure, but not to copy it to the letter. Games and movies are very different beasts. Sure, in a movie, they can choose how the scene plays out, the hero managing to get through the fight without taking a hit. Taking the same scenario in a game, the developer can't be certain the player will be good enough to avoid fire through the whole action sequence.

Sorry if I'm conveying juxtaposing ideas, but I do agree with you somewhat. The thing is, there has to be a compromise SOMEWHERE. And the thing is, if Uncharted's gunplay was like the movies, it wouldn't be fun. Simple as that. There has to be a sacrifice of realism for gameplay somewhere. If you want something realistic, go play ARMA 2 or some other ultra-realistic military shooter.

You're misunderstanding me a little bit. I think. I'm not arguing that everything has to be super realistic. What I'm arguing is that, if you're going to have a character who's idea of body protection is a hawiian shirt and a set of Levi's, you need to come up with a different way of doing crazy gun battles than making him a bullet sponge. You know the way people in action films leap around and do all kinds of crazy moves to dodge bullets? It's not exactly realistic, but it at least offers an explanation as to why they can empty a room full of mooks using nothing more than a pistol. Why can't we use that as inspiration for these kind of games? We already have Max Payne to show us that crazy slo-mo acrobatics can be done in videogame form. Why not use all the technological advances in consoles to take that idea to the next level, where ridiculous action hero moves and acrobatics can convincingly create the impression of you being a lightning quick badass who can move faster than bad guys can aim? That would be more 'immersive' than having a character with no visible body arnour soaking up bullets like they're wine gums.

Or just give him a kevlar vest.

Ah, I get you. That point didn't come across in your earlier posts, but I follow now. Huzzah for continued discussion.

I'd go so far as to say that perhaps Naughty Dog went for the regenerative health because it's become such a staple a lot of games don't even bother explaining it. I suppose they thought they could get away with it. I'm not trying to defend them here though.

It usually takes one developer to break the mould and try something new. And if it works well enough, it becomes the industry staple. It's just that too many developers play it safe and go with what works rather than what would work best for their game.

 

[Super Toast]

Naughty Dog is one the most consistently brilliant developers in the world. And it looks like they've somehow gotten even better. Don't ever change.

 

[RoyalWelsh]

Ahh that looks simply fantastic. I just cannot wait!

 

[dicai]

I been thinking lately about buying Uncharted 2 for quite a some time... These videos convinced me, I really don't know the reason... retroactive advertising, how cool!

 

[gphjr14]

You can't really say "more of the same." having only seen 2 gameplay clips. For all we know there are some new additions but ND doesn't want to reveal them yet.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

What I'm arguing is that, if you're going to have a character who's idea of body protection is a hawiian shirt and a set of Levi's, you need to come up with a different way of doing crazy gun battles than making him a bullet sponge. You know the way people in action films leap around and do all kinds of crazy moves to dodge bullets? It's not exactly realistic, but it at least offers an explanation as to why they can empty a room full of mooks using nothing more than a pistol.

I think Naughty Dog are going for the idea that Drake doesn't get shot at all... because if I recall a scripted moment in Uncharted 2, you are injured and Drake acts as such. But obviously the game has to be playable (two shots bang isn't very fun *glares at Resident Evil 5's Professional mode*). Not to mention, you must have only been watching gameplay of Normal or under difficulty. Cuz on Hard and Crushing, you can't really let yourself get hit...
It's just ND's way of keeping the story going (which is why Crushing is such a drag if you don't know what you're doing.)

On Topic: This looks incredible. I've replayed Uncharted and Uncharted 2 at least ten times each and they never get boring. Let's hope Uncharted 3 keeps that same awesome juice coming.

 

[SovietX]

OK, yes, it looks brilliant, yadda yadda... but one thing. Am I the only one who hates the regen health in Uncharted?

I mean, it worked in Halo, but that was due to a very specific character, the Master Chief, and the fact he had both regenerating energy shields and enough armour to smelt down and make an entire tank. Even when they nerfed the health bar in Halo 2, at least it made sense thanks to the context. Hell, most shooters get away with it now, if for no other reason than the player characters tend to look like combat-ready badasses wearing kevlar/armour, who can take a few bullets and still complete the mission.

Nathan Drake is not one of those characters. Look at him: in this video he's wearing jeans and a t-shirt. For all people praise Uncharted's immersive qualities, watching this video I was left with no other impression than "Jesus is back... and he's pissed!" Hell, the enemies in the video seemed to need a few bullets themselves to go down themselves.

This pisses me off no end. If the enemies are aliens, or genetically altered mutants, then sure, whatever, make it so they need a whole clip emptied in their faces in order to die. But people are delicate. Developers should maybe pay a trip or two to a hospital when developing games like these. One bullet is all it takes to kill you. And not a headshot. A bullet anywhere can kill you: chest, arm, leg, shoulder... so seeing enemies with no obvious armour plating taking shot after shot infuriates me no end now. If life were that forgiving, the streets of London would be a much safer place, and we wouldn't have wreathes and memorials on every street corner.

TLDR: If developers are going to go to great efforts to create realistic graphics, then they also need to start showing the real kind of damage one bullet can do.

Well on Crushing its pretty much insta-kill and do remember that this is a gameplay trailer, so they probably have god mode activated. You never know if they are going to make this one harder. And like Azure said, the aim is not to get hit. Whenever Drake gets hurt in a cutscene, it seems to stick. (Train aftermath; limps and holds stomach)

I hate regen health as much as the next guy but in Uncharted it just...works.

 

[IamSofaKingRaw]

OK, yes, it looks brilliant, yadda yadda... but one thing. Am I the only one who hates the regen health in Uncharted?

I mean, it worked in Halo, but that was due to a very specific character, the Master Chief, and the fact he had both regenerating energy shields and enough armour to smelt down and make an entire tank. Even when they nerfed the health bar in Halo 2, at least it made sense thanks to the context. Hell, most shooters get away with it now, if for no other reason than the player characters tend to look like combat-ready badasses wearing kevlar/armour, who can take a few bullets and still complete the mission.

Nathan Drake is not one of those characters. Look at him: in this video he's wearing jeans and a t-shirt. For all people praise Uncharted's immersive qualities, watching this video I was left with no other impression than "Jesus is back... and he's pissed!" Hell, the enemies in the video seemed to need a few bullets themselves to go down themselves.

This pisses me off no end. If the enemies are aliens, or genetically altered mutants, then sure, whatever, make it so they need a whole clip emptied in their faces in order to die. But people are delicate. Developers should maybe pay a trip or two to a hospital when developing games like these. One bullet is all it takes to kill you. And not a headshot. A bullet anywhere can kill you: chest, arm, leg, shoulder... so seeing enemies with no obvious armour plating taking shot after shot infuriates me no end now. If life were that forgiving, the streets of London would be a much safer place, and we wouldn't have wreathes and memorials on every street corner.

TLDR: If developers are going to go to great efforts to create realistic graphics, then they also need to start showing the real kind of damage one bullet can do.

Yeah because everyone would want to play the game if when yo got shot you'd have to get airlifted to a nearby hospital wait a long period of time to recover, go through rehab and then retire due to the costs.

 

[Jezzascmezza]

God damn!
I should really get a PS3...
I reckon GOTY 2011 will be a battle between Uncharted 3 and Elder Scrolls 5.

 

[Jumplion]

Could someone help me?

I have a PS3, and I keep hearing from these sites that "Uncharted 2 is awesome", "GOTY!" etc.
While I certainly do like the idea of a game where you get to play an adventure flick, this looks like another 3rd person shooter, with chest-high walls and all that.

When I look at these trailers even the animations look stiff. So, I've been trying to work up the desire to get U2 or possibly U3, but I just can't manage it. The gameplay looks really, really dull. Now, I played the demo of Uncharted 1, and while the environments were beautiful, it was just such dull gameplay!

...

So, can someone please explain to me, why do you think this game is so awesome despite these things?
If I think that "so many people can't be wrong" then surely I must've missed something, and I can't figure out what.

The Uncharted series is one of those games that do the core mechanics really well, and everything else adds to it. Yes, if you look at it from just a basic standpoint, the Uncharted games do just look like any other 3rd person shooter with chest-high walls. But you have to take a bit of everything else with it. The gorgeous visuals, the action movie feel, the crazy setpieces, and the awesome animations (I'm an animation nut, so I don't see why you're saying they're stiff. Maybe when he's jumping a ledge, but that's it) all make the Uncharted games great.

Uncharted 1 had a few problems, so I'd say it'd a bit unfair to judge the whole series on that one, but whatever. Uncharted 2 ramped up everything from the original to 11, and Uncharted 3 looks to do the same.

Too each his own, however. If you don't care for the Uncharted games, that's perfectly fine, I guess it's not for everyone. But I don't think it's that difficult to understand why some people just love the games, myself included.

OT: Delicious. Looks gorgeous. Can't wait for 11-1-11.

Sidenote - Who want's to bet that 5 games are going to secure the 12-12-12 release date? Just sayin', I called it.

 

[Sable Rhapsody]

Hawt damn.

...yeah, that's all she wrote. I could be cynical and snarky, but Uncharted is honestly just an awesome franchise, and this looks like another lovely game from Naughty Dog.