Zero Punctuation: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

[CriticalQuit]

Well, he has a point. A game can be bad and still be fun to play, if the gameplay feels nice.

Anyway, anyone else besides me betting that he's going to put off Modern Warfare 3 in favor of Saints Row the Third, sequel to his beloved Saints Row 2?

 

[Warachia]

I get it now! Uncharted refers to the story, they have no idea where they're going with it, just that there's money at the end!

 

[Steve the Pocket]

I've never played the Uncharted games since I don't own a PS3, but I get the impression from all three of these reviews that they rely way too much on combat for treasure hunting games. It seems to me that treasure hunting games ought to revolve mainly around platforming, puzzle solving, and stealth, with occasional vehicle sections and maybe combat sections thrown in every so often. Trying to turn every genre (in the plot-and-setting sense) into a shooter of some kind is what leads to the sort of nonsense that makes the protagonist look like a genocidal psychopath. Some genres (in the plot-and-setting sense) lend themselves to certain genres (in the gameplay sense) better than others; that's why, for example, virtually all fantasy games are RPGs and why Mirror's Edge, for all its faults, was at least a platformer.

No Yahtzee the next game is clearly going to be a kart racer called "UnKARTed"

And characters will occasionally point out that it's kind of bizarre that they're all racing go-karts instead of hunting for treasure and killing each other, but they'll shrug it off immediately afterward.

 

[RJ Dalton]

So, I guess Drake's deception was his claim that this was a new and original game, then.

 

[sazzrah]

SPOILERS

Harsh but fair, I guess. Even though I enjoyed the game immensely I too did start seeing the cracks in the game - most notably the recurring plot themes from Uncharted 2 and the lack of significant character development in this particular outing.

It was way too tacit and 'alluded to' rather than clearly touched upon... prime offender being the relationship between Drake and Elena. I mean, all this talk of a ring and wearing the ring, and not wearing the ring... yet no mention of the significance of it! So are they married or what?! Way too vague for me.

I disagree that the series is past it;s sell by date though, I finished the game desperate for Uncharted 4 so bring it on Naughty Dog... Bring it on!

I actually really like that method of story telling.

Basically, Elena asked Drake to marry her between games. Drake freaked out and left her, but kept the engagement ring because he still loved her.

At the end of the game, he put it on. So basically, he was saying 'Yes, I'll marry you now.'

It has additional symbolism! Drake was trading in Drake's Ring (Adventure and fortune) for Elena's Ring (Setting down)

Where has this info come from?

You have to actually figure it out by using the context clues and what you know of the characters. Like how Cutter was a friend of Elena's that Drake roped into helping him with his scheme and that Talbot is an Alchemist. (Actually, the game basically tells you Talbot is an Alchemist if you search around the library some, so it isn't really something you have to figure out so much as pay attention.)

Why does everything have to spelled out for people nowadays? One of the developers even had to go and explain how Talbot did all of the things he did (Vanishing suddenly, surviving getting shot, etc) because of how many people complained about it.

Basically, you're saying you filled in the gaps yourself, which is fair enough, and can work with a lot of open ended stories but not so much with a continuing series where interpretation of events will inevitably be overwritten by the canon. For one, I can tell you your 'working out' about Drake and Elena is actually wrong. In the guide book that came with collectors editions of the game it explains that Drake and Elena are actually married but separated.

Talbot is not an alchemist either, Amy Hennig explained through Twitter that he is simply employing methods popular amongst covert organisations such as the CIA. Hennig explained that the CIA are known to use tactics that appear like magic; smoke and mirrors (like disappearing and using psychotropic drugs) to scare their targets. Hennig said Talbot most likely got away in that scene where he disappears by using a wire, and survived the gunshot by probably wearing a bulletproof vest - not by any real magical or 'alchemical' means.

People weren't complaining about not knowing how Talbot did those things either, they were simply curious and wanted to know what the writers were trying to convey. What's the problem in asking, especially when the writers were more than happy to answer people's questions? You almost make it sound like Hennig folded under the pressure of complaints and explained it because people were criticising the game for not spelling it out to them, and that wasn't the case at all.

Leaving story elements vague for you to work out is great in a lot of instances; it makes things interesting (like the mystery of Talbot). However, leaving them so vague that you're left confused and not really sure what's going on is a sign of poor writing imo, especially when those elements revolve around key characters in an ongoing series.

 

[mysecondlife]

SPOILERS

Harsh but fair, I guess. Even though I enjoyed the game immensely I too did start seeing the cracks in the game - most notably the recurring plot themes from Uncharted 2 and the lack of significant character development in this particular outing.

It was way too tacit and 'alluded to' rather than clearly touched upon... prime offender being the relationship between Drake and Elena. I mean, all this talk of a ring and wearing the ring, and not wearing the ring... yet no mention of the significance of it! So are they married or what?! Way too vague for me.

I disagree that the series is past it;s sell by date though, I finished the game desperate for Uncharted 4 so bring it on Naughty Dog... Bring it on!

I actually really like that method of story telling.

Basically, Elena asked Drake to marry her between games. Drake freaked out and left her, but kept the engagement ring because he still loved her.

At the end of the game, he put it on. So basically, he was saying 'Yes, I'll marry you now.'

It has additional symbolism! Drake was trading in Drake's Ring (Adventure and fortune) for Elena's Ring (Setting down)

Where has this info come from?

You have to actually figure it out by using the context clues and what you know of the characters. Like how Cutter was a friend of Elena's that Drake roped into helping him with his scheme and that Talbot is an Alchemist. (Actually, the game basically tells you Talbot is an Alchemist if you search around the library some, so it isn't really something you have to figure out so much as pay attention.)

Why does everything have to spelled out for people nowadays? One of the developers even had to go and explain how Talbot did all of the things he did (Vanishing suddenly, surviving getting shot, etc) because of how many people complained about it.

thanks. I'll go look for it next run through. I liked it a lot that it warrants a replay.

 

[Bearadox_42]

I love Uncharted 3...it kicks a lot of ass...but it is absolutely a rip off of the Last Crusade. The whole flash back segment of him as kid, the clues being in tombs, having to rescue the father figure from the bad guys, and the horse riding through canyons...

 

[ElPatron]

Using one or two is good scene-setting, but there's such a thing as overkill. You might as well have a Beefeater walking down the road...

False, everyone knows he would stand there and not run away from the green gas.

lol

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

Personally i had a great time playing Uncharted 3, but what they really could have spared me was having the circle button grab and throw away an enemy.

In previous games i could run up to an enemy, punch him in the face and if he should manage to block i could roll away and back into cover before being shot to death. Now if i run up and he blocks then i end up throwing the enemy into my hiding place before rolling after him and then getting shot.

Another thing that's absolute piss about the gameplay is that he rolls and goes into cover with the same button because that's been an issue in every game how he will roll against a wall and then just stand up like an idiot. And also how he stands up if he's shot behind cover, that one makes absolutely NO sense.

But those are really the only issues i have with the game. Still gonna play through it a couple more times (at least certain chapters) so i can get platinum on it. Three for three, yeah! >

 

[LobsterFeng]

The funniest joke I thought was the cover art for Uncharted 4.

"Uncharted 4: Drake's on a Plain"

Still haven't bought this yet. I think I'll wait a year or two, because Uncharted 2 the game of the year edition is only like $20 right now.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

Another funny review.

I haven't played it myself,but from the reviews I have watched on other sites with gameplay as well it seems merely an "upgrade" in scale and drama.That's what I thought of it at least,I may be mistaken.

 

[Whateveralot]

And whoever decided that one firefight should contain a grenade launcher, three snipers, a running armoured shotgun guy and standard enemies needs to go to the corner and seriously think about what he's done.

I remember that fight. Really had the face vs. concrete wall feeling. It took a rather specific method to clear that, like with a lot of situations in the game. UC2 was a lot easier on you on that and had the fights neatly split up with savepoints.

 

[C14N]

Umm, when I was in London for a week on holidays I saw red telephone boxes...like everywhere. They were plastered with porn and prostitution ads on the inside but they were red on the outside. That was 2009, have they gotten rid of them all since then or something?

Oh and it's not nearly as bad as the Simpsons having red telephone boxes and buses in Ireland.

 

[Truly-A-Lie]

And whoever decided that one firefight should contain a grenade launcher, three snipers, a running armoured shotgun guy and standard enemies needs to go to the corner and seriously think about what he's done.

I remember that fight. Really had the face vs. concrete wall feeling. It took a rather specific method to clear that, like with a lot of situations in the game. UC2 was a lot easier on you on that and had the fights neatly split up with savepoints.

I think that's the main problem I have with Uncharted 3 I didn't feel was present in the last one. There's always that feeling that Naughty Dog intended you to go about it along their intended path. Whether it's the chase sequence early on or the firefights, they've planned what you should do, not present you with situations to react to. I felt like I had more options last time.

 

[CityofTreez]

Don't get the hate the Uncharted series gets.

 

[Whateveralot]

Snip

Snipper

I think that's the main problem I have with Uncharted 3 I didn't feel was present in the last one. There's always that feeling that Naughty Dog intended you to go about it along their intended path. Whether it's the chase sequence early on or the firefights, they've planned what you should do, not present you with situations to react to. I felt like I had more options last time.

Yes indeed. They have nearly shut out every other way of doing it then the way they intended. Sometimes sollutions just kinda offer themselves, like this part where there's always two guys coming at you, one with a riot shield and one that throws grenades all the time. It's like they force you to practice throwback.

Also, talking about that chase sequence, I've tried jumping down the staircase multiple times and each time I landed way out of reach of any enemy right inside the lobby, an enemy (apparently out of nowhere) grabbed me and I had to restart.

I sometimes wish they made this game way less linear. Still linear, but at least don't give me the slam-door-in-face kind of feeling when you're not doing exactly what they intended you to do.

 

[drummond13]

Harsh but fair, I guess. Even though I enjoyed the game immensely I too did start seeing the cracks in the game - most notably the recurring plot themes from Uncharted 2 and the lack of significant character development in this particular outing.

It was way too tacit and 'alluded to' rather than clearly touched upon... prime offender being the relationship between Drake and Elena. I mean, all this talk of a ring and wearing the ring, and not wearing the ring... yet no mention of the significance of it! So are they married or what?! Way too vague for me.

I disagree that the series is past it;s sell by date though, I finished the game desperate for Uncharted 4 so bring it on Naughty Dog... Bring it on!

It's funny to hear you say that. This was by far one of my favorite aspects of the game. I felt Drake's relationships with Sully and Elena were wonderfully represented in a far more subtle fashion than pretty much any game is doing these days, not to mention several hints about Drake's past and his motivations for doing the crazy crap he does. I thought it was very clear without being thrust in your face. I loved it. Far preferable to having Sully say some forced expository line like "hey, didn't you and Elena get married last year? And then break up shortly after that?" Spoon feeding character relationships is something way too many games do.

Also, note to Yahtzee: You press the circle button. That's it. Press the circle button when in cover and Drake magically becomes "unstuck". Don't tilt the left analogue stick in a backwards direction, just push the freaking circle button. It works every time. This is not a flaw. Great review otherwise, though, one of the better ones in quite a while.

 

[Dooly95]

By and by, if anyone wants to know where this crazy ideas of all these set pieces first and then fit them in later comes in,

Wells says, "So this concept came to us around the end of summer. The only reason we knew that we were even going in that direction wasn't because we had the entire story laid out -- in fact, the story was still very skeletal at that point. But right after Uncharted 2, a couple of designers and animators started playing around with ideas about epic setpiece moments for Uncharted 3. And that's where the cruise ship came from, and some others had this cargo plane sequence. So we knew that we had a gigantic cargo plane, and that it would have to crash at some point, and we knew at some point the story was going to take us into the desert. So we knew that there would be a crashed plane in the desert. We thought, 'that'd be a pretty cool announce for the game: Show this crashed plane in the desert.' That's where we started building this, but we still didn't know where he was going to walk to. How does he get out of the desert? Why does the plane crash? Why was he on the plane in the first place? These were things that some people had ideas for, but nothing concrete, and we just took a leap of faith. "
Source [http://www.1up.com/features/mapping-uncharted-3-drake-deception?pager.offset=4]

The whole thing is quite interesting to read, if you've got 30 minutes to kill.

 

[algalon]

Uncharted 3 - same as it ever was, now with 90% less oogley eyes

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Great episode, a lot of laughs.

Quite fun, but nothing we haven't seen before, got it.