Zero Punctuation: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

[katsabas]

So glad I didn't pick this up. No because it is not good but because as Y said, it is set pieces first and story later. Not a fan of that.

Rayman Origins it is !

 

[Swifteye]

Don't get the hate the Uncharted series gets.

Yathzee dislikes it for two main reasons. One: that the writing is generic and is almost completely stolen from the likes of Indiana Jones and tomb raider (or was it national treasure?) and that he doesn't like nathan drake as a person.

IMO here, you can say that most popular game series gets all of it's ideas from other areas.

ME = Star Wars, CoD/BF = MoH ect. Now, Uncharted obviously isn't the most original by any stretch of the imagination, but you shouldn't hate on the Uncharted series (or any other) just because it isn't % original. Rate it on how the game is, not on what the inspiration is. Just my opinion.

about Drake him self? Eh, at least he's not your average macho guy ala Gears of War.

Well that's how yathzee feels. Me personally. The series doesn't grab any interest from me. It's an aesthetic thing most of the games this generation just don't hit it for me I kinda liked how it was in the 90s with games like jak and daxter, ratchet and clank, and sly cooper. I just don't like the look and feel of games like infamous, call of duty, or uncharted I would never say anything bad about them, (except infamous which I played and hated) it just lacks the style and color that I find endearing.

 

[SiskoBlue]

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.

They are not treasure hunting games, they are interactive Indiana Jones adventure (let's ignore the 4th though). No one will argue that. They have all the same elements of action set-pieces, comic banter, larger than life villians, characters and sets. However, each of the Indiana Jones films feels distinctly different. They all include an element of supernatural. The only difference has been a more modern setting that 1940s Indiana. Although they consistently go to third world countries where everything looks like it was made in the 1940s so it's still LOOKS like an Indiana Jones film. They also have more focus on a consistent love interest with Elena.

That said, the "puzzles" in Uncharted 3 are ridiculously easy. They used to be much more Tomb Raider like. Now they are barely a hiccup between set-pieces. And if you were born with a crayon up your nose they even have HINTS defaulted ON from the start. So 20 seconds after looking at a puzzle it tells you the answer.

I really liked all 3 Uncharted because I love the Indiana Jones/Swashbuckling films. It's all in good fun. But Uncharted 3 seemed really set on stopping the player from "ruining" their game by expressing any free will. STOP BEING A BAD ACTOR! FOLLOW YOUR LINES AND IF ANYONE ASKS ON THE PRESS JUNKET YOU TELL THEM IT'S THE BEST THING YOU'VE EVER SEEN..... GOT IT!!!?!

 

[SiskoBlue]

They really had a red telephone booth?

I was watching Top Gear yesterday and one of their around England pieces had a red telephone booth.
Am I missing something?

Red Telephone boxes still exist as kind of "urban decoration". Very, very few of them are working phones anymore but lots of country villages kept them their out of a sense of nostalgia.

But not in London. They have those half-booth phones, if they have them at all anymore. Also you'd be hard-pressed to find a "hard-man's" pub that close to London City (which is only about 1 mile square, the rest is actually Greater London). It's more likely to be some emo trendy gastro pub.

 

[SiskoBlue]

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

You're close but I think you're thinking of the Queen's Guard. They're the ones with the tall busby (hair hats) that never move.

Beefeater's are actually ceremonial guards (retired soldiers, who had exemplary records), or their official title "Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty?s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman of the Guard Extraordinary"

They have the flat black brimmed hat, tunic and usually depicted with a big f*** off pike.

You only see real one's at the Tower, the old castle next to Tower Bridge (which all American's and too many Brits think is London Bridge, but actually isn't) and they're basically really cool tour guides. They can walk where ever they want.

 

[endplanets]

I don't get it, when I went to visit London they had tons of red phone booths all over the place. Easily over 20 in the sector I was hanging around.
Look up "Russell square gardens" on Google earth and check the east corner and there are some. Took me 10 seconds to find it.

The thing is is that they are not that old fashion as you might imagine as the insides are (were when I was there like a year ago) completely FILLED wall to wall with ads for hookers asking you to call them up.

 

[War-hamster]

The video has no sound

 

[SiskoBlue]

I'd still recommend Uncharted 3 even though everything Yahztee said was true. The racism he's talking about isn't serious. Chloe is Australian and their partner Charlie is English, but it's a funny thing that you don't get many "American" bad guys in games. Then again, plenty of games set within America shooting fellow countrymen, so I'm not complaining.

The game is a glorious romp, just like an Indiana Jones film. Do you like Indiana Jones films? Then you'll probably like this. But expect a few things;

1. Nathan Drake is one clumsy motherf***er, but damn he's lucky. For every prat fall he also manages to achieve impossible climbing skills? They seem mutually exclusive to me.
2. FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT - Killing people in self-defense is always the last resort. Somehow that becomes the only option very quickly?
3. DO AS YOU ARE TOLD! IF YOU FAIL IT'S BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T PLAYING OUR GAME PROPERLY STOOPID. It's an interactive movie, an interactive MOVIE. It's not Heavy Rain but expect alot of QTEs
4. This is not a shooter. You could be a master at CoD/Halo/Battlefield but you will wonder what the hell is going on when you point your gun wildly all over the screen
5. The multiplayer is a good laugh.

To be fair to the IGN reviewer Greg Miller (BEYOND!) he really got sucked into the story. The story doesn't quite follow the same beats as 1 & 2, it looks like it will, but it tricks you. However, to me the tricks are an illusion. I won't spoil anything so I'll say it's like playing a game franchise where there's always a big robotic boss at the end. You play this game, kill the big robotic boss again and go "Yep, expected that" but then there's a twist. That wasn't the real boss this time!!?! This little man here is the boss! [Fight him in easy QTE and win]... SEE the boss WASN'T a big robot this time!

And your thinking "Yeah, technically you're right but the last major gameplay bit for me was fighting a giant robot... like every other game you've made" So although the story tries to surprise you, and does ok with it, you effectively PLAY the exact same game as 1 & 2

Still, I liked it but not sure I'd pay full price for it.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

They are not treasure hunting games, they are interactive Indiana Jones adventure (let's ignore the 4th though). No one will argue that. They have all the same elements of action set-pieces, comic banter, larger than life villians, characters and sets. However, each of the Indiana Jones films feels distinctly different. They all include an element of supernatural. The only difference has been a more modern setting that 1940s Indiana. Although they consistently go to third world countries where everything looks like it was made in the 1940s so it's still LOOKS like an Indiana Jones film. They also have more focus on a consistent love interest with Elena.

That said, the "puzzles" in Uncharted 3 are ridiculously easy. They used to be much more Tomb Raider like. Now they are barely a hiccup between set-pieces. And if you were born with a crayon up your nose they even have HINTS defaulted ON from the start. So 20 seconds after looking at a puzzle it tells you the answer.

I really liked all 3 Uncharted because I love the Indiana Jones/Swashbuckling films. It's all in good fun. But Uncharted 3 seemed really set on stopping the player from "ruining" their game by expressing any free will. STOP BEING A BAD ACTOR! FOLLOW YOUR LINES AND IF ANYONE ASKS ON THE PRESS JUNKET YOU TELL THEM IT'S THE BEST THING YOU'VE EVER SEEN..... GOT IT!!!?!

So its kinda like the Indiana Jones point and click game Lucas Arts made back before they thought the entire world consisted of Star Wars? Did they really need the processing power of the PS3 just to remake a point and click adventure game? They have been doing that on the DS for a while now.

 

[Sexy Devil]

*deleted*

 

[SiskoBlue]

They are not treasure hunting games, they are interactive Indiana Jones adventure (let's ignore the 4th though). No one will argue that. They have all the same elements of action set-pieces, comic banter, larger than life villians, characters and sets. However, each of the Indiana Jones films feels distinctly different. They all include an element of supernatural. The only difference has been a more modern setting that 1940s Indiana. Although they consistently go to third world countries where everything looks like it was made in the 1940s so it's still LOOKS like an Indiana Jones film. They also have more focus on a consistent love interest with Elena.

That said, the "puzzles" in Uncharted 3 are ridiculously easy. They used to be much more Tomb Raider like. Now they are barely a hiccup between set-pieces. And if you were born with a crayon up your nose they even have HINTS defaulted ON from the start. So 20 seconds after looking at a puzzle it tells you the answer.

I really liked all 3 Uncharted because I love the Indiana Jones/Swashbuckling films. It's all in good fun. But Uncharted 3 seemed really set on stopping the player from "ruining" their game by expressing any free will. STOP BEING A BAD ACTOR! FOLLOW YOUR LINES AND IF ANYONE ASKS ON THE PRESS JUNKET YOU TELL THEM IT'S THE BEST THING YOU'VE EVER SEEN..... GOT IT!!!?!

So its kinda like the Indiana Jones point and click game Lucas Arts made back before they thought the entire world consisted of Star Wars? Did they really need the processing power of the PS3 just to remake a point and click adventure game? They have been doing that on the DS for a while now.

No it's like an Indiana Jones movie, and nothing like a point and click game which itself was nothing like the movie it was based on. So yes, if you want to play games that look almost real and feel like your in a movie then you need a PS3, PC or an Xbox360. If you want to play terribly dumbed down games incapable of replicating anything but videogames circa 1984, then yes they could have done it on a DS.

 

[Nashidar]

I wonder if Yahtzee will review Halo CE Anniversary Edition?

Apparently that has tried to implement the use of Kinect in the way Yahtzee would like to be used.

Would love to know if its worked or not.

 

[Swifteye]

Don't get the hate the Uncharted series gets.

Yathzee dislikes it for two main reasons. One: that the writing is generic and is almost completely stolen from the likes of Indiana Jones and tomb raider (or was it national treasure?) and that he doesn't like nathan drake as a person.

IMO here, you can say that most popular game series gets all of it's ideas from other areas.

ME = Star Wars, CoD/BF = MoH ect. Now, Uncharted obviously isn't the most original by any stretch of the imagination, but you shouldn't hate on the Uncharted series (or any other) just because it isn't % original. Rate it on how the game is, not on what the inspiration is. Just my opinion.

about Drake him self? Eh, at least he's not your average macho guy ala Gears of War.

Well that's how yathzee feels. Me personally. The series doesn't grab any interest from me. It's an aesthetic thing most of the games this generation just don't hit it for me I kinda liked how it was in the 90s with games like jak and daxter, ratchet and clank, and sly cooper. I just don't like the look and feel of games like infamous, call of duty, or uncharted I would never say anything bad about them, (except infamous which I played and hated) it just lacks the style and color that I find endearing.

Every single one of those came out in the early to mid 2000s and they're still making Ratchet and Clank games. There's a new Sly game on the way, and there have been a few crappy Jak and Daxter spin-offs in recent memory.

Yathzee dislikes it for two main reasons. One: that the writing is generic and is almost completely stolen from the likes of Indiana Jones and tomb raider (or was it national treasure?) and that he doesn't like nathan drake as a person.

Considering the majority of Uncharted 3's writing is based on the character relationships rather than the adventure itself I'd say he's just poking fun with the derision.

I know that and i've even bought some of them as well what I was referring to was games like those being the norm. Ya know the colorful mascot genre with cartoony characters going on amusing adventures? Ratchet and clank retained some dignity but everyone else sort of decayed and now the genre is exclusively used for movie tie in games and indie titles.

 

[Belbe]

Still gunna try it... fun is fun and that's more than what most games these days offer lol.

 

[Therumancer]

By any chance are us English all evil in it?
Why aren't the Americans ever the evil ones?
GAH!!!

Anyway... Funny review as always.

We are, quite frequently in fiction and fantasy, but then people tend to complain that the hero is also American... except when they aren't, at which point it's rapidly forgotten. Machete being a recent example. Something like "Angel Cop".. an old anime, being another example... and oh yes, various HK action movies, albiet most of the ones really blunt about it tend not to make it into the US officially.

Right now it's hip to hate on the US and try and pretend an issue is there that isn't. with the majority of movies and TV shows coming from US film studios, with the US being the biggest market for entertainment... including games (which we are discussing) it's true that there is going to be a US focus, though it's by no means exclusive. Still nerd-culture hipsters like Yahtzee and Moviebob can't avoid picking on this point. Ditto for the alleged racial bias, albiet Yahtzee is a bit more joking about that, but even so when he re-uses the same material again and again it causes me to wonder when it's going from him trying to be funny to an actual message.

I'll also say that there is a nasty anti-American bias, even within the US from Americans, and one of the ways it manifests is for it to be wrong for an American to portray a culture, nation, etc... as being backwards, messed up, quaint, etc... even though it's perfectly fine for non-Americans to do it. I'm not a big shooter fan, so I haven't played Uncharted 2 or 3 (I did play the first one though to give it a shot), but listening to the comments about the portrayal of brits makes me think of a lot of the criticisms being leveled against the country by other Brits especially during the recent riots, largely the conservative crowd as opposed to the youth "movements". I suppose there are a lot of people who detest the whole "classic" vibe, old timey pubs, and so on and so forth, but that doesn't mean it's inaccurate depending on where you happen to be. In comparison if another face of the UK was shown and Drake went on a massive Chav killing spree for whatever reason, with that being the focus of the UK, there would have been even more complaints. In the end no matter which way it goes someone is going to QQ about the US and the portrayal.


... and I mean face it, even the red phone booth outside isn't pushing things terribly since it could have been left there as an antique. Down here in New England you see stuff like that all over the place, and probably 90% of the diners and bars are absolutly packed with antiques and old knicknacks just like the typical portrayal of New England, even when you get away from the tourist areas.

 

[xdiesp]

Alright, this time he was sour lol.

 

[mikey7339]

Listening to Yahtzee rip on this one was oddly satisfying...

PS3 exclusives, why do you all have to suck so much?

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

No it's like an Indiana Jones movie, and nothing like a point and click game which itself was nothing like the movie it was based on. So yes, if you want to play games that look almost real and feel like your in a movie then you need a PS3, PC or an Xbox360. If you want to play terribly dumbed down games incapable of replicating anything but videogames circa 1984, then yes they could have done it on a DS.

It wasn't based off any of the movies.

So why didn't they just use Indiana Jones instead of what appears to be a cheap knockoff?

 

[sazzrah]

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!

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.

Yes, that would quite obviously be shit. Is that what you imagine I was hoping for? lol Thankfully there's some scope between being tickled with a feather and smacked with a sledgehammer.

 

[delboydel1]

Yahtzee: " ?Don?t like Uncharted when kill me but don?t tell me they?re trying to kill me.??really?