Following up on 2009's spectacular sequel, Nate hits the Empty Quarter in '11:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=415358

And the first official teaser.

If I fell in love with what they did with the snow effects in Uncharted 2, I can only imagine how awesome the sand effects will be in Uncharted 3...

I heard so much about Uncharted that I started playing the first one only to get quickly bored. The story was OK, but to me the game was:

i)short cinematic
ii)get ambushed by lots and lots of enemies
iii)solve simple puzzle
repeat...

all in all, it might have been OK, but I HATED the fighting sequences. I was simply not good at aiming the gun. I don't know if there was a button for auto-aim or not, but at any rate, after a few hours I got bored and put it away. I'm wondering if Drake 2 is the same as the first or is it "improved"? I know there are tons of reviews out there, but thought I'd ask you guys since maybe you can understand my issue with the first game.

cheers,

-avatar!

Gonna cut and paste the reply I gave to Qui-Gon Joe a few months back.

"It's downright torture going back to the original Uncharted after the sequel.  Though it pretty much follows the same exact gameplay template as its predecessor, Uncharted 2 does it so much better in every conceivable way.  The pacing of the battles are more streamlined, and the unbearable waves of enemies are toned down to a far more desirable degree.  There's a larger variety in enemy types and more opportunities to use the different weaponry.  It's also MUCH easier to get a bead on the enemies here than the pirates from the first, since they're not staggering around like drunken monkeys every time you fire off a round on 'em.

The series has always been action-shooter, though, so if you're looking for something with more exploration, you might be better off elsewhere.  There's plenty of platforming, but like the first Uncharted, it's more or less on a guided path, serving to lead you toward the next big set piece action sequence.  But man, what incredible set pieces they are."

I was also curious about this series and considered it as my second game for PS3 which I have ever only powered to play FFXIII. The problem is I loved RE4 but hated Gears of War lots (one of the most overrated games in this gen, along with Oblivion).

Hot dog! No other game (that I've played) delivers quite the same experience that Naughty Dog creates. Can't wait for Drake's next big adventure. And the concept art is always amazing.

YES!!! Can't wait! I've logged dozens of hours doing Uncharted 2 multiplayer and I can't wait to do the same with Uncharted 3!

Hardly surprising, since EVERYONE and his dog called this reveal at the VGAs WAY in advance (the desert setting was also already rumored/leaked), but still nice to have it officially confirmed now.

"All men dream, but not equally.  Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity.  But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.  This, I did."  -T. E. Lawrence, "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom"

The desert is looking very inviting right now. I liked that clip of Drake running away from the flood of water.

So we have this coming out at the start of November, and then Elder Scrolls V just ten days after. I'm going to be busy....

Lots of juicy new details on the game:

http://kotaku.com/5713480/how-uncharted … f-the-year

Also, here's the direct feed video of the burning chateau gameplay segment.    Definitely sounds like Greg Edmonson's style of music to me.  I'm hoping this particular piece isn't just placeholder -- it's awesome.

Those who want to be kept completely spoiler-free probably shouldn't check out the story-driven E3 '11 trailer.  But for the rest of us..... hot damn, it's looking spectacular:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/06/ … 1-preview/

Is the old chick supposed to be Helen Mirren?

So has anyone been taking part in the multiplayer beta?  Aside from a rocky start when it first launched, it's been pretty fun, especially now that they've added Co-op Adventure to the mix.

Compared to Uncharted 2, character movement feels a bit heavier and slower overall.  Still trying to decide if I like the change or not, along with the new sprint feature -- at the very least, they need to up the aiming sensitivity.  I haven't had much of a chance to check out all the various medal kickbacks, power plays, or boosters (both paid or otherwise), but I do appreciate the inherent increase in health; gives players more of a fighting chance in competitive-based modes.  Also dig how you can toss grenades back at the enemy now.

"Airstrip" is a fairy perfunctory map.  "Chateau" allows for more free roaming, and just looks more interesting visually.  "Syria" has one section where there's a SERIOUSLY cool spin on the cover-shooting gameplay mechanic, at least during Co-op Adventure.  You'll know it when you see it.

Haven't gotten a chance to do co-op adventure yet but I can say that I don't really care for a lot of the changes they've made here. Maybe it's because I've played dozens of hours of Uncharted 2 but I loved the way Drake felt in that game and the heavier, slower mechanic they've adopted in U3 doesn't sit well with me. It's harder for me to get kills and even the GUNS don't feel right now. The handgun is a waste of time, the AK is even more inaccurate and I suck even more with the FAL equivalent here than I ever did in U2.

I mostly played the co-op arena with friends. That's another change I don't care for. In U3, it switches randomly between the three modes and forces you to have a third player (which isn't as much fun when just my friend and I want to play and talk to each other). I've always hated Gold Rush so I feel like I'm on auto-pilot during that segment to get to something more fun. Tried the adventure mode today and was disappointed. It's just not as much FUN with three people and the map was short and mostly uneventful (although I'm sure the full game will fix this).

Both maps I've played (Airfield and Chateau) are good but don't hold a candle to my favorite U2 maps (like the Highrise).

Started the game on Hard mode.  Up to Chapter 5 so far.  Quick thoughts:

-Perhaps it's unfair to make the comparison, but after coming straight off of the deliciously brutal melee combat of Arkham City, Uncharted 3's opening brawl looks laughably tame by comparison.  Still, the various background props utilized in the sequence were a nice touch. (Toilet tank lid!)

-Young Nate and Sully!  From a gameplay stance, this sequence was wholly by the numbers -- but from a narrative standpoint, who can resist relishing every second of this fateful first encounter between the two iconic partners?  (I had such a big smile on my face when Nate reached for the beer, and Sully grabbed it before him. Hah.)

-I was wondering if Naughty Dog was brazen enough to allow young Nate -- a kid -- to be killed by the player.  At the start, it didn't seem possible to die, since this "tutorial" part locked you out of making misjudged leaps.  But then the chase begin, and I got my answer. :P

-It feels strange being this far into the opening chapters, and you've barely even fired a gun yet.

Angie! We must do co-op some time in the future... If you are up for it again. We had much fun with U2 coop!

Totally.  Gonna wrap up the main campaign first, but after that, I'm definitely down for co-op.   I haven't fired up AIM in an age, but you've still got me on your list?

had this game since last week, but i'll be starting it tomorrow.

can't wait!

I got up to about Chapter 6 last night (I saw Angie logging in and instantly KNEW what she came for ) and so far, to be absolutely, brutally honest, I'm a bit underwhelmed. Which is not to say the game is not good in any possible way, it's just that I'm not quite feeling it yet, which I think is mostly due to the pacing.

First off, I concur with Angie about the melee combat. I don't think it's unfair to liken it to Arkham City, since it also works with the Square = attack, Triangle = counter system, but Batman's melee is much smoother, faster and more fun. I will say that the context sensitive attacks are a very nice addition, especially since they tend to happen unexpectedly, which makes it pretty cool.

Let me get one thing straight above all else: it is immediately apparent that this series is absolutely top of the line when it comes to dialogue and acting. Every single cutscene is an absolute joy to watch and listen to, which is especially impressive when you consider that several of them are quite "slow" in the sense that they just feature people talking. The good guys are as funny and endearing as ever, the bad guys deliciously coldhearted, and even the voice actor for Young Drake does an excellent job.

That said, the game itself has yet to grab me. It's hard to follow up the fantastic rollercoaster ride that was UC2, and few games have openings that were so instantly gobsmacking as that title, and UC3's opening falls kinda flat by comparison. It serves well to introduce the revamped melee system, and there's some cute moments where the game puts you in control where I didn't really expect it to (proving a counterpoint to the allegations made by the infamous Eurogamer review), but, come on, the second game had you SUSPENDED FROM A TRAIN WRECK HANGING OFF A TALL CLIFF. How are you going to top that!?

Frankly, it doesn't help that the following 4 chapters or so are all based around walking and climbing with hardly any action in between. They do a great job of setting the scene and everything, but from a gaming point of view I find them kind of lacklustre. I'm kinda looking up against having to replay them when I play the game on a higher difficulty level (I started on Normal because I just want to relax the first time through) because they're not very eventful. In fact, there are 2 points where you're supposed to find something without having a clear idea of what it is you're looking for, and those parts ended up annoying me more than anything else.

Also, the run across the rooftops was more frustrating than fun. You have VERY little room for error, and it's not always clear where you need to go, because the camera doesn't always position itself where it should be.

So yeah, off to a bit of an iffy start IMHO, but I'm sure it'll pick up soon and it'll blow me away before long.

I do! As long as it hasn't changed at all. I'm also gonna plan on wrapping up the main campaign as well (on hard first, just like you) and from there, we'll go on our co-op spree. I have a headset, and I'm pretty sure you don't yet, but I can definitely use mine to communicate to you when in need of help, etc. YOU NEED TO GET A HEADSET IS WHAT I AM SAYING , but we did UC2 co-op with no problems overall with our lack of communication.

Made it up to Chapter 8 myself, and I'm gonna have to agree.  There are gameplay changes that ND has made since Uncharted 2 that's really bothering me.  Nate's overall movement feels a lot more jittery and imprecise, thanks to his added animation set of having to "react" to everything around him; even when he isn't walking past objects, he's still sticking out his hands to feel around.  There's also an unnecessary new 'deep drop' landing animation, even though dude is jumping from a few short feet.

The shooting also took a serious hit.  Controlling the aiming reticule feels a lot more sluggish and inaccurate than in UC2, and the reticule itself doesn't turn red when hitting the enemy's vital areas anymore.  The enemies themselves have no reaction animation when getting shot, which not only looks awful, but also makes it hard to identify proper hit detection. 

I also miss the class-tier of enemy soldiers from UC2.  You had the grunts, the bulletproof vest-wearing shotgun wielders, the snipers, and the gatling gunners.  Here, there's no clear distinction at all.  The enemy AI seems pretty janky, too.  ND's clearly aiming for more wide open, on-the-move combat, but it really messes with the AI's algorithm; I have guys just running right up to me without even firing a bullet, or taking cover right beside me.

And, this is more personal preference than anything else, but I'm not digging the addition of more puzzles.  I've always found Uncharted's puzzles to be the speed bumps in what are otherwise brilliant stretches of thrilling roads.  In UC2, they were irksome but sporadic; imagine my chagrin when I had to deal with TWO of them one right after the other.   

All that said, the game's still a looker, the story's got me in its iron grip, and the set pieces are CRAZY.  I've seen Chapter 7's preview videos plenty of times, but I'm still in awe at how well executed the...... burning chateau sequence really is.

I've never had a reason to use one since UC2.   I'll do some shopping for a new one soon.

Some of those enemies do make a return from what I've seen (at least the bulletproof vest with helmets wearing enemies), but it was chapter 8 or 9 when they first really appeared. I've also noticed the guys taking cover next to me as well, which was weird the first (and fortunately 1 time) it has happened. Also not a big fan of the reticule not turning red either...

This would be a top-notch game if they hadn't messed with the gunplay. Everything feels so sluggish and I can't hit enemies to save my life. I had this issue with the multiplayer beta as well and I hoped they would fix it but I guess it was their intention all along. Very disappointing. Why would they change something that worked?

Oh wow, THANK YOU, Angie.
I was seriously thinking it was me getting jaded about games or something, but it's nice to see my sentiments perfectly echoed in yours.

The shooting feels off, the reticule not turning red is a MAJOR nuisance (seriously, shouldn't this be SOP by now!?), I'm annoyed by the abundance of puzzles, Drake's superfluous animations and the fact that ND seems so proud of their new melee system that they just send enemies straight at you all of the time.

The most fun parts are where you get to shoot at people that are too far away to come running up to you, so that you actually GET TO SHOOT. I must've killed at least 70% of the enemies by melee so far, and not by choice.

I'm at chapter 8 now, and chapter 7 was cool, I guess, definitely towards the end, but overall I've gone from a bit underwhelmed to genuinely disappointed...

Just made it to Chapter 8 as well. The game is definitely picking up steam as it goes along. The Chapter 7 set-piece was especially entertaining (even if overly scripted). The combat remains an irritant (I hate the melee additions and the gunplay is still stiff) but the plot is interesting and the characterization top-notch, as always. I'm a little surprised at how easy the hard difficulty has been. I've died far more from bad jumps and the "run away, run away!" sequences than in actual combat (which granted, there hasn't been much of). It'll probably pick up before too long but I was already sweating bullets in U2 by this point.

Funny thing is, the multiplayer's gunplay is reportedly unaffected by the problems that's bogging down the single player.  Curious to see if this is true, I fired up a few rounds of MP.  Sure enough, the aiming is MUCH more fluent.  It's still not Uncharted 2 levels of speed and accuracy, but at least you're hitting all the directional points with ease -- and given the current state of the SP, it feels worlds better.

NeoGAF's got a designated thread discussing the issue right now.  It's carried on over to Naughty Dog's own community forums, so hopefully a remedy will come out of all this.

What amazes me is that NONE of the reviews I've read mention this, even though apparently a lot of people are reporting the problem.

Even the much maligned Eurogamer reviews speaks of "robust combat", which I can't help but disagree with.

The difficulty definitely spikes in Chapter 12. I'm getting my ass handed to me in this exceptionally well-designed (and pretty) area.

i'm at ch. 13 now, playing on hard. i like the improved close combat and the higher frequency of it. i don't like the story so far, i have zero interest in what's going on right now. just when nate got captured things got more interesting, but still......hopefully it'll get better soon.

that's it. great graphics and sound, but same old people. let's see how it turns out.

Up to Chapter 21. Nearing the end now. My impressions of the game haven't changed much. The last three or so hours have been good fun but it's a shame the game spends the first half basically killing time.

(It's also by far the easiest of the three games on the Hard difficulty. Things start to get dicey in Chapter 12 and beyond but I'm not sure I'd care to replay anything before that. Too many puzzles and wandering around.)

SPOILERS A bigger issue is how the game almost completely jettisons the plot in the second half. As entertaining as it is, the entire sequence with the ship graveyard is really extraneous and it distanced me from the story (which like everything else with this game, isn't up to Uncharted 2's standard).

It's especially disappointing that after all the setup and a few early scary encounters, the main villain barely gets any screen time at all. Half the time, it's hard to remember she's actually in the game.

Just got past Chapters 12 and 13 myself, and I think I can speak for a lot of folks when I say the game finally, FINALLY feels like its hitting its stride here.  It's pitch perfect Uncharted: spectacle-filled scenarios that are as much fun to play as they are to watch.  If they can keep up this clip for the remainder of the game, I'd be willing to overlook its lethargic first half.

Soundtrack wise, I just can't stop listening to Museum Bust.  Easily one of Edmonson's best musical contributions to the series thus far.

Seems that remedy may be coming sooner than later.  According to this thread, two Gaffers actually paid a visit to ND's offices in order to troubleshoot the problematic aiming.  The long and short of it is that a patch is now in the works that will reportedly bring the aiming mechanic closer in line with UC2 and UC3 MP.

Beat it. Eh. This game needed a little more time to cook. Obviously, there's the mentioned gameplay issues but the story is surprisingly weak. After a great opening, it loses steam midway through and then ends with a whimper. Taken completely out of context (and if U2 didn't exist), I'd probably view it as a terrific game... but unfortunately, it had the misfortune of being the sequel to one of my favorite games of all-time.

What does work? Well, it looks gorgeous. The Chateau, Syria, the docks, the desert, all top-notch visuals. Greg Edmonson's score is effective (albeit not terribly memorable, main theme aside) and the characterization of the leads is excellent.

ENDING SPOILERS: It goes without saying in an Uncharted game that the final boss was a disappointment (although at least this time, not nearly as frustrating as U2's) but even the ending fell somewhat flat to me. Loved the Nate/Sully talk but then it became about Elena and as much as I love her, too much went unexplained between games for me to feel that their reconciliation was earned. And as usual with this series, it all ended too quickly. Would it hurt them to make a properly lengthy epilogue that wraps everything up?

I'm very close to the end, probably in the last of before-last chapter, but the game DEFINITELY picks up steam in the second half. Chapters 12 - 15 get mentioned a lot, but it's the handful of chapters that came AFTER that, that blew me away the most. At its best, I'd call this game genre-defining, as some of the set-pieces are absolutely amazing, but the overall pacing is horrible.

There's no denying that the first 11 chapters or so are extremely lacklustre, and the revamped shooting controls definitely need some getting used to (I'm a lot more comfortable with them now), but the game does more or less make up for itself in the latter half.

As it stands, it's still leaps and bounds ahead of UC1, which was greatly overrated in the first place, but it lacks the brilliant pacing and general smoothness of UC2.

So far, Arkham City is still taking the lead as GotY for me.