Uncharted demo impressions -- sponsored by dcharlie

[drohne]

definitely better on hard -- i'm liking the emphasis on pistol headshots. i guess the best compliment i can pay is this: there aren't many games that would survive direct comparison to gears; uncharted invites that comparison, and comes away wounded but distinctly alive. right now i think this is winning the 'buy me after you're done with contra' sweepstakes

[brawndolicious]

compared to what part of gears?  gears' single player wasn't that good.  It was good but it wasn't like a mindblowing new genre or something.

[tiesto]

This was one of the PS3 games that most interested me, a bit disappointed to hear that its more shooting-based (even though I did like Gears as much as the next guy), was kind of hoping for a more exploratory, platforming-based game... sort of like the original Tomb Raider without terrible controls and awful graphics.

[MCD]

It would have been better without the shooting IMO.

[Kyle]

It would have been better without the shooting IMO.

Uncharted would have been better if it did copy Pitfall on the Sega MD.
Uncharted now feels like Gears in the jungle.

[Van Cruncheon]

i am hoping for more exploration and less shooting, but this is not a criticism of the game

[Smooth Groove]

It would have been better without the shooting IMO.

I'm hoping that the demo was just combat heavy because Sony wants to draw in the shooter fans.  It won't be a purchase for me this fall if most of the final game play like the demo.  I've played too many shooters already this year (Halo 3, Bioshock, Orange Box) which is why I haven't even been excited about COD4.  The original Indiana Jones concept is far more interesting than GOW in a jungle setting.  Hopefully, the final game would turn out closer to what they were aiming for originally. 

remember Gears was "lol - shitty kill:switch" , now that it's all but confirmed that Unrated is Gears lite, can we just skip the middle man and start calling it "lol - shitty kill:switch lite"

or does sonyfanboy bullshit not roll like that?

Yesterday, the SDF captains were already trying to shut down the GOW comparisons by claiming that Uncharted is not like GOW "at all".     Why are they so leery of the comparisons?  Gears of War won more awards than any game last year.  Is it really that hard for them to give a little credit to a non-Sony game?

Btw, it's funny how almost everyone is agreeing with my initial assesment of Uncharted as "Gears of War in a jungle" and "solid but not amazing".   

[MCD]

It's a good game, and there is nothing wrong with copying gears but i feel that tomb raider shooting mechanic would have been better here (heck if they could, remove guns and give me a big knife, much better  ), and i agree with what Professor Prole said, it's not a criticism, just a preference of mine.

ah well, Assassin's Creed will fill me in the exploration part, just hope it won't fail.

Hopefully, the final game would turn out closer to what they were aiming for originally.

 

That is what i am hoping for as well.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

I wish they would've borrowed a little more Tomb Raider and a little less Gears.  The firefights are fine (even though the enemies are just spawing seemingly out of nowhere) but the platforming element in this game just feels completely off to me.  It's just too damn floaty....it's to the point where the main character doesn't even seem like he's in the same enviornment.  I don't know, maybe I wouldn't be this picky if I wasn't already playing through Tomb Raider Anniversary on the 360 at the moment but it's kind of weird to play both games back to back like that.  I also wasn't expecting this much focus on shooting.  Just kind of caught me off guard.


Love the way it looks though.  That blur/DOF effect when you rotate the camera is particularly nice.

[Van Cruncheon]

well, with these environments, i'd rather explore and solve tomb raider style puzzles than shoot at generic sandinistas or whatever. the gow cover system was grossly inferior to r6:vegas' cover system, anyhow.

[brawndolicious]

omg this thread is hilarious.
http://opa-ages.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2390&st=180

well, with these environments, i'd rather explore and solve tomb raider style puzzles than shoot at generic sandinistas or whatever. the gow cover system was grossly inferior to r6:vegas' cover system, anyhow.

gears was actually good but different than R6: vegas.  It's meant for you to run more and camp less.

[Smooth Groove]

I doubt that Prole is interested in what Fu Fu has to say about Uncharted, especially since he still doesn't own a PS3. 

[The Sceneman]

hyp's description of the story actually makes this game sound kinda cool. 360 Version with achievements ftw

[y2kev]

hennig is a talented writer

[brawndolicious]

I doubt that Prole is interested in what Fu Fu has to say about Uncharted, especially since he still doesn't own a PS3. 

oh no, by now it's fufu talking about how much he hates black people with bad grammar.  it's awesome.

[Kyle]

hennig is a talented writer

who?

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

My God, one of the pirates just said hes out of ammo, how did the fuck did he know I was out of ammo?

they can hear the empty barrel of your gun, makes like a clicking sound. they totally advance you after that.

ONLY WITH DA POWA OF DA CELL!


God GAF sucks. These guys are idiots.

[y2kev]

hennig is a talented writer

who?

amy hennig. the writer.

My God, one of the pirates just said hes out of ammo, how did the fuck did he know I was out of ammo?

they can hear the empty barrel of your gun, makes like a clicking sound. they totally advance you after that.

ONLY WITH DA POWA OF DA CELL!


God GAF sucks. These guys are idiots.

It's a nice little touch, but 

[Smooth Groove]

Isn't R&C supposedly the best PS3 exclusive?

Holy Jesus I hope not.  I'm trying to play through the game right now just 'cause I feel like I have to since I bought it with my PS3 but I'm having trouble finishing it because it's too boring.  It's just more of the same.  I feel like I've already played this game.

That 7.5 from Gamespot was too generous, imo.

The game actually does get better later on, so don't give up so quickly.  I was bored out of my during most of the early levels but things start picking up around the space station level.  I don't know if it's the graphics or level design, but the dinosaur planet was really fun.

What's with Insomniac lately?  Both their PS3 games take so long before they start getting a little fun.  Also, the graphics in R&C are really inconsistent.  Like TVC, I was oohing and awhing over the graphics at the beginning but then a couple of worlds showed up, looking like PS2 R&C levels upscaled to HD, just like the 1up guy mentioned. 

[BlueTsunami]

Just tried the game out, I like it but I hope theres areas with more emphasis on exploration (ala Tomb Raider like some have stated). I think this just being a Demo, Naughty Dog is just showing off the basics and shooting mechanics. It looks like the game (from other areas shown) should be heavily influenced by Tomb Raider.

Also, as Hitler Stole My Potato stated, the character interaction with the environment does feel floaty. You could tell from the early videos of the game, I guess they did nothing about it. If it gave me a more SotC feel, I would be fine with that.

[TVC15]

To put my impressionsin here:  it looks great, but much like Gears, the gameplay is kinda boring.  I didn't really like Gears until I played through it in co-op once with demi, and since then I've had little desire to play it again.

I will go through Uncharted for the visuals.  I know it's my own fault for not paying attention, but I was hoping for a bit more platforming.  I thought this was going to be a Tomb Raider-y or Pitfall-y thing.  I like that the platforms don't really stick out as they do in most other games.

The cut scene at the beginning was pretty terrible.  The game looks great and the faces look great, but the humor is totally flat.

[Smooth Groove]

The cut scene at the beginning was pretty terrible.  The game looks great and the faces look great, but the humor is totally flat.

What?  That chick is butterface total.  I expect better from you. 

[MCD]

Her eyes and skin looked weird.

[Kyle]

Sony Handycam? wtf sony?
now they're doing free in-game ads for their products, just like Casino Royale.

[MCD]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2007/11/09/uncharted-drake%E2%80%99s-fortune-demo-back-on-the-world-map/

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Demo Back on the World Map

+ Posted by Christophe Balestra // Co-President Naughty Dog

Christophe Balestra, here, and I’m Co-President at Naughty Dog. I wanted to give a final update on the Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune demo situation.

We’re really sorry about what happened and didn’t anticipate this at all. We just didn’t know people from other territories could connect to the US PLAYSTATION Network Store and download demos … now we do! We’ve been too busy working on the game to wrap our head’s around the infrastructure of the PSN.

We absolutely did not plan the demo to be region locked. As soon as we figured out the problem existed, Sam Thompson called me and I jumped into my car, drove to the office and fixed it right away. It’s an honest mistake and we didn’t try to prevent anybody from enjoying the Uncharted demo. I feel even more sorry because most of the people who experienced the problem are in Europe and I’m European myself.

So again, we’re really sorry about what happened and it wasn’t done on purpose. The good news is it’s now fixed and a new demo of Uncharted has been posted to the US PLAYSTATION Network Store so the entire world can enjoy it.

Thanks to Sam for taking the heat yesterday and for letting us know about the issue.

ok dcharlie, it's time for your impression.

[y2kev]

That's really cool that they rushed to fix it.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Isn't R&C supposedly the best PS3 exclusive?

Holy Jesus I hope not.  I'm trying to play through the game right now just 'cause I feel like I have to since I bought it with my PS3 but I'm having trouble finishing it because it's too boring.  It's just more of the same.  I feel like I've already played this game.

That 7.5 from Gamespot was too generous, imo.

The game actually does get better later on, so don't give up so quickly.  I was bored out of my during most of the early levels but things start picking up around the space station level.  I don't know if it's the graphics or level design, but the dinosaur planet was really fun.

What's with Insomniac lately?  Both their PS3 games take so long before they start getting a little fun.  Also, the graphics in R&C are really inconsistent.  Like TVC, I was oohing and awhing over the graphics at the beginning but then a couple of worlds showed up, looking like PS2 R&C levels upscaled to HD, just like the 1up guy mentioned. 

I just don't think I have it in me to get to this supposed good part.  I'm going to return this pile and pick up CoD4 for the 360.  I've got a bunch of friends online playing that while I'm over here trying to convince myself that the PS3 was worth the money.

At least the Uncharted demo ain't half bad.  That gives me hope.

[MCD]

Thank you dcharlie.

and i noticed this post from gaf:

Just got home from having completed Uncharted Drake's Fortune. We are not allowed to publish our review before a surden date, which mean, I won't talk a lot about it.

Oh, and this is my percents of the three core elements of the game:

85% is shooting
10% is platforming
05% is puzzles.

Maybe give and take a little more, but you can imagine the picture.

this is sad 

[drohne]

yeah, that is kind of disappointing. i like the shooting, but i've done enough shooting this fall.

...did i just say 'i've done enough shooting?' never thought i'd see the day

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Thank you dcharlie.

and i noticed this post from gaf:

Just got home from having completed Uncharted Drake's Fortune. We are not allowed to publish our review before a surden date, which mean, I won't talk a lot about it.

Oh, and this is my percents of the three core elements of the game:

85% is shooting
10% is platforming
05% is puzzles.

Maybe give and take a little more, but you can imagine the picture.

this is sad 

That's not what I want.

I don't mind shooters but I honestly wasn't expecting Uncharted to be one.  What happened to my prettied up Tomb Raider?

[y2kev]

I want to know if it's broken down by time or whatever. The platforming is much quicker than shooting would be (naturally), so I'm curious.

I was actually more concerned it would not have any puzzles, but I read a while ago that there aren't really any. So I am not expecting that.

[Smooth Groove]

I just don't think I have it in me to get to this supposed good part.  I'm going to return this pile and pick up CoD4 for the 360.  I've got a bunch of friends online playing that while I'm over here trying to convince myself that the PS3 was worth the money.

At least the Uncharted demo ain't half bad.  That gives me hope.

Like I told Drohne, much of the enjoyment later on seem to be derived from the visual qualities of the stages. The dinosaur and pirate world are wonderful eye candy.  Also, the difficulty gets ramped up a bit in the later stages which makes the combat more exciting.  Aside from the lack of innovation, my main complaint is the horrible camera which doesn't let you see the enemies a majority of the time.   You would think that Insomniac would have gotten the camera angles right by now. 

Thank you dcharlie.

and i noticed this post from gaf:

Just got home from having completed Uncharted Drake's Fortune. We are not allowed to publish our review before a surden date, which mean, I won't talk a lot about it.

Oh, and this is my percents of the three core elements of the game:

85% is shooting
10% is platforming
05% is puzzles.

Maybe give and take a little more, but you can imagine the picture.

this is sad 

That's bad news indeed.  I don't see how Uncharted have any chances at a GOTY if that's true.  It's not entirely fair but Uncharted will mostly likely be docked for being closer to a shooter than adventurer.  I don't think many people would be interested in going through 8-10 hrs of the type of gun fights that were in the demo.  There've just been too many good shooters released in the last 3 months.

[MCD]

Here is the link if anyone interested or have any questions:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8549679&postcount=1714

[drohne]

you should play r+c with the 'strafe-lock' control setting -- it basically works like an fps when you've got a gun out. the camera and the lock-on are a mess otherwise

[Smooth Groove]

you should play r+c with the 'strafe-lock' control setting -- it basically works like an fps when you've got a gun out. the camera and the lock-on are a mess otherwise

Thanks for the tip.  The alt-control scheme felt a little weird at first but once I got used to it, the combat felt a lot more fun.  I could at least attack the enemies without relying on blind shooting in all directions.  The only negative is that platforming doesn't feel as free as the default controls.  Luckily, the platforming is really easy in R&C.  I really feel that R&C is misclassified as a platformer sometimes since there is so much more emphasis on blowing stuff up. 

. 

Why did you stealth edit?  This isn't GAF.  You won't get banned for speaking your mind.  Besides, MAF's usually too drunk to ban anyone for trolling. 

[BlueTsunami]

GOTY is reserved for Bioshock or Mario Galaxy or Portal or something. Sorry PSFans, maybe next year

[MCD]

GOTY is reserved for Bioshock or Mario Galaxy or Portal or something. Sorry PSFans, maybe next year

Next year is reserved for Ninja Gaiden 2. 

[Sho Nuff]

I'm sorry DC. To quote Wollan, "Uncharted is one of those experiences that makes you question the stuff you've played on the platform before it. It's not just head and shoulders above most PS3 games technically, there's a couple of folks here standing on each others shoulders."

[Sho Nuff]

"Never before has a game portrayed a living environment so convincingly. Uncharted just elbowed out Killzone 2 graphically until further notice."

I wish I had such enthusiasm myself

[Himu]

GOTY is reserved for Bioshock or Mario Galaxy or Portal or something. Sorry PSFans, maybe next year

all the best games next year are multiplatform.

GTA4
Brutal Legend
DMC4

[BlueTsunami]

When did Wollan take up a joke character role?

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

When did Wollan take up a joke character role?

2 years ago.

[Smooth Groove]

Wollan has to be a viral.  He gets Sony info way too quickly.  It's funny how Wollan gets a "full immunity" tag while fanboys of other systems get derisive labels.

[BlueTsunami]

When did Wollan take up a joke character role?

2 years ago.

Maybe its because I've stopped looking at "Official Threads" in general (which I think he sticks in) but I don't seem to remember Wollan being that bad. Those statements seriously sound like joke posts.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Wollan has to be a viral.  He gets Sony info way too quickly.  It's funny how Wollan gets a "full immunity" tag while fanboys of other systems get derisive labels.

Not just him either.  Look at AltogetherAndrews, J-Rez, bcr-ron, or Fortified_Concept.  If you had Nintendo or Xbox fans of the equvilant of these jokers they'd be tagged or banned a long time ago.

The whole admin/mod staff is completely out of balance over there.

[MrAngryFace]

This forum is Lyte Edge's baby, I dont really moderate here if I dont have to.

[demi]

This is my personal GOTY.

PS3 wins the holidays ladies.

Why are you such a Sony shill? Fuck off already.

[drohne]

are we really freaking out about imaginary sony virals when microsoft have got two of their 'mvps' starting official threads and giving away prizes and attending events and shit? i like evilbore because nobody takes the fanboy bullshit too seriously, but lately this place is turning into a 'coping with dissenting opinions' group therapy session

and as far as i'm concerned goty is wide open this year. i can't think of any standout games. halo 3 should have run away with it -- but halo 3 isn't the game it should have been. right now portal's mine...it's brilliant and original and authentically funny...but i finished it in one sitting and may never play it again. could be galaxy.

[MrAngryFace]

Im still not sure what my GOTY is honestly. I liked A LOT of games this year, a good half of them were unpopular haha.

[Eel O'Brian]

That's a good friend, because the PS3 is heavy, as well as being the size of a fucking Thanksgiving Turkey.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

the demo was boring and the animation was sucky and I wanted to platform but instead I got a Gears-lite Cover System and bother that nonsense

[Howard Alan Treesong]

if stealth gameplay is suicide then stop and pop is death by tiny tiny increments

[demi]

What is boring about Gears of War and Tomb Raider?

[y2kev]

what do you mean about headshots

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

You know, the more I play Uncharted the more impressed I am with it.  The gunplay is actually alot of fun and the enemy AI is pretty decent.  I'm not sure about some on GAF proclaiming "infinite replayability" 'cause in the demo you know exactly where the guys are spawning from and you can pick 'em off right away but there does seem to be a pretty good AI routine being run that'll give you at least some variety.   

And I'm really loving the graphics now.  I'm not sure why I wasn't initially "wowed" but I'm really starting to appreciate all the small details now that I look closer - like how Drake's shirt appears to move (I know it's just a bumpmap but it's a nice effect).

Still not feeling the platforming though but I guess since the final game is more of a shooter than anything it won't be too big of a deal.

[The Sceneman]

You know, the more I play Uncharted the more impressed I am with it.  The gunplay is actually alot of fun and the enemy AI is pretty decent.  I'm not sure about some on GAF proclaiming "infinite replayability" 'cause in the demo you know exactly where the guys are spawning from and you can pick 'em off right away but there does seem to be a pretty good AI routine being run that'll give you at least some variety.   

And I'm really loving the graphics now.  I'm not sure why I wasn't initially "wowed" but I'm really starting to appreciate all the small details now that I look closer - like how Drake's shirt appears to move (I know it's just a bumpmap but it's a nice effect).

Still not feeling the platforming though but I guess since the final game is more of a shooter than anything it won't be too big of a deal.

 

No game has or ever will have infinite replayablilty

[Smooth Groove]

You know, the more I play Uncharted the more impressed I am with it.  The gunplay is actually alot of fun and the enemy AI is pretty decent.  I'm not sure about some on GAF proclaiming "infinite replayability" 'cause in the demo you know exactly where the guys are spawning from and you can pick 'em off right away but there does seem to be a pretty good AI routine being run that'll give you at least some variety.   

And I'm really loving the graphics now.  I'm not sure why I wasn't initially "wowed" but I'm really starting to appreciate all the small details now that I look closer - like how Drake's shirt appears to move (I know it's just a bumpmap but it's a nice effect).

Still not feeling the platforming though but I guess since the final game is more of a shooter than anything it won't be too big of a deal.

 

No game has or ever will have infinite replayablilty

Not only that but they were just talking about the demo. 

[Smooth Groove]

I like headshots. I think it's an adequate reward for skill in the FPS genre. Honestly it may be me but I was squarely aiming at their head from a close distance with a pistol and it didn't seem to register any different then shooting them in the chest for example. If you're going to emulate Gears of War, which borrows heavily from traditional FPS games, then at least include headshots since they're mandatory in that genre.

Drohne said headshots were one of the things he liked about the demo though.  I think I was able to hit a couple too althought they were kinda hard since enemies are usually a bit too far away. 

[demi]

Isn't Tomb Raider easily solved puzzles with simplistic platforming? I mean I'm playing Anniversary so it might not be the best example but be real now it's no brain buster.

[demi]

I think you're just trolling. This game will rock. It's like LOST. With illegal immigrants. And blondes.