Uncharted 3 : Drakes Deception

[PZ]

  at all!

I'll probably need to wait until Friday to get the game, and then until the weekend to actually play for a bit.  Terribly busy these days, and can only do the console on weekend mornings - evenings are spent on the PC working, and taking the occasional diversion into DAO.  I tend to w@&k-game-w@&k-game-w@&k-game throughout the evening.  :-()

[Fiach]

Moved on to a forest in France, its pretty stunning looking compared the Borneo jungle, razor sharp gfx, the bloom effect used to make dappled sunlight on the ground looks like snow at times though, but its very sharp and pretty. I wish there was a mini map as I like to explore areas like this, and although the map is just comprised of pretty tight, little areas, you are never quite sure if you have checked out an area, for treasure thoroughly.

[Fiach]

Well I'm 3 hours in, so (apparently) nearing the halfway point, supposedly the game is 7/8 hours long, I do hope its longer than that, as its been great up to now, but it would be a shame that this is halfway.

I've just been in and out of a Chateau in France, I cannot overstate the graphics quality, the textures of bricks and mortar, vines and weeds growing on walls, even item clutter, like sewing machines/looms are rendered in extremely high quality, its hard to imagine the game only runs in 720.

The chateau mission was great, but it involved a couple of puzzles that (to me) ruined a great cinematic flow to the proceedings, Its hard to strike a balance with puzzles in a game, either they will be too hard or too easy, one was easy, but the second was more annoying than difficult. On saying that, the latter part of the mission is probably one of the most stand-out cinematic sections I have ever played in a game. It had lots of cliff hanger moments that would be terrible spoilers to reveal.

The voice acting is top notch too, its like the actors are performing the actions of the characters and saying their lines at the same time, so its quite immersive.

I've arrived at a castle in Syria, so there has been some cool diversity in the levels so far, London Pub, London Sewers, South American city, Forest, Ruined Chateau, none of them overstaying their welcome.

The game definately needs a second playthrough, to savour its story and action elements, when they wont be stymied by head scratching and wandering around, deciphering puzzles and will flow more redily.

[PZ]

The different areas of the world sound fantastic, as do the graphics.  Graphics almost always make or break a game for me, for instance Fallout 3 and NV - both had kind of cheesy graphics, even though I loved the games.

[Art Blade]

Sounds like you're having a blast, Fiach :)  :-X

[PZ]

Purchased my copy of the game a few hours ago, installed, and played up to about half-way through the chateau mission.  The game play is kind of familiar, especially the climbing and jumping aspects.  I really like the new hand-to-hand combat, and the graphics are spectacular considering 720p, just like Fiach said.

Now I'm back on my PC and am planning to enter DAO  >:D

oh, while I was at Gamestop, I pre-ordered AC Revelations - the first game I have ever pre-ordered.  ;)

[Art Blade]

 :)

[Fiach]

Purchased my copy of the game a few hours ago, installed, and played up to about half-way through the chateau mission.  The game play is kind of familiar, especially the climbing and jumping aspects.  I really like the new hand-to-hand combat, and the graphics are spectacular considering 720p, just like Fiach said.

Now I'm back on my PC and am planning to enter DAO  >:D

oh, while I was at Gamestop, I pre-ordered AC Revelations - the first game I have ever pre-ordered.  ;)

Yeah the Chateau has a great finale.

The melee combat, I have mixed feelings about it, there are portions later where you will be assaulted by alot of enemies, snipers, ranged guys, armoured guys with shields, armoured guys with shotguns, (complete and utter bullet sponges), you will get behind cover and some melee fucker will come up and punch you and you wont be able to shoot him, you will have to melee with all that s#!t going on around you, its like Naughty Dog are saying...."we have new melee combat and you are going to use it, whether you bloody like it or not!"  >:D

There are some pretty cool fights later, two on a ship spring to mind, one has cargo containers that slide around to different positions due to a huge storm, making the fight pretty tactical.

There is another inside a ship in a HUGE ballroom.... btw, in this area, there is a grand piano, if you look at it from where you enter (top of the steps), the exit is on the left side. This door wont open until all enemies are dead, it will then open to unleash another batch of enemies. So, if its not open, then there are probably a couple of guys on the balcony overhead, so be careful as you cannot see them until you come out from under the balcony, I didnt see them until too late, I couldnt figure out who was killing me, so in the end, I backed out from under the balcony and kept my eyes on it to see who was there, I thought I had killed everyone.

The game is very like the others, Jump a bit, kill 100 bad guys, solve a puzzle, kill 100 bad guys, jump a bit. But on saying that, the set pieces are freaking awesome in this game, there is a great scene later, where you are in an elevator, travelling sideways underwater, in that level they really mess with your perception. There is a great sense of scale in the game

There is an underwater part, after alot of combat, you will see some bubbles coming from a grill, you need to swim quickly to the grill and open it, The reason I'm saying this is I tried to swim there a couple of times and for some reason the game wouldnt let me, so I thought the bubbles were a current, pushing me away, but apparently that was some kinda glitch (or user error maybe :)) then a hint appeared to say that I should open the vent, then I could swim to it.

I take a break from it now and again too, currently replaying Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines, a very absorbing RPG on the Half Life 2 engine, You choose a Vampire Clan and depending on the clan, you get different powers. I'm replaying as a Malkavian, they are an insane clan with a very tenuous grip on reality and some of their dialogue trees are just BONKERS! But they make sense in a weird way, sometimes their crazy insight gives you a new perspective on aspects of the game, that you wouldn't have noticed in a normal clans playthrough! Maybe something to check out at a later date, if you start to get more into RPG's  mate :)

[PZ]

There are characteristics that I really like, and some that I don't particularly care for - puzzles for instance (nothing wrong with them, just not my thing so to speak).  I too have experienced a couple of glitches - becoming stuck with nowhere to go - had to actually exit the game, restart, and then it worked fine. 

What I really like about the game is the varied scenery - one minute you are on a stormy sea, and the next you've hopped on a plane and are headed to the desert.  It feels like you are in a movie in which you are an actor - reminds me of "The Librarian"

I'm now in the desert in a village after the plane wreck.

[Fiach]

I stopped playing there, will probably finish it this week, that ship section was pretty cool, the sense of scale near the end was great! :)

I have to say that desert sequence after the plain crash was the most pointless experience I have had in a game so far, maybe its to give a cinematic feel, but I just found it very boring.

[PZ]

I absolutely agree about the shipyard - I recall a spot where I hopped over the side of a very large ship (still in the bone yard), and the camera zoomed back far enough so I looked like an ant.  The detail was impressive.

I also agree about stumbling around in the desert - the first 30 seconds was OK, but after that I was simply waiting for something to happen - I guess the developers were attempting to generate a sense of time passing very slowly as you suffer and die, and I must admit that physiology was definitely occurring in me while I was waiting.

[Fiach]

LOL :)  :-X

[Art Blade]

Although I have no idea what that game and the scene mentioned above really look like I can imagine vividly what it must have felt like :-D

[Fiach]

I finished the game, not alot left after that desert bit, it kinda romps home from there. Took 10 hours or so for me, so not a short game by any stretch.

I have mixed feelings about it, I think I will enjoy the second playthrough alot more than the first.

The end was interesting, I guess thats the end of the Sir F Drake story arc. But it left too many plot holes,

Spoiler

Where did Chloe go, I know she didnt want to continue because of the danger, but it just seemed weird for her character to stop so abruptly?
Wtf was the whole spider thing?
Why did the baddies always try to kill Sully, they coulda just killed Drake, I thought they were keeping Nathan alive for some reason (Drake heritage proof or something), I was expecting a big reveal at the end (which in itself was kinda lame), but nothing extraordinary happened.
Why did the woman throw a tarot card at the english guy that was on the roof (remember the fire?)
Are the poison darts at the start, made from the same stuff as the water in the end game, dunno it was just weird the way they kinda hypnotised you.

Maybe I just missed cues/clues, I have the attention span of a cocker spaniel at times lol :)

[PZ]

I'm disappointed to learn that the game is almost done - although it has been quite a while, I feel that Uncharted 2 took me quite a bit longer to play through - may have to do that one again just to compare.

Thanks for the spoiler - just love those  :-X

[Art Blade]

I have the attention span of a cocker spaniel at times lol :)

LOL 

[spaceboy]

enjoying this a lot.  I'm in Yemen and find myself at a ship's graveyard of sorts.   I'd say it's right up there, maybe just a bit behind UC2, but altogether it's been an extremely well done experience.  I love the running chase sequences!

[PZ]

I love that shipyard one - really well done!  Glad you're liking it space  ;)

[PZ]

Finished the game this evening, and I must say that the story (and graphics) are equal to Uncharted2.  I like this iteration better though, because the fighting mechanics w@&k better for me than in U2. 

Although I am not inspired to play through again at this time, I am somewhat motivated to re-experience Uncharted2.  Unfortunately the completely linear games leave little to experience anew, as is offered by the open world games.

I'm not saying anything against the linear games in general, but they are not my favorite genre because I like to go through again using a different set of methods.  I enjoy the linear games that I've played, but once they are over, the story is done - kind of like a good movie - you watch it once and there are no surprises the next time you watch it.

[Fiach]

Glad you're enjoying it spaceboy :)

I know what you mean PZ, I guess thats why I tend to go for RPG's so much, even if I dont replay them, I do have a lot of freedom in how I play them.

[PZ]

Exactly, Fiach - the freedom on how to play rather than being forced through corridors is why I appreciate the open world games so much.  There are a few linear shooters that I like, principally due to either graphics or the theme of the game.  These include Band of Brothers (WWII theme), the Uncharted games (graphics and varied environment), Medal of honor (special operations).

[fragger]

There's a Band of Brothers game? I never knew. Roughly how old is that?

[Fiach]

Brothers in Arms maybe? I dont remember BoB either  ????

[Art Blade]

I think Fiach is right with BiA, it's that PZ likes the miniseries BoB and probably confused the title.

BoB.. is your uncle  :-()

And his name is Sam  :-D

[fragger]

 :-D