Unearthed Copying Uncharted Isn't a Big Deal

VGC: "If you haven't been paying attention to gaming lately, you might have missed the recent news that has Playstation 3 and Naughty Dog fans in an uproar. To say "they've got their panties in a bunch" would be a complete understatement. The cause of all their dismay is a recently announced game called Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta from a new Arabic studio called Semaphore. Unearthed bears more than a passing resemblance to the PS3 exclusive Uncharted, as you can see by the screen below."

[vgn24]

Copying is nothing new, but you should hide it a little better.

[GunShotEddy]

Most of the younger gamers don't remember the 8 and 16 bit days when most games were reskinned copies.

[thugbob]

I actually agree that it's not a big deal. I just don't understand the reason why people are encouraging it like the author of this article is. Yes, I know that copying is nothing new with Sony taking things from Nintendo, Uncharted taking things from Tomb Raider, and First Person Shooters copying off of one another, but this game could not make it any more obvious that at least 1/3 (i'm being nice here) of the game was based off Uncharted. The only thing left for them to do is publicly say it.

We should be encouraging originality. Yes, maybe those developers wouldn't have as much attention as they do now if they came up with something new, but now we can expect to see more clear-cut copy cat games in the future from other new and up and coming developers. And we are partially to blame for giving attention to it, but it's hard to keep quiet about something so obvious.

[Peaceful_Jelly]

Uncharted taking things from Tomb Raider? I see many people saying that but can anybody point out at least 1 element that Uncharted took from TB?

[EVILDEAD360]

Lol @ pretending that no one can tell you how Uncharted borrowed from Tomb Raider.

I'll help you out Tomb Raider put the 3rd person adventure genre on the map. Everything from treasure hunting in exotic locations, to the puzzle elements, to the platformg elements, to the shooting of cronies, were all inspired from past Tomb Raider games. Uncharted has also benefited from games like Prince of Persia and even God of War.

The Uncharted series may be tied to that genre, but it is the series that buried Laura in the first place. Uncharted revolutionized the genre with it's amaing graphics, high production values, incredible voice acting, and smooth as silk controls.

Tomb Raider fans like myself said now THIS is what Tomb Raider should have progressed towards. Naughty D. Is simply at the top of their game. Uncharted takes the best of many of those other game elements and mixes them up with it's own fresh take on the genre. Which is obviously done in the FPS genre.

What we are seeing in the crazy hate that this game is getting is the same hate that Dantes Inferno, Bayonetta, and Darksiders got prior to God of War 3 being released. Fan kids and fan blogger are simply in this predictable smear mode when protecting certain games and franchises.

Evil

[evrfighter]

looks like awesome game though. definitely on my radar

[Biggest]

Seriously, dude? No one is worried/afraid/bunched panties about Unearthed (or at least I hope not). It's funny. That's all to it.

EVILDEAD360: Uncharted is a TPS. Tomb Raider is a TPS. Tomb Raider wasn't the first TPS. Uncharted isn't the last TPS. Using that similarity would mean that Gears of War is borrowing from Tomb Raider. It isn't. No one seems to be hating Unearthed. Everyone is laughing at it. They SHOULD laugh at it.

[EVILDEAD360]

@ Biggest

Whose calling Tomb Raider a TPS? I said Tomb Raider put the 3rd person 'adventure' game the map..

Look..you can make up whatever names for the genres you believe ANY of these games fit into...but if you want to pretend that comparing Tomb Raider to Uncharted is even remotely the same as bringing in Gears of War into the picture because it's a TPS then you clearly haven't played all three titles.

Ive been playing Tomb Raider titles from day one..many have come that have borrowed elements of the game in the years that gave followed..Uncharted is o e of em'..but what Naughty has done with that series arguably upped the ratchet to a point Laura never came close to.

But I responded to someone who said NO ONE could show him the similarities of the two games..I did..end of story..I could careless about whining about game clones..we see em' all the time..if the game is good it's good..and thats what matters at the end of the day..

Evil

[AngryTypingGuy]

I won't be supporting this game not only because it's a cheap rip-off (which is not that big of a deal since Uncharted itself borrowed ideas from other franchises), but mainly because the development company comes from Saudi Arabia.

[MaxXAttaxX]

It's called the "lost world" genre
It's been around for a lot longer than Tomb Raider and even Indiana Jones(a King Solomon's Mines rip).

So no, Tomb Raider didn't invent the genre nor is Uncharted a clone.
Sure, they have puzzle elements in common like many other games. But gameplay is different. Uncharted is much more action/shooter focused.

Might I also point out that pulp novels such as Doc Savage and the lost world genre in general were the inspiration for Uncharted.

BUT people fail to realize that THIS MAINLY APPLIES TO THE FIRST GAME, as the sequels have evolved into more unique beasts.

A true fan of both TR and UC like myself knows the difference. And honestly, the Uncharted games are better than the latest TR games(except for Anniversary, although that may be nostalgia talking lol).

[SegaSonic]

The funny thing is people acting like it matters. Naughty Dog won't care because there WILL NOT BE ONE SINGLE CENT LOST to this knock off.

Let them do their sub-par thing.

[kennykramer]

Kids gonna complain no matter what, especially if they dont understand the history of gaming.

[jacksonmichael]

And copying is certainly not new to Sony... The real issues with this game are more technical.

Edit: Sarcasm? No sarcasm here.

[MaxXAttaxX]

Elaborate on sarcasm please.

[Oldsnake007]

Who invented rumble ? Nintendo
Who invented analog sticks ? nintendo
Who made Motion cotrolls huge ? nintendo

[Elyxir-pSx]

The real question is....

Who does it the best? Sony

[LeftPawedFox]

@oldsnake007 you are wrong. the rumble was in pc controllers way before nintendo did it also sony used analog sticks before nintendo.
but you are right about making motion control's huge.

@disagree look at the sony flight stick came out before nintendo 64s controllers had analogs on them.

[MaxXAttaxX]

Nintendo didn't "invent" rumble or analog sticks.
In fact, it wasn't even the first console to use analog.

The N64 only had one analog stick somewhat uncomfortably in the middle of the controller.
Good thing Sony made those dual-analog controllers :)

Also, BOTH Nintendo and Sony released rumble in 1997.
The main difference is that the N64 required an external device called a "RumblePak" and batteries, while the PlayStation had it built into the controller and required no batteries.

[pixelsword]

"Who invented rumble?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
"Rumble" was in arcades before consoles had them...

"Who invented analog sticks"
An analog stick is a variant of a joystick.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

The first analog controller on consoles was on the 5200
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Making motions controls huge and making working motion controls are two different things; and Nintendo was not the first at that, either.
The first fully working motion controller that I know if was made by pelican for the PS1.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

The power glove is different as hand motions controlled the character, not the movement of the hand in 3D space, plus is was a rip-off of the wired glove.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[Ness-Psi]

@oldsnake007

Who invented shigsy's ever lasting hair cut??
who invented cheese string??
who invented the word "invented"???

I'm sure Nintendo invented one of those things. :)

[MarkusMcNugen]

@Oldsnake007... Haha... maybe now youll think before you open your fanboy mouth on the internet.

If you dont see the parallels from Uncharted and Tomb Raider as the author of the article points out, your just denying the truth. Ive been PC gaming since 1999, and I can honestly say that Uncharted is a modern Tomb Raider with a male lead.

Now Im not dissing the game, people reading this need to understand that. I dont even own a PS3, which would make a lot of people on here say Im a 360 fanboy... but Uncharted is a great step in modernizing an old genre similar game.

Ive read plenty of comments on here saying that its just a clone, and that nobody will buy it. Well I have to say... how many of you have played Guitar Hero? or any of the Warcraft RTSs?

Those are both clones. The original Warcraft was a clone of Dune II, and Guitar Hero was a clone of Guitar Freaks, a arcade game with a guitar controller.

Clearly a lot of people on this site are just young gamers who havent been played anything before the N64... Of course Im not talking about the seasoned gamers who understand that clones arent bad, and in some cases actually push the genre further, like the author of this article states.

[MaxXAttaxX]

It's called the "lost world" genre
It's been around for a lot longer than Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones(a King Solomon's Mines rip).

So no, Tomb Raider didn't invent the genre nor is Uncharted a clone.
Sure, they have puzzle elements in common like many other games. But gameplay is different. Uncharted is much more action/shooter focused.

Might I also point out that pulp novels such as Doc Savage and the lost world genre in general were the inspiration for Uncharted.

BUT people fail to realize that THIS MAINLY APPLIES TO THE FIRST GAME, as the sequels have evolved into more unique beasts.

A true fan of both TR and UC like myself(since 1997) knows the difference. And haters gonna hate.

[MarkusMcNugen]

@NathanExplosion

You dont have to come off as so much of a hater yourself man. All I was trying to point out, which I did effectively in my opinion, was that Uncharted was not the first in this genre. Sure it seems to be more action oriented with the shooting, no one is disagreeing.

I was trying to make the distinction that Uncharted can be called a clone because it does have many similar points of play to the Lara Croft series. And it improved upon that genre, turning more action oriented.

"I dont even own a PS3, which would make a lot of people on here say Im a 360 fanboy... but Uncharted is a great step in modernizing an old genre similar game."

If you read my comment objectively, you'd have seen that I was saying it was an improvement. That Uncharted was the way Tomb Raider was meant to evolve. I never claimed it invented the genre, I just pointed out there are a lot of "parallels" amongst the games. I guess you could have read "I can honestly say that Uncharted is a modern Tomb Raider with a male lead." and thought that was what I was saying... but then you didnt read the rest of my comment.

Also, who was talking about the sequels? I was talking broadly about the series in general...

So you have been gaming for 2 more years than me, and played Lara Croft a little earlier. That doesnt mean You have some ultimate greater understanding of the game than I do.

Also, Im drunk... and haters are gonna hate. But thats not me, Im not a hater. I like the Uncharted series, even if I havent played it personally and only watched it be played. They are both great games with similarities... so please, dont hate on a trying to be honest gamer... we all know N4G has enough haters for all of us lol...

[MaxXAttaxX]

Yes of course, Uncharted is not the first in its genre. You could say that "Pitfall" is one of the first when it comes to games in that genre(somewhat).

I was trying to say that that Uncharted drew influences from older media the same way Tomb Raider did. And since they're both games, people will compare one to the other. Which is easier to do now since the latest TR games aren't exactly what they used to be.

But I find that its different execution and focus makes it stand out.

[MarkusMcNugen]

I agree NathanExplosion. Its refreshing that someone on N4G is sensible.

[S_C]

No it isn't a big deal but i sick of seeing article like this for the game already/

[Gray-Fox-Type0]

Exactly give this small and new developer a break. Even though their idea is nothing orginal , atleast they are trying to increase the awareness of gaming in their country.

It's just only certain PS3 fans I guess, who give the real PS3 fans a bad name of being whiny *****. And Uncharted a master piece has also been inspired by several games to begin with. One most common Tomb Raider or Gears Of War from the rival platform.

As a PS3 gamer does this game effect me the slightest way? no. I dont understand why certain people get hurt when the truth is Uncharted is heavily inspired by Tomb Raider the original.

What Uncharted did was take that and revolutionise it to modern standards.

[firemassacre]

its flattering, in all actuality it's an honor to the uncharted series (although clearly not up to par) the more games the better :) but it will never be uncharted, uncharted has an almost unreachable standard.

[vgchica]

I'm not sure anyone has made this big of a direct ripoff in years though.

[MarkusMcNugen]

Guitar Hero... nuff said..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[IceAc]

Sounds to me like some people don't want to see an Arabic publisher coming up. Why not? They might take the small profits from this game and make some quality original properties that Arabic gamers can enjoy instead of always seeing Arabs portrayed as the bad guys.

[Elyxir-pSx]

What a stupid comment.

[pnoozi]

"Sounds to me like some people don't want to see an Arabic publisher coming up."

They are ARAB (Saudi Arabian, to be clear, and who knows, maybe not all their employees are even Arab)... not ARABIC. ARABIC is a language.

[jacksonmichael]

Woah, really? Thanks dude. Learning every day.

[kennykramer]

I'll buy it just out of curiosity.

[undercovrr]

i wish I had money to waste

[helghast102]

Im still laughing at the name, "Unearthed"?! You had a chance to do SOMETHING original with this game and you call it UNEARTHED?
COME ON

[IceAc]

Archeology, digging, mystery, unearthed. Makes sense to me.

[Coolmanrico]

He didn't say it didn't make sense. It more about being a clone, even with a slightly changed name.

That like a company making a fighting game with characters that resemble characters from Street Fighter and calling it Street Brawler

[VG_Releaser]

@Coolmanrico
You need to meet my friend Google. He'll show you TONS of games fitting the exact description you just made. Welcome to the internet. It has information for you. As you get older, you'll find information keeps you from looking stupid.

[zero_gamer]

I don't have enough cash to gamble on titles that may or may not entertain me enough to get my money's worth. If this title is a 9.0 or above then it's a buy, otherwise I stick with Tomb Raider and Uncharted.

[TheLastGuardian]

Calling this a clone is an insult to Uncharted. It looks like something went horribly wrong in the cloning process.

[MarkusMcNugen]

Im guessing you werent gaming back in the arcade/atari/nes/snes days... There were a lot of clones, and plenty of them were sub-par. The fact that its happening now is not a surprise...

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

It's hard to believe the game is running on unity. I use unity and I can't produce anything that looks like that. On the flip side it does look pretty bad by comparison to uncharted.... and almost every other game this gen.

[ChickeyCantor]

Eh...Unity is pretty powerful. You simply admitted that you kinda suck at it =P

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

Well I actually just started using it this year so I guess I do kinda suck at it. But I've seen stuff that other people are doing with it but none of what I've seen looks as good as this game.

[ChickeyCantor]

Well yeah they are usually used for low budget games.
But the engine is very flexible. It allow for custom shaders and functionality ( only with the pro version though)

[XabiDaChosenOne]

People are still on this? Who cares?

[xtreampro_REVENGE!]

This only proves how sensitive the Sony loyalists are, they're making a big deal out of nothing. It's not like it's going to win GOTY or something so please just stop crying.

First it was BF3 and now this? seriously you people are insane.

[itsralf]

Gameloft has been ripping off successful games for years now.

[schlanz]

Including Uncharted lol

[Apotheosize]

Why is this such a big deal? So what some dev no ones ever heard of is making a game that looks like another game. Great, or is it the fact that its Uncharted? Thats probably it.

Cant tarnish the honor and integrity of the game right? Because Uncharted is the most original game ever made hm? I love how theirs an article comparing screenshots like the school jock bullying some 3rd grader, is that really necessary? its a PSN game

Seriously now, the studio probably loves Uncharted. thiers no reason to get all bent out of shape over this

[r21]

hehehe, its like American Dad is a rip off of Family guy which is a rip off of Simpsons.
except in this case, Unearthed is a rip off of Uncharted which is a rip off of Tomb Raider.

[Silly gameAr]

Had to write an article about this? I expect to see an article like this anytime a game is copied please. Then you have people like xtreampro making it a Sony fanboy issue when people weren't even making a huge deal about it.

I see sensitive people here, but it's not from the "Sony loyalists".

[NateCole]

I don't get it. So they copy Uncharted. So what?. Hey at least we are seeing devs from the arab world. Wish they would have been more original and provide something different but at least they are trying.

Don't get me wrong. While a clear knockoff is as bad as any other. I do encourage other parts of the world to develop games.

[Jack-Dangerously]

From the "arab world"? Really? Lol I'm not even going to explain what politically correct means...

It's funny how you blend two different subjects together though.

[stephmhishot]

@VG, I agree, I am a Democrat who actually hates people of color (as a minority myself), and I am haboring hate and covering up my hatred of minorities by acting like a Democrat. I am sorry that I am not a conservative thinker and running around generalizing other people, which is something that conservatives would never do.

[brish]

How dare these developers rip off Uncharted after they spent so much effort ripping off Tomb Raider!

"SPOnG calls Uncharted a blatant rip-off of Tomb Raider, gives it 86%"
http://n4g.com/news/87210/s...

[Silly gameAr]

It's really funny how people say that, but the 2 have nothing in common except the whole treasure hunting theme. I've always wondered where people get this from. I guess articles like that have something to do with it. Obviously, people who have played Uncharted or any game from the Tomb Raider series know better.

[Saito]

dont even look interesting idc about it copying uncharted even thats bad enough the game industry dont even know originality anymore

[schlanz]

This isn't even the first time Uncharted has been copied.

[GRIMLOCK_79]

THIS IS DEFINITELY A "GAME BOMB"!!!

[hazelamy]

the names a bit cheeky though, not quite up there with fortresscraft, but still. ^_^

[Grannyvukka]

More power to them..I only hope it ends up half the game Unchartered is. Who would complain....I mean it's like Tomb Raider fans whining about Unchartered copying. I love the subject & enviroments these games offer so I am happy for new ones to invade, & as already stated, I hope the game is as awesome as Unchartered & offers a similar gameplay quality, but obviously with some of it's own unique attributes.

[SteveSmith]

Maybe the creators of this game should be sued for such blatant copying. Even the name of the game is almost the same. This is ridiculous.

[Tdmd]

Right, it really isn't. It is just plain mediocrity in sight. The world is filled with untalented people, so it happens every day... nothing to see or to get shocked about.

[Soldierone]

You lost me
"The obvious concern for PS3 gamers is that they don't want anything close to their popular exclusive on other platforms. Somehow they've forgotten that other platforms already have something of a Uncharted clone, except it was Uncharted that copied that game. Tomb Raider has been around since the Playstation and Saturn days of the 1990's."

Really? Cus Uncharted is called Treasure Raider? Drake has big boobs and a nice accent? He explores the same exact levels with the same exact gameplay? Geez maybe I should play the game again.

Treasure hunting doesn't make it a clone. If it does then Im sure an Indiana Jones game beat them both to the punch.

This stupid rip off of a game is just that. Look at the gameplay. Its like they copied the code and toned it down for 360....joking aside ITS A RIPOFF, no ifs ands or buts about it. The "studio" obviously knows this and should be sued if they state otherwise.

And the article even uses "clones" from the past when technology was restricted and the talent wasn't as big as it is today. However they use Sonic and Mario....again SONIC (a hedgehog) and MARIO (a plumber) that ISNT a clone. It wasn't Super Sonic Bros. was it? No.

[Dogswithguns]

It looks like Unwanted...

[BIG KReeeZN]

first of all I am Saudi ..
Second I'm not completely agreeing with them , and I consider them as criminals of thought and I wish with all my heart that they go to Prison !

In addition, they Maimed the great story of Ibn Battuta !

this is wrong!

and for those people who say , they don’t have the money and don’t have the support! I just want to tell you that they are Large company !

and just to let you know there are Saudi guy who make a game call shadowfear , took of him to make the game 6 years !

And I try the demo it's nice ! he had no money and no support ! why he doesn't steal any ideas or story or character !
I leave the answer to the thieves.!

By the way the people who want to try the game I'm talking about,I but the link below !

http://shadowfear.com/shado... fear demo.rar

Remember the game is from Saudi guy who has no support !

if you want to support the game industry in the Middle East !
support who deserve !

Forgive me for my broken language !

[zerocrossing]

Wow a clone of a popular franchise, Now that's a 1st.
I can kinda see why people are upset though, It would be like copying Tomb Raider but making the lead a guy.