3 things that Uncharted gets wrong

PSU.com writes:

"Naughty Dog's Uncharted franchise is one of the best new IPs to come out of the current generation of consoles, but the series isn't without its faults."

[jonnyvito]

I agree the climbing is just following a path. I'd like environment interaction to have more substance.

[kamruk]

The problem is that Uncharted's campaign is more interactive media than it is a game, you are always heading down a dedicated path, scripted events at every corner. Bigger environments would take from the overall flow I don't see that changing.

It's not trying to be an open, approach from every angle experience.

If anything I'd prefer it to include less but more refined combat, so that it would focus on what it is, a cinematic interactive story that is scripted and planned from the moment you press start.

[HappyGaming]

That what makes Uncharted Uncharted :)
From what we saw and heard about in the Last of US demonstration Naughty Dog know how to set up a non linear world if they wanted to...

[SuperStrokey1123]

What have we seen from Last of Us that isnt Linear?

[HappyGaming]

Like I said everything in the demo :)

Its just so good it looks scripted!

[SilentNegotiator]

People these days seem to think that linearity, cutscenes, and online are all failure states, and that is TOTAL CRAP.

Games can be designed that way without it automatically being bad, and Uncharted is certainly not bad.

[GrandTheftZamboni]

Linear or not, scripted or non-scripted, as long as I enjoy a game, those are just meaningless words.

[PoSTedUP]

the only thing it gets wrong is the sound of the guns. that to me is a big deal.

[jony_dols]

I wouldn't mind seeing the next Uncharted go down a Batman: Arkham City-esque route, with an open free roaming environment with main/side quests & collectibles; whilst also retaining some of the polished linear sequences that are a hallmark of the series.

[Dee_91]

i only agree with the linearity.
it dont have to be open world but larger roaming areas wouldnt hurt.
Dull enemies ?? SPOILER ALERT*** you fight slow monsters and stuff./SPOILER ALERT*** How is that dull?
Nothing wrong with the climbing imo.

[ShinMaster]

More like 3 things he doesn't like.

Maybe he should play different game and stop trying to turn a game into something it's not supposed to be.

Since when is linearity a bad thing? Or cutscenes? Or multiplayer implementation?
If the end result is great, then STFU.

[WeskerChildReborned]

It's suppose to be like that lol.

[Perjoss]

The assassins creed series handles climbing so much better than the uncharted games. But overall I think the uncharted games are better.

[dantesparda]

@ Perjoss

I think the Infamous series handles climbing alot better than Assassins Creed.

[Irishguy95]

Yeah the climbing was kind of a waste, it was not challenging, nor was it supposed to be, it was essentially time wasting moments for the sake of pacing.

[wishingW3L]

Is not a waste.

thanks to the climbing mechanic ND can be more creative and diverse with the level design at the same time it adds verticality to the gunplay and to the puzzles too. Is just that you guys haven't put any thought on its design... But it's fine though, we are just gamers after all, not game designers.

[badz149]

gives variety on how you tackle enemies! maybe not on easy or normal difficulty where enemies go down easily and you can mow them like you do in rail shooters but on hard and crushing, being able to climb your way up to a good vantage points or climb behind walls help a lot! sneaking behind enemies in multiplayer is very satisfying too!

it gives the sense of exploration for what they are trying to achieve with the franchise. it's treasure hunting, would you like it better if they disable the climbings and all your objectives and treasures just lay on the ground like most FPS? seriously, there are nothing wrong with the climbing!

[Irishguy95]

Again...I'm not talking about the climbing mechanic which is good or combat situations and stealth ones, i'm talking about the climbing sections which involve no type of difficulty or any point really, they are there for the sake of pacing. They are inbetween combat sections and generally involve Holding a direction and pressing A without even thinking about what you're doing(opposite of a platformer which requires your full attention)

[mantisimo]

The climbing if you look at a lot of it is also used to show the beauty of the environments graphics etc, as many climbing scenes open up the camera and show the game world and an idea of what's to come.

[StraightPath]

add another to the list is improving shooting mechanics and cover mechanics.

the grenade shockwave stumbles your character even though your clearly still under cover you still can get shot very annoying.

[SilentNegotiator]

First of all, the shooting mechanics are very tight.

Second of all, get behind a chest high wall and allow an explosive to go off on the other side. You're in for a surprise.

[mynameisEvil]

I agree with Silent. The force exerted from an exploding grenade would certainly make you at least shake a good bit, even if you are behind of brick wall.

[Kin23g]

Didn't think I'd agree with the article, but surprisingly, I actually do.

[Pwnage18202]

Yea me too. I mean I love the uncharted series but this person brings up really good points.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

Uncharted is a cinematic experience

Its designed so its intuitive, and does not tax the player. As you are doing puzzles, the game constantly gives you hints when you take to long... and due to its design thats why this author has problems with the series

These are not problems, but rather what ND wanted to put in the game. The climbing is meant to be easy, its not Tomb Raider or Mario where you need to time your jumps, and hold on to a button to hold on. I remember when Drakes fortune came out, and people praised the climbing for it being easy

They don't want to add more enemy types... I meant you have an enemy associated with each weapon, snipers, rpgs, foot soldiers, heavy's... its not meant to be a gears of war, where there are multiple species of enemies.I mean, they are people... you can't do much with that. The pirates and mercanary's are also an easy way to remove political correctness, as they are not allied with a country.

Finally the thing people love to pan uncharted for is linearity. If the game did open up, it detracts from the story and pacing. Uncharted is about roller coaster moments... and great pacing. If they opened that up, some of that can be lost. And ND has proved they can make a wider game with the last of us, as they have made assets that still benefit the story and allows players to explore. The scattered items that add to the story

This is what uncharted is... they aren't problems... they are things the series does. These things are done intentionally.

Uncharted is not made to test a players skill, but give them a fun narrative, great visuals, and an overall great experience

Im not going to lie... I love the series, but they need to give it a fresh new coat if they want to make uncharted 4... TLOU is like a breath of fresh air, and why so many people are excited for it

[DigitalAnalog]

People seem to think the Nirvana of games lies in in being open-world with infinite fetch quests to sustain their OCD in order for it to achieve merit. Had Uncharted been a generic title (to which we have seen countless of) then the linearity, pacing criticism is warranted.

It really was quite evident what ND is achieving to do, they were trying to make to make the game immersive and even points out at one time that it would be very difficult to make the series open.

Which is probably why they wanted to start on TLOU, the believe they want to do something different in the industry as opposed to the typical Crytek/Epic games mentality (uber graphics, physics but no substance to back them up).

[Pwnage18202]

i do agree it would be more of a challenge for players

[Thatguy-310]

Linear gameplay was force in Uncharted 3. Nuff said.

[showtimefolks]

2 of the problems can be solved but 3rd of it not being more open is just plain wrong. If you are a UC fan than you know ND are going for a cinematic look and open world game don't look cinematic. I do hope though that ND waits till next PS before we get another UC just because i feel like UC series can grow a lot more with better tech

[32froshes]

I agree with your first point, and this is especially true with U3. There were those armored enemies that you had to shoot in the head about a billion times, and that got obnoxious.

Your other two points, though, I feel miss the mark a bit. The climbing being easy in Uncharted is what makes it so much fun. And it's not like it's "too" easy. There are a few instances where it's almost puzzle-like, and attempting to jump to the wrong ledge will lead to death.

Also, Uncharted's linearity is what makes the stories so great. Just because GTA blew the doors open for sandbox gameplay doesn't mean that every series ever needs to follow suit.

I've probably played through Uncharted 2 more times than I've played through any other game this generation. Red Dead Redemption was great, but I doubt I'll ever play it a second time. And I've still never finished an Assassin's Creed game. I guess I don't understand why "linear" needs to be a dirty word in the game industry.

[Them_Bones]

1. Fun.

[Zechs34]

This guy... Lol. This guy...

[lonesoul65]

Only problem I ever had with Uncharted 2 and 3 were replayability. The first playthough they are pretty mind blowing and have some amazing set pieces to go along with a great story. But on the second playthough when you know where you have to go. The scripting is very apparent and can feel pretty broken. Other than that, they were great gaming experiences for me

[deletingthis34675334]

YES. I agree with most of this article. The filler, repetitive kill waves of cookie cutters bore the hell out of me. The linearity and the lack of exploration in the story is just painful when playing the games two or three times for a Platinum. Give the player some choice. Branch out the pathway to have him decide which path he should go, and add alternate events and cut-scenes to make the story more dynamic. It's not that Uncharted games are bad, but they leave so much room for improvement and none of the sequels are huge improvements over the first game.

[aquamala]

give us multiple ways to do an objective, that would add so much to the replay value.

[Christopher]

I'm hoping that this is why they are dong The Last of Us instead of a new Uncharted.

[user5467007]

The only two complaints I could point out for Uncharted is what they did to the online in U3...they ruined it. They had a great, skillful, simple online in U2 which was unique compared to other online games out there and then added a bunch of crap like every other online out there, in U3 which made it unbalanced as hell. The second complaint is the AI in U3, why did enemies charge at you when you were shooting at them, basicaly ignoring the cover system, i'm not saying I wanted to pick them of one by one in cover but at least make enemies move around...just not charge at you then start a fist fight only for other AI's to gun you down.

God I hope ND go back to what U2 online was like in U4. Like anyone would miss those changes.

[PS3gamer4life]

wow yall complaining about the climbing

[_Aarix_]

Uncharted isnt perfect, get over yall self

[tiffac008]

I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect game but games does not need to be perfect to enjoy them.

[ame22]

Because Drake's animations are top notch, the transition from animation to another can sometimes can be pretty jarring especially in UC3. Also, enough with the Hollywood cliche, UC1, UC2, and UC3 pretty much share the same plot, Drake goes on a treasure hunt only to discover that it's far greater than the few golden coins he's after so the whole plot radically shifts to world domination forcing him to resort to playing the hero. All three of them ND! Just why!

Edit:

I would also like to see the main team work on a new IP before going back to UC4.

[Razgriz383]

*cough* Last of Us *cough*

[ame22]

Main team.

Wow at the disagrees. For those who disagreed, can you deny any of this? Please elaborate and convince me. Typical N4G.

[GarandShooter]

I don't necessarily disagree but...

Only when you choose to describe things in the broadest, most general terms. Let me try one. Every life shares the same plot. A person is born, they do stuff, stuff happens, they die.

There's enough difference in the details to keep each game/story exciting and interesting.

Now, having said that I'd like to see the next Uncharted avoid the supernatural or hallucinogenic ending twist and stay more firmly planted in reality.

Lastly, I thought ND had two equal teams. I never thought of them as the Varsity and JV squads.

[ame22]

No please, dig into the details as much as you like, I still fail to differentiate between all three games, the plot is reiterated throughout.

Main team or UC team let's not stop there. The point was delivered. Let's get down to the meat.

[GarandShooter]

OK, I'm now reading UC team/TLoU team as opposed to main team/sub team. So you're saying you want to see the UC team to take a break with a new IP before returning to the UC series? If so, I don't disagree. An artist shifting gears between projects can help breathe some fresh air into their work.

In regard to the plots, the archetype is similar, but mostly noticed through analysis, not gameplay. While playing the games I never had the 'been there done that' drudgery feeling.

[ame22]

There, that wasn't very hard now was it?

[GarandShooter]

Wasn't very hard? You choose to be a condescending prick over your poor choice of words? Nice!

[ame22]

I believe I made myself very clear but I didn't know people around these parts needed to be spoon fed. By the way, personally attacking me is nothing but a sign of weakness.

[GarandShooter]

So, pointing out your demeaning tone is a personal attack? LOL. You've done nothing to refute any of my points, and instead stealthily insult. That's surely a sign of strength.

It's nearly impossible to have a civil and intelligent exchange here. Typical N4G.

[MWH]

but despite all, Uncharted is still one of best and most successful games of this generation if not all time.

there's always more room for improvement in any game and i believe Naughty Dog are well aware of all that and i'm also sure that a quality studio like that will have more surprises in the future.

[Aclay]

The one thing I agree with most is the Linearity. Not that I have an issue with it, just that I would love to see future games in the series open the game up a bit more for more environmental interaction and exploration, and being able to climb almost anywhere, so that there's even more ways to play through the game.

As far as the Enemy Types, Uncharted is grounded in reality (for the most part) so I don't think that's going to change all that much in the future unless ND goes with a more Sci-Fi approach. Since there's already been a few Sci-Fi related instances in the Uncharted games, I don't see why Naughty Dog shouldn't consider a future Uncharted game that ramps up on the Sci-Fi a little bit more because it would increase the chances of more varied enemy types than just Mercenary, after Mercenary and I'd love to see that.

As for the Climbing being Easy, platforming in most games this day and age (unless they are actual platformers like Mario and others) is relatively Easy, so I don't think that's going to change much in Uncharted. But, in future UC games I would like to be able to climb on more objects/structures in the game and not being so limited as to what you can and can't climb on.

[Kaos_Vll]

Always thought UC had too much combat, which breaks the immersion for me. Everything about UC is pretty believable until you realise that this untrained treasure hunter is killing wave after wave of mercs who kill for a living.

I know they have tons of shooting for all the gun heads, but how about skipping the sections where you HAVE to kill everyone just to move the story forward.

Would love to be able to go thru the entire game without firing a shot if I didn't want to, stealthlike.

[Christopher]

I think adding stealth as a gameplay option would be a great way to evolve the gameplay. As it is, there are just 'stealth' missions. And, even then, those missions are on the light side when it comes to stealth gameplay as far as options and possibilities.

I think games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution really are showing the industry that gamers love it when they get to decide how to play through the game.

[shadow2797]

It's no Splinter Cell, but since Uncharted 2, almost every area is "stealth-able". So I don't really understand where you're getting the stealth "missions" thing.

Sure, there's the early part of Uncharted 2 that required stealth, but after that the player has plenty of choices on how to approach a combat section. They're mini-sandboxes really. Granted, it's really hard to stealth an entire area, I've only been able to completely clear a few. But usually I can take out most of the guys in any given area without being seen.

But no, you can't just sneak through to the exit without laying a finger on the enemies, but would that be any fun anyways?

The stealth is one of my favorite parts of Uncharted.

[Christopher]

***It's no Splinter Cell, but since Uncharted 2, almost every area is "stealth-able".***

You can do some stealth in most areas, not all, but not all areas are completely stealth-able. Nor is the game designed around various stealth concepts (distractions, disguises, silencers/silent weapons, etc.).

***So I don't really understand where you're getting the stealth "missions" thing.***

Those missions where you are required to be stealthy, there is no other option.

***Sure, there's the early part of Uncharted 2 that required stealth, but after that the player has plenty of choices on how to approach a combat section.***

I wouldn't come close to saying "plenty" of choices.

Especially not in Uncharted 3 where at the later part of the game you were dealing with things that would bee-line towards you and there was no way you could hide from it. It also involved a ton of open areas that did not have an option for stealthy approach.

There was the one major scene at the castle where you could stealth kill every guard in the courtyard and up the stairs to the two entrances, but that was about it. And, even then, that was a very basic 'stealth' mission in comparison to other games.

[Kaos_Vll]

@shadow
"But no, you can't just sneak through to the exit without laying a finger on the enemies, but would that be any fun anyways? "

what is fun for one gamer is NOT fun for all. Wish more gamers would keep this mind. We all don't want to just shoot things.
Having to shoot loads of faceless enemies is not why I play UC. If I wanted mindless shooting I'd play one of the many shooters that all do it.

UC is played for the great story it tells, at least for me, and being able to skip all the mindless point and shoot would make UC even better for this gamer.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

You don't have the option to go full stealth though... a gripe I had with Uncharted 3 was when you try to sneak on the plane, I stealth killed everyone, except for 2 guys who I had no way to sneak up on as they were gaurding the door. So I shot them, and enemies spawned after me

Its why I'm very excited for TLOU, as they are giving more options

[smashcrashbash]

First of all the climbing being 'easy' as people keep putting it, I can't tell you how many times I fell to my death in the mountains in Uncharted trying to find the right place and time to jump from one thing to another or how many times I fell out of the train trying to get to the top. In the the usual way of gamer exaggeration, people act as if it was so simple to climb in dangerous situations. I have seen people fall down chasms trying to make their way across them and people act as if a baby could do. Also as I CONSTANTLY point out people played Prince of Persia and many FPSs with just as much or more linearity as Uncharted does and they never griped about it as much as they do now.

POP was a great game but there were no extra ways of doing things or other places to go or anything to find. So I never understand the CONSTANT whining and griping about how linear UC is when people play tons of games that are linear and never point it out as much as they do with them. It's like as soon as a PS3 game gets too high a score suddenly people wake up and find all the faults they ignore for other games. I played the latest Zelda game and realized how awkward Link's motions animations where and yet you never hear anyone say it. But with UC that is all you hear about.

Also listening to the enemy type like my friend said the game is grounded in reality. They already went over the edge with Yeti like monsters and wild men with cross bows so I don't know if people were expecting devils or demons or aliens or centaurs to pop up out of the ground or something. So in short UC2 was not perfect like most games are not but the stupid things people nitpick about it just shows how much people reach when trying to find fault in a game. Like the people saying Helgan in KZ3 was grey and bleak looking. They were on a war torn,burnt out, industrial planet. I don't know if you were expecting bright orange buildings, with red stripes and blue flowing lakes and clear skies.

[Bonerrr]

Not being on PC ;)

[chukamachine]

Would prefer harder jumping/climbing, harder enemies.

Shoot and cover work fine imo, but as always tweaking isn't a bad thing either.

I actually really like the first game, feels raw. except the explosions.

I expected more to the end of UC2. But all are great games.

I'm hoping they leave uncharted4 for PS4.

As for games this gen. For me i've played many.

DEADSPACE
UNCHARTED'S
ASSASINS CREED'S
BF3
KILLZONE'S

And many more.

Most underated game.

KILLZONE3. The game is blast from start to finish. I implore you to play it.

[edgeofsins]

Yeah, Uncharted 4 for PS4 would be a great launch title to show us what Naughty Dog can do with even better hardware.

[BitbyDeath]

I would've added the online in Uncharted 3. It was a huge step back compared to U2. Why ND!

It's like Naughty Dog and Guerilla Games sat in a room and said 'lets create a really awesome online experience and then take it all away with the next entry, you know for the LOL's.'

[Them_Bones]

No you're just another idiot gamer that lets his vision be painted with nostalgia.

[spunkee311]

I completely agree. I loved UC2 multiplayer and played the crap out of it. As soon as I started playing UC3. I was kinda shocked at the questionable changes they made. Although UC3's multiplayer has grown on me. It still doesn't compare to the enjoyment to UC2.

As for KZ? I completely COMPLETELY disagree. KZ3 is 10x better. KZ2 had a lobby list and you couldn't make game parties to play with you friends like you could in KZ3. You had to leap frog in. Also since KZ2 was a lobby list and the host could set up his lobby with whatever options he saw fit. It just seemed kinda lame to me. And everyone seemed to make all their lobbies fit a certain criteria. Like no certain classes or Rockets only. Or a certain level only. What about just making a regular default match? I would make those after getting so frustrated and no one would never join.
KZ3 fixed all that. Finally you can invite your friends. Make a party and join the game. Game matches were less laggy that KZ2. And had just overall a better setup than KZ2.

Going back to UC3. They went with the we gotta expand everything from UC2 and make it bigger. And I think that is where ND messed up. FIrst of all it needed a lot more polish. It doesn't feel like all the kinks were worked out. Also what made UC2 was the simplicity. UC3 expanded on everything. And a lot of "setup" players can make for themselves seemed unbalanced. Or flat out unfair.
Also The map selection in the matchmaking needs some tweaking. Doing Museum 5x in a row should not happen. Especially when I own ALL DLC.
Still a good multiplayer, But not as much as I thought I would enjoy.

[Knushwood Butt]

The hand to hand combat is pointless and scrubby in Uncharted 3.

1) It's pointless. There's no reason you'd choose to fist fight when you have the option to shoot an enemy. There are several sections in the game where it tries to force you into a fist fight (like the bit in the burning mansion where that big guy shows up) but if you are smart you can just run away and shoot them while running - there's simply no reason to fist fight.

2) It's totally scrubby. There's absolutely no skill involved in the fist fights, and as such they aren't fun and are unrewarding. I recently got the trophy for defeating one of those big guys without taking a hit, and to do it I figured out that all you need to do is simply mash square and triangle at the same time until the fight is over. That's it. There's zero gameplay there.

[plmkoh]

That's complete BS, and you know it. If you saw no point in fist fighting, you have obviously been playing the game on the most easiest of difficulties to allow you to essentially run around and hip firing everything. If you did what you supposedly did: "mash square and triangle at the same time", why is it do we get screen prompts to either press square or triangle and never both, failure to do so results in taking damage.

You use the melee options because they are more powerful than guns, they allow you to one-hit kill most enemies especially where you catch them off guard.

[Knushwood Butt]

It's reality, and in fact I got the trophy for beating the big dude without taking a hit on Pro difficulty (or whatever the highest difficulty level is in your language).

Lol screen prompts.

If you don't believe me, just do it yourself. Get into a fist fight and just mash square and triangle at the same time. That's all you need to do. There is no gameplay there at all. NONE AT ALL.

I guess you guys must enjoy scrubbing buttons thinking that it equates to decent gameplay.

And yeah, seen as fist fighting is totally pointless, just run and shoot from the hip whenever you can...

The one hit kills are just for when you are sneaking around. Yeah, that's fine, but that's not what I'm talking about. They are not fist fights....

[plmkoh]

That's a bit contradictory ain't it, you admit to the screen prompts being there, yet you continue to say you just need to button mash. Screen prompts = QTE's, you either succeed by pressing the right button or fail by the wrong button. Had you said Uncharted 2 has button mashing, I would be inclined to believe you since it only has the square button in use, unlike Uncharted 3 with square and triangle.

Hell the fact that on crushing mode they remove the screen prompts is proof enough that square = attack and triangle = grab/throw/duck, which can be done on command and therefore there is 100% gameplay here, if you believe it's easy, that's a whole different issue altogether. But yes I do believe the combat is easy, but I think that's more a product of good combat design married with shooting mechanics.

[Knushwood Butt]

I really don't see your point.

Even on crushing / pro difficulty, when you get into a fight with one of the big guys, you can just let go of the controller with your left hand, and simply repeatedly press square and triangle at the same time with your right hand, and you'll win the fight. That's a fact, it's not my opinion or something.

There is no gameplay there because it's just a broken mechanic, and there's zero skill involved.

[plmkoh]

Well of course you can just let go of your left hand for the directional stick since once you go into fist combat the game stickies you to the enemy, however it still doesn't remove the fact they you are EITHER pressing square to attack, triangle to dodge his punches or X to release yourself from his stranglehold. On top of that triangle and X do nothing until you are given the opportunity to use them, "button mashing" will just yield you attacks via the square as this is the only button useable immediately.

Bottom line is you're essentially saying that if it prompts you to press triangle to dodge, or repeatedly press X you can just press square and it'll all work...yeah no it doesn't.

[Minato-Namikaze]

When will people learn open world doesn't equal better. Uncharted is the best at what it does and an open world unevenly paced change wouldn't make it better.

[GarandShooter]

You're absolutely right. I love sandbox games where you get a mission that someone or somewhere needs saving immediately, yet you can complete other missions that consume a week's worth of game time and when you finally get to the person or place it's exactly as described by the NPC a week earlier, like time was frozen. That's an immersion killer for me.

[GUYwhoPLAYSvideoGAME]

main issue is that it's too good and makes my other games look boring

the issue i can think of though is the climbing, it's not that fun

[Nac]

"Linear" for some reason has become something of a negative label and I don't see why. Having something be linear is not a weakness. Not everything needs to/should be GTA.

[InTheLab]

The one about shooting animals in the jungle is downright stupid. The new TR has you doing it for necessity unlike previous titles that had you battling tigers that attack you and not other s*** in the jungle just for the hell of it. It was stupid in 95 and it's stupid now. I'm glad UC left out gunning down animals.

UC is Linear. So are most games. But UC is not all corridors. The shipyard section of UC3 allows you to complete that section how you want. People act like the entire game is on the rails. Most TPS have you funneled from one waist high wall to another for 8 hours. At least UC breaks up that monotony by climbing buildings or lamp posts and using the entire environment as cover.

[goldwyncq]

Has anyone played Golden Abyss on Vita? It's still linear but less so than the previous games.

[edgeofsins]

A handheld game less linear then the console version? What? :o

I played the Vita a lot at my friends but I don't have one yet. I've only played the demo. I personally would rather have a Vita then a PS3. I just connect really well with playing games on handhelds cause I prefer to take it everywhere. I don't get uncomfortable with it like some people complain it is.

I plan on getting a 3DS XL after I get the Vita.

[edgeofsins]

When a game company strives to make a game inspired by movies they aren't likely to go free roam. If it were a medieval game or something then maybe they would but it just isn't as likely to be free roam unless they have more inspiration for side stories and quests.

[OldSnakePS3]

talk about nitpicking lol
all the uncharteds are fantastic

[Marceles]

People seem to love Gears though, which suffers from 2 of the 3, and one of them isn't even an option

[Zechs34]

Easy to hate on the best. Gears, while great, is not as good as Uncharted IMO.

[Bloodraid]

Ah, right. Someone writes an article criticizing a series you like so you try to shift the focus onto a game that you dislike in an attempt to invalidate the arguments that were put forward originally.

What's was that fallacious logic called again? A Red Herring, maybe?

[Marceles]

The point is why does Uncharted get it wrong while other games with less features get overlooked? But let's all hit the easy target and deal with it, right?

[Frankfurt]

The thing Uncharted gets wrong (besides barely having gameplay) is that it only sells 700K in a month when XBox exclusives actually sell 3 million.

[Tornadobounce]

Aiming. I thought they would have nailed it by the 3rd but it was worse!!! I didn't even finish the3rd because of it

[ChronoJoe]

Press start and enable precision aiming.

There's nothing wrong with the aiming in Uncharted 2, it's perfect. Don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about it.

It was bad in Uncharted 1, and Uncharted 3, but it was fixed immediately in Uncharted 3, you just have to enable the fix from the menu.

[ChronoJoe]

Uncharted doesn't have dull repetative enemy types. All the enemies act differently depending on who they are / what weapons they have etc.

No one complains about any other shooter having too few enemy types. When you want your game for the most part to be realistic-ish (as in human), there's only so many 'enemy types' you can include.

It's linear but if it wasn't it'd have to make a lot of sacrifices, it's not a fault but a design choice. The climbing could definitely be more engaging. I don't think it's right to add more climbing-related deaths because it'd be frustrating after a bit, some of the rope swinging in Uncharted 1 sort of annoyed me. But maybe increasing the number of climbing combat encounters and such would make it more interesting.

[SageHonor]

Yeah the enemies have always been dull and uninteresting

[leogets]

linear gameplay is over rated. it takes away the suspence in the story which is what uc is all about. imagine uncharted if it was like red dead. i found myself walking aimlessly around huge areas and in the end i forgot what i was meant to be doing.still havnt completed that game.which shows how the plot of the game didnt take me in in ways uc does. nothing wrong with uc series. naughty dog are boss devs. end of story. disagree if u may but ya only be lieing to yaself.

[abzdine]

no game is perfect, not even Uncharted!
That's fair enough so the next one is better.

[christoph203]

buhh, i played all 3 uncharted's but in heinsight to games like heavy rain, uncharted has pretty bad cheesy storytelling and sooo much repetitiveness. i honestly don't think naughty dog are the "kings of cinematic storytelling" like people say, cause their storys are really cheesy, repetative and sometimes badly written(uncharted 3).

quantic dream are making true interactive story games that arn't repetative, although i am really looking forward to last of us, looks much better than uncharted !

[cornroves]

These points can be applied to many games other than sandbox, which only takes out linearity, the other two points would still apply. The fact that they bring so many aspects together seamlessly is what makes UC series so great.

[kent80082007]

Here we have a rare specimen: a level-headed writer

[PersonMan]

I love Uncharted, but there isn't much to explore.

Shoot some guys...
Walk down this narrow path (the only way you can go)
Shoot some more guys....
Watch cutscene
Solve a puzzle
Walk....walk...walk...(walkin g is gameplay now).

To me, after finishing an Uncharted game, I feel great. Wow, great story, great action, great set pieces... but there isn't much of a reason to play it again because the story is going to be exactly the same. The enemies are the same. The set pieces are the same. Everything is scripted for you.

[sriki007]

yes, the climbing should be something like assassins creed..
But still one of the best games of the decade.

[Quisp]

Out of his 3 critiques, I would mostly agree with the combat getting to repetitive at times.
I personally dont mind linear games. It all comes down to taste, and how much free time you have, I guess.
He starts out saying that overall the series is top-knotch, but, just could be better. Nothing wrong with criticism, imo.

[P_Bomb]

Linearity isn't the devil. Far Cry 2 might have more square miles of open jungle, but there was nothing really worth doing imo. Uncharted keeps the pace up, you don't spend half the game doing arbitrary chores and fetch quests. Both styles have their plusses in the end.

[BelieveinGhosts]

Bring back non cinematic hard core games like Socom, Syphon filter, Last gen splinter cell, Last gen Hitman, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Last gen Medal of Honour

Uncharted is great but gaming is becoming diluted just like the music and film industry. Whether it is auto tuning in music or reality shows in TV e.g. Jersy shore or Kim Kardasian.

We need to return to the good old days of gaming where gameplay was paramount.

We gamers are encouraging this trend in the decilne of quality in gaming by supporting expensive DLC, casual gameplay made popular by COD and developers releasing unfinished games that we pay full price for because they know a patch can be released a few months after release.

This is why in this current gen, companies who value financial profits over quality of their games are having massive success. Activision, Capcom are making a lot of money by using these cheap tactics and other companies want a taste of their success so most games in the market are influenced by COD.

Last gen, Rockstar, Zipper, Kojima productions, konami, namco were all at the top of the gaming charts and this encouraged other developers to concentrated mainly on releasing quality games.

This trend can also be blamed on the gaming media e.g. IGN, gametrailers, gamespot etc who give Activision, Capcom, EA extremely high reviews so that people can buy games that lack quality.

This might also explain why most japanese developers are struggling this gen. They tend to focus on the fundamentals of gaming i.e. gameplay and quality with decent presentation.

While most Western developers are having more success because the majority excluding a few focus on graphics, presentation and Hype

[mushroomwig]

I am sick to death of these self proclaimed "Journalists" claiming that Linearity is somehow a bad thing. So what? Some of the most popular games are linear but you don't see people complaining about that do you?

This idea that Linearity being a dirty word needs to stop.

[Emilio_Estevez]

Very true, a guy I work with hates open world and wants to be guided. That being said, he loves Uncharted

[Kidmyst]

It seems no matter how good a game is, someone will find something bad to complain about. I like the Uncharted the way they are and it add variety to the market. So many FPS feel the same just different weapons and setting sometimes.

[Emilio_Estevez]

It was too Awesome?!

[Roper316]

I have always preferred Tomb Raider over Uncharted just because the emphasis was always on the exploration and puzzle solving. UC was always a pretty straight & narrow path and all the answers to the puzzles are in your book so it takes away any kind of challenge in solving them.

[Picnic]

Uncharted : Drake's Fortune has 2 sections the likes of which were missing from the sequels. There was a part where you got on jet skis and had to steer yourself upstream avoiding explosive barrels. Some people online have complained about this part but it stands out because it didn't hold your hand- it was taxing and you were in control of the vehicle. The subsequent sequels had you jumping off vehicles but no maneouvrable vehicles (unless you count the limited movement available on the horses in Uncharted 3). Naughty Dog clearly wanted to make the games more movie-like with no getting stuck behind scenery but in the first game there was more challenge and more sense that I was controlling the flow.

The first game also featured a section where you see a plethora of upside down platforms with signs. It's the largest looking puzzle in the entire series and reminiscent of an M Escher painting (an idea used in the film Labyrinth too). It's a very arty statement - it could have been from a game like Ico. But the sequels dispensed with such artiness. By the way, the ending of Uncharted 3 is, I'm afraid, woefully too similar to that of Uncharted 2.

[ginsunuva]

Only 3 faults? Pretty good.