author: Krzysiek Kalwasinski
I Don't Get the Uncharted Phenomenon
Uncharted is one of the most appreciated series. In theory, it should appeal to me, too, because I appreciate good, linear action games. Unfortunately, there was a lot that didn't sit right with me, which is why I can't understand the phenomenon.
Table of Contents
But there's nothing here!
Let's say I've got the introduction behind me, so I can move on to the actual part of the text, where I'll give my perspective on this much-appreciated series. It's been a good few years since the first contact described above. It's safe to say that I have since forgotten about Nathan and his friends. I wasn't too interested in acquiring PS3 either; instead, I was exploring the PlayStation 2 classics at my own pace. What I saw discouraged me from switching to the new generation. Metal Gear Solid 4 alone was not enough of a reason.
The new direction of the once adored Sony didn't appeal to me very much. Here, we return to the problem I wrote about above. The developers have begun to move away from challenging gameplay in favor of pseudo-cinematography. Everything was supposed to look very impressive indeed – with very little player input. I was uncomfortable with it, and today, I am even more discouraged by the trend. This, after all, denies the essence of the games that sets them apart from movies.
When I finally got my hands on a PlayStation 3, I of course set about catching up. Before that, I had come across a lot of positive reviews about Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which was supposed to be much better than the original. I decided to see for myself, though it was necessary to recall and complete part one first. Which only solidified my original sentiments about the game.
I've already mentioned the shooting mechanics, the scripts, or the unconvincing sense of humor. Really, Nathan Drake says "Oh, crap!" at least one time too many... He says it all the time, no matter if he's climbing, or a grenade lands in front of his feet. It gets old very quickly and fails to evoke any emotions.
In addition, there's a lot of dry punchlines that the characters spout all the time. Examples? Mother insults during the argument with Flynn. Or Chloe's joke about the dagger in the protagonist's trousers. When it comes to shooting – I've been a fan of it since I was a kid, and I can bluntly say that after I finished Max Payne, nothing has ever been the same for me. Remedy Entertainment has engineered everything about it to perfection, and if I had to call anything phenomenal, it's this.
Hiding behind cover doesn't always work as it should. Especially when combined with dodging, controlled with the same button.
Now, I'm not saying that every game should emulate Max Payne's shooting system, though there's hardly anything wrong about not settling for mediocrity. I mention this example because Uncharted doesn't even come close to that level. It doesn't feel like bullets are physical objects, which made me feel like I was shooting blanks the whole time.There isn't much difference between the different guns either, so it doesn't really matter if you use an AK47 or M4.
It's also worth discussing how the environment reacts to the shots. Each subsequent installment of Max introduced a lot of innovation – in part two, there was a lot of interactivity between bullets, objects, and Max' body. It added a lot of spectacle to subsequent clashes. The series from Naughty Dog is correct at best in this regard, and changes in subsequent installments have unfortunately been mostly cosmetic.
I'm surprised that this isn't taken into account when rating these games. It's as if the achievements of the classics cease to matter after a while. In addition, I am nettled by unavoidable, powerful zooming when aiming, which makes it harder to shoot enemies that are relatively close. This is quite a popular issue in games, though I expected better from a 10/10 game.
The cover system is also rather clumsy. Perhaps it's because the button that controls getting into cover is also responsible for dodging. I can't tell you how many times this destroyed me on the highest difficulty – instead of moving away from oncoming adversaries, Drake would stick to a wall, making himself a sitting duck. These things are more annoying on higher difficulty levels, but on normal, they're noticeable and can be frustrating.
The shooting system would be much more enjoyable if it weren't for that forced zoom when aiming.
Artificial intelligence of enemies is also nothing special – they usually sit behind cover and lean out to fire a short burst. Very rarely do they attempt to flank, unless they're a specific type of enemy. It seems ridiculous to me to put enemies with lasers in later locations – dodging was mandatory to avoid dying. It's exactly the same as in the old Syphon Filter from the first PlayStation.
Boss fights were also not very impressive – my worst memory is from part two, with all the chasing around the location and waiting until the adversary approaches the crystal, which must then be shot. Although the original also had its faults, almost as big.
In combination with frequent kill-rooms, the gameplay becomes tedious quite quickly, and the remaining elements unfortunately do not make up for these shortcomings. I followed the plot with moderate curiosity, but after all, this is not the type of story geared to surprise or carry a valuable message. It's written correctly, but still in a style that does not captivate me in any way – sometimes it's even irritating, with all the unfunny jokes. I definitely prefer a different type of humor – the kind that Yoko Taro or Suda games feature (though it's even drier).
