Uncharted: The Games

Ska

New member
Thought about taking advantage of the free 30 day PSN+ thing to dl this early, but my weekend is pretty busy. Won't have much time to play until next week anyway, so I think I'm gonna wait.
 

Ska

New member
Nurhachi1991 said:
dl what early?

The Multiplayer beta. Only available to PSN+ users last week. Starting today it's available to the rest of the PS3 users.
 

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
Gotcha. I downloaded it the other day it's pretty good but a bit glitchy well for me at least. I would of prefered a single player demo
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
michael said:
So has anyone tried out the beta yet?

I did. But you probably already knew that. I'll put together a more extensive write up later, but the Beta was quite obviously a beta. The core mechanics were in place, and with some extensive refinement it should be an exceptional outing for the more casual player and the Hardcore. So long as "Hardcore" includes more than just Team Deathmatch of course.

The two things that are most noticeably absent thus far: bunny hopping and "strafing." You remember -- the other player seems to vibrate in place and your bullets magically miss him. Yeah, that. It's gone. Or at least nobody learned how to exploit those aspects of the game yet.

It definitely plays a lot better than Among Thieves. Which is a good thing in my opinion.

I made it up to Level 32 during the three weeks before being one of those who was reset all the way back to Level 1, then fought back to Level 13 by the Beta's end.


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Le Saboteur

Active member
I want Josh Scherr's t-shirt. I think. Check out the entire uncut panel from San Diego Comic Con with the core cast, and three of the team from Naughty Dog.


More to come.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Initially I was keeping track of all the new medals to pop up in the Beta, but I shortly figured out that they're already listed in one of the sub-menus. As were the requirements to earn them.

Medals abound this time around, with specific ones for each game mode. My two favourties -- Drop It & No Cigar -- return, but these were some of the ones I earned during the course of the Beta.

Executioner - Kill a VIP on a power play.

Guard Duty - Protect the VIP during a power play.

Dangerous - Kill every member of the other team once.

Strike Three - Go on a 3 Kill streak.

Death From Above - Kill enemy with falling kill.

Hail Mary - Get a grenade kill from 50m away.

Lucky - Survive two grenade explosions.

Pull! - Kill an airborne enemy.

Yippie-Kai-Yay! - Get a kill while on a zip line.

The Redcoats are Here - Kill a player with Militia Man active.

You can view a complete list here. While some are doubtlessly going to go away, there seem to be medals for just about every cool thing you can do this time around.
 

Ska

New member
I suck so much at this game online. To the point I don't even have the urge to play it.

It all moves too fast for me to aim/keep up.
 

michael

Well-known member
Le Saboteur,

I absolutely loved the beta, had a blast with it.

The map, Yemen, was just incredible. Also fell in love with the Treasures/Rewards system. I see a treasure drop, I'm determined to grab it. Buddy System is also really, really fun. The high-fives are awesome.

A couple things that NEED to be changed.

AK-47 blindfire needs to be reduced. There needs to be SOME skill involved, you didn't even have to press L1 and could put up ridiculous ratios.

Invite system/partying needs to be like UC2. I'm confident that it will be. Betas are betas of course.

A personal want of mine:

A bit more customization with the emblems. The ability to move some of designs around or even more layers.
 

WitAndAWhip

New member
The official E3 trailer has me stoked. The desert locales look phenomenal and the story looks like it's gonna be full of fun surprises. Did anybody catch the brief clip of Nate riding a horse through a canyon?! Hope that's a playable part of the game... Glad to see Chloe's back too.

I don't think I've ever been this excited about a video game release before.

11-1-11 can't get here soon enough.
 

michael

Well-known member
WitAndAWhip said:
Did anybody catch the brief clip of Nate riding a horse through a canyon?
If Drake's Fortune can have a jet-ski level, I see no reason why there can't be a horseback riding level. It looks like it could be incredible.

I know they mentioned some sort of promotion with Subway in October where you will have FULL access to the MULTIPLAYER portion and everything will transfer over when you get the official game.

Details have not been announced, so I wouldn't delete your beta if this is something that interests you.

Promotion with companies like this is usually pretty lame, but I can see why they are doing it. People can get a head start on Multiplayer so when the game comes out, people don't put off the BEST aspect of the game, the single player. They won't feel the need to ignore it to catch up with all the people that are leveling up in the game.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
uncharted_3.jpg

FTW!


Ska said:
I suck so much at this game online. To the point I don't even have the urge to play it.

It all moves too fast for me to aim/keep up.

I was never great at Among Thieves' on-line component. (Michael says I did pretty well.)

While it wasn't a blatant cheat-fest, far too many players exploited the game's design flaws to make it enjoyable for very long;i.e., getting killed from all the way across the map by a pistol. Yes, a pistol. I grew bored after a couple of months. Especially when it became pretty obvious that everybody was using the same three or four "boosters." As a purist, this put me at an immediate disadvantage.

In the end, Among Thieves' multi-player component became what I hate about online gaming -- the strength of your internet connection multiplied by who saw who first determines the winner.

With that said, the online component for Drake's Deception is shaping up to be interesting. For example, each map plays differently. You'll have to adjust your play style depending on the map. What seem like obvious power points (see the towers on the Yemen map), quite often aren't. Where a good team could hold that point in Among Thieves, they can now be flanked and/or out maneuvered if you're paying attention.

It still moves fast, but with my "ambush predator" style of play, I never felt like I was unable to compete unless I momentarily forgot myself and tried to engage in a shootout with my G-MAL against a fully automatic AK-47! During the Beta I was unable to get a couple of Connect 4's, and one Five Not Alive. Something I was never able to do in Among Thieves. If they can maintain that delicate balance, it might be enough to entice me to stick around this time.

michael said:
The map, Yemen, was just incredible. Also fell in love with the Treasures/Rewards system. I see a treasure drop, I'm determined to grab it. Buddy System is also really, really fun. The high-fives are awesome.

Yemen was a blast on Plunder. The amount of chaos that could happen around the two chests (the Villains especially) was intense. I didn't care for it though on TDM, but my opinion is biased because I don't like Deathmatch. Despite the obviousness of the towers, nearly everybody hung out in them during the entire match.

I'm definitely impressed by the Treasures/Reward system. When I was reset, I most bothered by the loss of my treasures. I was nearly finished completing all the sets, but couldn't remember the last few I needed! In the final game, I hope it's used for more than just unlocking new bits of clothing.

michael said:
AK-47 blindfire needs to be reduced. There needs to be SOME skill involved, you didn't even have to press L1 and could put up ridiculous ratios.

I've never used the AK-47 so I can't personally comment, but all the kvetching about it didn't go unnoticed. I used to get Spray n' Pray medals all the time in Among Thieves, but I don't think I earned a single one during the Beta. The G-MAL obviously isn't worth the dickens, and the Auto Pistol never seemed to do much for me.

WitAndAWhip said:
Glad to see Chloe's back too.

I second that notion!

uncharted-3-screenshot-chloe-frazer-646x363.jpg


In the early days of this thread I mentioned that Naughty Dog would be releasing a series of vinyl Nathan Drake figurines. Days turned into months and they never saw the light of day. I imagine that they gradually were forgotten about by everybody until the other day....

ESC Toys said:
Uncharted 3 Drake Vinyl figure Pre-Orders!

Finally the Uncharted 3 Drake vinyl figures are now available for pre-orders. The 7" figure will be a combination of vinyl and PVC materials with minor articulation. Each figure will be packaged in blister tray with window box.

The following is available for Pre-orders-"OG" colorway standard edition and "Naughty Dog" colorway limited to 500pcs. You can pre-order the figures here at the ESC-Shop. Estimated delivery will be mid October 2011. All collectibles are for ages 15 & UP! Contains small parts! Choking Hazard!

Bonus offer-DLC content for Uncharted 3 PS3 game!

Included with each figure will be a unique serial code exclusive DLC content for Uncharted 3 PS3 game. You do not want to miss this!!!.

Instead of four variants, they've gone ahead with production on two. The standard color scheme and "Naughty Dog" colorway. I've ordered mine. Follow this link for details, and this link to place your order.

ESC-U3-Drake-ND-Preorder-07192011.jpg
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
If you haven't already noticed, Eurogamer has a slew of new screens up from what appear to be multi-player maps. For ease of viewing, I've sampled a few of the smaller resolution snaps here. Please follow the link for larger, high-res images.

But even in these the detail is astounding.

This first couple of images are of a desert-themed map, with what looks like a sandstorm coming in! If true, this looks like the follow-up to the "Trainwreck" map from Among Thieves.

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And while it was never played by me, this looks a lot like "The Highrise." Except that it's been re-themed to fit the new desert setting.

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Le Sabotuer said:
If I know Amy, the next game will take place in the desert. It's how they arrived at snow for Among Thieves -- what's the opposite of the jungle? The problem I see, however, is how are you going to feature the traversal exploration & combat that's become the hallmark of the series? The desert is horizontal, not vertical. It'll be difficult, but it can be done. I'd look into a different desert setting, maybe further up The Levant.

I wrote that back in May. The last line seems rather prescient if you ask me.

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Le Saboteur

Active member
Please pardon the double post. The previous one was getting fairly long.

Gamescom trailer is up!


It's good to see they're making good on their Drake's Fortune postmortem and including a level that show's Drake & Elena getting to the plane instead of just arriving.

There's a full-length clip of the level over here. Click the link. I'd rather not embed it in order to keep the temptation to spoil yourself to a minimum.

In any medium, Indy has a lot of ground to make up. Time and poor decision making have relegated him to an also ran.

UK players should also rejoice. They've finally announced the contents of the UK's Explorer Edition!

ss_preview_Uncharted3_Explorers_Edition_AW.JPG.jpg


Check out the page at Gamestop UK for all the details! While I dig the antique-style carrying case -- it holds 19(!) games -- I think I prefer the Arab-style Travel Chest the U.S. is getting.

drake-collectors.jpg


Though, I do like the UK's actual game case better.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Arne Meyer said:
Well, we?ve managed to steal, er, borrow, a production sample of the UNCHARTED 3: Drake?s Deception Collector?s Edition. We had a little help from our friend Nolan North, otherwise known as Nathan Drake in the UNCHARTED games. Nolan stopped by the Naughty Dog studio with our ill-gotten sample of the Collector?s Edition and we couldn?t resist to shoot an unboxing video to give our fans a good look at what actually comes inside the awesome looking traveling case.



Click on Nolan North's cat that ate the canary grin for the full blog post on the Playstation blog. I've also embedded the video below for those that hate to follow links.


If you're in the Pacific Northwest (like, say, Seattle) this weekend be sure to stop in at the PAX convention. Naughty Dog will be demoing Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception and handing out this nifty looking t-shirt.

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The full-court press continues! Announced at the SDCC in July, Naughty Dog & DC Comics have teamed up to release an Uncharted comic book! Joshua Williamson will be handling the writing duties, and will be paired up with penciller Sergio Sandoval. Adam Hughes & Francesco Villanueva will be on hand to do some covers.

unchartedcomic.jpg


Stop in at Newsarama for a full interview with Mr. Williamson.

Josh Williamson said:
In our story, Drake discovers that the legendary Amber Room was hidden by another great explorer, Sir Richard Byrd. The story is that many, many years ago, Byrd hid the Amber Room in the fabled Agartha in the Hollow Earth.

Drake competes with a pair of rich snobs to find clues that will lead them on a journey to the center of the earth and... you know what? I?ll just stop there. I don?t want to give away too much and ruin it for the reader.


More to come! Especially on the portable entry, Golden Abyss.
 

michael

Well-known member
Le Saboteur said:
I've never used the AK-47 so I can't personally comment, but all the kvetching about it didn't go unnoticed. I used to get Spray n' Pray medals all the time in Among Thieves, but I don't think I earned a single one during the Beta. The G-MAL obviously isn't worth the dickens, and the Auto Pistol never seemed to do much for me.

In all of the games I've played in UC2, I have barely over 50 'Spray n' Pray' medals, in about 20 matches of the beta, I had well over 50. But I'm confident they realize the issue. Here's to betas.

And as for the Highrise, I'm glad they are bringing it back, I like to think that since that map came out sort of late in UC2's lifespan, they didn't want it to go waste. It's one of the most unique multiplayer maps I've ever played, love it.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
crauky said:
i guess Uncharted is the closest were gonna get to another Indy :p

Sadly, I think you're right. Actually, no, it's not sad. I'm rather ecstatic that there's a worthy successor to the Indiana Jones name out there. The only sad thing is that it's in a medium that won't ever get the widest audience.

One can only hope that this recent push by Sony & Naughty Dog will garner a few more fans. Fingers crossed.

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When the sub-title and art for Uncharted: Golden Abyss was initially released I suspected that they (Naughty Dog & Bend Studios) would be picking up where the Eye of Indra motion comic left off. If not that, then bookend-ing the events of the comic. Why? Well...

Eye_of_Indra.png


As you can see the background graphics are fairly similar. The initial screenshots, however, told a different story, one that's backed up by the first official story trailer released at Gamescom a couple weeks back.


No, it looks like the jungles of South America are once again on display. Other screenshots and videos help to narrow down the location to a combination of Panama & Colombia. Or one or the other. This screen here is from the initial tech demo on display at E3(?), and once a relief of this image is produced, it gets filed under "The Secrets of the Kuna."

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Who are the Kuna? Some basic research indicates that they're an indigenous tribe that resided in present-day Colombia and the Darien Gap region of Panama at the time of the Conquistadores. They gradually moved West, ending up on the Caribbean coast of Panama and the islands just off the coast, known as the San Blas islands.

This makes sense given the relative location of the island in the first game, and that Sir Francis was buried at sea on the Caribbean side near Portobello.

Of note: the Kuna originally painted elaborate designs on their bodies, eventually carrying on that tradition through the development of molas after prolonged exposure to Christian missionaries. These molas are brightly colored, intricately patterned blouses favored by Kuna women.

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The Kuna also have the highest percentage of albinism of any people in the world.
 
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