RF Generation Message Board

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the first in the series, combines action-adventure and platform elements with a third-person perspective to chart the journey of protagonist Nathan Drake, supposed descendant of the explorer Sir Francis Drake, as he seeks the lost treasure of El Dorado in South America with the help of journalist Elena Fisher and mentor Victor "Sully" Sullivan. They are pursued relentlessly by pirates led by Eddy Raja and later on by a group of mercenaries led by Gabriel Roman and Atoq Navarro.

If you like Indiana Jones, you'll love this!

Checkpoints
Week 1 - Complete chapters 1-6
Week 2 - Complete chapters 6-12
Week 3 - Complete chapters 13-18

PARTICIPANTS:
Disposed Hero
douglie007
erikescapade
Fleach
GrayGhost81
Pam
Raidou
singlebanana

Is it silent service?

Maybe. Do you want it to be? ;)

I am in for Uncharted 1 on PS3 :) Looking forward to it :)

I picked up the PS4 collection pretty cheap a little while back, and I even more recently just completed Uncharted 4, so I'm curious to see how the original holds up in comparison.  Looking forward to this!

Neat! I just played this last year, so while I don't think I'll play through again, I do remember it well enough to join in the conversation.

Cool Pam!  Looking forward to your comments.

OK let's do it, I want to get the ps4 version, but I already have them on ps3 so I didn't want to spend 30 on the HD remake, unless it's really worth it

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You'll have to talk to Disposed Hero. He's got the HD collection. I'm sure he'll know of any differences between that and the PS3 releases.

And of course, glad to have you on board!

First check point is up. Have fun!

Good OP Floyd. I've played through the whole trilogy before, and I'm waiting on a copy of the original to float back into my collection
(will happen this weekend) but I'm looking forward to replaying the first. It's short and sweet!

This will be my second time playing the game, but enough time has passed for it to feel fresh enough to revisit. I figured that with the fourth and final instalment coming out, and Rich now owning a PS3 it'd be a perfect reason to go back to the first game in the series.

I am just worried, I have been playing 4.  and then going back to one might be a little odd.

I finished 4 pretty recently also, and it is kind of weird to go back and play the original.  This series has evolved so much in literally every aspect, but it's also really cool to go back and see where it all began.  All in all, it's still a great game and I'm really enjoying it despite how primitive it may seem compared to the later games in the series.

The only changes (at least for the first game) that I can tell are that they made the graphics a little prettier, upped the framerate, and removed the Sixaxis controls (which were pretty minimal anyway).  If you already have the trilogy on PS3, you probably don't need to re-buy the trilogy on PS4.

cool I can deal with that, I do have the original 3 on PS3 so I will play the ones i have.  I want to finish the Illusion of Gaia before I start.

This is why i've been trying to play most series in order as much as is reasonable over the past 5 or 6 years. i make exceptions for series like Final Fantasy, but if there's any story connections between games i definitely want to start at the beginning.

I could have sworn we did a playthrough of this game before, but a search in the sub-forum shows we haven't...must be losing it  :laugh:

I have a busy July planned but I might try joining in on this one...no promises, but I'd like to.

A bit late, but I'm in.

I picked up the PS4 Nathan Drake Collection a while back (it came with my PS4 - factory sealed no less).  I've played bits of Uncharted 2 but otherwise I am new to the series.

Cool! Glad to have you with us.

I hear the PS4 release isn't very different from the original, but it looks much better.

From what I've seen, that appears to be true.  There's noticeable pop-in and the character models can be a bit jerky at times- you can tell that it's a remaster of an early PS3 game.  Curiously, the PS4's LED changes colour, acting as a sort of health meter (Yellow>Orange>Red).  This did freak me out a bit, as I was afraid that my controller was not charging properly (or something).

It is definitely interesting seeing the difference between this game and the Tomb Raider reboot.

Uncharted was heavily influenced by the original Tomb Raider games along with pulp style action movies and those influences are really noticeable in this game. I'd say the Tomb Raider reboot is closer to The Last of Us, but that's because they share many gameplay similarities. Great point though! That's a perfect starting point for a discussion.

I wonder what the other people think about the Tomb Raider (and reboot)/Uncharted similarities.

Spoiler (hover to show)

Chapter 18:
'You need to get to the generator so we can leave.'

I really hope this isn't gonna be like the Magic Generator in The Last of Us.

EDIT: Fortunately, it wasn't.

EDIT:
Got a bit overenthusiastic and beat the game.

That's OK, Raidou. When Uncharted is at its best it's fantastic. I'm happy you're done and hope you enjoyed the game.

Started yesterday, but I kept all the treasure I found before, so I can find all with less time

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Week 2 checkpoint is up.

How's everyone liking this game so far? I've been loving every minute of it... Except for the bullet sponges. :(

I am at Chapter 4 now hope to be at 6 tonight

Made it to Chapter 8 tonight.

Well, I'm up to Chapter 13, so finally caught up with the checkpoints. 

Just some thoughts.

1.  I like the story. Yeah, it's cheesy and very unbelievable at times, but it's a video game, and well....I don't care.  I think there is plenty of substance to keep me interested and there are small events throughout that nicely build on the story.
2.  I really dig the climbing mechanics and they are fairly simple to use. My only gripe is that usable ledges, vines, etc. aren't always well-defined and have caused my several deaths and moments of "What the hell do I do next?"
3.  I like the "hint" feature.  Not always so obvious, but at least it's a nice guide for determining what to do next if too much time passes.
4. Not a big fan of what had seemed like a very rinse & repeat game style up to the first checkpoint.  This gets better with more variety up from the first to the second checkpoint, but the

Spoiler (hover to show)

jet ski missions

aren't the best and feel clunky. Loved the

Spoiler (hover to show)

jeep chase

though.
5. I kind of dig the limited ammo, even though there have been times I've had to charge in for melee in order to get some ammo. Enemies are a bit of a bullet sponge; head shots require one bullet, which is nice, but other fatal areas like the chest should earn similar results. Man, I love that Smith & Wesson.
6. Gun variety is nice.  Not a huge plethora of guns, but enough to keep the game consistent. Not a big fan that there isn't "general ammo," but I've gotten use to it and I think that it makes the game more realistic to have to keep swapping out weapons. If you haven't gotten the

Spoiler (hover to show)

M4

yet, you're in for a treat.
7. Aiming is okay, but could be much better. With many 3rd person cover games, when you aim and then go under cover, when you pop back up, you are aimed at the same spot. Not here, it's a little off and requires you to have to aim again (while being pelted with bullets) no fun. Enemy AI is pretty good and I like that they don't always pop up at the same spots.

Well, that's enough for now. Love to hear others thoughts on these and any additional thoughts you might have on the game so far.

Some thoughts on this game...

I really like Nathan Drake as a character, he keeps things light and funny (while murdering hundreds of people whose cultural treasures he wants to steal).

The mechanics of this game are okay. The shooting is passable, but not great. The enemies are bullet sponges, which gets tired quick. I actually like the climbing and platforming stuff much more than the combat.

I'm usually a collector in games, but I find the treasures in this game really difficult to find. I didn't find more than a handful in my entire playthrough. Games like the Tomb Raider reboot (or even the new DOOM) are much better about collectibles. At least they give you an idea of where to find them.

Speaking of Tomb Raider - it really does everything better than Uncharted. I've yet to play the later Uncharted games, but combat, shooting, climbing are all much smoother and more fun in Tomb Raider.

Uncharted occupies a strange place where overall I'd say I liked it quite a bit, but I also have a hundred different complaints about it.

But.....he's murdering "bad guys" and murdering bad guys is cool!  I like the humor and dialogue in this game and think that the lightheartedness of it, which turns to fairly serious at times, works well.  The voice acting is very good.

I agree, I much prefer the platforming to the combat in this game, but the combat isn't terrible.  I understand that there were improvements to the later games and I'm looking forward to hearing from some of the other guys on the podcast who have played them.

I don't mind the treasure hunting so much and it's kind of fun to explore an area once you have it cleared out.  The one thing I do like is that this is the only "collectable" in the game. Oftentimes, too many collectables detract from gameplay and I think that this is subtle enough to just be a kind of fun thing.  Not sure it has the legs to help carry replayability though.

I'd love to hear a comparison of how Tomb Raider and the latter Uncharted games compare. I played the original TR back when it came out on the PSX; those controls were innovative, but wow were they primitive and fairly unresponsive. So maybe Uncharted is simply getting its bearings with this first installment. One thing is for sure, we've certainly come a long way in terms of platforming since the original TR and we owe a lot to it.

Thanks for the comments Pam!

Made it until Chapter 9 last weekend. Just wanted to let some thoughts here, but i found exactly the points of the game i like and dislike summed up pretty good by Pam and Singlebanana.
I didn't know the term "bullet-sponge" before, but it is so fitting, now that i have read it. Just couldn't put it into words, what exactly i thought when i was aiming for the head, and all the bellies and arms of the enemies are emptying my gunrounds.
I switched from normal to easy, because the gunfights got me tired very soon. Not realy the difficulty, but only having to do them. Puzzling and  Climbing is so much more fun. Like riding the jeep and the jet-ski. (it saved me from dusting off my N64+Wave Race). The levels/setting are awesome. Would have liked to  see the drowned ruins and the "Castle" before in a real holiday. :) and we all know:  it so has to be a good game, if there is a SUBMARINE in it! even when it isn't working and crowded with rotting germans ;)

To be fair, Drake isn't stealing the bad guys' treasures. The baddies are after the gold as much as Drake is. But I understand the comment. There's definitely a lot of disconnect between Drake's actions and personality. This is something I think I'd like to discuss more because I think Naughty Dog might be the worst offender. All their games try to be very cinematic and still succumb the trappings of a video game (shooting bad guys, finding collectables, etc) and these two elements play against each other. For example, Drake is supposed to be an every-man to which people can relate but he also has to go on shooting sprees because.... well, video games.

I'm sure we'll go deeper into that later, but what are your thoughts on things like this? What do you guys think about the way Naughty Dog tries to make games with emphasis on the cinematic approach?

As I said, I've only played the first Uncharted, but I agree Fleach, there is a huge disconnect between Drake's personality and the overall tone of the game and Drake's actions.

I think this was handled much better in The Last of Us, for a number of reasons. First, the setting. In the zombie apocalypse where you can see how people are out for themselves and there are limited resources and safe spaces it's easier to understand Joel and Ellie straight up murdering non-zombies in order to protect themselves. And then the killing of zombies is just a given. I generally find the killing of zombies/aliens/monsters much more palatable in games than killing people. Even things like collectibles in TLoU seemed more natural. Some were used for crafting bandages and knives, which made sense, while others really helped with the world building by telling little stories. Though the treasure collectibles in Uncharted (and Tomb Raider) make sense, they do seem to be something added because people like collecting junk and achievements, rather than something that enhances the world.

Totally with your on all those points Pam.

I just made it to chapter 15 which sees Drake going through an underground tomb which is supposed to be unknown to Roman and Navarro's goons, but I found some down there anyway. Not a criticism, just something that made me laugh.

Pam I love your comment about liking the game a lot but having a hundred complaints about it.

I feel exactly the same way and would state in a different way as well: It's a game I'm excited to fire up and start playing, but after about 45 minutes I've had enough of the frustrating gunplay.

Sometimes I find myself wondering why a specific section has a gunfight. Some of them are just so out of place.  And there's always a rediculous number of enemies. Why does Drake have to be this one man army?!

Same reason Indiana Jones does.

I don't remember Indie mowing down a small private army with an M-9, although I have purged most of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull from my brain.

Oops, not sure if we're through here yet, officially. Adding spoiler tags.

Spoiler (hover to show)

So, how 'bout that jet ski? The first time the jet ski was used it wasn't good, but it didn't quite make me want to put my controller through the TV. The second time though, that took me forever to get through. Besides the movement of the vehicle just being generally awkward and a constant struggle with the rapids, I was terrible at controlling the jet ski while trying to shoot at enemies or explosives. I got past it, though I wouldn't say I ever really got the hang of it. I really hope there are no jet skis in future games.

Yes Pam! I agree, the jet skis blew.  We are okay to talk about them now. :)

This game is absolutely killing me.

It wasn't that bad until the Mercs vs Mutants section, where the game absolutely slams on the brakes and becomes one of the worst trial and error slogs I have ever had the misfortune of playing through.

After three days of playing for about twenty minutes then rage quitting over and over, I finally broke through to chapter 20. No mutants, just a wide open courtyard where you can't move because of the snipers.

I cannot wait for this game to be over.

To my co-hosts, please do not ever suggest another Naughty Dog game for a playthrough. I'm done.

I am so sad I havent had time to play this much. I got to Chapter 5.. I think I used to much of the month to finish Gaia, and I am glad I did :)

I get frustrated a lot with these Uncharted games for the same reasons GrayGhost does. I think most of the action scenes are totally unfair. Those parts can be completed with a lot of trial and error but sometimes it just doesn't seem worth it. There were moments where I wanted to give up also.

That being said, I still really like this game. This is my second run of Uncharted and I've died at all the same spots. It's been fun though.

Talking about the end of the game.

Spoiler (hover to show)

I agree with GrayGhost that the game got overly difficult at the end. I died a ton in the last few sections.

What really drove me nuts though was the start of the very last sequence when they face you against a number of enemies at medium range, hiding behind cover and the only gun you have is a shotgun. It did nothing at that range! I must have died over a dozen times at this part. It got better as you went on to the next groups and picked up more weapons, but after beating the game I didn't feel accomplished, just glad it was over.

Recording the podcast this week.  Any thoughts or questions for our motley crew are appreciated!

I'd love to hear some discussion on Nathan Drake vs Lara Croft. Where can you see influences from the original Tomb Raider on Uncharted 1, and are there places where the TR reboots have been influenced by Uncharted?

Funny you should bring up that question. I was thinking the same thing when I was writing the show notes. Great question, though. Thanks!

I missed posting the final checkpoint last week, but it should be obvious that it's time to finish the game. It's been a blast, everyone.

Thanks for hosting this month Floyd. Can't wait to discuss this game tonight.