July 2016 Community Playthrough - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

[ericeskapade]

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

[Fleach]

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?

[Pam]

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.

[Fleach]

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.

[GrayGhost81]

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.

[Fleach]

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?!

[singlebanana]

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.

[Raidou]

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.

[Pam]

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.

[singlebanana]

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

[GrayGhost81]

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.

[douglie007]

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

[Fleach]

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.

[Pam]

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.

[singlebanana]

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