DISCUSSION: UNCHARTED "Drake's Deception (2011)"

[weber_dubois22]

Okay, wow, not only did I think this game was coming out on the eleventh of November, the bloody thing has been out for eight days already. *cries* I am a bad moderator! (how I loathe RL and the The Immortals right now).



In other news Nate/Elena have a tumblr account now. So much Pretty for our OTP.

So really, as a means to appease, for those who've purchased the game:

STARTER QUESTIONS! (humor me):

• What do you all think of it so far?
• How is the story and the character progression/development?
• Is Catherine Marlowe the definitive Uncharted villain or just better than her predecessors?
• Is the Online + Multiplayer or Single Player campaign? improved over the previous?
• The 3D? Was it worth it or not?

Overall if you want to use this thread to discuss or gush about the game, you can. Spoilers aren't outlawed, but if you feel the need to warn anyone just leave "SPOILER" in the subject bar of the comments. Apologies about the lack of activity, folks.

Comments

SPOILERS! Beware, kiddies!

[aqua-crescent.livejournal.com]

Okay, I bought it and I finished it. And to be honest? I feel like I should've waited until the price came down to $30.

Throughout the whole game, I tried to put my finger on what I didn't like about it. And it wasn't until the horse chase near the end that I figured it out:

Naughty Dog just doesn't know what to do with the story anymore.

The first one introduced us to Nate Drake. The second one showed us why Nate keeps going even when he wants to quit. The third one showed us his relationship with Sully, and there's the problem: we don't need a game solely about Nate and Sully's relationship. Sure, it was great seeing ol' Sully back as a principle part of the story. Sure, I found Nate and Sully's background story interesting and the revelation that their relationship is that of a father and son instead of that of a mentor and prodigy touching. But most of that information was implied in the first two games, and the info that wasn't could have been covered in a few scenes of dialogue in this one--and more subtly, might I add.

Also, Marlowe and Talbot -- I greatly enjoyed both of these characters (especially Marlowe), but we hardly ever see them. In fact, it wasn't until the very end that I realized that Marlowe and Talbot also had a close relationship like Nate and Sully, and that they were meant to act as foils for them. Although foils normally work to a plot's advantage, I felt that in this case, ND would've done better to follow the ol' "runner-up villain dies midway" routine with Talbot. He stole a lot of Marlowe's thunder, thus taking any menace she had away from her, especially considering how deadly he proved to be with a knife and a gun. The only time we ever see Marlowe attack is when she slaps pre-teen Nate. I couldn't help but wonder how many (or few) hits it would take adult Nate to knock her out of commission.

As for Elena and Chloe...I can tell ND really struggled with the placement of those two. It seemed like the thought was, "we'll spend the first half of the game with Chloe and the second half with Elena," but that theory didn't work. As much as I love Chloe, it feels like we spend too much time with her and not enough time with Elena (particularly since Elena is only in about 30% of the game). I think the script would've worked better if either (a) Elena had been introduced earlier, (b) Chloe had been cut, or (c) Chloe's section of the game had been reduced to the first 20% or 25% of the game (like Sully's part at the beginning of U2).

On a side note (because someone mentioned it), I didn't like the fact that Nate isn't really a Drake (or a Nate, probably). The whole series is based upon written history being wrong, so to me this revelation clashed with the spirit of the games themselves.