Support NeoGAF

[wmlk]

Well that's just silly.

"The final boss" accounts for a fraction of the percent of the game. There are dozens of great games with poor boss fights (even great games with no boss fight).

Uncharted has a clear progression to the final boss. And there's build up.

The final boss (and yes, Uncharted has those) is one of the last things you do before finishing a video game. It's the last thing to leave an impression. For battles that are supposed a big deal, it's amazing how Uncharted somehow makes those encounters worse than the rest of the game.

 

[Litri]

Really disagree. Uncharted is a mediocre at best TPS held together by likable dialogue and characters, brilliant presentation and music. Unfortunately those characters wade through weak stories on par with Indy 4. If UC was a series of movies it would get destroyed, but instead it gets to look good compared to the generally bad stories of most games.

This. I own all of them. Uncharted DF had enemy firefights that were utterly frustrating and the repetitive and predictable AI was a big letdown. Also, the puzzles were a joke for most of the game.

Uncharted 2 didn't seem to improve aiming and the enemy hit-points were not precise at all during enemy fights. Cover mechanic was still a big problem.

Last but not least, Uncharted 3. I have never played the Uncharted games for their story as I really want deep, engaging gameplay but in this one story was minimal and the poor pacing made the game to drag for I don't know how many chapters. The locations were really dull and worst than in Uncharted 2 (which has the best in my opinion). AI had minor changes that didn't address the real problems and this again prevented me from REAL combat satisfaction not to mention the unnecessary QTEs.

I haven't played the PS4 collection and dunno if the issues above have been addressed at least partially.
All in all, the only real positives for me in the Unchated series are that the games shine very high on the technical level (especially two and three) and the inclusion of multiplayer which was a big plus.

 

[Veelk]

You are locked into place for melee in 1 and 2 as well, except 3 gives you a throw so you can toss and enemy away and then finish them off with a shot. Melee is a tactical trade off in all of them, you don't want to engage in a fist fight with an enemy at full health when you've got other enemies bearing down on you, but it has its advantages when you find a spot to pull it off (wastes no ammo, and you can kill a guy without risking damage from close up).

Uh...no, not anywhere to the same extent. With 1 and 2, the melee brawls are a one two hit, over very fast. 3 has an entirely new quasi-arkham system that lengthens them considerably. Throwing them isn't all that practical the O command isn't just throw, but to GRAB and throw, which even in ideal sitautions is a lengthy animation. Far better would be to roll away...except that's not as much of an option because O is Grab, Throw, Roll, AND Take Cover, which means there is going to be a lot of the game misinterpretting what you want to do. And if it was just the combat system, that still wouldn't be good, but it might be managable. However, ND was so gosh darn proud of it's new melee that they decided the enemies should rush you far more frequently than they ever did in 1 or 2, all while other enemies maintain firing. And for what? The 'advantage' you're arguing it gives, that was the case in the previous games as that's the basic function of melee in almost any game. "hit without using ammo" We didn't gain anything except more 'cinematic' fisticuffs.

So between the arbitarily lengthened system, the enemies rushing you, the boxed in design of certain areas, yeah, I'd very much say UC3 is very poorly designed in regards to the style of gameplay you're arguing the series excels in.

 

[Nappuccino]

I am definitely getting a kick out of how few people are actually addressing the OPs post. OP put a lot of time an effort into conveying things that make the game work for those of us who really enjoy it, and the response is "Nope, bullet sponges."

Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some bullet sponge characters, but outside of a few encounters here and there, they never seemed frustrating--you just had to think of other ways to kill them (grenades and head shots are your friends).

I can appreciate how the game isn't for everyone--or even everyone who likes third person shooters, but the OP describes the game in the way that I play and enjoy it.

edit: UC3 makes a lot of mistakes that UC2 avoids, for the record. I still dig UC3 . . . but it doesn't show off the Uncharted strong suits as well as 2.

 

[Sheroking]

"objectively wrong" lol ok.

The stealth in the games feels terrible, like that Order 1886 stealth section except throughout the whole game. I never bothered with the stealth, it's a joke.

Your assertion that enemies are randomly placed bullet sponges is literally, factually incorrect. The games ARE designed to be approached in a multitude of ways. You not liking the stealth mechanic is fine and all, but sections of enemies are often designed to be killed off with stealth if you choose.

That's simply what I meant by "objectively wrong" in your criticism.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Uncharted 3 has some truly atrocious encounter design. Enemies spawn in weird spots and they're overly spongey and repetitive. They have one hit kill weapons like grenade launchers, rockets, and snipers too that overwhelm you way too quickly. UC2 is a lot better but suffers from bad design choices, although less than the other games. The smurfs are especially bad in the back third of the game. I say this as a huge fan of the game, I just think it hasn't aged very well. Most of all though I feel like Uncharted just had poor hit reaction and feedback, partly due to the lack of blood and enemies not reacting correctly or taking way too many hits to actually die. It actually feels comparable to the Prometheans in Halo 4, which don't react or provide any indication that you're damaging them until they all of a sudden die. I love the Uncharted games but the mechanics are merely passable, not amazing. It's the storytelling, pacing, and variety that elevates the series.

RE hit reaction and feedback, Uncharted 2 is quite good at this. Every hit gets a solid register with a good animation, and all 3 games have a decent amount of blood for a T rated shooter. Unfortunately in 3 enemies don't react to every shot, which sucks, but I think the fluidity of the mechanics in that one somewhat make up for it. I agree the blue guys in 2 suck though, Shambala is unfortunately the worst part of the game.

There are some encounters in 3 that overdo the special enemy types, but overall I thought they did a great job of keeping you mobile and providing difficulty without being cheap.

 

[reminiscingLemon]

If I wasn't in the middle of pitching the EXACT OPPOSITE article to a major gaming website, I would post my reply here. As it stands, I feel I have to echo the first post: endless waves of bullet sponge enemies with poor weapon and enemy variation is not good game design.

It's one of the worst TPS series on the market.

I look forward to reading it, I picked up the uncharted collection mainly due to how much Gaf has sold these games, and damn Gaf I want a refund

just finished UC2 and yeah the story, writing, level design and set pieces are great but ive never been so bored in all my life, what a drag the first 2 have been kinda avoiding finishing the third. They certainly have theyre odd moment but its just not worth the trudgery

 

[Nappuccino]

RE hit reaction and feedback, Uncharted 2 is quite good at this. Every hit gets a solid register with a good animation, and all 3 games have a decent amount of blood for a T rated shooter. Unfortunately in 3 enemies don't react to every shot, which sucks, but I think the fluidity of the mechanics in that one somewhat make up for it. I agree the blue guys in 2 suck though, Shambala is unfortunately the worst part of the game.

There are some encounters in 3 that overdo the special enemy types, but overall I thought they did a great job of keeping you mobile and providing difficulty without being cheap.

Shambala got a lot easier once I realized that their crossbows were actually really powerful (which feels counter intuitive) and that the guardians were really weak to explosives, i.e. all the blue sap stuff. That big multi-level arena in Shambala (it starts with stealth and humans, ends with 3 or so guardians) is one of my favorite levels in the game. It's so well designed and expansive.

 

[Game4life]

Its a good TPS, but stuff like Gears and Max Payne 3 are just straight up better in the gameplay department.

UC2 shits on Max Payne 3 and Gears from a great height. Hell I cant think of any single level in Gears that is better designed than UC2. Gears is as banal as they come in terms of encounter and level design.

 

[R_thanatos]

Endless waves of bullet sponge enemies doesn't qualify as great combat to me.

That's your answer ? Did you even bother to read the first post , like AT ALL ?

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

OP is 100% correct, but I'm not surprised so many people think the combat is poor. My first time playing through these games, I enjoyed the setpieces, but my approach to combat was to always hide behind cover and aim for headshots, which made encounters pretty dull. It was only later, after watching a Let's Play of the game, that I realized how incredibly powerful hip-fire is (and learned about the steel fist attacks). Going back through the series again in the collection with that knowledge is like an entirely different experience. Enemies are suddenly not bullet-spongey at all. They often go down to my wild hip-fire before I even get a chance to land a steel fist! I really think the games just did a poor job of communicating the mechanics to the player (while outright omitting any explanation of the steel fist). It reminds me of how Bayonetta didn't bother to explain dodge offset to the player. Knowing how to dodge offset in Bayo is as transformative to the gameplay as knowing to use hipfire and steel fists is in Uncharted.

I could see this being the case. Aiming down sight has become such an ingrained part of shooter mechanics and it really throws people off if a game doesn't have it. I watch a bunch of people playing games and very often see people going into ADS for enemies 5 feet in front of them, or even ADS constantly with a shotgun. But play Uncharted with more movement and hip fire and it plays much, much better.


Killzone 2 is another game that benefits immensely when favoring hip fire.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Uh...no, not anywhere to the same extent. With 1 and 2, the melee brawls are a one two hit, over very fast. 3 has an entirely new quasi-arkham system that lengthens them considerably. Throwing them isn't all that practical the O command isn't just throw, but to GRAB and throw, which even in ideal sitautions is a lengthy animation. Far better would be to roll away...except that's not as much of an option because O is Grab, Throw, Roll, AND Take Cover, which means there is going to be a lot of the game misinterpretting what you want to do. And if it was just the combat system, that still wouldn't be good, but it might be managable. However, ND also found it in their neverending wisdom to have the enemies rush you far more frequently than they ever did in 1 or 2. As for the 'advantage' you're arguing it gives, that was the case in the previous games as that's the basic function of melee in almost any game. "hit without using ammo" We didn't gain anything.

So between the arbitarily lengthened system, the enemies rushing you, the boxed in design of certain areas, yeah, I'd very much say UC3 is very poorly designed in regards to the style of gameplay you're arguing the series excels in.

I think it encourages a mixture of gunfire and melee to weaken enemies, and while fights last a little longer I still prefer them to the sort of herky jerk slow-mo DOF effect that 2 has. That and the plethora of animations makes 3's melee more seamless. I agree O shouldn't have been grab, but at the same time I'd be hard pressed to think of a situation where that actually got me killed in any of my playthroughs.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

I look forward to reading it, I picked up the uncharted collection mainly due to how much Gaf has sold these games, and damn Gaf I want a refund

just finished UC2 and yeah the story, writing, level design and set pieces are great but ive never been so bored in all my life, what a drag the first 2 have been kinda avoiding finishing the third. They certainly have theyre odd moment but its just not worth the trudgery

Yeah I agree, the games have their high pointss but the moment to moment stuff is just a drag. I don't understand the story praises either, it's nothing special. I hope after Uncharted 4 ND makes another The Last of Us, that was a good ass game.

 

[StriKeVillain]

Not for me. I much prefer the gameplay, design and characters of The Last of Us. Now that's great.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Shambala got a lot easier once I realized that their crossbows were actually really powerful (which feels counter intuitive) and that they were really weak to explosives, i.e. all the blue sap stuff. That big multi-level arena in Shambala (it starts with stealth and humans, ends with 3 or so guardians) is one of my favorite levels in the game. It's so well designed and expansive.

That arena is really good, and the stormy one in the canal is awesome as well. It has its moments. But stuff like the final boss, and the first encounter with them where you don't start with a crossbow drag it down from the constant high of the rest of the game.

 

[Jumeira]

It's a great package but the shooting is clunky and enemies/guns have poor feedback. I hate the shooting sections,infact I gave up on UC1 and UC3 near the end because your forced into the messy combat and with poor ai combatants.

I'd roll my eyes every time another wave of guys drop down from opes or spawn from the corner as they just aren't fun to shoot. The traversal was the best thing about the encounters but what a chore the shooting is. Syria level was particularly unpleasant.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Not for me. I much prefer the gameplay, design and characters of The Last of Us. Now that's great.

Last of Us has amazing fameplay too, with even more consistant encounters and mechanics, but I wanted to show some appreciation for Uncharted, where I don't agree with most of the critiscim it gets.

 

[Certinty]

Not for me. I much prefer the gameplay, design and characters of The Last of Us. Now that's great.

Exactly my views.

I think the Uncharted games are good but where they really stand out is with amazing setpieces, other than that and the graphics I think everything else is pretty average at best. The shooting especially is far below what it should be as well.

 

[Figboy79]

Yes, this is known!

There are a lot of third person shooters out there, but very few of them are actually good. Uncharted and Gears of War, are still the best TPS games in the genre (I'm not a Gears fan at all, but I'd be a fool to say its TPS gameplay isn't on point).

Just because a game may have a third person perspective, over the shoulder shooting, and cover mechanics, doesn't instantly make it a good TPS. Uncharted has fantastic controls, responsive combat, and very well crafted level design.

Sure, the series is known for its set pieces, but the set pieces comprise, tops, a few minutes of a 10-12 hour long game. The moment to moment gameplay in between those set pieces has to be good as well. The series isn't getting the praise it does because of just the set pieces. If it was just that, the games would hardly be revered the way they are.

I've loved every entry of the series so far, even Golden Abyss. They deserves every bit of praise they get. That doesn't mean it's flawless or perfect. Doesn't mean that the gameplay systems can't be improved and iterated on and polished. But the games are good. Playing the PS4 collection this week just highlights how genuinely fun and well made these games are.

 

[Cannonball Titcomb]

Not to be dismissive, but this really reads like another post that has projected a whole lot of stuff on the game that ND never intended.

This is the first TPS series they have ever made and it shows. Waves of samey bullet spongey enemies jumping over walls every time you think you're finally done is not good design. Uncharted 2 was the biggest offender in that regard I think.

Everything about this series is absolutely fantastic except the combat, which is just passable. It wouldn't be an issue if it didn't overstay it's welcome with stupidly designed encounters.

No, I believe the gameplay that OP discussed is exactly what ND intended and I point to the "brutal combo" in Drake's Fortune as proof. Brutal combos provide an incentive to get the player out of cover and into close combat by rewarding the player with greater damage and double the ammunition enemies would normally drop.

It's a gameplay loop that moves the player from combat to cover to combat instead of hiding behind cover and popping out from time to time to deliver headshots and eventually running out of ammo. It rewards movement and allows the player to make full use of the level design in every combat scenario.

Why they dropped brutal combos in subsequent games I have no idea but I believe that a lot of players didn't fully get what ND intended with the mechanic and simply played it as a cover shooter (which is something I did for about half of Drake's Fortune until someone explained the loop to me, which made the game way more fun to play imho)

 

[Veelk]

I think it encourages a mixture of gunfire and melee to weaken enemies, and while fights last a little longer I still prefer them to the sort of herky jerk slow-mo DOF effect that 2 has. That and the plethora of animations makes 3's melee more seamless. I agree O shouldn't have been grab, but at the same time I'd be hard pressed to think of a situation where that actually got me killed in any of my playthroughs.

Encourage would imply you have a choice in engaging in such tactics. The enemies are going to put you into brawler mode whether you like it, either because you don't see them coming or because you have nowhere to go. ND's shiny new melee may look nice, but it's countereffective in terms of the freedom of movement you describe in your OP.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Its a good TPS, but stuff like Gears and Max Payne 3 are just straight up better in the gameplay department.

Havent played Max Payne 3 but it looks awesome. I like Gears of War a lot, it has solid mechanics and lots of interesting enemy types. But punch for punch I think Uncharted has better designed encounters and arenas, and I prefer the mobility and verticality. I also think the cover system is wayyy better, I can't count the times I've gotten caught on cover in GOW when I'm trying run away from some enemy.

 

[Nappuccino]

That arena is really good, and the stormy one in the canal is awesome as well. It has its moments. But stuff like the final boss, and the first encounter with them where you don't start with a crossbow drag it down from the constant high of the rest of the game.

I actually never had that hard of a time with the final boss. I think it's a little weak mechanically, but I enjoy frantically scrambling away from him. That little round arena has a good number of ways to navigate it while still outrunning him. I don't think it's the highest note that the game could have ended on.

And yeah, that first encounter is /rough/ especially when the game doesn't communicate just how great that crossbow is. I remember dying to the second guardian a ton because I kept scrambling for the old guns.

I do think that the biggest justifiable complaint with the series is that they don't do a good job conveying the mechanics that well. However, that complaint seems to get transposed onto other elements of the game entirely, which is a bit frustrating even though I understand it.

 

[R_thanatos]

Well i feel like i understand you OP.
The first time i've played uncharted on normal , i felt that it was a nice game, very fun , but it was untill i reached the higher difficulties that i understood Just how you needed to use the level design at your advantage in encounters.
Many people dislike UC3 , but it's really the game were you have the most options in terms of how you approch your fights...to the point that 3 big arena fight that seems scripted are not in reallity if you pay attention to the ennemi placement ( and totally avoidable if you go stealth route ) .. this wasn't that important in UC2 ..but even in UC2 , during battle there was always enough options for the player in order to move across the level without losing momentum and be killed by an ennemy.


Too bad the same encounter design during MP co-op is total bullsh*t

 

[BadWolf]

It's no Vanquish or Resident Evil 6 but a very enjoyable combat system overall, I dig it.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Encourage would imply you have a choice in engaging in such tactics. The enemies are going to put you into brawler mode whether you like it, either because you don't see them coming or because you have nowhere to go. ND's shiny new melee may look nice, but it's countereffective in terms of the freedom of movement you describe in your OP.

Hip fire as they charge you, run in for a steel fist. Or notice their approach and find a new cover point or high ground to shoot them. Or grab and throw them and then light them up. I felt that there were plenty of options to deal with the agressive enemies + melee combos.
I think the armored enemies in 3 are pretty bad though compared to 2. Because unlike 2 they are more agressive to, and melee isn't an option for them, and they seemingly have worse armor breakdown visual feedback.

 

[Dynasty]

Playing Uncharted for the first time via the Nathan Drake Collection. Beaten 1 and 2 and honestly don't get what all the hype is about. I remember people always going on about the train section in Uncharted 2 and it was nothing special when I played it. I guess it didn't age well or something.

 

[Fancy Clown]

I actually never had that hard of a time with the final boss. I think it's a little weak mechanically, but I enjoy frantically scrambling away from him. That little round arena has a good number of ways to navigate it while still outrunning him. I don't think it's the highest note that the game could have ended on.

And yeah, that first encounter is /rough/ especially when the game doesn't communicate just how great that crossbow is. I remember dying to the second guardian a ton because I kept scrambling for the old guns.

I do think that the biggest justifiable complaint with the series is that they don't do a good job conveying the mechanics that well. However, that complaint seems to get transposed onto other elements of the game entirely, which is a bit frustrating even though I understand it.

Final boss is too repetitive and doesn't change up enough in addition to being boring tactically in the first place. It's just running in a circle repeating the same thing in 4 different cycles and if he kills you then you have to start all over. It's just bleh.

 

[Mman235]

Uncharted 2 definitely (and that's the one where the bullet sponge complaint is outright bullshit outside the you-know-whos as even the heavies go down to couple of headshots and normal enemies go down in no time at all), the others not so much.

 

[XxSlasherMcGirkxX]

I agree with the OP. Uncharted games have fantastic combat.

 

[sn00zer]

Havent played Max Payne 3 but it looks awesome. I like Gears of War a lot, it has solid mechanics and lots of interesting enemy types. But punch for punch I think Uncharted has better designed encounters and arenas, and I prefer the mobility and verticality. I also think the cover system is wayyy better, I can't count the times I've gotten caught on cover in GOW when I'm trying run away from some enemy.

Max Payne 3 is the best third person shooter ever

Spoiler

before MGSV arrived but its still really good

 

[RevolverRoden]

tbh I like the games and i dont think the combat is bad but the gameplay in general is just so repetitive and checklist-y

 

[Fancy Clown]

Playing Uncharted for the first time via the Nathan Drake Collection. Beaten 1 and 2 and honestly don't get what all the hype is about. I remember people always going on about the train section in Uncharted 2 and it was nothing special when I played it. I guess it didn't age well or something.

I could do a whole other post on the train setpiece, it's aged like fine wine. The mix of platforming and combat (avoiding signs and stuff that can be used against enemies), to how it dynamically effects aiming and grenades, how the backgrounds flow seemlessly from forests to lakes to tunnels to snowy mountains, the sheer diversity of encounters in there like the turret car, shooting down the helicopter, fighting guys while avoiding the helicopter etc, and even though a train is as linear as you can get you STILL have two or three different ways to progress from car to car and that affects both combat and traversal.

 

[Veelk]

Hip fire as they charge you, run in for a steel fist. Or notice their approach and find a new cover point or high ground to shoot them. Or grab and throw them and then light them up. I felt that there were plenty of options to deal with the agressive enemies + melee combos.
I think the armored enemies in 3 are pretty bad though compared to 2. Because unlike 2 they are more agressive to, and melee isn't an option for them, and they seemingly have worse armor breakdown visual feedback.

Hipfire won't instantly kill them, especially if you're using non-automatic weapons, sometimes there's no helping noticing them because you are concentrating on what other enemies are doing or else sometimes there's no way to move because enemies are firing on you, grab and throwing them still involves a. other enemies making you eat lead while you're busy playing pattycake and b. still can screw you over by drake misinterpreting your command.

For the record, this isn't about having 'ways to deal with' enemies, because I wanted to play on a casual pace and played at normal, where it's hard to die in general. The point isn't that you die a lot from that (though I imagine on higher difficulties, it is). The point is that, regardless of player success against such tactics, it directly impedes the concept of freedom of movement that you're praising so highly. Even if I consistantly win such encounters, it's a boring way to play when I want to jump around and use the environment to my advantage, as you so wildly praised in the OP.

 

[GamerJM]

Endless waves of bullet sponge enemies doesn't qualify as great combat to me.

Yeah this. Sorry OP not seeing what you mean when you're talking about movement, at least not as something unique to Uncharted. It's not bad per se but it's mediocre and has problems.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

I could do a whole other post on the train setpiece, it's aged like fine wine. The mix of platforming and combat (avoiding signs and stuff that can be used against enemies), to how it dynamically effects aiming and grenades, how the backgrounds flow seemlessly from forests to lakes to tunnels to snowy mountains, the sheer diversity of encounters in there like the turret car, shooting down the helicopter, fighting guys while avoiding the helicopter etc, and even though a train is as linear as you can get you STILL have two or three different ways to progress from car to car and that affects both combat and traversal.

It's bliss.

 

[Soyongdori]

Uncharted 1 was awful, 2 was the best, 3 was a letdown compared to 2.

Plus the combat does get repetitive. Just waves and waves of enemies and occasional QTE.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Hipfire won't instantly kill them, especially if you're using non-automatic weapons, sometimes there's no helping not noticing them because you are concentrating on what other enemies are doing or else sometimes there's no way to move because enemies are firing on you, grab and throwing them still involves a. other enemies making you eat lead while you're busy playing pattycake and b. still can screw you over by drake misinterpreting your command.

For the record, this isn't about having 'ways to deal with' enemies, because I wanted to play on a casual pace and played at normal, where it's hard to die in general. The point isn't that you die a lot from that (though I imagine on higher difficulties, it is). The point is that, regardless of player success against such tactics, it directly impedes the concept of freedom of movement that you're praising so highly. Even if I consistantly win such encounters, it's a boring way to play when I want to jump around and use the environment to my advantage, as you so wildly praised in the OP.

It stops the movement while your fistfighting but I don't think it stops the momentum of the combat. It's perectly in line with the scrappy adventure combat it has going on where it's a fluid mix of gunplay, traversal, and hand to hand. It could be better for sure, but I felt it had its place in the combat and was just one tool of many that you have to handle encounters.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

I agree OP. I love this style of TPS over others.

 

[ShamePain]

People that say enemies are bulletsponges can't aim for shit imo, almost all enemies die from one bullet to the head.

 

[Mr.Fletcher]

I really enjoy the Uncharted series but I think it has a lot of problems with game feel.

Absolutely no action in the game, in my humble opinion, feels satisfying. From the automated platforming to the slippery movement, it just doesn't feel great to navigate the battlefield in Uncharted.

Drake feels particularly bad in the original and the guns just don't have much impact.

In terms of gameplay options and movement Metal Gear Solid V kills it.

Tomb Raider also feels more satisfying, as does Gears of War, Max Payne and The Last of Us.

Game feel is priceless to me and Uncharted just doesn't deliver the goods.


However, Uncharted 2 has some excellent encounters - though I think all the games suffer from too many wave-based combat sections.

Still love the series though.

 

[Veelk]

It stops the movement while your fistfighting but I don't think it stops the momentum of the combat. It's perectly in line with the scrappy adventure combat it has going on where it's a fluid mix of gunplay, traversal, and hand to hand. It could be better for sure, but I felt it had its place in the combat and was just one tool of many that you have to handle encounters.

Well, okay, that's fine, but in that case, praise Uncharted because it's thematically unified, not because it has good "mechanics, encounters, level" design, because that's something other than what your talking about.

 

[revolverjgw]

Hate for its gameplay perplexes me. I love how agile Drake is, the verticality, the effectiveness of hip shooing and mixing it up with melee... playing on Crushing, I can replay most encounters many times without getting bored, there's usually lots of ways to approach things. Bring on the waves of enemies, it's a shooter and I want people to shoot. UC1 has a couple of scenes that one wave too many, but otherwise I'm Ok with it.

I could use some more weapon and enemy variety, but it's standard for a TPS.

 

[KalBalboa]

I think the shooting is fun, but it's the encounter design and ways in which the gameplay is mixed up with melee combat, throwing back grenades, and such that make it a real win for me.

The shooting isn't as perfect for me as something like Max Payne 3, but Uncharted is obviously going for something very different in terms of mechanics.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

What is with the hate on enemies that don't die the moment you hit them once? I've only played the first but getting headshots was easy even with that controller and headshots dropped them fast enough.

 

[DustyVonEric]

It's easily my favorite TPS series, along with Gears 1.

Gears 1 is legit.

Wait. Does TLoU count as a TPS? If so, that's up there with Uncharted and Gears.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Well, fine, but then praise Uncharted because it's thematically unified, not because it has good "mechanics, encounters, level" design, because that's what you said this topic was about.

You're getting a little hot around the collar about this, which is weird but ok. How am I suddenly back peddling? It's thematically unified and the mechanics encounter and level design are good. Just because I think melee and the other systems are good and well implemented in relation to the design of the rest of the game doesn't mean I don't think there's room for improvement, or that it's flawless. Uncharted 4 looks like it's improving on everything I like about the systems.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

i disagree

if the mechanics are solid then you could be fighting a housefly and could still make it enjoyable

there were some pretty bland enemies in DMC but the combat is so fun anything you fight is enjoyable

I disagree with this. Mechanics can only get a game so far. That's why I don't care for DMC and really appreciate games like Resident Evil 4.

Uncharted 2 has great mechanics and most of the enemies you fight are pretty enjoyable, if samey. This is helped by good, though pedestrian, level design. I actually really enjoyed the last few chapters because of the change-up in enemies and level design. Uncharted 3 just throws enemies with increased health and armor, and it suffers for it. Good mechanics can't make up for bad level and encounter design, which is what Uncharted 3's major flaw is.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Ugh, and here I was thinking OP was going to praise the first game, which is still the overall best in the series. But yes, Uncharted DOES have good gameplay despite what people say. It's not GOAT gameplay, but as far as the cinematic action genre goes, it's only second to something like God of War IMO.

 

[Silent_Ocarina]

I was actually thinking about making a thread on my first real foray into the Sony ecosystem as a gamer who primarily has only played Nintendo games. I was specifically going to talk about the Uncharted series and how different its approach is from a Nintendo game. I don't think the combat is awful, but it's not very engaging for the player. There are times when it feels outright unfair. It's also pretty repetitive. I'm still enjoying the series, but it's not the combat I'm enjoying outside a few rare instances.