Firstly, Chapter 10 begins to see Drugged Drake. There is more running around and chasing then there is shooting. Hell, it really doesn't feature pure shootouts until the boat sequences (12 through 14). Trust me, I know my Uncharted 3.
Awww snap, pulled out that UC3 knowledge
Whatevs, Chapter 10, Chapter 12, who's counting? My point was that when UC3 goes into overdrive, it rarely stops, and 90% of that "overdrive" is shooting guys in various scenarios and locations. Shooter gonna shoot.
Second, its pretty hypocritical to say Zelda does "Zelda" and overlook what Uncharted has done. Like it or not, Uncharted has birthed this type of "cinematic experience" genre that places more emphasis on presentation, design, and set pieces then it does on shooting dudes. Do you not remember "Everything was Uncharted?" The series has gone on to shape an identity, as hard as that might be to accept or acknowledge and none of that is for shooting.
The perception of Uncharted is "cinematic experience," sure, but when you sit down and play it, there's a lot more cover based and arena shooting than there are set-pieces. Hell, there's more climbing and jumping than there are set-pieces as well. So again, this goes back to what people take from the experience. People choose to take the set pieces with them, I don't. Those flashy moments are "icing" on the gameplay cake. So when I see E3 being mocked as "Everything was Uncharted," I see it as a negative because I know what people consider Uncharted to be. "Uncharted" in forum discussion has become shorthand for "explosive set-piece where everything's falling apart and the character is screaming." But if I'm actually discussing Uncharted as we are here, the game is a shooter. Leaving all the industry influence and baggage aside, it's simply a shooter that happens to dabble in other genres as a way to provide variety. Until the day Uncharted becomes wall to wall set-pieces and "cinematic moments," it'll be a shooter.
I think we have hit the core of the argument. It really is authorship versus designer's story. Drake isn't me and I'm not Drake, therefore I don't really invest any thing in authorship or highlights. Neither do I garner any validation out of playing it on Hard or overcoming gameplay obstacles. Uncharted is not something that you brag to your buddies about "beating" or "owning encounters." You instead talk about the setpieces and stories, what made you go wow, not the close encounters with digital death and such. I am not writing my own story in Uncharted, I am turning the page of another's. If I want authorship I go to experiences that put that above the story(you Obsidian games, what Bethesda used to offer etc.)
You can "nail" shooting guys and it still fall flat, brah. Max Payne 3 is mechnaically one of the best third person shooters ever to be made and it is also the greatest chore I have had to slog through in the last 8 years. I found it to be absolutley terrible. Exhilarating or no, it played the same from beginning to end. I could have just played five minutes of it and walked away with the same experience of someone who had played it through albeit it a shorter one. I'll atake any Uncharted with supposed "sub par shooting" over Third Person Shooting Mechanics: THE GAME any day of the week.
This is, indeed, the core of the argument because i find nothing interesting about discussing set-pieces with anyone. I'll praise a well done set-piece from here to the ends of the Earth, but I'll DISCUSS the core gameplay. That set-piece is the same for everyone. There's nothing interesting there from a "compare & contrast" standpoint, they're only interesting as points of praise or criticism. Enemy encounters, though, are interesting, specifically in something like The Last of Us where you have many options to tackle certain scenarios. That's the gameplay authorship I'm talking about. I know I'm still playing as Drake or Joel, but those sections where the game leaves me alone and allows me to make the moment MINE is where games shine, and what I like to discuss. That's why combat matters to me despite some thinking it's not all that important in something like Uncharted.
As for Max Payne 3, that game failed simply because of the cutscenes. If it was 10 hours of straight kill Euphoria powered rooms with Max monologues and that amazing soundtrack, it would've been one of my top 5 favorite games ever. I think this just comes down to what you find important, though. I like gun porn, so Max Payne appeals to me, and I appreciate when guns are GUNS in videogames, and combat with said guns is interesting and intense. You don't seem to care as much about that, and take away more enjoyment from presentation. Max Payne is supposed to be the purest of shooters, and if you'd asked me before buying it, I would've said "No, LastNac, you won't like it."
We will never come to an agreement. I'm fully prepared for arguments over Uncharted 4. Tis our destiny.
Come on guys and gals we need to see Drake and the crew in all of the PS4's glorious power! Bring it ND. My body is ready but I don't think my eyes are?
