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[ZenaxPure]

i compared it directly to the previous game from naughty dog that i'd played, jak ii, quite a lot. that's because there were many comparisons to be drawn in u2's favor. after playing the last of us, i view the game as something of a stepping stone. there were lessons they were learning with each game, and the big one from jak ii was to pick a game where a cinematic narrative made sense. they did that with this. the big lesson from u2 was to connect the story and the actions of the player, which they accomplished to great effect in the last of us.

I feel pretty similar as well. I enjoyed Uncharted 2 but thought the gameplay was lacking in some key various ways. I haven't had a chance to play LoU yet but from how the game looked and how ND talked about the game it seemed like it was going to fix a lot of gameplay problems Uncharted 2 had, or as you say, it was a stepping stone.

I really like everything about Uncharted except the part where you play it, I hope Naughty Dog does do an Uncharted 4 on the PS4 taking everything they've learned from their games this gen and making a game that has more interesting mechanics without losing the identity of Uncharted.

 

[PaulloDEC]

I'd call UC2 one of those "greater than the sum of their parts" games. The gameplay alone isn't anything remarkable, but combined with the expert pacing, storytelling, level design etc it becomes an incredible whole.

 

[FACE]

the one in space imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DswRbPkHTHg

MY MAN!

 

[WinFonda]

If I have to find a game with the same exact mechanics, design and limitations to point out how flawed UC2's gameplay is, then UC2 lives in this special bubble that cant be criticised.
I cant think of a straight up Uncharted clone so I guess the game gets a free pass on everything it does poorly? hmm okay...

no, you can criticize, but the lack of any proper comparison on your part proves how special Uncharted is with the sum of its parts. all you can say is "heyy... it's not as good as RE4!" and what kind of damning opinion is that supposed to be? if uncharted 2 does so many things poorly, surely there are many other games to compare it unfavorably to. like say... uh... well, I'm not the one saying Uncharted does a bunch of stuff poorly, so I'll leave it to you.

Oh and I disagree about your favourable comparison of UC over RE4. I played RE4 years later and was blown away by gameplay AND presentation. Same thing didnt happen with UC2.

I find they're both highly replayable and hold up well. Curious though, did you play RE4 back when it was new at all? I have no doubt if I played either one of those games for the first time, in the here and now, I wouldn't think as highly of them as I did playing them when they first came out.

 

[NullPointer]

Uncharted really doesn't bring anything to the table gameplay-wise. It's just a solid shooter all around.

The multiplayer was pretty good. Underrated at the very least since the combination of third person shooting with quick traversal made for a nice change of pace.

It also had some interesting co-op and horde mode DLC.

Its just a solid package, but the puzzling has always been braindead.

 

[MYE]

Okay so I'm seeing quite a few posts saying they feel the same way about TLoU. I'm kinda worried now on what to expect.

TLoU seems like a game that NEEDS to have the player feel totally in control of his actions,

 

[DirtyDeedsDoneDirtCheap]

UC2 does get something very, very right, though. Once you shoot an enemy, the next melee attack will automatically kill them. You can play this game like a bizarre Streets of Rage sequel with the world's craziest drop rates on special weapons. Already had the gold achievement for close quarter combat and I was just barely on the third or fourth mission, good times.

 

[Duffyside]

Journey is barely a game.

I guess its a nice 1 hour time waster or something. It looks nice and all.

That criticism is also pretty meaningless, to me. I've thought "video game" has been a pretty poor description for a while. It's interactive entertainment, and Journey is among the best of it. As is Uncharted 2.

 

[WrenchNinja]

I still miss Uncharted 2 MP pre 1.05.

They had to fuck up a good thing

 

[Trickster]

Okay so I'm seeing quite a few posts saying they feel the same way about TLoU. I'm kinda worried now on what to expect.

TLoU seems like a game that NEEDS to have the player feel totally in control of his actions,

TLoU is a lot like Uncharted imo. Excellent presentation, average gameplay.

 

[base shagohod]

Yet you love Skyward freakin Sword?

To each there own.

"You dislike a game I like; I dislike a game you like!!"

 

[PerZona]

Uncharted 2 was never a GOTG or GOTY for me, but it's one of the better games I had played in this gen. Granted, the Uncharted series are quite overrated but I love the characters and storyline. I find the gameplay above average.

The online multiplayer on the other hand is very fun. Not sure about you guys but I had one of the best multiplayer moments in a game with my friends in Uncharted 2.

 

[Neff]

Spot-on OP. Uncharted doesn't do anything exemplary other than spend a lot of money looking and sounding good. In fact I'd go so far as to cite a great deal of the gameplay and design as genuinely poor. But the type of gamer with today's spending power values the former hugely over the latter. I consider the series and ND hugely overrated.

lol what? this doesn't make a lot of sense. first of all, as amazing as RE4 is, no, it's not better in "every single way" to UC2.

Oh, it definitely is. RE4 is a staggeringly brilliant example of precise, strategic, technique-based gameplay wrapped up in a never-ending feast of varied encounter mixups, and a fantastic weapon upgrade/economy system.

Uncharted is none of those things.

 

[AcceptableGhost]

I agree that it's not *that* hard, but if you go into a tough battle without foreknowledge, you WILL die [a lot]. And when you get far from your checkpoint, you can't afford to experiment with playing it the "right" way like you could if it gave you a checkpoint right before the battle. Having to re-fight a bunch of lame enemies to get back to where you were is punishing in the worst possible way.

I don't know how Demon's Souls could be any more fair honestly. Everything is telegraphed a mile away and the game is really slow and gives you tons of time to react. Most of the bosses you can just circle strafe around them to get an idea of what they do before you choose to engage. There are checkpoints in levels you can unlock and usually running to the boss doesn't take that long after you have actually mastered a level.

I don't really like using the term punishing for a game that actually asks a little from you. The long checkpoints give you a chance to scrutinize the mechanics and get good with them. The game has a really consistent ruleset across enemies so knowledge gained from fighting usually transfers across the game. Demon's Souls problems are stuff like the bad health items/magic system (fixed in Dark Souls).

I don't really get complaining about Demon's Souls difficulty, even this gen there are much harder action games out there (play through Ninja Gaiden 2 360 on Master Ninja and get back to me).

 

[LGom09]

Okay so I'm seeing quite a few posts saying they feel the same way about TLoU. I'm kinda worried now on what to expect.

TLoU seems like a game that NEEDS to have the player feel totally in control of his actions,

Control isn't an issue. My main gripe is that, at least on the higher difficulties, TLoU is a game where ammo conservation is key yet there is still some bullet-spongeyness. Not to the level of UC2, but you can shoot people nearly point blank with a shotgun and sometimes they won't die.

 

[Frumix]

Don't agree with sentiments on Lazarevic fight.
At least it was a fight as opposed to extended QTE "make one mistake and restart" that was Navarro's battle.

 

[BannedEpisode]

Okay so I'm seeing quite a few posts saying they feel the same way about TLoU. I'm kinda worried now on what to expect.

TLoU seems like a game that NEEDS to have the player feel totally in control of his actions,

TLoU is a totally different feeling game. I liked it a whole lot for what it was but Uncharted is a lot more "Gamey".

You shouldnt base your expectations on your experience with Uncharted, its quite different.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

The one element of the Uncharted games I'm not a fan of is the gameplay.

They nail everything else though! In that sense, I'm 100% with you OP.

 

[MushroomSamba]

Not that fun!? I dunno, differing opinions and all, but that's just crazy to me. I had such a blast playing it. I didn't have any issues with the controls or gameplay (unlike UC3, which was a mess). Bullet-sponge enemies don't really bother me either...not sure exactly why that's usually a criticism.

The online multiplayer on the other hand is very fun. Not sure about you guys but I had one of the best multiplayer moments in a game with my friends in Uncharted 2.

Yes! It's quite possibly my favorite console multiplayer experience this gen (alongside Borderlands, maybe). Both co-op and competitive lasted me a good long while.

 

[Dave Meltzer]

That criticism is also pretty meaningless, to me. I've thought "video game" has been a pretty poor description for a while. It's interactive entertainment, and Journey is among the best of it. As is Uncharted 2.

No, a video game is a game. It's supposed to be fun. Journey isn't fun unless your idea of a good time is looking at pretty vistas while walking.

 

[MYE]

no, you can criticize, but the lack of any proper comparison on your part proves how special Uncharted is with the sum of its parts. all you can say is "heyy... it's not as good as RE4!" and what kind of damning opinion is that supposed to be? if uncharted 2 does so many things poorly, surely there are many other games to compare it unfavorably to. like say... uh... well, I'm not the one saying Uncharted does a bunch of stuff poorly, so I'll leave it to you.

Pick most third person shooters out there that make you feel like you are in total control of your character. Or third person games that have climbing/traversal mechanics that are not automated, janky nonsense.

Assassins Creed, InFamous, Batman Arkham games, Vanquish... hell movement in most open world or third person games? Its not hard to find third person games that control better.

I could namedrop games that perform these gameplay mechanics much better all day long, and even though you might claim that these games are not trying to be UC, they manage to do what UC2 failed to, deliver complete control of your character movement without shitty automated climbing mechanics and weak feeling gunplay and combat (okay combat in AC is shit too but you get what I'm saying).

Unless you consider this "loose" feeling movement a feature, I dont see how anyone can argue that UC is a snappy, gameplay showpiece. It really is mediocre in that regard.

I find they're both highly replayable and hold up well. Curious though, did you play RE4 back when it was new at all? I have no doubt if I played either one of those games for the first time, in the here and now, I wouldn't think as highly of them as I did playing them when they first came out.

No, I played it years later on PS2 and eventually only finished it on Wii. Was still blown away and we were well into the HD generation.

 

[Hobbestetrician]

Easily my choice for most overrated game of this gen and maybe ever that I have played.

Having hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of the same few enemy types (that armored-shotgun guy that just slowly walks towards you until you shoot it in the head twice is terrible) made the game a complete slog to get through. Having every third handhold crumble or break away and having everything else either explode or fall apart is not exciting, it becomes rote and boring. And Drake's magical journal that somehow has a good deal of puzzle solutions in it makes that part of the gameplay unimportant.

The story is also quite predictable and by the numbers. It is bolstered by the great visuals and voice work but there is nothing in the plot that is anything but standard for this type of story. Didn't really care for most of the characters, either, too archetypal for me.

Bullets are utterly meaningless in this series. Enemies, even on easy, take way too may bullets to down, any companions I have with me must be using practice bullets because it is seemingly on me to kill all the enemies but then a big moment in the game is the

Spoiler

cameraman

who goes down after one bullet? Sorry, ND, you spent the rest of the game showing me how little damage bullets do so you made that story moment lose all impact.

I did not enjoy this game. We had a lot of talk about Bioshock Infinite and whether or not it was too much of a shooter (it was) and not enough other things and I feel Uncharted 2 has the same problem. There are lots of parts of what could be a great action/adventure game but ND decided to take it more into the TPS area, a decision I do not agree with.

The Last of Us is largely the real deal, though.

 

[chickdigger802]

fun game. I just feel sad for the people that think this is one of the best games of the generation.

You gotta play more games!

 

[Swifty]

I really love how Uncharted takes the base mechanics of its climbing and cover mechanics and really tries to find ways to make them feel fresh. Vertical shoot outs using climbing obstacles tickled me a bit when I first realized what was going on. Using a sign post and flipping sides depending on which enemy has line of sight was incredibly humorous to me. Hanging off the edge of a train to let bad guys get hit with overhead train signals is up there among the most gratifying moments I can get from video games.

Overall, the kinetic actions Drake is capable of can result in some cool firefights. At least in Uncharted 3, as you get closer to the end of the game, the combat areas become larger and larger giving you much more freedom in tackling the situation using the array of Drake's abilities.

 

[Zinthar]

I don't know how Demon's Souls could be any more fair honestly. Everything is telegraphed a mile away and the game is really slow and gives you tons of time to react. Most of the bosses you can just circle strafe around them to get an idea of what they do before you choose to engage. There are checkpoints in levels you can unlock and usually running to the boss doesn't take that long after you have actually mastered a level.

I don't really like using the term punishing for a game that actually asks a little from you. The long checkpoints give you a chance to scrutinize the mechanics and get good with them. The game has a really consistent ruleset across enemies so knowledge gained from fighting usually transfers across the game. Demon's Souls problems are stuff like the bad health items/magic system (fixed in Dark Souls).

I don't really get complaining about Demon's Souls difficulty, even this gen there are much harder action games out there (play through Ninja Gaiden 2 360 on Master Ninja and get back to me).

But that's exactly my point -- it's not challenging in the type of way I want out a mechanically sound game: where you need to master every game mechanic and know every enemy perfectly, like Ninja Gaiden on Master Ninja (I never played 2, but I did beat NG: Black on Xbox back in the day, so I know the pain -- but that was also when I only owned an Xbox and thus had very few great games to play, and now I literally have hundreds).

DS is just selectively difficult in short bursts, and then makes you spend time to get back to the part that was difficult. When you see a boss for the first time in Dark Souls (never played Demon's), his/her moves usually aren't well-telegraphed. It's very easy to just get one-shotted before you have time to get a good understanding of how the boss behaves. That would be perfectly fine if I could jump right back in to the fight, but it often takes upwards of 15 minutes just to get back again (largely in part because even though the earlier enemies are easy, you have to fight them slowly and carefully so that you have all of your heals and items for the boss fight).

And as you rightly point out -- it's not all that challenging in the end. It's just time-consuming. I rather have it balanced more to where each engagement is more difficult, but that the penalty for death isn't a time-sink.

Anyway, this is totally off-topic now, because DS shares little with Uncharted 2 beyond the same camera perspective.

 

[kortez320]

I totally agree with everything you said.

Everything non-gameplay related in Uncharted 2 is about as good as it gets in all of gaming. Everything gameplay related on the other hand is the absolute definition of mediocrity.

The Last of Us on the other hand has really awesome gameplay. Easily ND's best game to date.

And not to piss anyone off but this is the reason I think the Gears series is in the end a much better experience. The gameplay shits all over Uncharted while it's non-game elements are much worse. But in the end tight gunplay and well designed encounters are more important to me.

 

[DatDude]

The problem with Uncharted 2 (and most of Naughty Dog games for that matter) is that they ultimately are better film experiences than gaming ones.

 

[MYE]

The online scene is pretty much dead isnt it?

eh, I dont care much about it either way

 

[Zinthar]

Oh, it definitely is. RE4 is a staggeringly brilliant example of precise, strategic, technique-based gameplay wrapped up in a never-ending feast of varied encounter mixups, and a fantastic weapon upgrade/economy system.

Uncharted is none of those things.

RE4 isn't the right comparison to Uncharted at all. Mechanically, TLoU is a much better comparison to RE4.

If your argument is based upon preferring that type of game, then that's understandable (RE4 & TLoU are 2 of my 5 favorite games ever), but it's hard to slight Uncharted for that any more than you could hate FIFA because you don't like football.

 

[RDreamer]

I really don't get the mediocrity thing everyone says about Uncharted's gameplay. To me it is hands down the best 3rd person shooters I've played. The level design and the way the gunplay works is phenomenal to me. I would play Uncharted over Gears of War or Resident Evil any freaking day of the week without a question. Gears' enemies felt way more like bullet sponges to me.

 

[bustin98]

I agree that Gears of War is a game of bullet sponges. I've always played Uncharted as a challenge to get headshots. Unless you have the sniper or shotty in Gears, you just shoot until they pop.

 

[MushroomSamba]

Bullets are utterly meaningless in this series. Enemies, even on easy, take way too may bullets to down, any companions I have with me must be using practice bullets because it is seemingly on me to kill all the enemies but then a big moment in the game is the

Spoiler

cameraman

who goes down after one bullet? Sorry, ND, you spent the rest of the game showing me how little damage bullets do so you made that story moment lose all impact.

Sounds like you're reaching for stuff to gripe about. It's an action game...characters in the genre typically regenerate full health seconds after being riddled with bullets. Either that or they pick up a health pack and are instantly healed. There's a suspension of disbelief that goes with the territory here, just like in action movies or tv shows.

If it's that kind of stuff that breaks your immersion, then you'd be hard-pressed to find enjoyment in practically all games of the genre. And that's fine, but acting like UC2 failed to meet a standard of realism because of arcadey enemy attributes just seems like you had terribly wrong expectations for what the purpose of the game is.

 

[katsubento]

More than the sum of the parts for me. Love all of them.

 

[Neff]

RE4 isn't the right comparison to Uncharted at all. Mechanically, TLoU is a much better comparison to RE4.

I'm comparing them on the grounds that they're both highly-acclaimed TPS games that get compared a lot by other people. Personally, I don't think they're comparable at all.

For reference, I'd be happy going on record as saying that Vanquish, RE5, RE6, Shadows of the Damned, Binary Domain, MGS4, the Dead Space trilogy, Lost Planet 2 and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron are all hugely superior to Uncharted.

I haven't played TLoU and, after 2 and a half Uncharted games, I'm not willing to unless someone I know and trust literally thrusts a copy into my hands and demands I play it.

 

[Ra1den]

I just won the lottery, slept with a supermodel, and discovered the meaning of life, all in the same day...that's it?

On a serious note, calling the gameplay mediocre is ridiculous. I was blown away time after time by the amazing level and encounter design. Think about the great jumping/shooting combination parts in the city...that is something you don't get elsewhere. The gunplay is perfect. What more could you want from a 3rd person shooter/platformer?

If you think Uncharted 2 is mediocre, maybe you are just not a fan of the genre. That is to say, the TPS/platformer genre. Perhaps you'd be happier with straight TPSs.

I think the complaints are more a result of ridiculous expectations. Then they can look at the great cinematics and try to bend it into a matter of "This game is only good for the cutscenes, the gameplay sucks."

Give me some better games in the genre, that do better gunplay and level design. There are very very few.

 

[Pristine_Condition]

For a game with such supposedly shitty gameplay, I sure as hell had tons of fun with the multiplayer, and the multiplayer is all gameplay, no story.

 

[Nappuccino]

I'm comparing them on the grounds that they're both highly-acclaimed TPS games that get compared a lot by other people. Personally, I don't think they're comparable at all.

For reference, I'd be happy going on record as saying that Vanquish, RE5, RE6, Shadows of the Damned, Binary Domain, MGS4, the Dead Space trilogy, Lost Planet 2 and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron are all hugely superior to Uncharted.

I haven't played TLoU and, after 2 and a half Uncharted games, I'm not willing to unless someone I know and trust literally thrusts a copy into my hands and demands I play it.

What?

Seriously . . . by what metric?

 

[Fezan]

According to me Uncharted 2 & 3 post patch are best tps around. They are up with re4 with best tps ever made. they have exhilarating firefights great controls and so many options. i replay them time to time and that's not because they are cinematic experience most of the time i even skip the cut scenes its because they are great mechanically.

And before any one says i have played all major tps this gen and beside TLOU these are the best TPS this gen

 

[KLonso]

My thought exactly. It was ok.

 

[fallagin]

I'd call UC2 one of those "greater than the sum of their parts" games. The gameplay alone isn't anything remarkable, but combined with the expert pacing, storytelling, level design etc it becomes an incredible whole.

Yeah, this is my take on it. The level design is particularly awesome. There was a point in the game where i was hanging on a sign and climbing back and forth on it using it as cover in a firefight. Plus the whole train section was pretty godlike.

 

[Neff]

What?

Seriously . . . by what metric?

By the metric that they're competently-made action games with tight, deliberate, skill-based risk/reward mechanics that offer absolute empowerment through application.

 

[thefro]

The core shooting gameplay is fun enough... even if I don't like the endless waves of the same types of enemies. Uncharted 2 is better than 1 but it's still subpar in that department. I think the level design for the shooting sections is dang good by FPS/TPS standards.... you've got some options to attack from different angles and the firefights unfold differently each time depending on what you do.

The setpieces are a blast, platforming is real fun until it starts to get really predictable that every fourth handhold is going to break (which didn't happen for me until the 3rd game), but it still feels good mechanically even after that. I like the puzzles and wish there were more in the games (even if some are better than others). Absolutely awful final boss fights in all 3 games.

It's got some flaws, but it's definitely not a bad game even if I take the great presentation out of it.

 

[fallagin]

By the metric that they're competently-made action games with tight, deliberate, skill-based risk/reward mechanics that offer absolute empowerment through application.

Just because a game has more mechanics doesn't mean it is better.

 

[Neff]

Just because a game has more mechanics doesn't mean it is better.

I didn't say they have more mechanics, I said they have mechanics, and that they're relevant, something Uncharted can't boast.

But since you mention it, more mechanics is always better, so long as they avoid being superfluous.

 

[Anuxinamoon]

Hahah did you play Uncharted (1)? Because you play that and you go, okay this is okay, kinda annoying in parts but its okay...

Then you play 2 and go HOLY SHIT THIS IS AMAZING!!.. (compared to the last game)

The pacing is great in U2, U3 I didn't enjoy as much...

Spoiler

The story felt weird and left so many questions unanswered. It was almost like some weird dream story. Non of the chapters really made sense with each other except that bromance stuff.

 

[fallagin]

I didn't say they have more mechanics, I said they have mechanics, and that they're relevant, something Uncharted can't boast.

But since you mention it, more mechanics is always better, so long as they avoid being superfluous.

Oh jesus, uncharted doesn't have mechanics now.

Also you just have to look at re6 to see that more is not always better.

 

[AcceptableGhost]

I'm comparing them on the grounds that they're both highly-acclaimed TPS games that get compared a lot by other people. Personally, I don't think they're comparable at all.

For reference, I'd be happy going on record as saying that Vanquish, RE5, RE6, Shadows of the Damned, Binary Domain, MGS4, the Dead Space trilogy, Lost Planet 2 and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron are all hugely superior to Uncharted.

I haven't played TLoU and, after 2 and a half Uncharted games, I'm not willing to unless someone I know and trust literally thrusts a copy into my hands and demands I play it.

Vanquish Tactical Challenge 6 is the secret best TPS of the generation.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

Uncharted as a series does absolutely nothing besides have a pretty face.

What a load of shit.

 

[Misterhbk]

Sounds like OP played the game, took every conceivable flaw that's already been said about the game in countless threads and made a new thread out of it thinking he's the first to ever not like something that's critically acclaimed. Lawl.

A thread like this could be made about every game ever made ever.

Zelda, Mario, Halo, Gears. They all have major major flaws that could be pointed out.

 

[gogosox8]

The production values on this game are through the fucking roof. I was floored by what they could pull off from PS3 hardware and the voice-work, animation and sound design are really a testament to how well Naughty Dog can reproduce the movie-like feel out of their titles without making us cringe at janky animations or failed attempts at emotions we see in so many other "Hollywood" games.
As far as story, characters and setpiece variety, I have absolutely no complaints. Good shit all around. These guys clearly put a TON of effort in making the presentation of this game look like a million dollars.

^This is why people adore the game. Not because innovative gameplay mechanics or great level design. Just the feeling that you are playing a blockbuster movie without all of the cliched nonsense that comes with those kinds of games.