Chapter 16 through end of game
- Wow I beat the game already; was it short? it felt a little short, but I did play almost 12 hours today...
- thank you for giving me elena; she's way better than Sam
- lots of exciting gameplay moments; not enough of that iconic uncharted shot, though, and it didn't quite feel right without that
- really disappointed that there was no curse or anything like that; i miss the supernatural stuff of one and two
- two is still, by far, the best uncharted game in existance
- I can't believe Nate forgave Sam so quickly; I still have not forgiven him, the jerk
- wanted more Sully, but I'm glad he was around for some pieces
- I was not super stoked about the final boss fight; a sword fight? really? isn't that a little too cliche even for you guys? Not to mention the controls were awful; let's just change the mechanics at the end of the game; it's fine as long as we show them on the screen anytime the player isn't doing well
- Sam should have died there; not sure how I feel about him living; not terrible, but I still feel like it would have been better if he'd died
- I kind of wanted it to be a little more Goonies at the end rather than explode-y; but it worked out just fine
- the epilogue was really cute; but honestly, I can't really see Nate & Elena having a kid ever; they're not the type?? glad they had a daughter, though, and that she was named for Nate's mother
- epilogue felt a little long for what it was, but I'm so glad the dog was included
- I used auto-aim for the whole game; I'm not ashamed; I don't think I would have ever gotten through the combat sequences without it
- felt like a lack of hand-to-hand combat, though; that was one of my favorite parts of the previous games, and it was very punished in this game
- overall, it was a good game, and it kept most of the feel of uncharted, but I don't think it was anywhere near as good as Uncharted 2
- At least Rafe died...but it was brutal that I killed him that way wow
- I never actually got to face Nadine the way I wanted to, though
- the world was beautiful, but not quite as cool as the previous games; was almost a little too colonial, but I still enjoyed it a lot; very pretty
- rope was best new mechanic; could have done without sliding and the piton, and nothing would have been the worse without them; especially since the piton wasn't really used that much and didn't really add much to the puzzles except for once or twice where it was what you caught onto after leaping; could have done more with rope jump to rope; honestly, almost felt like I had too many mechanics in this game
Will write these into coherent sentences later
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Review & Thoughts - Uncharted 4, Part 5
Played up through chapter 15 (stopped at beginning of 16)
- still getting really irked with jumping/climbing controls; please just do what i'm tell you to do, nathan
- NPCs also getting on my nerves a lot; feels very bad that they can push me, but I can't push them; walking around them is difficult in many instances
- I know I have the game on easy, but I don't need hints & tips every time I'm in the same spot for longer than 5 minutes; sometimes I'm exploring; feels like the times I actually do need a hint, they don't provide one
- new mechanic introduced; feels pretty late in the game for this, but also works well here; piton used on porous rock surfaces to aid climbing; except it killed me a couple times because nate wouldn't grab the ledge right next to the surface after jumping
- haven't used it since the tutorial for it
- the stealth system still feels wrong when someone sees me; enemies dont seem to stand out very much from environment
- I knew this confrontation was coming, and it was great, but I didn't enjoy feeling so weak compared to Nadine; I probaly have more upper body strength than she does considering the climbing I can do
- opening of chapter 13 was slow; I understand that it's wet and everything is slippery, but I did not like feeling punished for trying to jump from hold to hold, which is a lot of the fun in this game to me
- yes, a lull is needed after the big confrontation, but still feels like an interesting place to put the flashback that the first chapter set up
- I knew I couldn't really trust Sam; it was such a strong feeling against him; hmmmm; brother whyyyy; you tried to save me, but you only made it worse
- where did all the treasure hunter achievements go? I still want one for every ten I collect; I hope I don't have to collect every single one before I get another achievement for treasure collecting
- Nadine is cool, but I feel like I almost would have rather seen her as the main villain, rather than an accomplice
- good thing Elena loves me; otherwise i'd probably be dead; might die anyways considering the title of the game
- I hope this isn't like Uncharted 3 where it's just people going crazy; bring back the supernatural zombie things and stuff! they made uncharted feel so good
I'll write this into more coherent thoughts later.
- still getting really irked with jumping/climbing controls; please just do what i'm tell you to do, nathan
- NPCs also getting on my nerves a lot; feels very bad that they can push me, but I can't push them; walking around them is difficult in many instances
- I know I have the game on easy, but I don't need hints & tips every time I'm in the same spot for longer than 5 minutes; sometimes I'm exploring; feels like the times I actually do need a hint, they don't provide one
- new mechanic introduced; feels pretty late in the game for this, but also works well here; piton used on porous rock surfaces to aid climbing; except it killed me a couple times because nate wouldn't grab the ledge right next to the surface after jumping
- haven't used it since the tutorial for it
- the stealth system still feels wrong when someone sees me; enemies dont seem to stand out very much from environment
- I knew this confrontation was coming, and it was great, but I didn't enjoy feeling so weak compared to Nadine; I probaly have more upper body strength than she does considering the climbing I can do
- opening of chapter 13 was slow; I understand that it's wet and everything is slippery, but I did not like feeling punished for trying to jump from hold to hold, which is a lot of the fun in this game to me
- yes, a lull is needed after the big confrontation, but still feels like an interesting place to put the flashback that the first chapter set up
- I knew I couldn't really trust Sam; it was such a strong feeling against him; hmmmm; brother whyyyy; you tried to save me, but you only made it worse
- where did all the treasure hunter achievements go? I still want one for every ten I collect; I hope I don't have to collect every single one before I get another achievement for treasure collecting
- Nadine is cool, but I feel like I almost would have rather seen her as the main villain, rather than an accomplice
- good thing Elena loves me; otherwise i'd probably be dead; might die anyways considering the title of the game
- I hope this isn't like Uncharted 3 where it's just people going crazy; bring back the supernatural zombie things and stuff! they made uncharted feel so good
I'll write this into more coherent thoughts later.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Review & Thoughts - Uncharted 4, Part 4
Chapter 12
- NPCs get in my way a lot, blocking my path; killed me a couple times
- came up to the opening sequence, much like in Uncharted 2; did not play through it again, instead was shown was quick cuts; I think I would have preferred to play it again had it not been a vehicle sequence; it felt stronger in 2 because now I understood the whole context of the opening hook; this one was less intriguing because they had done it before & the context was figured out before the scene even came to happen in the natural progression of the story
- lots of very beautiful landscapes
- level design not strong enough? wanted to explore an area, chose a random path and it happened to be the progression path; did not stand out as that much different than the other areas until I was already in there doing things; luckily, in this instance, I was able to run back to all the other areas before actually progressing
- knew it would happen because of the big doors found, but felt a bit lame to return to the first island
- hard to see the arrows that were under the water; unsure where several of them were pointing
- are you serious?! that fall never would have killed me in previous games, and that felt really awful; i just want to jump off things that I've climbed up - thing being towers with ground around them, not cliffsides and the like; possibly my biggest issue with this game overall right now is the times when a fall/jump looks like nathan drake could make it, but I die instead; rules seem inconsistent
Will write these out into full, coherent thoughts later
- NPCs get in my way a lot, blocking my path; killed me a couple times
- came up to the opening sequence, much like in Uncharted 2; did not play through it again, instead was shown was quick cuts; I think I would have preferred to play it again had it not been a vehicle sequence; it felt stronger in 2 because now I understood the whole context of the opening hook; this one was less intriguing because they had done it before & the context was figured out before the scene even came to happen in the natural progression of the story
- lots of very beautiful landscapes
- level design not strong enough? wanted to explore an area, chose a random path and it happened to be the progression path; did not stand out as that much different than the other areas until I was already in there doing things; luckily, in this instance, I was able to run back to all the other areas before actually progressing
- knew it would happen because of the big doors found, but felt a bit lame to return to the first island
- hard to see the arrows that were under the water; unsure where several of them were pointing
- are you serious?! that fall never would have killed me in previous games, and that felt really awful; i just want to jump off things that I've climbed up - thing being towers with ground around them, not cliffsides and the like; possibly my biggest issue with this game overall right now is the times when a fall/jump looks like nathan drake could make it, but I die instead; rules seem inconsistent
Will write these out into full, coherent thoughts later
Review & Thoughts - Uncharted 4, Part 3
played all the way though chapter 11 (stopped at start of chapter 12)
- in a good number of situations, Nate's jump feels too realistic compared to previous games; I feel less awesome playing him
- i still hate vehicles in games; just because i love uncharted does not make this vehicle okay; would have skipped all of these parts if I could have
- assuming i'm about half way through the game at this point, but it took about that long for one of the most iconic nathan drake shots - which felt almost disappointing; would have loved one earlier & i hope there are more later
- feels really odd that i have not been alone as nathan drake since the sequence in the attic
- the use of the smart phone was jarring; had never done this before, hit a couple buttons before doing the right thing; was confused why the controller was vibrating the first time the phone rang
- enjoyed the puzzles, but they almost felt too easily solved, esp. the one under the tower with the portraits
- feels like a lack of ammo for the gun i have, which feels strange; haven't seen much variety in weapons
- why are there hidden weapons? I don't want secret weapons, I want treasures; way more rewarding than a 6-shot gun that I'll just have to replace fairly quickly
- still having issues with the player controller; nate doesn't feel like he responds to my input as quickly or as well as in previous games; perhaps its partly the camera?
- honestly, i like sam less and less as the story progresses; he's ruining my (nate's) marriage; I can't actually tell if he's genuine or not
- i don't like driving vehicles in games. at all. but the last part of that sequence after the big car/motorbike chase was incredible; hadn't realized i'd stopped breathing
- overall, that driving sequence with the chase was waaaaay too long
Will write these points into coherent thoughts later.
- in a good number of situations, Nate's jump feels too realistic compared to previous games; I feel less awesome playing him
- i still hate vehicles in games; just because i love uncharted does not make this vehicle okay; would have skipped all of these parts if I could have
- assuming i'm about half way through the game at this point, but it took about that long for one of the most iconic nathan drake shots - which felt almost disappointing; would have loved one earlier & i hope there are more later
- feels really odd that i have not been alone as nathan drake since the sequence in the attic
- the use of the smart phone was jarring; had never done this before, hit a couple buttons before doing the right thing; was confused why the controller was vibrating the first time the phone rang
- enjoyed the puzzles, but they almost felt too easily solved, esp. the one under the tower with the portraits
- feels like a lack of ammo for the gun i have, which feels strange; haven't seen much variety in weapons
- why are there hidden weapons? I don't want secret weapons, I want treasures; way more rewarding than a 6-shot gun that I'll just have to replace fairly quickly
- still having issues with the player controller; nate doesn't feel like he responds to my input as quickly or as well as in previous games; perhaps its partly the camera?
- honestly, i like sam less and less as the story progresses; he's ruining my (nate's) marriage; I can't actually tell if he's genuine or not
- i don't like driving vehicles in games. at all. but the last part of that sequence after the big car/motorbike chase was incredible; hadn't realized i'd stopped breathing
- overall, that driving sequence with the chase was waaaaay too long
Will write these points into coherent thoughts later.
Review & Thoughts - Uncharted 4, Part 2
Played through chapter 8 (stopped at start of chapter 9)
- new stealth system - too much assassin's creed & doesn't feel right here
- new stealth system makes npcs feel more OP than previous games - one spots you and they all instant aim at you; pretty much the same as before, but feels worse
During my second session of playing Uncharted 4, I was introduced to the new stealth system. It is a decently well-done system, but I did not feel as though it really fit into Uncharted. Yes, it made great use of the cover mechanics, including the new tall grass, and it made sure the player was aware of when they were stealthed versus when they had been spotted, but it made the stealth play feel too similar to Assassin's Creed for me. It felt like it put far too much emphasis on staying hidden when Uncharted has always felt like a series that put more emphasis into the gun combat than the stealth. The system encourages stealth, which isn't a bad thing, of course, but when I pick up an RPG from an enemy, and feel like I'm being punished for breaking stealth to use it, I believe there is a discordant play of mechanics.
In previous Uncharted games, there was no indicator on NPCs informing the player when they'd been spotted. It was done mostly through auditory cues, along with the fact that the player would be getting shot at. It worked decently well. With the new stealth system in place, though, this feels much worse. It makes less sense to the player that everyone in the area is now informed simultaneously of the player's exact position based on the information they are given that a particular NPC has spotted them. It made the NPCs feel much stronger than in previous iterations, and not in a necessarily good way.
- don't need to always show me my gun HUD when i'm hanging on a ledge - screen clutter
Something I noticed while playing was that anytime I am hanging on a ledge, whether enemies are around or not, the HUD element showing me my weapon & ammo is visible. The first time I noticed, I was in the middle of a climbing puzzle and was really worried that there were enemies around I needed to shoot. I was taken out of my flow of solving the puzzle to look around and check for enemies. I feel that this HUD element does not need to be shown every time I hang from a ledge - let it wait until I take out the weapon, or until the game forces the weapon to be out, as in all other circumstances.
- levels feel more cluttered than in previous games, but never lost/confused for too long
The level design hasn't changed much, but it certainly feels like there is a great deal more environmental clutter around. It makes the levels feel more natural and realistic, but also a bit messier than in previous games. With so much clutter in the world, it makes it a bit more challenging to find the correct direction when moving through levels. This does not apply so much to areas where the player is climbing, but rather areas where the player is traversing via walking/running. The clutter makes it more difficult to see the level design, making it far easier to get lost while exploring, which is not ideal in most games.
- new highlighting on dropped weapons with matching ammo is great - makes them stand out in the world
The way weapons and ammo were highlighted on the ground was a huge step up from previous games. Prior to 4, weapons and ammo would shimmer, but they could be hard to see against the environment. With the new highlight, a glow that extended into the air above the item, the player was able to find new weapons and ammo much easier.
- new treasure UI/HUD makes me feel worse about collecting than previously - assume there are still 100 treasures to collect, but don't know for sure - feel like i missed so much because of the way they are revealed in the list as I gather them
Uncharted 4 updated the UI for collecting treasures. While it does look nice, I do not believe that it enhances the player experience when collecting treasures for the most part. It no longer tells me how many treasures there are. I assume there are 100 because the previous games have all had 100 treasures, but I no longer know for sure. Not am I certain how many I have collected. With the removal of the numerous achievements for collecting treasures, I now only know when I've found 1 treasure, 50 treasures, and all of the treasures. The achievements made treasure collecting feel stronger. Without the achievements every ten treasures or so, the desire to find them seems slightly smaller; and without knowing how many there really are, I am, as a player, less inclined to try to find all of them because I can't tell how long it will take. It is nice, in a way, that I can see where I'm missing treasures in order, but since there are no indicators telling me how far three and four are into the story, I can't really tell where they are - and that is only if I decided to go back and replay in order to find them all, which is already seeming unlikely. Despite the pro of being able to sort of see where a treasure was missed, I also now feel worse for missing them.
- did not like playing as Sam; first time ever in entire series playing as a different character, and it felt weird and wrong
When chapter 5 started, I was playing as Sam escaping the prison. It was not something I enjoyed. It felt strange and out of place, but it also worked. There was no other way to do this section, and I believe the choice to have the player play as Sam was the correct one; however, it feel felt weird since the player has never played as a character other than Nate throughout the series.
- chapter 4 was really cute; attic had all the call backs to previous games; toy gun segment was fun but doesn't *really* satisfy desire for action here
I believe that chapter 4 was here for a good deal of fan service. There were cute, fun callbacks to previous adventures, and it brought up feelings of nostalgia. It was nice to see all of the pieces of Nate's story in one place. However, I believe that the toy gun part of this chapter did not really satisfy the desire for action in the sequence. It was a nice way to teach anyone new to the series the buttons for gun combat, and a good way to remind returning players as well, but it did not feel quite as exciting as it was perhaps intended to.
- having to play Crash Bandicoot was interesting; not bad, not good; cute, though, to see the PS1 & old game, but makes me feel like this story is no longer set in our time period??
- levels are good, ledges & things to climb on aren't as prominent as they have been in previous games
- almost feels like a little too much was taken from Last Of Us for this game, but thankfully still manages to feel like Uncharted; but really, its just the moving crates around to climb to higher places; didn't enjoy this sequence in Scotland where dynamite is introduced; a lot of relying on the other character to boost me up or lift me up
- exploring feels a lot harder than in previous games; is this why i'm not finding treasures?
- there are places I expect treasures to be, and then they aren't there
- great that several areas i've been in, I've noticed multiple ways to get to my goal; climb here or there, or go around and climb later
- player controller does not feel as smooth as in previous games; nate feels bulkier, clunkier, and harder to control; could it be because of new mechanics?
- strongly dislike having to hold L1 to climb/descend a rope; want to just use the stick like in previous games; never had problems with rope controls until this game
- cover system doesn't feel quite as robust; sometimes nate just won't go into cover; again, part of the clunkiness of player controller?
Will write this out into coherent thoughts later
- new stealth system - too much assassin's creed & doesn't feel right here
- new stealth system makes npcs feel more OP than previous games - one spots you and they all instant aim at you; pretty much the same as before, but feels worse
During my second session of playing Uncharted 4, I was introduced to the new stealth system. It is a decently well-done system, but I did not feel as though it really fit into Uncharted. Yes, it made great use of the cover mechanics, including the new tall grass, and it made sure the player was aware of when they were stealthed versus when they had been spotted, but it made the stealth play feel too similar to Assassin's Creed for me. It felt like it put far too much emphasis on staying hidden when Uncharted has always felt like a series that put more emphasis into the gun combat than the stealth. The system encourages stealth, which isn't a bad thing, of course, but when I pick up an RPG from an enemy, and feel like I'm being punished for breaking stealth to use it, I believe there is a discordant play of mechanics.
In previous Uncharted games, there was no indicator on NPCs informing the player when they'd been spotted. It was done mostly through auditory cues, along with the fact that the player would be getting shot at. It worked decently well. With the new stealth system in place, though, this feels much worse. It makes less sense to the player that everyone in the area is now informed simultaneously of the player's exact position based on the information they are given that a particular NPC has spotted them. It made the NPCs feel much stronger than in previous iterations, and not in a necessarily good way.
- don't need to always show me my gun HUD when i'm hanging on a ledge - screen clutter
Something I noticed while playing was that anytime I am hanging on a ledge, whether enemies are around or not, the HUD element showing me my weapon & ammo is visible. The first time I noticed, I was in the middle of a climbing puzzle and was really worried that there were enemies around I needed to shoot. I was taken out of my flow of solving the puzzle to look around and check for enemies. I feel that this HUD element does not need to be shown every time I hang from a ledge - let it wait until I take out the weapon, or until the game forces the weapon to be out, as in all other circumstances.
- levels feel more cluttered than in previous games, but never lost/confused for too long
The level design hasn't changed much, but it certainly feels like there is a great deal more environmental clutter around. It makes the levels feel more natural and realistic, but also a bit messier than in previous games. With so much clutter in the world, it makes it a bit more challenging to find the correct direction when moving through levels. This does not apply so much to areas where the player is climbing, but rather areas where the player is traversing via walking/running. The clutter makes it more difficult to see the level design, making it far easier to get lost while exploring, which is not ideal in most games.
- new highlighting on dropped weapons with matching ammo is great - makes them stand out in the world
The way weapons and ammo were highlighted on the ground was a huge step up from previous games. Prior to 4, weapons and ammo would shimmer, but they could be hard to see against the environment. With the new highlight, a glow that extended into the air above the item, the player was able to find new weapons and ammo much easier.
- new treasure UI/HUD makes me feel worse about collecting than previously - assume there are still 100 treasures to collect, but don't know for sure - feel like i missed so much because of the way they are revealed in the list as I gather them
Uncharted 4 updated the UI for collecting treasures. While it does look nice, I do not believe that it enhances the player experience when collecting treasures for the most part. It no longer tells me how many treasures there are. I assume there are 100 because the previous games have all had 100 treasures, but I no longer know for sure. Not am I certain how many I have collected. With the removal of the numerous achievements for collecting treasures, I now only know when I've found 1 treasure, 50 treasures, and all of the treasures. The achievements made treasure collecting feel stronger. Without the achievements every ten treasures or so, the desire to find them seems slightly smaller; and without knowing how many there really are, I am, as a player, less inclined to try to find all of them because I can't tell how long it will take. It is nice, in a way, that I can see where I'm missing treasures in order, but since there are no indicators telling me how far three and four are into the story, I can't really tell where they are - and that is only if I decided to go back and replay in order to find them all, which is already seeming unlikely. Despite the pro of being able to sort of see where a treasure was missed, I also now feel worse for missing them.
- did not like playing as Sam; first time ever in entire series playing as a different character, and it felt weird and wrong
When chapter 5 started, I was playing as Sam escaping the prison. It was not something I enjoyed. It felt strange and out of place, but it also worked. There was no other way to do this section, and I believe the choice to have the player play as Sam was the correct one; however, it feel felt weird since the player has never played as a character other than Nate throughout the series.
- chapter 4 was really cute; attic had all the call backs to previous games; toy gun segment was fun but doesn't *really* satisfy desire for action here
I believe that chapter 4 was here for a good deal of fan service. There were cute, fun callbacks to previous adventures, and it brought up feelings of nostalgia. It was nice to see all of the pieces of Nate's story in one place. However, I believe that the toy gun part of this chapter did not really satisfy the desire for action in the sequence. It was a nice way to teach anyone new to the series the buttons for gun combat, and a good way to remind returning players as well, but it did not feel quite as exciting as it was perhaps intended to.
- having to play Crash Bandicoot was interesting; not bad, not good; cute, though, to see the PS1 & old game, but makes me feel like this story is no longer set in our time period??
- levels are good, ledges & things to climb on aren't as prominent as they have been in previous games
- almost feels like a little too much was taken from Last Of Us for this game, but thankfully still manages to feel like Uncharted; but really, its just the moving crates around to climb to higher places; didn't enjoy this sequence in Scotland where dynamite is introduced; a lot of relying on the other character to boost me up or lift me up
- exploring feels a lot harder than in previous games; is this why i'm not finding treasures?
- there are places I expect treasures to be, and then they aren't there
- great that several areas i've been in, I've noticed multiple ways to get to my goal; climb here or there, or go around and climb later
- player controller does not feel as smooth as in previous games; nate feels bulkier, clunkier, and harder to control; could it be because of new mechanics?
- strongly dislike having to hold L1 to climb/descend a rope; want to just use the stick like in previous games; never had problems with rope controls until this game
- cover system doesn't feel quite as robust; sometimes nate just won't go into cover; again, part of the clunkiness of player controller?
Will write this out into coherent thoughts later
Friday, May 13, 2016
Review & Thoughts - Uncharted 4, Part 1
Uncharted 4, like the previous games in the series, is broken down into chapters. Having played through the first two chapters, I have a few thoughts.
The Uncharted series is one of my all-time favorite game series to date. I have played the first three games twice each, and loved them greatly. I have been looking forward to Uncharted 4 since it was announced, and so far, I have not been disappointed. It feels very much the way I expect an Uncharted game to play & feel.
The game opens in a way that reminds me of Uncharted 2: It has an exciting sequence that draws the player into both the gameplay and the story. While not all elements of the gameplay are explored in that sequence, it still does a great job of being a hook. Even though I have only just played this section, I can't actually recall how it actually ended and transitioned into the first chapter; I can guess at how it was done, and think I may actually be correct, but this means that the transition was extremely well designed, in my opinion. It was not jarring and did not pull the player out of immersion, making it a forgettable moment in the game.
Chapter one started with a very young Nathan Drake in the Sir Francis Catholic orphanage. The nun mentions his brother, which draws more interest to the current plot than the player may have had previously because this does not feel as interesting as what the player just went through in the prologue. This also sets up the next piece of the chapter where Nathan's brother signals to Nathan. This, of course, draws Nathan to escape the orphanage and launches the player into a tutorial for the most complicated mechanics of the game: climbing & environmental puzzles. They did something here that felt very strong to me as someone who has played the games previously: they put the tutorial prompts on timers. This means that anyone who already knows & remembers how to climb and move throughout the environment will not be bombarded by the prompts, but for the new players who are unsure of what to do, the game still provides the necessary direction. The prompts are cleverly placed over or around the object the player needs to interact with, moving to the edge of the screen to point in that direction when necessary.
During this tutorial sequence, they also introduce a couple of new mechanics: sliding down inclines & the rope. Both of these are new for this game, but both fit the design, feel, and world of Uncharted. Sliding is first introduced in a non-threatening way where the player simply slides down an inclined roof to another landing. The next time they need to slide, however, they are also being taught to jump at the end of the incline, giving the slide a much more dangerous - and therefore Uncharted - feel to it.
The rope is introduced in a similar way. First, the player is introduced to the idea of the rope via plot: the door is locked, to they need to find a way around. Nathan's brother pulls out a grappling hook/rope which is then used to climb up the side of the wall. The next time the player uses the rope: they must use it to jump across a gap. At this point, the player is still not in control of the rope and is simply interacting with it in the world. The third time the rope is needed, Nathan's brother let's him use it, which gives the player the opportunity to learn how to control the rope.
Overall, this tutorial chapter of the game feels very well done. It teaches at a good pace, and reinforces lessons where it should.
The second chapter begins with another tutorial. This tutorial being hand-to-hand combat. The setting works well for the tutorial, and the tutorial does a decent job of teaching the combat mechanics, but the new combat system has been my biggest issue with the game thus far. Having played the previous three games, I have grown very used to a certain button flow when it comes to fighting. However, for this installation of the series, the buttons have been changed: I no longer dodge attacks with ▲ (triangle). Instead, I now must use O (circle) to roll away from punches. I have yet to actually do this properly or in any useful way. Rolling tends to put me farther away than I want to be, and unless I have a gun equipped, I can't see this being the best way to dodge.
The triangle button is now used to break out of a hold. In Uncharted 3, this was done by pressing circle, and it was the first time the mechanic was used. Throughout the chapter, the fighting has felt much less fluid than it had in previous games. The switching of Triangle and Circle feels off. I have faith that as I play the game more, I'll get used to the switch, but I still strongly disagree with the decision to switch the functionality of the buttons. This has been, so far, the biggest design flaw I've encountered in the game.
Overall, the game has been incredible despite playing for barely over an hour. It pulled the player into the story and the gameplay beautifully, and it will likely continue to impress.
The Uncharted series is one of my all-time favorite game series to date. I have played the first three games twice each, and loved them greatly. I have been looking forward to Uncharted 4 since it was announced, and so far, I have not been disappointed. It feels very much the way I expect an Uncharted game to play & feel.
The game opens in a way that reminds me of Uncharted 2: It has an exciting sequence that draws the player into both the gameplay and the story. While not all elements of the gameplay are explored in that sequence, it still does a great job of being a hook. Even though I have only just played this section, I can't actually recall how it actually ended and transitioned into the first chapter; I can guess at how it was done, and think I may actually be correct, but this means that the transition was extremely well designed, in my opinion. It was not jarring and did not pull the player out of immersion, making it a forgettable moment in the game.
Chapter one started with a very young Nathan Drake in the Sir Francis Catholic orphanage. The nun mentions his brother, which draws more interest to the current plot than the player may have had previously because this does not feel as interesting as what the player just went through in the prologue. This also sets up the next piece of the chapter where Nathan's brother signals to Nathan. This, of course, draws Nathan to escape the orphanage and launches the player into a tutorial for the most complicated mechanics of the game: climbing & environmental puzzles. They did something here that felt very strong to me as someone who has played the games previously: they put the tutorial prompts on timers. This means that anyone who already knows & remembers how to climb and move throughout the environment will not be bombarded by the prompts, but for the new players who are unsure of what to do, the game still provides the necessary direction. The prompts are cleverly placed over or around the object the player needs to interact with, moving to the edge of the screen to point in that direction when necessary.
During this tutorial sequence, they also introduce a couple of new mechanics: sliding down inclines & the rope. Both of these are new for this game, but both fit the design, feel, and world of Uncharted. Sliding is first introduced in a non-threatening way where the player simply slides down an inclined roof to another landing. The next time they need to slide, however, they are also being taught to jump at the end of the incline, giving the slide a much more dangerous - and therefore Uncharted - feel to it.
The rope is introduced in a similar way. First, the player is introduced to the idea of the rope via plot: the door is locked, to they need to find a way around. Nathan's brother pulls out a grappling hook/rope which is then used to climb up the side of the wall. The next time the player uses the rope: they must use it to jump across a gap. At this point, the player is still not in control of the rope and is simply interacting with it in the world. The third time the rope is needed, Nathan's brother let's him use it, which gives the player the opportunity to learn how to control the rope.
Overall, this tutorial chapter of the game feels very well done. It teaches at a good pace, and reinforces lessons where it should.
The second chapter begins with another tutorial. This tutorial being hand-to-hand combat. The setting works well for the tutorial, and the tutorial does a decent job of teaching the combat mechanics, but the new combat system has been my biggest issue with the game thus far. Having played the previous three games, I have grown very used to a certain button flow when it comes to fighting. However, for this installation of the series, the buttons have been changed: I no longer dodge attacks with ▲ (triangle). Instead, I now must use O (circle) to roll away from punches. I have yet to actually do this properly or in any useful way. Rolling tends to put me farther away than I want to be, and unless I have a gun equipped, I can't see this being the best way to dodge.
The triangle button is now used to break out of a hold. In Uncharted 3, this was done by pressing circle, and it was the first time the mechanic was used. Throughout the chapter, the fighting has felt much less fluid than it had in previous games. The switching of Triangle and Circle feels off. I have faith that as I play the game more, I'll get used to the switch, but I still strongly disagree with the decision to switch the functionality of the buttons. This has been, so far, the biggest design flaw I've encountered in the game.
Overall, the game has been incredible despite playing for barely over an hour. It pulled the player into the story and the gameplay beautifully, and it will likely continue to impress.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Opinionated Game Review - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Originally published here: http://nicolejm.blogspot.com/2015/01/opinionated-game-review-reason-i.html
**Before you read any of this, I would like to point out that this is far from a decent game review as it is very personal and very opinionated.**
I have always been a huge fan of the Dragon Age franchise. I loved Origins, I even really loved DA2. So when Dragon Age: Inquisition was announced, you can bet that I was more than a little excited about it. Of course, I had to wait for Christmas to get it, but that was only about a month where I had to watch all of my friends commenting about how great it was on Facebook.
Then I got the game.
It could barely run on my laptop. I figured that would be the case. Oh well, just a few more days until I got home from visiting family to my desktop where it would run at least a little better. I was wrong. It ran even worse on my desktop. Granted, it's a pretty old computer, I was still pretty upset. I might have been able to handle it if the game had at least connected to the server, but it wouldn't. I had to log into three different computers before I was able to start a character with my save from the Dragon Age Keep.
Once I finally got my character-- with my world state, which was really important to me, you know-- I started playing. I fought through the slow gameplay, cutscenes, everything. Only to find that Dragon Age: Inquisition was not what I had expected. In fact, it wasn't what I wanted. I had wanted another Dragon Age game. This was not what a Dragon Age was to me.
Now, I'm not very far in at all, honestly, but I had my heart so set on something spectacular, that I haven't really enjoyed any of the game I've played.
I miss my auto attack. I don't like that I can't have my character attacking while I make decisions or use my special attacks. And with the duel-wielding rogue, which is what I've always played before, I have to move to the enemies. I move so freaking slow, too. I hate it. In fact, I have half a mind to just sit back and watch combat instead because I feel so inefficient and it's awful and cumbersome. Of course, for the first few combat sequences I kept jumping around like an idiot because I was trying to pause the game like I would in the first two games, but, for whatever reason, now I jump.
That's another thing I dislike: the jump. First of all, I can't jump in Dragon Age. It's a fact of like. Second, my jump animation is terrible looking. My character looks like a fool every time she jumps.
Now, I know jump was added because of the traversal of the terrain, but running around a giant world is not the reason I play Dragon Age. If I wanted to spend all my time travelling from place to place, I'd be playing an MMO. I don't want to have an open world. Personally, I hate open worlds in games. I get lost, confused, and eventually just stop playing because I can't find anything I'm looking for when I want it. But really, the whole forcing me to run from place to place just annoys me. I want my fast travel back-- not fast travel like in the game right now, no. I want the small, easy to navigate levels where I can fight without massive tree branches blocking my view; I want to go from area to area to complete quests without having to search for this, that, and the other.
I think, aside from the open world and travel, my absolute least favorite part is that I can't hold down tab to see the names of things. I see an enemy in the distance, I press tab to see what it's called. Now, I sort of select the enemy and things start happening. I don't want that. I want to go back to being able to hold tab and see the names of everything interactable. It allowed be to assess the situation, the enemies I was about to fight and focus on the ones I knew for sure I needed to take down first. Now I'm in the middle of a cluster-fuck of I-don't-know-what's-going-on-in-this-fight. So I just hold down the attack button and wave the mouse around in hopes of surviving. It also really doesn't help that the attack button is now left click instead of right click. I'm having trouble thinking of a game I can remember playing that wasn't a shooter where I attacked with left click.
I'm not sure I need to mention it, but I also really dislike the fact that I can't right-click on an object and move to it to interact with it. This goes for looting, opening doors, talking to people... the whole lot of actions I used to be able to do. I haven't tried it yet since I hardly ever used it in previous games, but I'm not sure I can even tell my characters to move with right click.
Now, this might be a bug or something, but I found that I was becoming very greatly annoyed with the people that just stood around and talked with one another. There were several times were I was walking and came across two people talking and could not walk between them. It was as if there was a wall there, just because there were talking. I actually got really angry and yelled at the NPC's to move. It didn't work, of course, but I tried.
I have heard great things about the story over and over again, but the gameplay is nothing I ever wanted. In fact, gameplay may be the reason I don't finish this game because there is simply too much time where I'm not interacting with other characters now.
These are my thoughts on my I'm disappointed in this game after playing only for a few hours. I'm hoping I'll be able to suck it up and keep going because I want to love this game the way I loved the first two. I just wish this game was more like them.
**Before you read any of this, I would like to point out that this is far from a decent game review as it is very personal and very opinionated.**
I have always been a huge fan of the Dragon Age franchise. I loved Origins, I even really loved DA2. So when Dragon Age: Inquisition was announced, you can bet that I was more than a little excited about it. Of course, I had to wait for Christmas to get it, but that was only about a month where I had to watch all of my friends commenting about how great it was on Facebook.
Then I got the game.
It could barely run on my laptop. I figured that would be the case. Oh well, just a few more days until I got home from visiting family to my desktop where it would run at least a little better. I was wrong. It ran even worse on my desktop. Granted, it's a pretty old computer, I was still pretty upset. I might have been able to handle it if the game had at least connected to the server, but it wouldn't. I had to log into three different computers before I was able to start a character with my save from the Dragon Age Keep.
Once I finally got my character-- with my world state, which was really important to me, you know-- I started playing. I fought through the slow gameplay, cutscenes, everything. Only to find that Dragon Age: Inquisition was not what I had expected. In fact, it wasn't what I wanted. I had wanted another Dragon Age game. This was not what a Dragon Age was to me.
Now, I'm not very far in at all, honestly, but I had my heart so set on something spectacular, that I haven't really enjoyed any of the game I've played.
I miss my auto attack. I don't like that I can't have my character attacking while I make decisions or use my special attacks. And with the duel-wielding rogue, which is what I've always played before, I have to move to the enemies. I move so freaking slow, too. I hate it. In fact, I have half a mind to just sit back and watch combat instead because I feel so inefficient and it's awful and cumbersome. Of course, for the first few combat sequences I kept jumping around like an idiot because I was trying to pause the game like I would in the first two games, but, for whatever reason, now I jump.
That's another thing I dislike: the jump. First of all, I can't jump in Dragon Age. It's a fact of like. Second, my jump animation is terrible looking. My character looks like a fool every time she jumps.
Now, I know jump was added because of the traversal of the terrain, but running around a giant world is not the reason I play Dragon Age. If I wanted to spend all my time travelling from place to place, I'd be playing an MMO. I don't want to have an open world. Personally, I hate open worlds in games. I get lost, confused, and eventually just stop playing because I can't find anything I'm looking for when I want it. But really, the whole forcing me to run from place to place just annoys me. I want my fast travel back-- not fast travel like in the game right now, no. I want the small, easy to navigate levels where I can fight without massive tree branches blocking my view; I want to go from area to area to complete quests without having to search for this, that, and the other.
I think, aside from the open world and travel, my absolute least favorite part is that I can't hold down tab to see the names of things. I see an enemy in the distance, I press tab to see what it's called. Now, I sort of select the enemy and things start happening. I don't want that. I want to go back to being able to hold tab and see the names of everything interactable. It allowed be to assess the situation, the enemies I was about to fight and focus on the ones I knew for sure I needed to take down first. Now I'm in the middle of a cluster-fuck of I-don't-know-what's-going-on-in-this-fight. So I just hold down the attack button and wave the mouse around in hopes of surviving. It also really doesn't help that the attack button is now left click instead of right click. I'm having trouble thinking of a game I can remember playing that wasn't a shooter where I attacked with left click.
I'm not sure I need to mention it, but I also really dislike the fact that I can't right-click on an object and move to it to interact with it. This goes for looting, opening doors, talking to people... the whole lot of actions I used to be able to do. I haven't tried it yet since I hardly ever used it in previous games, but I'm not sure I can even tell my characters to move with right click.
Now, this might be a bug or something, but I found that I was becoming very greatly annoyed with the people that just stood around and talked with one another. There were several times were I was walking and came across two people talking and could not walk between them. It was as if there was a wall there, just because there were talking. I actually got really angry and yelled at the NPC's to move. It didn't work, of course, but I tried.
I have heard great things about the story over and over again, but the gameplay is nothing I ever wanted. In fact, gameplay may be the reason I don't finish this game because there is simply too much time where I'm not interacting with other characters now.
These are my thoughts on my I'm disappointed in this game after playing only for a few hours. I'm hoping I'll be able to suck it up and keep going because I want to love this game the way I loved the first two. I just wish this game was more like them.
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