13th, June

SG E3 2011: Naughty Dog Keeps Delivering with Uncharted 3

If anyone has a time machine, I’d love to borrow it! November 1^st could not come any sooner! Naughty Dog is delivering the action-packed adventures of Nathan Drake once again with their latest installment: Uncharted 3. From what I’ve seen so far, we’re in for another great ride.

Uncharted 3 centers around the massive problems Drake gets himself into (“trouble maker” is in his resume). The first demo was the one showcased at Sony’s press conference: Drake sneaks onto a ship in the middle of a big storm (it’s more impressive to see all the action yourself). The demo shown behind closed doors starts off with a short tender moment between Elena and Drake. Naughty Dog is really trying to make this next title more emotional and story-driven, evident by this scene and the official trailer. I’d like to quickly point out that they fixed Elena’s and Chloe’s eyes! They no longer look like they can stare into your soul! Anyway, the transitions from the cutscenes to the actual gameplay were flawless; there was no change in graphic quality between the two.

After that small cutscene, Drake is spotted by search lights and makes a run for it. The game plays the same in regards to the actual shooting mechanics. More emphasis seems to have been placed on melee attacks. For example, you can jump from a platform above your enemy and punch them right in the face to knock them out cold (most likely this will not be an option in multiplayer). You can also snatch weapons from the enemy AI’s hands to shoot them with it.

As the demo progresses, we witness Drake jump into the back of Elena’s Jeep to try to catch up to a plane lifting off. Once Elena gets close enough, Drake jumps on to the wheels of the plane right as they are retracting. After catching his breath, Drake makes his way to the cargo area, where he encounters a big thug with anger issues.

Drake does his best to wear him down with punches and constant dodges, but he still gets hurt and starts losing his footing. Just as Drake is about to be pushed out the opening hangar onto the desert below, Drake shoots the rope tying the cargo together. The thug falls out, but Drake manages to grab onto some material that is loosely connected to the plane. Just as you think he’ll be able to climb back in, a giant crate comes towards him and it fades to black.

The multiplayer has had a complete overhaul. The servers have supposedly improved, which is something I hope reigns true considering some of the problems I had with matchmaking. One feature Naughty Dog seems to be very excited about is the integration of social media with their multiplayer.

In the multiplayer menu, you will be able to see if your Facebook friends are currently playing Uncharted 3, if they have found any treasures, uploaded video clips, etc. If your friends “like” the post of you finding a treasure, they may get an in-game gift too. You will no longer be limited to your PSN friends list, as you will now be able to invite your Facebook buddies to play matches with you. You will be able to upload your own videos or view your friends’ videos right at the menu, without ever having to leave the game. Naughty Dog will also be managing “Uncharted TV,” which is where they pick the best videos created by the community and showcase them for all to see.

Here are more details on Uncharted 3’s multiplayer (some of which was already revealed prior to E3):

• Some of the multiplayer modes are team deathmatch, three team deathmatch (2 vs. 2 vs. 2), free-for-all, team objective, plunder, and high stakes (for you gambling addicts out there). There is a newly added hunter mode, which deals with planting treasures or preventing the opposing team from doing so (trailer viewable here).
• You will now be able to customize your characters with accessories. No longer will it be limited to just different character skins. There will also be an emblem editor.
• The maps will be more dynamic; one moment you may be jumping from truck to truck while shooting your opponents, and the next you’ll be in an airplane hangar.
• You will be rewarded more medals and cash for everything you do. You will be able to unlock items from treasure chests during matches, instead of depending solely on your levels and unlockables. There will also be missions that you can complete for more treasures.
• There will be more boosters to choose from. There will also be paid boosters which have one-time uses in the current match you’re playing.
• A new system called “medal kickbacks” require you to earn a certain amount of medals, by fulfilling specific requirements, in order to activate them. One of the medal kickbacks revealed is the Creepy Crawler Medal Kickback: you can turn into a swarm of bugs (ewwl).
• Power Plays are another new mechanic that helps the losing team try to gain the upperhand. It gives you an objective to fulfill (in one minute) for more cash and a chance at winning.

As great as the game looks and plays, there was one small dilemma that I had to ask the presenters about. Justin Richmond, game director for Uncharted 3, stated that this is not the last installment for the Uncharted franchise. I expressed my concerns that if they continue to make more games under the Uncharted name, they may saturate the market like Call of Duty and Guitar Hero have done.

He assured me that while there will be more games, they realize what the appeal is of Uncharted. Even if Nathan Drake is no longer in the future games, they will do their best to keep bringing what we’ve come to love from the franchise. Although I can’t picture Uncharted without Nathan Drake, it would be interesting to see what route Naughty Dog takes. Naughty Dog has impressed us time and time again, so maybe we should have faith.

Uncharted 3 graces us on November 1^st, so you can catch me dying in the multiplayer that night!