Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

[curryking1]

The AI on hard is really surprising sometimes and the graphics are just unbelievable. The whole style, humour and atmosphere just screams quality.


You should see the AI on Crushing, they are ***king aggressive, liek... bananas!!!

[BruceWayneIII]

"Pats Bruce's back"

Good things come to those who wait(Most annoying ordsprog ever, ikke?).

Hehe, yeah, especially when waiting for approximately 10 months. All I want is a 46" Bravia W3000 with 100 Hz motion interpolation. I don't like the X-series - too big and the design isn't clean enough. Now I have to wait until SONY get's the message and deliver a W5000 (already out in Japan).


You should see the AI on Crushing, they are ***king aggressive, liek... bananas!!!

GREAT! Naughty Dog really seems to have nailed the AI. Simply can't wait to get that game and thank you for reminding us about the European release date, bastard! ;-P

[LiquidEagle]

Man, you Euros are gonna friggin' love the game :-D

[Sephiroth_VII]

Yeah, in almost 2 weeks :(

[LiquidEagle]

Yeah, in almost 2 weeks :(

BAHAHAHAHA, all the rep in the world can't get you that game sooner, so who's bragging now!?!?

I'm gonna go play the game again :-p

[Jay Gee]

"Keep smilin', asshole!" I fucking LOVE Drake's lines. Best movie/game I've ever played.

[Sephiroth_VII]

BAHAHAHAHA, all the rep in the world can't get you that game sooner, so who's bragging now!?!?

I'm gonna go play the game again :-p
I'm gonna kill you in MGO...

[curryking1]

I spoiler tagged these ones because they're so fun when you hear them for the first time XD

"Adios asshole."

"Adios jefe. So little imagination."

"Shut it!"

"This is bullshit Roman and you know it!!"

"Tai kucing, you were never very good at poker!"

"Wrong. I'm the only person on this island who knows what the hell he's doing!"

[BruceWayneIII]

^ Too late :cry2:

Quick question about the demo: are there any secrets at all to unlock?

[LiquidEagle]

Besides Sonic as a playable character?

No, nothing :-p

[curryking1]

Spoiler tagged the unlockables in case people didn't want to know them, nothing story revealing in the unlockables.

Good guy and bad guy costumes (includes main character bad guys), weapon choosing thing, slow, super slow and fast motion, some graphics filters, unlimited ammo, one shot kill stuff, a bunch of videos, a bunch of pictures from Naughty Dog, concept art, and a mirror world option.

The only weapon you can't get during the game that you get from 900/1000 points is Eddy's Golden Gun.

The mirror world makes the game really trippy after you finished it once because it's all backwards lol. There's an option to mirror the world every time you die so every time you die and you start again you have to think differently again.

And true to PS3 exclusive styles, you get all the cutscenes to watch whenever you want and a few making of videos.

No extra levels though.

[Sephiroth_VII]

Seriously?

Nah, they wouldn't do that, right?

Anyway, Bruce, there are lots of secrets from what I've heard.

[BruceWayneIII]

Anyway, Bruce, there are lots of secrets from what I've heard.

Really? I don't think I've found one yet. I do collect the ammo that is scattered all over the ground and the wooden boxes, but I haven't found anything in funny places...

[curryking1]

There's no secret stuff in the demo if that's what you're meaning lol.

The treasures are not in the demo, there's a number of treasures in the demo level though (which is really only like the first half of that level).

The only 'secret' thing actually would be the skull on a stick and it asks you to press L2 and Drake goes 'What's this?' Doesn't do anything, but it's easily miss-able.

[Nameless]

I'm only aware of the treasure items being scattered around...
I have obtained 900 of the 1000 points and doubt I will get 1000, because I'm too lazy to look for every last treasure item and I enjoy the combat more than anything. Since I beat the game on crushing I will give it a break for some time, because I still have several titles I need to play... I got roughly about 19 - 20 hours of gameplay from Uncharted considering the multiple play throughs and think it was worth every penny.
Also, this is the type of game you can use the showcase the PS3 and your nice HD display... ;)

[BruceWayneIII]

Curryking1, I was talking about the demo.

And pleeaaassse...! No more spoilers without a spoiler tag, ok? Please? :)

[Sephiroth_VII]

^ Too late :cry2:

Quick question about the demo: are there any secrets at all to unlock?

Oh, the demo :duh:
No, nothing at all.

Curry, where is this skull you're talking about?

[BruceWayneIII]

Haha, okay... There are no secrets in the demo and there a lot of spoilers in the thread :-P

I'm out of here :wave:

[Red]

Played it through today took me 8H and 49min, Best graphics on console the 360 can suck my balls.

[curryking1]

Oh, the demo :duh:
No, nothing at all.

Curry, where is this skull you're talking about?

After you climb the first patch of rock to get past the very first waterfall, you walk through the narrow area with all the dense foliage and you get to the stream.

Then walk a bit further, say 10 or 15 steps running (say more or less on the right), and before you go under the log to see the second waterfall, there is a little area on the right where you pretty much can't do anything except walk up to the trees and look at the skull on the sign hidden behind them.

[Shogun042]

finished the game this weekend, and wow. this has got to be one of the best games i've ever played in every aspect. my brother and my friends would stick around for hours just watching because they loved the story (the first night after some rounds of COD4 they watched me play until almost 4AM).

i hope Uncharted gets the sales it deserves.

and DAMN if the zombie things don't look exactly like the things from i am legend

[curryking1]

And it deserves a buttload of sales...

[Shadow Voa]

Any word on how this game is doing? Sale wise, it's been like a week and Im curious as to how well it's selling. Viper, numbers please!!

[cliffbo]

finished the game this weekend, and wow. this has got to be one of the best games i've ever played in every aspect. my brother and my friends would stick around for hours just watching because they loved the story (the first night after some rounds of COD4 they watched me play until almost 4AM).

i hope Uncharted gets the sales it deserves.

and DAMN if the zombie things don't look exactly like the things from i am legend

NOOOOOOO! i did it again! i hate spoilers! i wish i'd never seen that vid with the two toed footprint...

[curryking1]

Any word on how this game is doing? Sale wise, it's been like a week and Im curious as to how well it's selling. Viper, numbers please!!

My first guess...

Not nearly as well as it deserves. America isn't the place for Playstation right now it seems. Hopefully the Dec. 7th release in Europe gives more respect to this, quite truly, stellar game.

[cliffbo]

My first guess...

Not nearly as well as it deserves. America isn't the place for Playstation right now it seems. Hopefully the Dec. 7th release in Europe gives more respect to this, quite truly, stellar game.

it'll be interesting to see how this game does in Japan... i'm not expecting a huge success there though :(. i think it will do reasonably well over time as word spreads, but nowhere near as well as Halo or Assassins. the main thing for Naughty Dog is to establish the franchise and build from there, in the same way that Insomniac has done with RFOM. these are the building blocks for big sales in the future when the userbase has swelled to 10 million+. like i said though, it will do well. it's not always a good thing to enter a 10 million+ market with a game that competes with dozens of AAA titles and perhaps only hits a small percentage, it's much better to hit a smaller userbase with a AAA title when the userbase is struggling to buy that one AAA title they longed for... it guarantees reasonable sales and also creates a loyal following for the next game.

[LiquidEagle]

My first guess...

Not nearly as well as it deserves. America isn't the place for Playstation right now it seems. Hopefully the Dec. 7th release in Europe gives more respect to this, quite truly, stellar game.

You can say that again... I lose more and more respect for the American game-buying public on an almost daily basis when I work :laugh:

(That's not to say non-Americans aren't guilty of supporting equal amounts of crap, though...!!)

[EvilTaru]

And it deserves a buttload of sales...

It and Ratchet will have legs. With the holiday season and shit getting delayed, it gives Uncharted quite a bit of breathing room to pick up some sales that would have gone to other games were they not delayed to next year.

[Shogun042]

so with the unlockables like the mirror mode, i completed the game on Normal but i didn't exactly get an abundance of bonuses....how do i get these modes? do i need certain amount of points? and where do you find these bonuses (in the menu)?

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Sony's still promoting Resistance, a year after launch, so I expect the same love for the new first party arrivals as well, yeah?

[EvilTaru]

so with the unlockables like the mirror mode, i completed the game on Normal but i didn't exactly get an abundance of bonuses....how do i get these modes? do i need certain amount of points? and where do you find these bonuses (in the menu)?

You get rewards for medal points, keep getting those medals and finding those treasures, and more stuff will be unlocked.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Review up on front page. Yayyyyy.

[julps31]

:pinky: Bout to check it out....

[curryking1]

Yay review!!!!! I read the whole thing, nice stuff Lali. :)

[cliffbo]

Sony's still promoting Resistance, a year after launch, so I expect the same love for the new first party arrivals as well, yeah?

and people wonder why some devs are still loyal to Sony... it's funny because on one forum someone was using that fact to condemn the PS3, saying that they have to because there are no good games on the system. it just goes to show how information can be skewed to justify different ends

[Red_Eyes]

Review from Famitsu.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Sony) - 9, 9, 9, 9 - (36/40)

Source: http://www.the-magicbox.com/gaming.htm

[KRA]

Review from Famitsu.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Sony) - 9, 9, 9, 9 - (36/40)

Source: http://www.the-magicbox.com/gaming.htm

nice i wonder how it will do in japan...

[Segitz]

nice i wonder how it will do in japan...

I doubt it'll sell too well over there... Just as any US game does over there...

I wonder, how games like Sing Star fare over there... I mean, the japanese are crazy for Karaoke^^

[NeoPlayStation]

Ars Technica review (http://arstechnica.com/reviews/games/uncharted-review.ars):


I won't mince words: Uncharted is a visual tour de force. The developers have outdone themselves. Whether you find yourself in a thick, dense jungle environment or the tattered ruins of an abandoned city, the game looks amazing, and the frame rate is unwavering.


This is, quite simply, one of the best-looking games of the year. Have a friend who blindly believes that the difficulty in PS3 development ruins any chance of finding a good game? Show them this title and watch in satisfaction. While third parties may struggle with the PlayStation 3 hardware, the first and second parties seem able to do magic with it—and Uncharted is a magic title when it comes to visuals.


The good:

* Tight, gorgeous visual design and presentation
* Incredible production values
* Captivating story keeps action moving perpetually forward
* Great gameplay engine encompasses fist-fights, gun-fights, cover, and acrobatics
* Some truly impressive set pieces
* Novel trophy/medal system adds an achievement-like collection element

The bad:

* Some noticeable visual problems, including skating
* Some control quirks in general, with the Skidoo

The ugly:

* Finding the very last treasure that you've somehow glossed over after multiple play-throughs.

Great review.

Sumary stolen from PS3Forums

[Diresu]

Yay, more love for Uncharted. Good ND did something amazing here, they need to get recognized for kicking every other game this gen in the face visually and imo gameplay/story-wise as well.

[cliffbo]

oooooooo bling:

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/wp-content/uploads/image/PS2.jpg

[LaLiLuLeLo]

oh god. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Lalilulelo/gifs/SpellingBeeOwned-a9c.gif

[Epix]

Had to post:

http://pici.se/pictures/MmvBQOANy.jpg

[³¹¹]

I just started playing this game and think that the graphics are pretty fucking slick. And the cutscenes are ingame, right? Like not FMV. Just making sure my eyes are fucking me up.

The controls I feel are not as good as then can be. I just played through the intro and I'm liking the game. Very reminiscent of Gears; cover. I wish there was a like a sprint button though.

[qzak]

Cutscenes are in-game engine.


I just wonder how my Drake even takes a step. He's absorbed so much lead, he has to weigh like 600 pounds by now.

[EvilTaru]

Finished it for my third time, this time in hard (played it on hard, crushing, hard), got 100% early in my third run, still can't believe how polished and utterly afw this game really is.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif

[Sephiroth_VII]

8moredays,8moredays,8moredays,8moredays,8moredays, 8moredays,8moredays,8moredays,8moredays,8MOREDAYS! !!!!

[LiquidEagle]

that picture is so beautiful it disgusts me, Curry :-p

[Sephiroth_VII]

New desktop background ;)

[Jay Gee]

8moredays,8moredays,8moredays,8moredays,8moredays, 8moredays,8moredays,8moredays,8moredays,8MOREDAYS! !!!!
You Europeans better show up the US gamers who bought this title. Do us a favor and make this title a million seller. Can ya do that?!?!

[BruceWayneIII]

^I'm pitching this game to (in the voice of Gary Oldman in 'Leon') EVERYONE!!
:)

[Jay Gee]

On my second playthrough with the entire world flipped on the Hard difficulty. It's almost like an entirely new game. Fucking LOVE Uncharted. Cant wait for my third playthrough on Crushing.

[amuront]

Just found this, Japanese TV CM
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/138790.html

Uuuuuuncharted

[<3frosty]

So, how great is this game? It looks awesome.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

It's great and you need to own it.
There.

[<3frosty]

It's great and you need to own it.
There.

I heard a single play through lasts about 6 hours? Wtf is with that? I have heard of short games, but damn.

[Shogun042]

^^ not even close. my first run through on normal was like 9-10 hours at least.

[<3frosty]

^^ not even close. my first run through on normal was like 9-10 hours at least.

Thats good to hear.

[cliffbo]

Thats good to hear.

then you have hidden extras to find, difficulty levels and mirror mode

[julps31]

I heard a single play through lasts about 6 hours? Wtf is with that? I have heard of short games, but damn.Lol you must be thinkin of Call of duty. Because 90% of the reviews i've heard mention it takes about 8 hours.

[Jay Gee]

If you're actively searching for the treasuers hidden throughout the game, you're gonna clock in at 10+ hours. Playing through it on the harder diffculties ups the ante as well, since the firefights will become more intense and drawn out.

[<3frosty]

Lol you must be thinkin of Call of duty. Because 90% of the reviews i've heard mention it takes about 8 hours.

I didnt read reviews of CoD nor Uncharted. I had saw the final score Uncharted got on IGN, and that was all that i saw. I didnt confuse the two, i had heard from a fellow gamer that may or may not know what he is talking about that the game had around 6 hours of gameplay. Thus why i made that comment.

And even still, 8 hours vs 6 isnt much to scoff about. Its not like the game was averaging 12.

Also, im not big on multiple difficulties. I dont like watching many movies over again, and i dont like playing very many games over again either. So, my single play through is going to be how i judge the length and fun of a game.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Fun>Length imo on the priority list.

And, you better get used to it, action adventure games are clocking in at the 10 hours or less mark more and more these days. Haven't you noticed? These PS3 games aren't the exception here. Since the PS2/Cube/Xbox generation, games are getting shorter, and it's because the graphics demands take up all the time and budget on a project. So I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, most games have been around 8-15 hours (tops) since PS2 generation. And some of the best games are the shorter ones.

[Newboi]

Fun>Length imo on the priority list.

And, you better get used to it, action adventure games are clocking in at the 10 hours or less mark more and more these days. Haven't you noticed? These PS3 games aren't the exception here. Since the PS2/Cube/Xbox generation, games are getting shorter, and it's because the graphics demands take up all the time and budget on a project. So I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, most games have been around 8-15 hours (tops) since PS2 generation. And some of the best games are the shorter ones.

QFT http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/shmookins/emos/hero.gif

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Most people whining about 'wahh this game is too short', probably aren't gonna be buying many awesome games.

Shit, the way I felt by the end of Heavenly Sword, facing Bohan was worth the purchase price alone.

[<3frosty]

Fun>Length imo on the priority list.

And, you better get used to it, action adventure games are clocking in at the 10 hours or less mark more and more these days. Haven't you noticed? These PS3 games aren't the exception here. Since the PS2/Cube/Xbox generation, games are getting shorter, and it's because the graphics demands take up all the time and budget on a project. So I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, most games have been around 8-15 hours (tops) since PS2 generation. And some of the best games are the shorter ones.

Let me be honest here. 6 hours would piss me off. 8 is better. If i cant get in 10 hours of quality gameplay, im gunna be pissed at the game. Probably the best game i have ever played in entirety is God of War, and that took me around 12 hours to beat. If 12 hours was relatively short (i heard that come up on reviews all the time, though they may have taken 9-10 hours), then 6 is absurd. I understand why so many games have been shortened, and its not solely based on budget and time.

If you spend all this money making a single game with a large and engrossing story, you run the risk of it not doing that well or being the only game. If you chop down your story, set it up for a sequel, and pump out another 8 hour game that people horde, suddenly you have a money machine.

[Jay Gee]

Playing through this game with the world mirrored is too fun. I'm finding a bunch of treasures that I missed last time. I'm gonna set it to "Flip World" when I play through on Crushing.

[cliffbo]

Let me be honest here. 6 hours would piss me off. 8 is better. If i cant get in 10 hours of quality gameplay, im gunna be pissed at the game. Probably the best game i have ever played in entirety is God of War, and that took me around 12 hours to beat. If 12 hours was relatively short (i heard that come up on reviews all the time, though they may have taken 9-10 hours), then 6 is absurd. I understand why so many games have been shortened, and its not solely based on budget and time.

If you spend all this money making a single game with a large and engrossing story, you run the risk of it not doing that well or being the only game. If you chop down your story, set it up for a sequel, and pump out another 8 hour game that people horde, suddenly you have a money machine.

i'm with you on this one... however, if a game has legitimate reasons to play it more than once (like RAC) then i'm happy with that

[<3frosty]

To add to my statement, im not a normal gamer in a sense. I mostly take my time when playing. I like getting almost every powerup imaginable. I dont mind on a game like DMC3 going back and smashing through a level 10-15 times to get more jewels to go towards better upgrades. I dont really enjoy dieing in a game, so if i can power up a bit and then beat a boss on the 2-4th try, im good with that. If i die more then 7 times, i might very easily just give up there and then. A 12 hour game might take me 18 hours. And thats on normal.

[Nameless]

I have no qualms with Uncharted's length, but I think the sweet spot for adventure titles should be 12 hours of gameplay on normal difficulty settings.
I felt Uncharted played more like a movie than a game and if they sacrificed the story, gameplay or production quality just to provide a couple of additional hours of play it would have been a crime IMO... I think 8 hours is pushing the limit for a $60 game, but if the gameplay is solid I will consider playing the game twice and that provides the proper length to justify the purchase. I played through Heavenly Sword & Uncharted on the hardest difficulties so I got over 16 hours of gameplay and my money worth...

[EvilTaru]

I didnt read reviews of CoD nor Uncharted. I had saw the final score Uncharted got on IGN, and that was all that i saw. I didnt confuse the two, i had heard from a fellow gamer that may or may not know what he is talking about that the game had around 6 hours of gameplay. Thus why i made that comment.

And even still, 8 hours vs 6 isnt much to scoff about. Its not like the game was averaging 12.

Also, im not big on multiple difficulties. I dont like watching many movies over again, and i dont like playing very many games over again either. So, my single play through is going to be how i judge the length and fun of a game.

You got it confused with COD4, COD4 is the one with the super short single player campaign, Uncharted is pretty standard length at 8-10 hours, and it's thoroughly fun and engaging, not repetitive.

[EvilTaru]

i'm with you on this one... however, if a game has legitimate reasons to play it more than once (like RAC) then i'm happy with that

I'm not sure what one would call a "legitimate" reason, Uncharted is simply fun to play, even after finishing the game, starting a new game at a higher difficulty right away doesn't make a player feel burnt out, that's the kind of game it is, you can probably play it over and over because the core gameplay itself is ACE, scoring headshots/stealth kills/melee knockouts is tremendously satisfying, it's not the matter of finishing the game for the sake finishing it but rather the actual enjoyment while playing the game. I've finished it on hard/crushing/hard, and I have no problem starting a new game and replaying the hell out of it from beginning to end, very few games have that quality.

[Shogun042]

i still don't get how to unlock mirror mode.

[dnpmakkah]

On my second playthrough and let me tell you I BETTER get all the Treasures or else.....I'm going to have to play a third time.

[Hisham]

i still don't get how to unlock mirror mode.

Easy enough, I unlocked it on the first play though. Just keep getting more medal points and you should unlock it soon enough.

[VideoGame mania]

I only got 32 treasures on Hard after first play-through, where are the rest ?
I was playing really slow, how could I missed 28 treasures ?

[Coded-Dude]

I only got 35 on medium first time though...I saw some that I missed but I wanted to finish the level rather than wander around to get a few more. I'll find the rest on the next play through. (but I did get 100 headshots)

[Epix]

A few pics to entice the few that actually haven't purchased this game yet:

91309131913291339134

[Epix]

91359136913791389139

[cliffbo]

I'm not sure what one would call a "legitimate" reason, Uncharted is simply fun to play, even after finishing the game, starting a new game at a higher difficulty right away doesn't make a player feel burnt out, that's the kind of game it is, you can probably play it over and over because the core gameplay itself is ACE, scoring headshots/stealth kills/melee knockouts is tremendously satisfying, it's not the matter of finishing the game for the sake finishing it but rather the actual enjoyment while playing the game. I've finished it on hard/crushing/hard, and I have no problem starting a new game and replaying the hell out of it from beginning to end, very few games have that quality.

what i mean is that there is a real incentive to play through the game again. one of my favourite games of all time was RE4, but just unlocking a new weapon or two and having other costumes wasn't enough of an incentive to make me finish a second play through. on the other hand, in RAC, you have to play through again to be able to buy all the weapons and all the weapons are upgradeable to a further level. then you have the multiplier, which adds a great incentive to play through it again and of course all the hidden extras and skills

[AbominatioN]

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=054100

(too tired/lazy to search if already posted :p)

[wotter]

Just a few days left.... can't wait, nice pics btw. Want to take some myself :)

[Jay Gee]

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=054100

(too tired/lazy to search if already posted :p)
LOL @ that douche in the thread demanding the game be brought to the 360. Keep dreaming, xbot.

[OmniStalgic]

Oh my goodness=-o Just finished Uncharted on hard!!!!!

Game of the year for me--still have to play Mario Galaxy/Metroid tho...

But yeah, this is one of those games that we'll talk about 4-5 years from now... awesome story!!! and OMG did anyone see that coming!!

You know, I don't wanna spoil it, but WHOA!!! I didn't see that coming in this game at all!!! It was seriously like RE4 again in this game!

Just an awesome game that everyone should play. And yes like Ratchet, Uncharted is one of those games that you will want to play over and over again. Good stuff

[Shadow Voa]

When is GOTY usually announced as the be all, end all title of 2007?

[Shogun042]

dude Shadow Voa, sig is creepy as hell.

i'm not sure why this game isn't getting incredible praise from the gaming press, what is it lacking exactly? i haven't played Bioshock but what makes it so perfect?

i usually don't care for reviews but if a reviewer can give Halo's graphics a 9/10 surely Uncharted should be 11/10.

[OmniStalgic]

dude Shadow Voa, sig is creepy as hell.

i'm not sure why this game isn't getting incredible praise from the gaming press, what is it lacking exactly? i haven't played Bioshock but what makes it so perfect?

i usually don't care for reviews but if a reviewer can give Halo's graphics a 9/10 surely Uncharted should be 11/10.Bioshock I'd say isn't as pretty--but it's equally as impressive because of it's unique story and new FPS gameplay. I think Uncharted surpasses it in the storytelling department and how seamless it is, but Uncharted is only a notch (a small one) above Bioshock simply because I like the atmosphere and art direction more. Both are good games tho;) Uncharted just takes the acting/storytelling to another level while I think Bioshock really does innovate in a lot of gameplay areas with all the cool weapons you can do. Uncharted isn't really innovative IMO it's just blended and polished extremely well together like God of War.

Very good stuff...two of the few real "next-gen" games that came out this year definitely.

[Shadow Voa]

Yeah Im surprised Sony has announced some numbers and figures to go with their real flagship title for the holidays. Maybe they are waiting for afterwards, Im extremely curious if this game is doing well.

[evillion]

only one day left and my ps3 will have a new meaning in its life.

[solidus]

Bioshock I'd say isn't as pretty--but it's equally as impressive because of it's unique story and new FPS gameplay. I think Uncharted surpasses it in the storytelling department and how seamless it is, but Uncharted is only a notch (a small one) above Bioshock simply because I like the atmosphere and art direction more. Both are good games tho;) Uncharted just takes the acting/storytelling to another level while I think Bioshock really does innovate in a lot of gameplay areas with all the cool weapons you can do. Uncharted isn't really innovative IMO it's just blended and polished extremely well together like God of War.

Very good stuff...two of the few real "next-gen" games that came out this year definitely.
I don't see many gameplay differences between Bioshock and System Shock, let alone any real innovation considering there's a gap of over a decade between both titles.

It's presentation and atmosphere however are truly remarkable. It features a polish not many games can boast.

Back to Uncharted, the game is finally getting released later this week, so I'll get to see what the fuss is all about.

[OmniStalgic]

You maybe right, I never played system shock--but as far as console gaming goes, I don't think there's anything like Bioshock on any other platform, in that sense I think it's pretty innovative compared to most console shooters.

Back on topic--you'll more than likely enjoy Uncharted a great deal. Very challenging satisfying game:pleased: I can't praise it enough.

[Red_Eyes]

i'm not sure why this game isn't getting incredible praise from the gaming press, what is it lacking exactly?Giant marine in space armor.

[solidus]

You maybe right, I never played system shock--but as far as console gaming goes, I don't think there's anything like Bioshock on any other platform, in that sense I think it's pretty innovative compared to most console shooters.

Back on topic--you'll more than likely enjoy Uncharted a great deal. Very challenging satisfying game:pleased: I can't praise it enough.

Yeah, I'm pretty hyped about this game as it is. The demo was great and from what I hear, it's not one of the best levels neither...

[Sephiroth_VII]

22k to 30k polygons on IN-GAME CHARACTERS! (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=54100&page=2&pp=15)

December 7th can't get here fast enough for me :hugegrin:

[cliffbo]

great find! WOW and there is a spoiler in there!!! GRRRRR!!!!

[BruceWayneIII]

22k to 30k polygons on IN-GAME CHARACTERS! (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=54100&page=2&pp=15)

December 7th can't get here fast enough for me :hugegrin:

I called EB Games here in Aarhus yesterday and they told me it would arrive tomorrow.

[Segitz]

Goddamn, why is there no "official" students version of ZBrush? I want to use it too^^

[Fillibuster]

Congratulations guys, you're about to play the best game available for PS3, and possibly the best game of the year!

[Kiwi]

It's a good job I'm getting paid in a couple of days.

COD4 and Uncharted, here I come!! :-D

[Sephiroth_VII]

Seri&#248;st!? Jeg sms'er lige til min ven som er SUS-chef i EB butikken i Lyngby, det ville v&#230;re s&#229; fedt!

[cliffbo]

Seriøst!? Jeg sms'er lige til min ven som er SUS-chef i EB butikken i Lyngby

sorry but i can't agree with that

[Kiwi]

quality? I sms'er right to my friend that is SUS - manager to EB the shop to Flash of lightning

LOL @ translators

[LaLiLuLeLo]

LOL @ crazy moon languages.

Fixed.

[Sephiroth_VII]

Uh, I assure that that's not what it means :look:

Anyway, when I write in Danish, it's because it doesn't really affect anyone but Danes, or to annoy Lali. Both perfectly valid reasons :)

[LaLiLuLeLo]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Lalilulelo/gifs/Close-one1.gif

[B Dizzle]

Played thru COD4 and absolutely loved it. Just jumped into RnC and am adoring it. Cant wait for Uncharted and Orange Box.

[Jay Gee]

Still got my fingers crossed for better sales of this game in Europe.

[karibu]

Still got my fingers crossed for better sales of this game in Europe.

It's not selling in US?!

[Jay Gee]

It is, just not as good as I'd hope. According to VGChartz, it sold more in its 2nd than it did in the first, so here's hoping you guys can put a little fire under it when it release over in Europe.

[cliffbo]

It is, just not as good as I'd hope. According to VGChartz, it sold more in its 2nd than it did in the first, so here's hoping you guys can put a little fire under it when it release over in Europe.

hype = immediate sales and then very slow sales
adverts = immediate interest and a steady sell through

[solidus]

It is, just not as good as I'd hope. According to VGChartz, it sold more in its 2nd than it did in the first, so here's hoping you guys can put a little fire under it when it release over in Europe.
That's because it didn't officially release until the "second" week. Certain stores had the game on display before the official release date.

[LiquidEagle]

http://www.threespeech.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/Drake%20image.1.jpg

http://threespeech.com/blog/?p=762


There’s a nice comp running over at www.unchartedps3.com; a Google Maps-powered Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (ARG) alternative reality game. Track down Nathan Drake first and the prize is two return flights to Cancun, seven nights all-in accommodation in a four star hotel and two activities - GPS scavenger hunt and snorkel, and a submarine trip. Ten runners up bag a 26″ TV. The comp runs until the end of January.

Ah yeah, and if you’re a bit handy at this treasure hunting caper, best not to post your solutions to the tasks on here, as you’ll only have a slew of other contestants stealing a march on you!

[BruceWayneIII]

[tremble, tremble] I finally picked up my copy of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune :hugegrin:

[Sephiroth_VII]

I'm picking it up tomorrow, Merlin is slooow...

[dnpmakkah]

Finished my 2nd playthough last night and only got up to 58/60 treasures....ugggh I thought I was so careful.

[Cyrus]

The music fuckin owns!!

[EvilTaru]

22k to 30k polygons on IN-GAME CHARACTERS! (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=54100&page=2&pp=15)

December 7th can't get here fast enough for me :hugegrin:

What's more impressive is they're using the same models for the in-game cinematics and during the gameplay rawr.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif

[evillion]

finally got it!! the game is foocking beautiful just as everyone's been saying. man, havent seen a released game visually so impressive since Lair. i just cant put it down, need to induldge more of uncharted sweetness.

[fortieTHief]

[tremble, tremble] I finally picked up my copy of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune :hugegrin:

IDEM!...im very very happy,this game is awesome!:thumbl:

[BruceWayneIII]

Wow, ok, ok... (lost my breath). Played the game last night all the way to where the PSN demo starts. And I can't really find the words now. The immersion is total. It has me captured right from the beginning. I'm laughing, I'm getting excited, my HiFi system is loving the DTS sound (can't understand why some reviews only gave it an eight in sound), I'm in awe when staring into the jungle and I know that my face and especially my eyes look like a teenager in love. The acting, the comments, the vistas, the atmosphere, the clues that has me puzzled and looking forward to more revelations, the platforming, the explosions, the treasures...

This is my first Naughty Dog experience and I'm in love. Please don't rent it - buy it! Recommend it! Pitch it! Make the gaming world a better place.

[Oh dear, I'm loosing myself]

[LaLiLuLeLo]

The immersion is total.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Lalilulelo/gifs/1190694792890.gif

[cliffbo]

CVG gave it 9/10 :)

[Jay Gee]

Which is a perfect score on Sony's actual 9 out of 9 ranking system that was recently implemented. Congrats, Bruce. It is an awesome experience.

[Jasonps3]

Q and A with Evan Wells:


So, a few weeks back we asked for your questions for Evan Wells, and here are the answers - which make very interesting reading. Questions on the possibility of Jak and Daxter for PS3, rag doll physics and new challenges are all answered. The second part of the interview will follow tomorrow.

What technologies went into creating the game? - subsurface scattering/ parallax mapping/ procedural textures etc etc

There really are too many to list out. The answer to this question would just end up looking like a laundry list of all of the industry’s next-gen buzz words. Our engineers have really pulled out all of the stops and given our artists and amazing set of tools to work with. And all of the tech in the world isn’t going to do you any good unless you have a talented team of artists to work with it.

How long did development time actually take from the first snippet of code to the final product?

Full production on Uncharted lasted almost exactly two years. We had an internal team of about 70 employees working on the game as well as about dozen contractors. There was also about a year of pre-production where we had a small team working on early ideas and tech.

Will you be utilising the uncharted engine for upcoming titles - PS3 Jak anyone?

We will most definitely continue to build on the Uncharted code base with all of our future titles for the PlayStation3. We have a lot of very sophisticated systems that are general purpose and could be used for a wide variety of genres. It’s very exciting to think what we can do with this tech now that it’s in place and we can focus on accomplishing something even more ambitious. And Jak and Daxter is a definite possibility some time in the future. There is a lot of interest around the office in going back to that franchise and seeing what we could do with it using the Uncharted engine.


Best physics in a game, but why not incorporate the rag doll physics on downed enemies? I know they are there, but they only react when you run over them. Nothing happens when you shoot them. What was the reason behind this?

Actually we had the bodies reacting to bullets all the way up until the last couple of weeks of development. It came down to a ratings issue, and we really didn’t think that it was worth the risk of receiving a more mature rating for such a small feature.

There are beautifully animated fish in the water, but I can’t shoot them?

Same thing here. We had hit reactions and even some death animations for the wildlife in the game but we chose to remove it. It was flagged as a potential issue by the ESRB and it seemed like a small concession to make in order to maintain our “Teen” rating. It may have also affected the rating in Europe.

I’ve watched a few of the development videos, so can imagine the front end of many of your tools. Other items I guess are developed on other software such as model designs, audio design. However, eventually, it needs compiling down to the best software code for the Playstation3 architecture. How did this work? How do they test their math? How did the technical side work? How do they tweak and get the best out of our baby? What have they learnt?

With all of the development tools that we use, the most important feature is iteration time. We want to cut down the time it takes for our artists, designers and programmers to see their work show up in the game. This means that they will get the maximum opportunity to experiment which is the only way to make a great game. A lot of our tools were designed and created at Naughty Dog including a level editor, a shader and material editor, an asset management system and a scripting language that can be compiled and uploaded to the PS3 on the fly.

In regards to optimizing for the PS3, our engineers have gotten to the point were they’re familiar enough with the hardware that their first pass code has already taken the SPU’s into account. So when it comes time to move a system over from the PPU to the Cell, it doesn’t take a very long time.

Do you intend to tackle a similar project in the future, or would you fancy a new challenge? From a third person action adventure, to a racing game for instance, or a flying game.

For the most part I imagine we will be sticking with the 3rd person, action/adventure genre. It’s the kind of game that everybody at Naughty Dog enjoys playing the most, so we have the most passion for creating them too.

Clearly you’ve done a great job. Business wise, how difficult is it to obtain, and now keep the talent, and skilled staff?

Obtaining the talent can be tough. We built this staff over many years and thousands of interviews, looking for just the right team. Keeping the talent is just a matter of offering them creative environment to work in and a great game to work on. I really think that’s the most important thing (of course nice salaries and bonuses don’t hurt either). If your team isn’t inspired by what they are working on and the people they are working with, then that’s when you run into issues with retaining your staff.

Are you considering a sequel? There are more treasures to be found out there after all. Perhaps some in old Italian cities, like Venice.

We developed Uncharted as a franchise. The pulp action/adventure genre lends itself perfectly to serialization and continued episodes which is one of the reasons we were attracted to it. Right now we are brainstorming on what Naughty Dog’s next project will be, but even if we don’t do an Uncharted sequel right away, you can pretty much count on us doing one in the near future.


http://threespeech.com/blog/?p=766#more-766

[cliffbo]

Same thing here. We had hit reactions and even some death animations for the wildlife in the game but we chose to remove it. It was flagged as a potential issue by the ESRB and it seemed like a small concession to make in order to maintain our “Teen” rating. It may have also affected the rating in Europe.

shooting people on the other hand is ok... what an odd world we live in

[masteratt]

Meh I guessed all the answers before I read them.

Good old predictable Naughty Dog.

[curryking1]

^You shut the ***k up! Don't be talking about ND like that or in any negative way! :P

I preferred all of the choices that they took with wildlife and the inability to shoot enemies after they've died.

The PG-13-ness of Indiana Jones is a strong element in it's featuring 'funness' and adventureness, and the same happens here.

I preferred every style in this game that makes it more pulp action adventure and every style that kept it away from being 'mature' in any violent sense.

A note though, you can use explosions to move any physics affected objects like the enormous number of individual pieces from destructible rock cover and crates after they've already been destroyed and including persons after they've died.

Walking on people is fun.

What's more interesting about the physics of the people is that they aren't considered as singular box weights. Their limbs are considered as individual masses, such that you can kick an enemy with one leg or the other or both when you are walking on them.

It's also why the ragdolls after deaths (save for the purposely exaggerated or heavily scripted for movie-like-ness ones) are so realistic in their reactions to the environment.

ND just went all out.


There really are too many to list out. The answer to this question would just end up looking like a laundry list of all of the industry’s next-gen buzz words. Our engineers have really pulled out all of the stops and given our artists and amazing set of tools to work with. And all of the tech in the world isn’t going to do you any good unless you have a talented team of artists to work with it.

And such and BluRay is the reason there are so many objects and so much individualized crap in Uncharted and why it looks so god damn sexy.

[GTAce]

sqj62US_HTc
Just saw the German version of this without "actual gameplay footage" at the bottom. :thumbl:
Btw. ill most likely get it for xmas.

[Chrome]

This game is excellent, I agree with the Immersion on this title its like you're taking part inside the game. 7.1 Sound and a Dualshock 3 helps highten the experience, this game is nice when playing with rumble I never thought I'd hear myself say that. Got the DS3's as a freebie at work from our very nice boss, but I'd definatly buy a couple more.

[Sephiroth_VII]

On a completely unrelated note, I received my DS3 yesterday, just in time for Uncharted tomorrow :)

[BruceWayneIII]

^ Hey, finally some goods news in your shopping life. :thumbr:

... oh, and the DS3 is great in Uncharted.

[Chrome]

On a completely unrelated note, I received my DS3 yesterday, just in time for Uncharted tomorrow :)

Nice !! Also try the GT5:Prologue Demo the game feels perfect again with Rumble.

And last but not least pick up a copy of Ratchet and Clank: TOD its an excellent game:thumbl:

[Sephiroth_VII]

^ Hey, finally some goods news in your shopping life. :thumbr:

... oh, and the DS3 is great in Uncharted.
Det ved jeg, hvorfor tror du jeg spillede demoen igen i dag? ;)

Nice !! Also try the GT5:Prologue Demo the game feels perfect again with Rumble.
Just tried it out. Nice!

And last but not least pick up a copy of Ratchet and Clank: TOD its an excellent game:thumbl:

Bought it the day it was released :)

[cliffbo]

AT LAST:


Uncharted : Drake's Fortune
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: SCEE
Release Date: Out Now
Players: 1

Words By:

Anyone who has done the “scroll to the end of the review to see what the score is” thing will know I think Uncharted is pretty special. The biggest thing that makes Uncharted stand out for me is that it's a game worth playing on the PS3, as up till now mine has been used pretty much as a blu-ray player only. There has been the odd game or two on which I have dabbled but nothing really held my attention and certainly nothing which made me look at the PS3 as anything other than a movie player.

U:DF though has changed all that, not only is it a game worth playing, but I have done nothing but play it for the last couple of days. Now that, for me, is something special at any time of the year (you could count on your hands the number of games I have completed) but when you consider some of the (supposed) AAA titles that have been released in the last few weeks then maybe you will get an idea of how much I enjoyed U:DF

So what exactly is Drakes Fortune? Well, for those who don’t know, it's the first PS3 game by Naughty Dog, a company renowned for its Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter games – it's also a game which seems to be summed up in many a preview and forum post as “Tomb Raider meets Gears of War” – this is actually a rather lazy way to describe the game, but it's also rather accurate so I’ll stick with it.

The game opens with you aboard a small boat seeking out the coffin of Sir Francis Drake (who you are supposed to be related to). This section serves as a tutorial for the combat part of the game but it’s all so intuitive that no tutorial is really needed. The combat will feel very familiar to anyone who has played Gears of War as it uses a very similar cover mechanic. Drake can duck down behind walls or to the side of doors and take pot shots at the enemy. This being the tutorial though you don’t really get a feel for just how good the combat is going to be.

Once off the boat it’s into “Tomb Raider” territory and a tutorial on how to jump and climb. Drake is much less an athlete than Lara though and his climbing and jumping skills are more Rock Climber than Gymnast. It’s in this section that you notice just how much care and attention to detail there is in the game. Drake is fantastically animated. The way he moves up walls and from ledge to ledge looks and feels more like a simulation than arcade game, and really pulls you into the game. The same is true for the combat sections where the way Drake reacts to the cover never pulls you out of the game world. Both sides of the game work so well; one minute you can be jumping from ledge to ledge, the next in a tense close-quarters fire fight, and it’s always seamless.

From beginning to end the game is layered with a lot of detail and it’s also very obvious its had a great deal of playtesting during its development. In the entire time it took me to complete the game I came across no bugs or problems at all. Every time I died it was MY fault and not the developers'. If I fell to my death then it was because I jumped too early – if I lost in a gun battle it was because I failed to use the cover. Not once (and this I think is a huge point) did the game’s camera let me down or end up looking the wrong way. It’s all done so well you really feel like you are playing a part in a movie – that’s how slick and seamless it is. It’s usually at this point in a review that the “bad points” come up, but as there aren't any, I’ll continue with the praise…

The combat is brilliant, it starts off nice and easy allowing you to work out how to use the cover as best you can and having the enemies in front of you, but as the game progresses combat gets better and better. This is mainly down to the AI. No longer can you just stay behind that one piece of cover and pick off the enemies one by one, if you try that later on they get clever and flank you, also using the cover to get close and get behind you. The fluid movement and tight control of the central character allows for some very exciting and (I guess) believable gunplay.

The game looks and sounds fantastic (just how many games do you know with 7.1 PCM support?) and has some of the best environments yet in a game. Be it an old church, a tropical jungle or a Nazi Submarine they all look and feel how you would expect and all have loads of detail. Even when you are not jumping or shooting the look and design of the environments continue to immerse you into the game. It’s not just the shooting mechanics that this has in common with Gears of War, it also looks just as good (and maybe even better).

Ok maybe I have gushed on long enough, its obvious I loved the game - in fact upon completion I started it again, which I think I have only done once before (with Resident Evil 4) but are there really no bad bits ? Well none that I could find without being accused of nitpicking. The game is brilliant, not just the best game on the PS3 but the best game I have played this year – roll on the inevitable sequel!

10/10

http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=826825

[julps31]

:salute: Finally. Whats the source tho?

[cliffbo]

:salute: Finally. Whats the source tho?

done :)

[BruceWayneIII]

Yeah, finally. Always wondered why a game like this shouldn't get a 10. It's simply a brilliant piece of work.

[Jay Gee]

During the Christmas holidays, I think I'm going to try to archive all of Drake's one liners.

[curryking1]

Best one liner goes to Eddy!

"Shut it!"

Drake's 'giving the lady the tour' one is sick though hehehe, ten dollar tour hahaha :P

[EvilTaru]

sqj62US_HTc
Just saw the German version of this without "actual gameplay footage" at the bottom. :thumbl:
Btw. ill most likely get it for xmas.

That's a great collection of gameplay footage, I can't wait for Uncharted 2.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif

[Jay Gee]

That commercial kicked the SHIT out the US one. SHOW THE SAME FUCKING ADS IF YOU CAN, SONY.

[wotter]

Nice commercial, got my copy yesterday. I'm now at chapter 5 the Fort and omg, nicest looking game that I've played so far on PS3.

[PUNK em 733]

X-play must hate the pS3, their review was a real quickie 4 star, that barely mentioned any of it's merits.

[gibmonster]

I finished this game today after getting it two days ago. Fucking awesome game. I love everything about it. The gameplay, story, characters and the visuals are mind blowing. I'll definitely be playing through this game atleast two more times.

[fortieTHief]

the mercenary is very hard to beat :thumbl:

[LaLiLuLeLo]

X-play must hate the pS3, their review was a real quickie 4 star, that barely mentioned any of it's merits.

Why do you even watch G4. It's a terrible channel.

[dnpmakkah]

You really appreciate this game when you play other games and realize how crappy they are.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Yeah. Hahahaha.

[BruceWayneIII]

You really appreciate this game when you play other games and realize how crappy they are.

Exactly! The EB Games guy who handed me my SingStar game asked what else I was playing. I said Uncharted. He said he heard is was good. I warned him and said it might ruin other games for him. I think he believed me :)

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Uncharted doesn't raise the bar, it grabs the bar, bends other games over its knee and beats them with it.

[curryking1]

(voice from the darkness...)

"Should've given it 9.0!"

:P

[LiquidEagle]

I try to recommend Uncharted to a lot of people looking for a good PS3 game, but I don't know how many times they've said, "meh... Oh hey Assassin's Creed is out now!"

I just want to cry.

[julps31]

:duh: They deserve a trout slap. :troutslap:

[PUNK em 733]

Why do you even watch G4. It's a terrible channel.

I have a DVR, and I record X play to just to see the reviews, i usually fast foward most of it. I do like AOTS.

[cliffbo]

how do you unlock mirror mode?

[Shadow Voa]

I try to recommend Uncharted to a lot of people looking for a good PS3 game, but I don't know how many times they've said, "meh... Oh hey Assassin's Creed is out now!"

I just want to cry.

Lol, I just love reading this for the fact that I recommend Assassin's Creed almost all the time. We've sold quite a few on recommendations alone which is great since I want my sequel and great sales.

On topic: Almost everywhere in regards to PS3 recommends Ratchet and Clank over Uncharted which I found odd, I havent played either but heard great stuff about both.

[BruceWayneIII]

^get your ass together and play R&C and Uncharted!!!
:)

EDIT: SpikeTV has R&C as best PS3 game (but there are some things about their awards I don't quite understand, but that should be in another thread).

[curryking1]

Lol, I just love reading this for the fact that I recommend Assassin's Creed almost all the time. We've sold quite a few on recommendations alone which is great since I want my sequel and great sales.

On topic: Almost everywhere in regards to PS3 recommends Ratchet and Clank over Uncharted which I found odd, I havent played either but heard great stuff about both.

It's because they are both ***king fantabulous ;)

[Jay Gee]

I try to recommend Uncharted to a lot of people looking for a good PS3 game, but I don't know how many times they've said, "meh... Oh hey Assassin's Creed is out now!"
Let em enjoy their AIDS.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

I try to recommend Uncharted to a lot of people looking for a good PS3 game, but I don't know how many times they've said, "meh... Oh hey Assassin's Creed is out now!"

I just want to cry.

No, that's when you get SERIOUS, AND LOUD WITH THEM. And look them in the eye like, 'LOOK MAN. If you EVER, believe ANYTHING EVER THAT I EVER SAY TO YOU IN THIS LIFE OR THE NEXT, NOW IS THE TIME.' And if they don't believe that kind of conviction just refuse to serve them. And be sure to curse their house and their lineage.

[Jay Gee]

And be sure to curse their house and their lineage.
I live in the South, Liquid. I can show you a good root doctor.

[LiquidEagle]

...I'm listening... :-p

[OmniStalgic]

Nice little Q&A from ThreeSpeech...


Following on from yesterday, here’s the second part of the Evan Wells Q&A. Also, don’t forget the Drake’s Trail competition which is happening now. Those prizes are pretty amazing.

Will there be any DLC content for Uncharted and what about a multiplayer?

We left multiplayer out of Uncharted so that we could focus the entire team’s efforts on creating the most compelling and exciting single player experience possible. As for downloadable content, we took a different approach. Instead of adding features later and asking people to download them or buy them from the PSN, we included them on the disc and tied them into our Medal Point system. If you collect all of the treasure in the game and earn all 1000 Medal Points, you will get to unlock a ton of really great rewards like behind the scenes videos, tons of concept art, skins, rendering modes, and cheats. We thought it was cooler to include these things right on the Blu-Ray disc rather than force you to download them later.

On developing on the PS3 : If Sony decided to increase the number of Cell processors and SPUs in a future release of the hardware, would Uncharted automatically take advantage of these new capabilities or would it just run at the same pace.

Currently the Uncharted engine isn’t even taking complete advantage of all the processors on the Cell chip. We’re essentially using about 1/3 of the power that’s being offered at this time. So if the Cell processor was improved in future iterations of the hardware, it would have no effect on the overall performance of Uncharted.

In terms of percentages of time spent, how much was spent on:
a) pre-production/proto-typing
b) design
c) actual development with programmers, artists etc
d) game play tweaking

This is a very hard question to answer because several of those things overlap. For instance the design of the game was constantly evolving throughout production. We were also tweaking the gameplay from start to finish. What I can say is that we had a small team of designers and engineers working on pre-production for about one year before full production began. We then had the full team working on the game for the next two years.



Insomniac is supposedly going to release a ratchet game every 2 years as well as the resistance titles every 2 years. Do you plan on following a yearly release schedule like this, similar to what you did on ps2?

Actually we didn’t release a game every year on the PS2. Jak and Daxter was two years in development, as was Jak 2. We then did Jak 3 and Jak X each in one year. We might end up in a similar pattern on the PS3, but we’ll have see how rapidly we can develop our next projects now that we have our first game under our belts.

Designing the 3D polygonal medals & rewards for Uncharted, was this done so you could use the same resource for trophies in Home? As in, the patch that will eventually add Home trophies to Uncharted won’t need to come included with heavy graphic files for the trophies?

Rather than each individual treasure, the Medals in Uncharted are more likely going to turn into Home trophies. We modelled the detail into the treasures just to increase the satisfaction in finding them. We also went to great lengths to make sure that they were authentic items that were from the right time period and location. We will have to come up with new 3D models to represent the trophies when the time comes.

From a developer’s point of view, are the costs involved in developing for a console as advanced as the PS3 a problem? Do they put constraints on development period to such a degree that you really need to get a game out to recoup development costs, or do you just keep going until you feel there is nothing more to do, I say that because what happens if you get so far into a game like uncharted and you decide its a turkey( I know it wont be), but you’ve spent so much on development costs already. Games like Killzone 2 make it hard to believe there would be any profit in something costing that much to develop.

Of course the development budget is always an issue. Making video games is still a business after all. And I don’t think anybody who has shipped a game has ever felt like “there is nothing more to do”. These projects are so huge and complex you could literally work on them forever and still find ways to optimize or add more polish. But at Naughty Dog, we take our schedule very seriously and have always shipped on time (knock on wood). So we make sure that we are checking ourselves all along the way so that we don’t end up making a “turkey”, slipping the schedule, or going over budget.

One thing I dislike in a lot of next gen games are “screen tearing”, and it happens to be quite a lot in the retail version I have. What do you think about this problem, and do you think you’ll overcome this problem in the future to succeed in a perfectly smooth experience?

Screen tearing is something that occurs when your frame rate dips below 30Hz. When you drop frame rate you have a choice to either drop all the way to 20Hz, or allow the screen to tear and only have the frame rate drop to 28 or 29Hz. We felt that with the frequency that it occurs, that the latter choice had a smaller impact on most player’s experiences. In fact, the vast majority of people don’t even notice it. Now ideally, our frame rate would never drop below 30Hz, but with the amount of stuff we’re doing every frame in Uncharted, inevitably it will happen occasionally. However, it’s definitely something we will be able to improve on in future games as we make optimizations to our engine.

Uncharted is a lot more serious game than the likes of Jak and Daxter that we normally associate with Naughty Dog. Do you find making more serious games a bigger challenge than the more casual games for example Crash Bandicoot?

I don’t know if I would say it’s harder, but it definitely has a different set of problems to solve. In our past franchises we could use warp gates, or floating platforms to move the player around. Now we have to come up with believable mechanisms to accomplish the same thing. We always have to make sure that our environments and the objects that we place in them fit in the world and don’t break the immersion. But on the other hand, since we are working in the real world, there is a huge amount of reference material just a Google search away when we are looking for inspiration.

During the creation of the game from the scenery up to Drake himself, which parts did you enjoy doing the most & felt were the most rewarding looking back on the finished product now?

I think it was the way that it all came together in the end. Every single discipline involved in the game delivered work that exceeded expectation, and when you saw it all assembled it really was humbling to know that you worked with such a talented team.

What games do you guys play in your spare time (besides Uncharted of course)?

Well now that we’ve finally shipped, I’m going back and trying to catch up on all of the great games that came out this year. I just finished Portal and Call of Duty 4, I’m starting to play Mario Galaxy, I definitely want to check out Bioshock, and believe it or not, I still need to play God of War 2!

[Jay Gee]

He's not the only who needs to play GoW2.
*still on pre-order*

[curryking1]

Spike TV PS3 GOTYs...

4) Warhawk
3) Uncharted
2) Heavenly Sword
1) Ratchet and Clank

GOTYs

4) Orange Box
3) Mass Effect
2) Halo 3
1) Bioshock

And also...

Apparently Assassin's Creed is a lot better than God of War 2. Who knew? (I mean nothing against AC Voa :P)

But what I really want to draw attention to...

Is what the ***k were these people smoking when they tried to play the PS3 games?

Can someone on this forsaken doomed parallel of the real world Earth tell me why R&C is above Uncharted, but more importantly, why is Uncharted below Heavenly Sword?

Someone... must... explain...

If they have the PS3 games in THAT ORDER, I simply have to say they have appalling and severe deficits of the mental kind and how on earth could they have any capacity to even make a GOTY over all systems with that kind of failure of simple brain function.....

And where the hell is SMG on the GOTY list I must ask in addition to Uncharted....

Edit - Ok wait scratch that... the last 3 are all runners up, not in order.

But why is Uncharted not the GOTY for PS3 is what I really, really want to know. I still see failure of normal brain functions where this is not the case...

[Jay Gee]

Dude, it's Spike TV. I learned my lesson about televised award shows when I flipped out over Hugo Weaving losing to Lucy Liu for "Baddest Villain" at the MTV movie awards. Just let that shit roll off your back. Everybody wants to swallow Microsoft's load this year. Let em.

[LiquidEagle]

Spike TV awards aren't even worth mentioning, Curry... it's just depressing... :laugh:

[Cyrus]

Well, even though I absolutely love Uncharted (I've finished it once on hard and I'm slowly playing on Crushing now), I still consider HS my GOTY. The overall experience was just too intensive not to name it my GOTY and actually it shares number one position on my alltime favourite games list with a couple of other games. And not only the experience, I've had a lot of fun with the game after playing it through on hell. I've replayed a lot of the scenes countless times because I just love the combat. The game simply owns on all fronts. It got rid of all the useless stuff and just concentrated on the core experience and the overall package is unlike anything else on the market. I know many peeps hate it and it's fine by me but I cant help it. I love the game.

Anyways, back on topic.. :p

Uncharted owns. It reminded me a lot of HS actually. A very cinematic experience, it's a perfect fusion of cinema and game. The characters are funny and great, the overall atmosphere of the game is amazing, the graphics are unbelievable, the music OWNS absolutely OWNS, the gameplay is so much fun and it's so freakin fluid (although I still HATE ND for not including the lefty controls, the game would be even better with those) and the overall experience is unforgettable. Easily among my favourite games of all time.

Crushing difficulty seems even more fun than the first time through because the enemies are so aggressive and you die so easily. It's a great challenge and makes the combat feel even more intensive. After I complete it on crushing I think I will start a new game on crushing again but I will play it through with the higher speed mode on to make it even more challenging and intensive.

Overall just an amazing game and I will surely play through it multiple times, probably closer to ten times.

[EvilTaru]

I try to recommend Uncharted to a lot of people looking for a good PS3 game, but I don't know how many times they've said, "meh... Oh hey Assassin's Creed is out now!"

I just want to cry.

Anyone who would recommend Ass Creed over Uncharted fucking hates quality gaming, hell anyone who's playing Ass Creed instead of Uncharted fucking hates quality gaming. Srsly. I have no fucking respect for people like that, this is the exact reason why shitty franchises somehow get sequels after sequels based on nothing but fucking hype.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif

[EvilTaru]

He's not the only who needs to play GoW2.
*still on pre-order*

Don't worry GOW2 is great but it's not as good as Uncharted.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif

[Jay Gee]

Anyone who would recommend Ass Creed over Uncharted fucking hates quality gaming, hell anyone who's playing Ass Creed instead of Uncharted fucking hates quality gaming. Srsly. I have no fucking respect for people like that, this is the exact reason why shitty franchises somehow get sequels after sequels based on nothing but fucking hype.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif
Hype and an average looking Brunette with a B-Cup.

[masteratt]

I'm afraid to ask this: How did Uncharted do sales wise?

[cliffbo]

I'm afraid to ask this: How did Uncharted do sales wise?

America: 186,407

that's all i can find

[masteratt]

...:(
I shouldn't have asked.

This industry is stuck in one annoying loop of shitty games being bought via hype and good games selling like shit and it's not like the movie industry where we'll find lots of gems if we look for it, this industry is not large enough and only the shitty games can dominate with good games not even being able to go gold.

[Jay Gee]

That's why I want Sony to be more aggressive. The whole "Let the games speak for themselves" shit worked on the PS2, but it's failed miserably here. I think any and all 1st party efforts should be advertised HARD. Until the consumer is so sick of them, they buy the games just to say "STFU already, Sony!"

[EvilTaru]

America: 186,407

that's all i can find

That's not bad actually for NA only, if they keep advertising it over the holiday, and I know Europe is getting hit with ads now, it will at least go greatest hits.

[masteratt]

I think the big change came with MS entering the market.

They brought in their monopolising ways and their billions of dollars of marketing and all Sony could say was "...Shit we can't rub wallets with these guys."

The old days of "Let the games speak for themselves" as you truly said Jay Gee are gone.
Shame and yes Sony needs to simply be more agressive but I'm not sure they are that kinda company.

I mean look at Walkman vs iPod.
Sony owned the MP3 market then came iPod with their stylish marketing and completely took Sony by surprise and what did Sony do? Nothing much.

Let's hope we don't see the same in this market.

[EvilTaru]

I think the big change came with MS entering the market.

They brought in their monopolising ways and their billions of dollars of marketing and all Sony could say was "...Shit we can't rub wallets with these guys."

The old days of "Let the games speak for themselves" as you truly said Jay Gee are gone.
Shame and yes Sony needs to simply be more agressive but I'm not sure they are that kinda company.

I mean look at Walkman vs iPod.
Sony owned the MP3 market then came iPod with their stylish marketing and completely took Sony by surprise and what did Sony do? Nothing much.

Let's hope we don't see the same in this market.

I think the main problem is people are hyping third-party titles more, it's not like we're not seeing Uncharted or R&C ads or that SCEA isn't going around showing the media their first-party titles.

There's still this shitty perception of the PS3 being represented by third-party franchises but so far it's really the first-party titles that are by far the best games, and having the press hyping third-party titles more than first-party titles just isn't helping. It's more of a media problem than anything else.

That and the fact that I look at people talking about PS3 mascots and they keep pushing Solid Snake and overlooking first-party characters like Nathan Drake or Ratchet, just the way people embrace third-party IPs over even the best first-party PS3 IPs is kind of disturbing. People are still waiting for those third-party IPs to hit while the two best games on the system right now, Uncharted and R&C should get way more discussion time. In short, everybody is the fucking problem. START EMBRACING FIRST-PARTY IPs THAT ARE OUT RIGHT NOW INSTEAD OF THIRD-PARTY IPs THAT PUBLISHERS DON'T EVEN KNOW WHEN THE FUCK THEY'LL BE RELEASING THEM OR EVEN FIRST-PARTY IPs THAT MIGHT NOT EVEN HIT UNTIL 09.

[curryking1]

The criticism is well deserved, there is no doubt about that...

I knew from the get go that Uncharted would sell poorly in the US. The moment it was first asked in this thread I guessed poorly and not nearly as much as it deserved... and well here we are.

Luckily there's no force quite as crazy like the iPod here, otherwise I would seriously break down.

But what the situation is now is still bad.... It really annoys me that the only meaningful offensive by the PS3 has happened now because it's the first time with more than one meaningful first party game, an actual advertising campaign, and at least remotely reasonable price that Sony actually cares to advertise; and mostly that it all couldn't happen a bit earlier.

Even more frustrating is waiting for 2008 to stream in major titles which is guaranteed to contain a number of key games. But also we really don't know even close to entirely how many first party offerings and big names are going to fit within that time frame or where many even are.

It's like there's so much less room for a machine to dream about and one that will blow your socks off and soon it will become even more exclusively a motion to downsize to predictable advancements in hardware technology...

^That is a good point. The discussions on this board about a mascot was just for fun though. All of us here I'm quite sure realise how much better SCEWW Studio games are than pretty much all third party offerings that go around.


There's still this shitty perception of the PS3 being represented by third-party franchises but so far it's really the first-party titles that are by far the best games, and having the press hyping third-party titles more than first-party titles just isn't helping. It's more of a media problem than anything else.

I agree with that.

Plus in how stupid the media is. How Uncharted isn't hailed as one of the most spectacular things to come out of next gen, if not the most enthralling game and most of a spectacle to behold, is simply something that is pretty much the dumbest ***t ever and something I'm not even going to address.

That's where the real problem lies, and it's also I think what you are saying.

P.S. The primary things that are to look forward for the PS3 for are the Dec 13th GT5P release which should hold some good weight hopefully and to also hope that MGS4 makes an early 2008 release a reality.

[Shadow Voa]

America: 186,407

that's all i can find

Ehhh... well I suppose it's doing well.

Ok Cliff, wanna dig up some info? For comparison's sake, what were the numbers for R&C like during the same release period and to date?

[KRA]

yeah i got ratchet and uncharted. how can i embrace first party IP's more :) ?
anyway Jay Gee is right.
and it really saddens me.
people will buy anything that is adverised hard enough.
look at halo, AC it seems like it really doesn't matter what games it is.
hype makes wonders. hype makes them hits long before they are out.
i want sony to be more aggressive too. as it's the only way.
hope we will see it with kilzone.
because if not killzone then i don't know what.
yeah GOW3 of course but killzone first :)

and i think sony sholud be a aggressive and even arogant in their commercials.
sony should show ratchet and uncharted there and laugh at all these third party shit.
yeah people would write here that sony is arrogant as they write it anyway :)
but it could work with masses :)

[curryking1]

^^That's not well....

You asked this before in the thread, how much do we expect it to sell.

I said not nearly as much as it deserved. That's exactly what is happening.

R&C had similarly poor reception.

It's mindboggling how much expertise is put into these games and how well these games are made and how well they play that they should meet such poor reception.

[Shadow Voa]

I think R&C is doing better then that though.

[curryking1]

In the US would be the only thing to compare right now.

I'm not sure, possibly, but from what I would guess is that it didn't do as well as Uncharted (Uncharted has only been released in other territories since like the 7th I think) in the first few weeks. It's like 3 weeks now I guess.

[EvilTaru]

^That is a good point. The discussions on this board about a mascot was just for fun though. All of us here I'm quite sure realise how much better SCEWW Studio games are than pretty much all third party offerings that go around.



I agree with that.

Plus in how stupid the media is. How Uncharted isn't hailed as one of the most spectacular things to come out of next gen, if not the most enthralling game and most of a spectacle to behold, is simply something that is pretty much the dumbest ***t ever and something I'm not even going to address.

That's where the real problem lies, and it's also I think what you are saying.

P.S. The primary things that are to look forward for the PS3 for are the Dec 13th GT5P release which should hold some good weight hopefully and to also hope that MGS4 makes an early 2008 release a reality.

"For fun" or not it just goes to show the problem with the mentality of how people associate the Playstation brand with fucking third-party IPs. That's not to say that third-party IPs are bad, but that's NOT what should give PS3 its identity.

People with PS3 need to buy and play Uncharted (or Ratchet), tell their friends about it, create awareness for the game, that's what PS3 owners need to do, play and talk about great games that are out NOW instead of "looking forward to MGS4 or FFXIII or god knows wtf third-party title with a moving release date in 08". The problem isn't that SCEWW isn't promoting these games right now because they are, the problem is Sony has been too third-party reliant for too long and now it's finally catching up with them, and their userbase has become too third-party reliant.

360 owners aren't fucking talking about some title TBA2008/2009, it's all about games that are out NOW (HALO3/Mass Effect), the problem is PS3 owners are still fucking dreaming about MGS4/GTA4/FFXIII, NONE of which will come out this year or even have a demo out, when they have two great games already out, two great games that SHOULD BE PLAYED BY EVERY SELF-RESPECTING PS3 OWNER.

Media sites live on hits, but when you have PS3 owners going to these sites to check out MGS4 or something that won't be released in the near future instead of great games that are actually out now, what do you think these sites are going to push? The problem just fucking compounds itself, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I just want to know who in this thread and on this board actually have a copy of Uncharted and have played it from start to finish, and if not, why the fuck not when you own a PS3 and this is the best fucking game on the fucking system and what the fuck is wrong with you? Unless the game isn't out in your territory, there's no real reason why one should play anything else over the likes of Uncharted and Ratchet this holiday season on one's PS3.

No offense intended or anything.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif

[curryking1]

You also must regard that those games defined Playstation and continue to do so. The Playstation is what it is because of those third party games.

Is Playstation really Playstation when it rides on the success of R&CF and Jak & Daxter or is it Playstation when it rides on the back of the new Final Fantasy characters and Solid Snake?

Which characters do people care about more? Which games spawned the Playstation 1 into super stardom?

Do not get me wrong, SCEWW titles are amazing and they deserve a ***tload of attention, but it is unreasonable to say that, as PS3 gamers, we shouldn't be looking forward to what we have bought PS systems for since the last 10 years.

And secondly, do not get me wrong on another thing. I do firmly believe the idealogy of the PS3 fan is a problem. But that idealogy is what it is, and it was created due to the method that the Playstation and Playstation 2 derived their success from.

Because that's Playstation, it's defined by those third party titles like MGS and FF more than it is defined by the SCEWW first party titles, and there's no two ways about that. And because these games are way too far away.

That is what the Playstation fan is. It's the kid on the block who wants his FF, his MGS, his KH, his GTA, and his big first party game in GT but there's also plenty of room to buy the R&C, the Jak & Daxter, and WKS and Uncharted and so on.

What you're not appreciating is that Playstation is still by and large defined by those major third party titles and would be nothing without them. Predictably enough, the PS3 is quite akin to nothing and doing poorly without an MGS and FF release.

Playstation needs both the SCEWW titles and the third party titles, but it's very, very clear it needs the major third party exclusives more. It is because those games that people care more about are further away that the PS3 is doing worse and the third party titles are doing worse.*

SCEWW is a strong, powerful body that is quite obviously weak without it's spine.

That is the definition of Playstation, it's not going to change after 2 successive generations of gaming domination. It is what it is, for better or worse.

P.S. It's quite arguable that Playstation cannot be as successful with more focus on first party titles than the FF and MGS.

*I would without a doubt argue to the end of the earth that SCEWW titles of the PS1 and PS2 were able to achieve what they did solely because the FF and MGS drove them there. They are great games and will do great in their own right, but the third party titles are what are paid more attention to and it are, without a doubt, what is needed more. The PS3 needs the third party FF and MGS and etc and so do the SCEWW games.

P.P.S. Before you counter and say I'm being stubborn about what Playstation fans should care about.

No, I'm not saying that's what they should care about, nor will I ever. And neither will I say they should care about first party titles more now and change their habits. I'm not even saying they should care about what they do care about. I'm not to tell people what they should do.

I'm being a realist and saying what the situation is for what is really is. And that's what Playstation needs right now and it's doing poor because MGS and FF aren't out yet, regardless of how good everything else is.

That's just the way it is. People are who they are and people get what they want. It's Sony and company's job to recognize what people want and get it out there, not for the people to change their taste to accustom the trials and tribulations experienced by Sony and the PS3.

[Jay Gee]

I just want to know who in this thread and on this board actually have a copy of Uncharted and have played it from start to finish, and if not, why the fuck not when you own a PS3 and this is the best fucking game on the fucking system and what the fuck is wrong with you? Unless the game isn't out in your territory, there's no real reason why one should play anything else over the likes of Uncharted and Ratchet this holiday season on one's PS3.
*points to sig*
Don't RENT Uncharted. That's like one night of missionary only sex with Jessica Alba as opposed to marrying her and getting to stick it in her pooper.

[TimmyJ]

*points to sig*
Don't RENT Uncharted. That's like one night of missionary only sex with Jessica Alba as opposed to marrying her and getting to stick it in her pooper.

Dude... *vomits*

[Shogun042]

NPD will tell all on Thursday. i think half the reason the PS3 is doing so much better in Europe than the USA is because the difference in launches. not everyone lined up on launch day in the USA could get one, in Europe they pretty much could. when the Euro launch came there were a lot more games than just Resistance. the people over at SCEE have their heads screwed on the right way (except for the ad department) with their pricing and their first party bundles.

as for marketing, yeah a game will be bought (a lot of the time) based on marketing. the past 2-3 weeks you can't turn on ESPN without like 2-3 Assassin's Creed commercials per show. SCEA should really advertise the hell out of specific games in addition to their media mash ups of first/third party titles.

it's still the beginning of December, and there is much marketing to be done (Superbowl anyone?).

[Shadow Voa]

Well good thing it will do well enough and justify it for a sequel anyway, theres no doubt that this will be a trilogy series so what's to worry about?

[curryking1]

Simply sequels is not what we want I think. I think we want the PS3 to be realised and being received to an extent that we are satisfied with and that there's more than just the next Uncharted sequel or R&C sequel to look forward to.

I know that's quite ambiguous but I think it gets the point across fine enough. I think that's ultimately what is important. Wanting Playstation to be like Playstation like it so deserves. I like a games machine I'll have to dream about what's coming next, and how awesome it will be :)

PS1 and PS2 satisfied me extremely in that regard.

[Shogun042]

good point..bu bu bu but i want my Resistance 2, Killzone 2, MGS4, GT5, GTAIV, motorstorm 2, sequel, sequel, sequel :cry2:

but i really do :). new IPs are a plenty with SCE these days, take The Agency for example, or inFamous. i'm really looking forward to those.

[Shadow Voa]

Simply sequels is not what we want I think. I think we want the PS3 to be realised and being received to an extent that we are satisfied with and that there's more than just the next Uncharted sequel or R&C sequel to look forward to.

I know that's quite ambiguous but I think it gets the point across fine enough. I think that's ultimately what is important. Wanting Playstation to be like Playstation like it so deserves. I like a games machine I'll have to dream about what's coming next, and how awesome it will be :)

PS1 and PS2 satisfied me extremely in that regard.

Lol to each their own, I want MGS4... FFXIII.... DMC4... KH3... *drools* So much potential!!!

[Media]

Plus rep for mentioning the Kingdom Hearts series in general.

[dnpmakkah]

That's not bad actually for NA only, if they keep advertising it over the holiday, and I know Europe is getting hit with ads now, it will at least go greatest hits.Agreed, that's actually not a bad number. I think this game will be like Resistance where it will have legs and reach over 1 million sooner than that intial number indicates.

[LiquidEagle]

Sales are depressing...

[Shadow Voa]

I wonder if its lack of interest,or not well known... I think it's just the latter since here there is nothing on Uncharted. I mean jeez in Future Shop I saw big posters for R&C, AC, and Heavenly... wheres the Uncharted?

[Sephiroth_VII]

We have huge Uncharted banners here in EU, so definitely lots of focus over here.

[BruceWayneIII]

There are Uncharted ads in the TV every night these days ('This is living' gameplay) + the banners in the stores as Seph pointed out.

Btw, I just looked at my PS3 game collection and there is only ONE multiplatform game in it: COD4. The rest are 1st and 2nd party games. My next multiplatform game will be Burnout Paradise.

[cliffbo]

Ehhh... well I suppose it's doing well.

Ok Cliff, wanna dig up some info? For comparison's sake, what were the numbers for R&C like during the same release period and to date?

well i can get the numbers sold so far in America: 235,251... i think there are approximately 2,748,453 units sold in America now, so that's around 20&#37;... thing is, how does it compare to other major titles on other platforms. i'm no good at maths :(. but that sounds about right lol

super mario in japan sold: 458,715, and there are 3,951,437 consoles sold (work it out) the PS3 isn't doing bad

super mario in America sold: 1,294,896, and there are 7,031,085 consoles sold

Mass effect in America sold: 335,798, and there are 9,175,748 consoles sold (that IS interesting)

[Diresu]

This game deserves to sell better. That is damn low and a shame at that. Think ima get like 4 copies to give my friends with ps3's for xmas to help it out.

[cliffbo]

This game deserves to sell better. That is damn low and a shame at that. Think ima get like 4 copies to give my friends with ps3's for xmas to help it out.

but would you consider Mass Effect a success? check those figures again :) i know it's not been out quite as long, but perhaps we are expecting too much. a 25&#37; sell through would be a reasonable target for any dev, and of course that 25% will mean more as the user base grows

[Diresu]

but would you consider Mass Effect a success? check those figures again :)

Mass Effect is awesome and I love Bioware but Uncharted is 10x better in every way. With that said, I expected ME to sell at least 500k so its pretty bad. Yet another proof RPG's and 360 don't mix.

[cliffbo]

Mass Effect is awesome and I love Bioware but Uncharted is 10x better in every way. With that said, I expected ME to sell at least 500k so its pretty bad. Yet another proof RPG's and 360 don't mix.

at the end of the day, devs aren't stupid. they will know that they can't expect million sellers yet and will be taking note of the percentages for now.

[Fats]

well i can get the numbers sold so far in America: 235,251... i think there are approximately 2,748,453 units sold in America now, so that's around 20%... thing is, how does it compare to other major titles on other platforms. i'm no good at maths :(. but that sounds about right lol

super mario in japan sold: 458,715, and there are 3,951,437 consoles sold (work it out) the PS3 isn't doing bad

super mario in America sold: 1,294,896, and there are 7,031,085 consoles sold

Mass effect in America sold: 335,798, and there are 9,175,748 consoles sold (that IS interesting)

Cliffbo it's actually 8.6%...

[cliffbo]

Cliffbo it's actually 8.6&#37;...

LOL! i said i was rubbish at maths... how do you work out?

edit: low number divided by high number times 100! yeeeeee

[curryking1]

good point..bu bu bu but i want my Resistance 2, Killzone 2, MGS4, GT5, GTAIV, motorstorm 2, sequel, sequel, sequel :cry2:

but i really do :). new IPs are a plenty with SCE these days, take The Agency for example, or inFamous. i'm really looking forward to those.


Lol to each their own, I want MGS4... FFXIII.... DMC4... KH3... *drools* So much potential!!!

Oh of course we want these too :):):)

To illustrate what I meant better, I meant both within sequels and within new IPs.

It's not just the sequel with the MGS2 or if it were FF VII or if it's going to be KZ2. We expect more from MGS4 from being just a sequel. We expect more from KZ2 being just a sequel. Same with FF XIII, or KH3, or GTA IV, or any other sequel.

It's that the new IPs and sequels were expect to be so much more than last time. We always want to be blown away and to me the PS1 and PS2 always did that. With new or with old, within those it always did things I would just be like 'yo that's ***king awesome.' :)

It's that I couldn't even begin to imagine how good KZ2 looked until I saw it, stuff like that. :)

[Sephiroth_VII]

There are Uncharted ads in the TV every night these days ('This is living' gameplay) + the banners in the stores as Seph pointed out.

Btw, I just looked at my PS3 game collection and there is only ONE multiplatform game in it: COD4. The rest are 1st and 2nd party games. My next multiplatform game will be Burnout Paradise.

What channel?

[LiquidEagle]

Btw, I just looked at my PS3 game collection and there is only ONE multiplatform game in it: COD4.

hehe, same here... until Christmas when I get Rock Band :-p

[Segitz]

I haven't seen a single Uncharted ad in german TV as of today... Well I didn't watch much (had too much stuff to do with the opposite sex :P ), but still

I'll get it tomorrow, btw :D

[EvilTaru]

but would you consider Mass Effect a success? check those figures again :) i know it's not been out quite as long, but perhaps we are expecting too much. a 25% sell through would be a reasonable target for any dev, and of course that 25% will mean more as the user base grows

There's WAY more people working on ME than Uncharted (90), so no. If Uncharted can hit 350-400k in NA and EU, they should be alright. I suspect they'll eventually bundle it with the PS3 or offer it as a greatest hits title at some point.

[BruceWayneIII]

What channel?

TV2 Zulu for sure - and maybe also TV3 and MTV

[LiquidEagle]

Well the main problem in selling (in my experience) is its length and lack of multiplayer. That didn't stop people from buying Assassin's Creed, which is what it comes down to a lot (of course I always recommend Uncharted if I'm asked), but there's some weird mental block in so many of my customers' minds that just flat-out prevents them from buying this game as much as my coworkers & I say it's great...

[Coded-Dude]

I believe it will hit 500k by the end of the year. For many, it will be a christmas present

[Segitz]

So, I got it in the post earlier and I am playing now (I am in the U-Boat right now)...

Man this game is so GODDAMN impressive in every detail you can wish for... The "painted" look is so cohesive like everything was made out of one cast. Really, the graphics are even much more impressive than RnCF, which I already found to be AAA.

The storytelling... man this is great. Me being a movie and tv show nut (Lost, House, even Desperate Housewives (the girl likes it and I am not too turned away either :P)) I love this. It REALLY rivals some of Hollywoods most impressive work (This IS Indiana Jones 4!! And even better, it's not done by George Lucas or Steven Spielberg)

Thank god, I have the whole day to play today :D

I will report later on, on how awesome this game is gonna be!!

[KRA]

IGN: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Interview (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/840/840692p1.html)



We have a little chat with Nolan North and Emily Rose (that's Drake and Elena to you).


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IGN: So Emily, thank you so much for giving us some time today. Your superstardom must be crazy now that Uncharted is such a huge hit. You must not be able to answer the phones now without getting mobbed by fans.

Emily Rose: [laughs] Yeah, it's been a very busy week.

IGN: Tell me, how did you get involved in this? I was reading your bio and I see a lot of theatre in there and a lot of TV, but not a lot of video games. How did you get pulled into this project?

Rose: Gordon Hunt, who directed our project, who was brought in Amy Hennig, who is the director on it as well -- I knew him through doing voiceover classes and auditioning classes at UCLA, and when this project was brought to him, he saw the character breakdown for this girl Elena and thought of me and called me up personally about it and asked me to consider coming in and reading for the part. So it was really through the director, Gordon Hunt, and then, the first audition that I did -- I was actually directing high schoolers in a theatre play all day, and it didn't go too well. I had literally ten minutes to look at it and it was like no other audition I'd ever done...

IGN: Why's that? What made it different than normal?

Rose: Well, a lot of the other auditions that I'd been going on, you sit across from the casting director and it's for TV things. It's pretty underplayed and with this it was like an open room -- they were all in a voice booth very far from you and you had to put a mic on. Then, a camera was following me around and you were encouraged to use the entire space like theatre. So it was just very different to be carrying the sides around and be asked to move as much as we were, as well as do all the vocal work. It was pretty demanding on all three of us.

IGN: Is voice work something you dabble in? You said you met everybody through a class back in the day at UCLA. Is it something you were studying as well and focusing on or was it something you had to do for credit?

Rose: No, I was definitely interested in it. It wasn't necessarily offered as a class, but it was something that Gordon's really specialized in. He was a voice director at Hanna-Barbara for years, so it's something that he just kind of encouraged us to be aware of and know as also being a venue for our acting.

IGN: Have you done other voice acting work?

Rose: I hadn't up to this point, no.

IGN: So you were talking... obviously you have nothing to compare it to, but from what I've seen in the behind the scenes commentary on the video or the game as extras, it looks like it was completely different. Was there a lot of theatre to this?

Rose: Yes, I feel like every single time we came to rehearse and work on it, it was like doing a theatre production. More so in that you had to imagine everything. I mean, in a lot of final theatre productions or final TV you really have the entire set placed around you, and Nolan says it best when he says it's like hanging out in a treehouse with a bunch of your friends. We would show up to work and we'd go over the scenes. We'd meet with the artists and kind of look at the artwork and the setting that we'd be in and then there would be a skeleton of a frame of the airplane or... I remember one day we actually had a jeep, but because we're working in what's called a volume – it's really an empty space that they have to lay in everything through computer graphics. You really have to use your imagination and it felt like working in a small black box theatre space, it really was fill-in-the-blanks, you know? Yourself in your head

IGN: Was this your first time doing a lot of the mo-cap work with the suits and computers and all that jazz?

Rose: Yeah, it was. I'd never done motion capture before.


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IGN: Is it something you want to do more of?

Rose: Oh, well, definitely. And I had read that Tom Hanks talked about difficulty in doing motion capture because you don't necessarily have the costumes in place and things that give you any kind of physical hints for everything. That's very true, but you do very much get used to it and as long as you're focused on the scene, which is the most important thing that's happening and really what's going on in that moment -- I mean it really does become about that. And kind of all the little sidetrack technical things that you have to do as a result, just to make sure that the computer is logging you correctly, becomes second nature after a while.

What was cool about this experience is working with these other really good actors. It really made it so much easier. With a great director to remember what those themes were about, you were afraid that maybe the little things would get lost, but really I think that's what makes the video game so interesting; all the little things that actually came through.

IGN: Definitely, definitely. The game plays a lot like a movie and you feel a connection to the characters because they come off so real. Both through motions and how they animate, as well as what they say and the voice acting. But I cut you off earlier ... you said that the first audition didn't go well?

Rose: I had told my manager and my agent that I was booked out that day because I was teaching high schoolers. What we were putting up that day was their final project and I was told I needed to be at this theatre from nine in the morning 'til Midnight that night.

IGN: Oh wow...

Rose: So Gordon called and said, "This part would be perfect for you, can you come in? Auditions start at 9," and I said, "I can't, I can't" and he's like, "Well, see if you can come in at 8:45." So it was just so last minute that it didn't go well. Then they brought me in to read across from the other actors because they were like, "We know that when actors come in for an audition, it helps to have another good actor on the other side. So if you have time, come in and read across from them." At the end of the day, they kind of looked at me and were like, "You know what? Can you read this part again? We really like the way you're reading it." And that's how I got the part.

IGN: What drew you to the character of Elena?

Rose: You know what? It's really odd; they had so many cool artists renderings on the table and I still remember to this day picking up that paper and looking right at her and going, "That is totally me! That's so me! If I don't get this part, I won't understand why. This is so me." She like this resourceful, spunky little adventurous girl with a camera in her hand and what's funny is I love taking pictures and it's totally me. And when I looked at her, I was like, "This girl is totally me and I just need to be myself." So when I didn't get the part the first time around, it was like, "Ugh! I'm so mad!" I was working at this other job and I really want to be here to be getting these parts, but, you know, it was meant to be, so I knew that she was me.

Sheila Bryson (SCEA): And honestly? Because I've been working on this game for the past year and a half, I've seen lots of renders, but Emily, she totally started to look more and more like you.

Rose: No, definitely. In fact, if you look at the very first brunette composite of her, there's... I think her facial structure looks so much like me, like her nose and her cheekbones. It was just funny because as they started finally laying on all the different layers I remember Amy said that she was telling all the artists, all the guys there at work, "Start making her look more like Emily! Just make her look like Emily, Emily is what we want for it. Just make it look like her."

So they took a bunch more pictures of me and Amy encouraged me to come into the office so that they could see me walk around. Sure enough, I think we kind of met at a happy medium. People that know me go, "She doesn't look all the way like you," and I'm like, "Well no, not completely, but it's definitely inspired." [laughs] All my guy friends are like, "It's so great to finally be able to play you in a game."

IGN: Yeah, shooting guys on jetskis, right?

Rose: Yeah, yeah.

IGN: I think a lot of times for fans it gets lost in the ether -- how long have you been working on this project? There's so much work that goes into something like this. As far as strictly being the voice actor, and doing motion capture, trying to give the character life -- when does that start for you? How far back?

Rose: Oh man, you know what? I want to say it was in late June or early July of last year. When I got the part -- it was summer because I do everything by thinking of my trip. I was taking a trip up to Oregon when I got the call that I got the part, so I think it was summer of last year. We finished wrapping a couple of months ago, so it was definitely a year long process. We worked maybe three days out of a month, sometimes six days out of the month. Maybe the first part of the month we would do the rehearsal and then filming, and then later on in the month we'd do the voice day where it's a few hours going over the cuts that they chose.

IGN: Is that a different beast to itself? Is that kind of length normal for a project in your line of work?

Rose: It isn't, but it sure is a blessing, I'll tell you that. The thing that's so tough about this occupation is at times how nomadic it is and the cool thing about Uncharted is that we really became a close family. It allows you, if something wasn't clicking in one of the scenes, to really try to figure it out and to come back to the table with more. With TV, it moves so quickly, and with theatre it was so nice because you really get to rehearse for a long time and then make your choices and then feel good about your final product. So being able to work on a video game is so cool because it kind of blends those two worlds. If something wasn't working or they weren't sure about a story, we could really sit down.

There were times when Nolan and I would -- I remember a scene where I totally punched him for leaving me on the dock. That came out of an idea Nolan had and me saying, "My reaction would be to deck him, you know?" Those things came from having time to sit with the characters and being in an environment where we all understood each other and where we could collaborate. We didn't feel so rushed to impress on another under this pressure cooker. Definitely we had the timeline, but because we all got along and because we're such family, it made it really easy to add to different dimensions to the project.


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[Nolan finally arrives as Emily finishes her statement.]

Nolan North: Yeah, Emily doesn't know what she's talking about...

Rose: Nolan...

North: I am so sorry. I lost track of time, I've been playing with my kid and...

[Emily laughs]

Rose: Hey Nolan.

North: How are ya?

Rose: It's good to hear your voice.

North: It's... good to be heard. [laughs] So whatcha talkin' about?

IGN: A little game called Uncharted -- you might have heard of it.

North: Ahhh…no.

IGN: It's kind of a big deal.

North: Yeah, I don't play games.

Rose: I saw you on a commercial the other day, Nolan, and I had to chuckle. I was like, "That's our little game! There we are!"

North: Oh, on the Uncharted commercial?

IGN: Was it the one where he tosses the walkie-talkie? I get more comments on that commercial than the game itself.

North: I'm glad that people are enjoying it. It was a lot of fun, that was a very unexpected thing that Sony did. Emily, you probably don't know, but they actually flew me to New York to do the motion capture for that.

Rose: That's awesome.

North: Yeah, it was great, they put me up in a hotel, and... it was just... this game has just been a godsend. It's been so much fun and I can't wait to do the next one. Are you in, Emily?

Rose: I'm so in, are you kidding me? [laughs]

IGN: Now I've got my headline, Sheila, they just confirmed Uncharted 2.

[laughter]

North: I hope so... I mean, if it were up to me...


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Rose: Is there any bigger fan for Uncharted 2 than Nolan, I and Richard.

North: I don't think so. I really don't think that anybody... and Emily--

Rose: And Gordon.

North: And Gordon. I don't think anybody realizes how much fun this actually was. I think a lot of people get caught up in the idea that actors want to be seen and get famous and everything. We just had the biggest amount of fun and couldn't believe that we were getting paid to do it.

Rose: Yeah, it was a blast.

North: And Emily needed that money because she buys like every technological gadget...

Rose: [laughing] Shut it! The fun with seeing Nolan in that little tight suit every time...

North: By the way, about that tight suit? It was awful. Watching myself in the mocap suit actually got me to get back on my whole workout program, so if and when there is an Uncharted 2, I'll look more like Nathan than sound like him.

IGN: Nolan, I already talked to Emily about this, but how did you get in involved in the project?

North: You know, it was just one of those straight audition type things. I think it might have been Chris Borders, the voiceover director who had mentioned me to the people at Naughty Dog and just kind of gave them a heads-up on me. I just remember going in there and I knew it was a motion capture job -- I'd done some motion capture stuff and thought it was fun -- so I thought, you know, sounds good. Ironically, I was in there reading with Emily, who at the time -- I'm sure she talked about this -- was just a reader. I didn't know that, but she was great and I thought she was already cast.

But we went in and it was just one of those things... I'd love to give you a fancy story but it was just a basic audition. It's one of those characters that you can totally throw yourself into, and I remember just kinda jumping around and climbing on chairs and sliding around. Emily, you remember that? Sliding and diving around and playing with a toy gun, it was like being a seven year-old and playing pretend. It was playing Indiana Jones, that kind of thing. It just was a blast and I don't know, I guess they fell for it.

Rose: That's what Amy said -- when she was with the director, she said that it was when Nolan came in and we read it together, seeing us read together and how well that went that at the end. To ask me to read again, they just knew that it would work, 'cause it was such a great read, reading with Nolan.


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IGN: So what drew you to the project? Was it your individual character or was it the overall story?

North: I enjoy this motion capture stuff, I think it's gonna be... I think it's the future and I think it's going to be even more popular. When I read the character and the breakdown on it, he wasn't the typical hero that you see on a romance novel or the God of War type that's just an unstoppable muscle man. For a video game to capture something that was so... human -- he just seemed so human and lifelike. It just seemed to fit into his own little smart aleck way. I remember reading and going, "You know, I don't really have to do anything, I can just kinda be myself."

Rose: That's what I said!

North: Yeah, and I remember them encouraging me, saying, "Just infuse some of your own personality into it." I think it came down to that rather than giving them what I think they wanted. I just said, "I'll just give you me and if the chips fall in my favor, great." I just was... I remember walking out of there thinking, "That was great!" And a lot of times as an actor -- I've been doing this a long time -- you kind of walk out and at a certain point you literally just learn how to forget it. You just do your thing and you just kind of forget and go, "Okay, time to move on. Get the next one and if I get that, great." But I remember that one was sitting with me, and I remember thinking, "That would be fun."

I wondered what kind of motion capture studio they'd have, because I've been in some that were smaller and kind of cramped and it's not as great, but they used House of Moves, which couldn't have been better. I remember the first day there was a fuselage of an airplane made out of wood. We're clawing through there with the -- remember those heavy backpacks?

Rose: [laughing] Yeah...

North: I was like, "Y'know, if this is all going to be all put in later, can we just take the weights out?"

Rose: I know, that was the hilarious thing. It's all imaginary, but yet they were really intent on making sure that we had the experience. I remember after working one of those days, my shoulders and arms were so sore because when we were heaving those parachutes on our back, I was like, "Okay, this backpack really has 50 pounds of weight, and this is all computer graphics, so why are we doing this?"

North: "We really want you to feel the weight." I can act the weight.

IGN: It's character acting, right?

North: I remember the writing and the character breakdown being so interesting. I've always been a fan of movies like Indiana Jones and even just caught the end of one of the Tomb Raiders that I never saw. It wasn't a very good movie, but still I couldn't go to bed until it was over -- I had to see what happened and you've got to give Amy Hennig at Naughty Dog a lot of credit for the writing.

It was really written well. They didn't treat it like most people treat a regular video game, you know? "Okay, now we're gonna get a bunch of reactions, just give me a couple unghs and ah and ahhhs! Okay, these are the reactions of you throwing a grunt, like you're throwing a heavy object..." It was just done more like a theatrical production which, y'know, it is. It was written very naturally and we were encouraged to ad-lib and add our own little things into it, so...

Bryson: And Nolan, I think you have a little more experience in the video game realm than Emily does, right?


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IGN: You're the crazy veteran, right? Spider-Man 3, The Darkness, Halo, you're all over the place.

North: Oh yeah, what's the other big one that I'm in now and I forgot I was in it? Everyone was laughing. They thought I was kidding -- Assassin's Creed. They're like, "No, it's a great game, you're in it!" I'm like, "yeah? Am I?"

[laughter]

IGN: That's how it goes. You're just in it. You're like that -- in one game, out the other.

North: Actually, I shouldn't even talk about another game, but that was a really interesting one to do, so I do remember that one, but yeah, a lot of times these war games and these first-person shooters? "Oh yeah, you were Soldier 2 in that one, right?" Ah, no -- I was Soldier 4. [laughter] Yeah, I've been into video games for a while and sadly I can't even play them. I'm just not coordinated enough. I grew up on the Atari joystick and a button. And that's pretty much where my experience ends.

IGN: Emily, do you play?

Rose: I love playing Halo, I love playing it. I don't own it, I wish I did--

North: I-I... I was in Halo... Actually, I gotta throw something in here: I just played it. They sent me the game and I played it with my cousin, Emily. He's a big Halo fan. I wasn't very good, but yeah, that was a lot of fun.

Rose: I love Halo and I really can't wait to play our game, but we haven't gotten it yet and I haven't bought a PlayStation. So I haven't been able to play it yet, but I can't wait for it. I'm ecstatic.

North: Yeah, my four and seven year-old boys are getting PlayStation 3s for Christmas. They don't even know what it is.

IGN: Are you getting it just because Daddy is the star of one of the games?

North: Uh, my wife wants one, actually, so if she's mad at me, she can send me off cliffs. [laughter] So she can shoot me. "Oh, by the way, I like how you go 'ungh!' when I just kick you in the groin!"

IGN: So how much have you guys been able to see of the game? Are you privy to them showing you the cinematics and stuff like that?

North: Yes, they did show us on the way, and I remember my experience was a little different than Emily's because I literally-- do you remember, Emily, the day that they brought us in that conference room at House of Moves and they put it up?

Rose: Yeah.

North: The guy's playing and I'm jumping around and I hear my efforts and I hear me talking and I actually started getting a little afraid for my character. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I was, "'ey, 'ey, don't jump off that!" It just was really awkward because it's so lifelike, it's so realistic; it looked like he was playing a really good animated movie. The graphics are ridiculous; I mean it just was amazing to me.


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Rose: They've been really generous too. Any time we would want to come over, you can, and you meet a lot of the animators and just go through and watch how they would build each of us. It was so funny -- the last time I was in there when they were showing all of us the movies and all the different scenes we did back to back to back, one of my main animators came out and he was like, "Can I get a picture with you?" Such a weird experience. We really get to say, "Oh, lookit, that's our game and that's us and we've done those scenes," but really the unsung heroes of this game are all those guys that have sat there for a year in front of those computer screens making that all happen.

I mean, they are absolutely geniuses. I don't even know how they do it, it's phenomenal. We just get to go and put on a suit and goof off, and it is hard work because we have to use our imaginations to make that story interesting and really work with each other and be there and be present and make those things happen, but those guys are so amazing. They blow my mind. They're amazing.

North: Yeah, I want to meet the guy who actually would make it if your character jumps in the water, and you know how their clothes get wet? They literally will dry in real time. That blows me away. That's just unbelievable. When I went over to Naughty Dog one day, I actually brought my seven year-old to check it out. He's running around and just loving everything. He could care less about me. He told me he wants to be an animator because they get bring toys to work. Like the Halo guys and all the toys and the toys on their desks. But yeah, you can give the voice performances all the kudos in the world, but my god, those guys just... it's ridiculous.

Those guys -- I have a problem with my computer, I turn it off or I unplug it or plug it back in and hope it just works. These guys are just -- I remember, they asked Josh about it, and they said, "Well, you just basically put in a code and then I move this here," and I'm like, "You lost me. You lost me in about six seconds." They're just creating such amazing things with technology. I'm just happy to be a part of it because you just feel like you're going to miss something if you don't jump on this now.

IGN: Nolan, speaking of jumping on this now, people who play Uncharted are blown away by the higher presentation because it feels like a movie, the characters feel real, it's an interesting story and it's great gameplay. Being a veteran and someone who's been in a ton of games, do you see things starting to move more toward that cinematic end? Obviously Uncharted is a huge jump compared to some of the other voice work I'm sure you've done.

North: Well, Uncharted is much more different than anything else I've done because of the physicality you bring to the game. I did a game today... Actually, it is for Sony, but I can't tell you what it is. It's a great game and everything, but you just don't have that -- you're a voice and you don't even know what your character looks like. You can't bring the physicality to the character. When I've seen the Uncharted takes and seen how he walks, I'm like, "Do I walk like that? 'Cause... Is it him? He looks cooler when he walks..." Honest to god, I've never liked the way I walk and I'll see it and I'm like, "That looks weird. Why do I walk like that?" Everybody says, "What are you talking about?"

It's just a very, very strange thing, so with Uncharted, you're not just a voice. It brings more of a level of -- I think the game feels more personal to me because of that. We were joking before, and I seriously have forgotten some of the games. I was in God of War a couple of years ago and people are like, "Can you do the voice of Hades for me?" And I'm like, "I really don't remember what he sounds like." You know, you do these things but Uncharted is something I don't think I'd be able to forget. Y'know, unless I fall into dementia early.

We did it for so long and the character feels so personal, it feels like – well, it was in a certain extent -- more of a theatrical performance, something that you... I'm trying to find the right word. It's just more of a tangible character because you know you physically acted out the movements and a lot of times in voiceover in games you don't have another person to play off of. Like the scenes with Emily and I or with Richard and Emily, or Richard and me. Or all three of us. You're playing off somebody. It becomes much more real, and to answer the second part of your question it would behoove games to move in that direction because I think gamers -- a lot of gamers that I've talked to -- they're really liking that.

It used to be that they'd just skip the cinematics and move on. They wanted to play their game. They'd throw in their iPod or something and they wouldn't even listen. But as games like Halo and Uncharted have progressed, there's a really interesting story. There's a really interesting story to watch and the game is great and I think it just enhances... the more realistic the cinematics, it enhances the gameplay. It's going to be much more realistic for the gamer.

I think that's one thing that Uncharted hit right on the head because Nathan Drake just isn't the big burly tough guy that people like to play; it's more like some guy you knew in college. He gets beat up and it hurts, you know? I remember one thing that was interesting: I saw my character fall when I went over to Naughty Dog and the way his body just crumpled on the ground rather looking kind of stiff and computer generated. It looked so real. He just fell and collapsed and the exhale of air, it just blew me away. I just think it's so realistic and I think it helps the game so much.


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IGN: Emily, in a similar vein, as someone who's not typically in video games all that much, do you feel a stigma from "real actors" that come over and get involved with games to this extent? Do you see that changing as they get more cinematic and add deeper stories?

Rose: What was really great about this was -- It was a little intimidating at first just 'cause you're working with Nolan and Richard. I'm very aware just because I spent the entire day watching all the auditions just what great voice actors they are as well as actors. Getting out of school, it's a little scary to be around that with this being one of my first jobs. I don't really know; I haven't really been around much to know if there's a stigma, but I know that when I was speaking with everyone, what was really important to this game -- which I think was working in my favor -- is they didn't really want to be the usual polished voice actors that come in and give you that polish. They wanted a raw realness to it, and that's what I felt like I could offer to the project.

I identify with her, and I'm just trying to be that girl. If anything, I was able to learn from watching the guys to see how to work on future projects. But if I'd start thinking that maybe I wasn't necessarily qualified enough to be there I would have to be like, "Listen, be her, because Elena is scared out of her mind to be there, too, and she's just trying to hang out and make sure the story comes together." So I can identify with her in that, and as long as I identify with her, I'm good to go.

North: I would agree with that. I would say one thing with Emily: it doesn't really matter what kind of voice work experience you have, even with video games, because this is unlike any video game I've ever done, truthfully. It was absolutely unlike any video game. This was much more of a theatrical performance, kind of like a black box, blank theatre performance that you happen to go into a week or two later to ADR your own lines, but it was much more of a theatrical performance. And like I said before, you're playing off other actors. You're using your imagination. I explained that to my seven year-old son -- he asked me what I was going to do one day on my way to do some mo-cap. He said, "What do you do?" And I tried to talk about it, use the words, and tell him about the suit and he just looked at me. I said, "Wait. Okay, you know when your buddy Danny was over here and we got in your playhouse and played pirates and that plastic thing over there is a shark and you're just jumping around, running around?" 'Yeah?' "That's what I do."

We went into this place -- House of Moves -- and Emily and I played make believe. We were just grown adults, running around playing make believe in funny suits. It was a theatrical performance that they happened to put into a video game. Rather than, "Okay, we're going in here, we're making a video game," the geniuses at Naughty Dog went in and they captured a theatrical performance and turned it into a video game. That's the most simple way I can put it, and that's the genius that Naughty Dog has brought to this. I've never done anything like this in this way. You asked me before, "Do I see things going this way?" If the industry's smart, yeah, I do. I've told some actor friends of mine, "You know, if you get any opportunity to do motion capture, do it, because that's the way this is going."

IGN: Unless there's something I missed, I think that's the perfect way to end it. Did I not touch on anything you guys want to talk about?

North: I want to talk about, don't know if anyone told you, that there's going to be a second one.

IGN: Yeah, tell me a little more. What's the subtitle on it?

Rose: I think it's Uncharted: Elena's Fortune.

North: How about Uncharted: Emily and Nolan's Fortune? Good Fortune. Emily and Nolan's Good Fortune.

[laughter]

Rose: If we keep going down this path, Sheila's not going to have any fortune. She's gonna get fired.

North: No Sheila, I won't say anything. One thing I do want to mention: you were talking about experience with Emily and I'm not gonna praise her because I don't really like her very much... No, I -- Nobody laughed, that was really awkward. [laughter] No, she was fantastic, but the one thing I do want to mention: nobody had more experience at this than Gordon Hunt and you've gotta give the director -- our director for this -- a lot of credit because... well, I'm not going to say, "Oh, our job was very difficult." He really helped with something, and I've said this before on other things. Gordon helped me, Emily, Richard and everybody find the specifics.

When you're acting in a big blank space with a funny suit on, you have to make specific movements toward things and choices toward things and I've gotta credit Gordon Hunt with a lot of that because he brought so much theatrical experience to us to do that. I don't think as actors we could do that because he was able to really focus the performances so that things were very specifically done. I think that shows in the video game and that really helps. I just really think he deserves -- I love having my ego stroked just as much as the next actor, but you've gotta give credit where credit's due and Gordon was just outstanding.

IGN: Thank you both for your time today.

Rose/North: Thank you so much.



long but quite fun read :)

[dnpmakkah]

Oh man just look how awesome this game looks.

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/840/840692/uncharted-drakes-fortune-interview-20071210072828890-000.jpg

[Fats]

Apparently there's supply issues within the UK, hence the reason why it debutted so low in the charts. Sounds like I'm on the Sony defensive mode, I know, but let's see how sales are over the next few weeks.

[Segitz]

Apparently there's supply issues within the UK, hence the reason why it debutted so low in the charts. Sounds like I'm on the Sony defensive mode, I know, but let's see how sales are over the next few weeks.

I think, this goes out to the whole of Europe^^

My rental store just now has it in stock since yesterday, although it was released back on friday (afaik).

But nevertheless, bring on the Schicksal^^

(And I must say, after the first bit of the game (when playing the demo scenes and thereafter) the game really gets a bit shooter heavy, nothing gamebreaking at all, just a bit much in MY book)

[wotter]

I'm now at chapter 20. And I have no doubts anymore, Uncharted is PS3's GOTY by far. Every PS3 owner should buy this game (yes buy, not rent).

[dnpmakkah]

^ I only have a PS3 but it's the only game I've played where the world feels alive, which is why I enjoy playing it over and over again. Elena, Sully, even the enemies feel like characters inside this world rather than bots controlled by programming code.

[Cyrus]

Just holy fuckin shit LOL. Just tried Gears after playing Uncharted for the past three days (finished on crushing and started crushing sped up straight away) and holyyyy shit. :D Uncharted COMPLETELY destroys Gears on EVERY level imaginable. I finished Gears three times before so I thought I remembered how it looked and played but boy was I wrong. It's like a generational leap between Gears and Uncharted, HONESTLY. The gameplay, the animations, the textures, the sound, the level design, EVERYTHING completely fuckin tears Gears apart in Uncharted. The biggest two surprises were the texture quality and the cover mechanics because I didnt think they'd be that much better in Uncharted. Even the basic cover mechanics that were "ripped off" from Gears honestly work a lot better in Uncharted.. Wow....

[bilbobob007]

i don't know how many chapters there are to it and i don't want to. I'm on 16 right now and its so far been the most incredible ride ever. How anyone can say gears sup pases this in looks is got to be having a laugh. (yes there are still people in that much denial). The whole package is just awesome. Naughty Dog I kneel honored at your feet. Please what ever you produce next. Work that magic again!

[EvilTaru]

Just holy fuckin shit LOL. Just tried Gears after playing Uncharted for the past three days (finished on crushing and started crushing sped up straight away) and holyyyy shit. :D Uncharted COMPLETELY destroys Gears on EVERY level imaginable. I finished Gears three times before so I thought I remembered how it looked and played but boy was I wrong. It's like a generational leap between Gears and Uncharted, HONESTLY. The gameplay, the animations, the textures, the sound, the level design, EVERYTHING completely fuckin tears Gears apart in Uncharted. The biggest two surprises were the texture quality and the cover mechanics because I didnt think they'd be that much better in Uncharted. Even the basic cover mechanics that were "ripped off" from Gears honestly work a lot better in Uncharted.. Wow....

I think it's hard to appreciate just how well Uncharted does everything until you ACTUALLY replay some of the games that it gets compared to instead of relying on memory alone, it makes a TON of games absolutely UNPLAYABLE.

[OmniStalgic]

Game of the freakin year man...

how many times must I say it lol...:shrug:

Inevitable sequel will incorporate multiplayer platforming gunplay deathmatches?=-o

[masteratt]

Fuck multiplayer.
Reason this game kicked ass was they went out to make an awesome game.

Not spread resources to make the reviewers like it because it has more options in the menu.

[curryking1]

^^Yeeeaaah :-D

To play a game like this on multi = =-o=-o=-o=-o=-o

^Exactly man, just pure, real, substance.... No tacky additions, no buzzwords, no completely unnecessary elements, and it's not just to reach the status quo or fill up a paper with a list of features, just a bunch of amazing devs out to make a ***king amazing game. This is something I demand from Playstation and this is why Playstation is so ***king sick.

And I totally agree with EvilTaru and Cyrus. This game just makes other games feel archaic. It's simply unbelievable how amazing the thing plays. Everything else feels like it has a whole less dimension than this game after playing it.

That's what next gen is supposed to feel like. The difference between NFS3 and Burnout. The difference between MGS1 and the PS2 MGS games. Not just a shiny coat of paint, it actually moves to something where it makes the old feel like it's genuinely old because it's really so much bigger in everything.

It has taken too long for a game to come and usurp my favourite shooter action adventure game, Syphon Filter.

[evillion]

some off screen grabs using digicam. check out the sheer visual blast of uncharted.
http://i14.tinypic.com/73cr6o6.jpg
http://i6.tinypic.com/8f5fmhd.jpg
http://i17.tinypic.com/72pw6c6.jpg
http://i16.tinypic.com/6jntpa0.jpg
http://i6.tinypic.com/6pzklqc.jpg
http://i11.tinypic.com/6s6pmo8.jpg

[KRA]

if uncharted makes other games unplayable then
i think i won't play it :)

[Sephiroth_VII]

That would be stupid, Uncharted should be played by everyone this gen!

[VideoGame mania]

Is there a treasure guide somewhere online? I wanna find and unlock everything.

[Nameless]

After playing COD4 & UT3 for some time I decided to go back to Uncharted for a break and the visuals are amazing. Uncharted is the best looking console game on the market period... This game is getting a lot of props from the gaming community I just hope it reflects in overall sales, because this game is a system seller and showcase title IMO.

[Jay Gee]

I don't understand what the problem is with the 2 million or so ppl in the states who own PS3s yet don't own this game. It IS the reason to have a PS3. Got my fingers crossed for Christmas purchases to boost sales.

[Diresu]

I don't understand what the problem is with the 2 million or so ppl in the states who own PS3s yet don't own this game. It IS the reason to have a PS3. Got my fingers crossed for Christmas purchases to boost sales.

I think the game will hit a nice number, it will just takes time. This is going to be one of those games that sell well based on word to mouth hype.

[EvilTaru]

After playing COD4 & UT3 for some time I decided to go back to Uncharted for a break and the visuals are amazing. Uncharted is the best looking console game on the market period... This game is getting a lot of props from the gaming community I just hope it reflects in overall sales, because this game is a system seller and showcase title IMO.

Uncharted is teh best game on the system by far, every PS3 owner should own a copy or two.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif

[supagohan]

I want this game so very much but since im almost the epitome of a CAG i am scouring for deals and things of the such so i can pick it up on the cheap.
But if i dont get it for christmas i will murder somebody.

[Nameless]

^ I plan to buy this game again as a christmas gift for my bro; I will also hook him up with the DS3 controller from Japan...
*Hopefully you get lucky and a family member hooks you up!*

[LaLiLuLeLo]

^ I plan to buy this game again as a christmas gift for my bro; I will also hook him up with the DS3 controller from Japan...
*Hopefully you get lucky and a family member hooks you up!*

Sister sending me a DualShock3 straight from Nippon, bitches! Christmas for the win!



PRAISE BABY JESUS.

[supagohan]

lmao @ Praise baby Jesus.

My mother does know i want this but she has been so much of a *insert adjective here* that i doubt she'd get it for me - hell she is making me go to chicago for christmas break to work with my father. yay =/

[bilbobob007]

The real kicker for me is the fact that both the golden compass game and the need for speed game are charted above this here in the uk. Christ what the f*ck is wrong with people. Maybe N.D should have added some pointless car racing in there and a polar bear racing you too. Maybe people would have bought it more then!

[Shadow Voa]

^ . . .

[B Dizzle]

Not enough steroid pumping homo-eroticism to capture the market.

[Jasonps3]

The real kicker for me is the fact that both the golden compass game and the need for speed game are charted above this here in the uk. Christ what the f*ck is wrong with people. Maybe N.D should have added some pointless car racing in there and a polar bear racing you too. Maybe people would have bought it more then!

Or maybe people ending up renting the game instead of paying $59.99 for it.

[Segitz]

Man, I am still not thru this game^^ Even after nearly a week. The girl needed too much attention over the last few days :D (or rather, I wanted to spent more time with her :D)

I am now in the library, where you align the statues (dumb puzzle btw, imho)... I really hated the second jetsky part... I found it to be too hectic.

[Sephiroth_VII]

A 3D girl is more important than a game? Epic Fail!

[Segitz]

A 3D girl is more important tan a game? Epic Fail!

I prefer 4D... With real sweat and all other fluids... :D

[karibu]

I prefer 4D... With real sweat and all other fluids... :D

Pee? :thumbl:

[supagohan]

I prefer 4D... With real sweat and all other fluids... :D

diarrhea?

[Fillibuster]

The real kicker for me is the fact that both the golden compass game and the need for speed game are charted above this here in the uk. Christ what the f*ck is wrong with people. Maybe N.D should have added some pointless car racing in there and a polar bear racing you too. Maybe people would have bought it more then!

Or a LeEt BaLd SpAcE mArInE!!11!!1one!

[gibmonster]

Not enough steroid pumping homo-eroticism to capture the market.

*looks at halo, mass effect, UT3, Quake 4* My god he's right!!!

BTW. I really like how they did elena in uncharted. I was shocked. A female character that is actually feminine. Not merely a guy modeled as a female for dorks to wank over. I'm looking at you Perfect Dark.