Thinking Vertically in Uncharted 3 Beta
By LouChou 10 Comments
http://gamingbullshit.com/2011/07/03/thinking-vertically-in-uncharted-3-beta/
Be it by astute opportunity ceasing, or merely fantastic coincidence, Naughty Dog have brought a multiplayer beta for Uncharted 3 to the Playstation Plus section of PSN. What was initially an exclusive extension of the PS3′s online experience (for anyone willing to put up the $50), Playstation Plus was opened up to the gaming masses on a free, 30-day trial basis as part of a coo to convince us all we could, and should, trust Sony again. The exchange pretty much rendered us a helpless spouse in an abusive relationship, only, instead of flowers we were given games we already had as symbols of reconciliation. It’s alright though, we know Sony will change. It loves us.
The Playstation Plus service itself is somewhat akin to a V.I.P. lounge at an airport, only that velvet rope that usually seperates executives from commoners has been removed and now we all get to put tiny Plus signs in the top corners of our avatars. For the time being, at least. Another apparent perk for all us peasants suddenly riding in business class is a wealth of less than desirable freebies and goodies, the kind that appear novel on first glance, but we’ll ultimately want to discard at the nearest trash can. All in all we get the sense that that green, green grass on the other side doesn’t quite have that glow we caught from afar. We remain free of any potential buyer’s remorse, mind you, and all it really took was a month of downtime, and the pre-emptive cancellation of all our credit cards. Simple, really. Anyway, I digress. This is not a critique of the PSN service – just attempting to play a game co-operatively with one of your buddies is critique enough.
Uncharted 3′s multiplayer introduces us to the wonders in store for online bromancers worldwide come the game’s November release, and, to its credit, it’s giving them a thing or two to chest bump about, the starkest of qualities those Naughty Dogs are bringing to battle is verticality. Stepping into the beta had me treating the experience with the same attention and method I might apply to Call of Duty or Battlefield, and I cannot decipher the cognitive psychology behind it, but overcoming that horizontal interpretation of the way the land lay became something of a revelation. Rather than thinking across the map, as your standard online FPS would have you do, I was beginning to look to the skies and think upwards. Buildings were no longer bastard obstacles I needed to find doors to access, instead I could just scramble up the side of a building and through an open window like Peter Parker-turned-sex pest, or that Dawson from the Creek. Such freedom creates the potential for some genuine edge of your seat (or building) face-offs, with opposition players actually zip-wiring into gunfights at points.
I gush, but the multiplayer has its niggles. For instance, attaching to cover can be a little hit or miss, and at some very awkward and fatal moments. Occasionally instead of actually backing up to a wall I will engage in a rather spastic routine of squats, and end up with a shell to the face for my troubles. Also, melee attacks at close proximity could do with a shot in the arm, something more to the effect of COD or BF where in most instances they’re fatal, rather than being an invitation to the opposition to do the gun dance for a few seconds. My final gripe is, very simply, that I’d prefer tighter movements from the player you control, but perhaps this is configurable from a menu option somewhere (in the same sense that a PC gamer can adjust mouse sensitivity).
Naughty Dog are sitting on quite a robust multiplayer here, and it’s still only in beta. Levelling up and active, public progression in the online arena is currently the soup du jour when crafting an addictive, compelling experience, and with its reward system constantly gratifying co-operative players it all adds up to a motherbeast that could well be holding multiplayer company with Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield 3 come Christmas time.
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