Sunday, April 17, 2016

Game Daze #6: "Uncharted" Entry 1

I work at Amazon, and currently they are advertising the new game Uncharted 4 on many of their packages.  I mentioned to someone that I have the first 3 Uncharted games for Playstation 3 yet have not played any of them, upon which she replied I should play them.

I started playing the first game tonight.  I began the game on Normal Difficulty setting, hoping I can handle the game at that level.  The game starts out with the main character Nathan Drake uncovering an empty tomb of sailor Francis Drake, which contains a diary with his notes and maps and diagrams that lead to a supposed gold treasure of El Dorado.  The first playable portion of the game starts off with pirates attacking your ship at sea and you are required to fend them off.  There is combat using your handgun and you can also fight hand to hand.  I died once in this segment but was able to finish this section pretty quickly.  What I have learned about gaming is that I am not very good at combat that requires good aim.  The combat in the game is intense and can be frustrating if you get killed frequently.  One of the things I want to do in this column on gaming is to point out the features and options in games that I like, and those that I don't like, and also speculate on what kind of game I would like to make in the future, based on these observations, when I am able to program a game myself, or coordinate one with other people interested in creating a video game with me.

But the combat is frustrating when I keep getting killed.  The first two chapters and beginning of the third involve a lot of platform jumping, climbing, monkey swinging on vines, and other acrobatic feats and simple puzzle solving and environmental puzzles and tasks to advance in the game.  There is one portion where you have to outrun a bunch of collapsing platforms and wooden bridges and jump for dear life to the last ledge of an underground area.  I died a couple of times in this part but eventually made it through alive.

The game uses a checkpoint save system where the game automatically saves at specified points in the game, usually occurring after a difficult puzzle or action sequence.  Personally, I like this kind of save system better than a save anywhere orientation.  I stopped playing during the third chapter in which there is a lot of combat and shooting, and I kept dying, so I am taking a rest from the game, and hope to get further on tomorrow.


So far the game seems promising.  As long as the combat isn't too difficult, and the puzzles are interesting, this seems like a promising game and promising series.  As my co-worker said at work, it must be a good series if they are on the 4th game.  So far I have enjoyed the puzzles and platform jumping action, and as long as the combat does not overwhelm me, I will play the game until I finish it.  It is fun so far.

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