Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

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Elden Ring

Platform: PC

Playtime: 82 hours

To be brutally honest, I wasn't excited for Elden Ring at all.

People who know me know that my experiences with From Software's games in the past haven't been terribly positive. I've tried a few of their PS1/PS2 games, and they're almost all about as clunky and aggravating as one could possibly imagine. Enchanted Arms on the Xbox 360, a traditional JRPG they developed, is one of the worst games I've ever played. I bounced right off of Dark Souls back in the day after a few hours. Prior to ER, Bloodborne was the first game of theirs that I played for any significant length of time (30+ hours), but even that turned out to be disappointing for me. So you'll forgive me when I say that Elden Ring, a game that looked like Dark Souls transplanted into an open world, didn't scream MUST PLAY to me.

You play as one of the Tarnished, a being who had lost the grace bestowed upon it by The Greater Will, who has returned to The Lands Between after the Elden Ring is destroyed by the demigod offspring of Queen Marika in an event known as The Shattering. Following this, different offspring took hold of various pieces of the Elden Ring, and it is the player's job to track down and slay these demigods so that they can become the Elden Lord. As in many other From Software games, the identity of your character is fully customizable, even down to the various classes you're able to select from the start.

Elden Ring is an open world game, but not in the traditional Ubisoftian sense where you're progressing through a linear story across a giant map filled with busywork activities to keep you sufficiently distracted. When this released, comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild were made almost immediately. Like Nintendo's industry-shaking classic, this was an open world steeped in mystery, and featured a similarly non-linear structure that would allow the player to complete the game in almost any order. Far moreso than in that game, however, it quickly becomes evident that, while sequence-breaking is possible, the landscapes were designed to facilitate a sense of progression through a series of key dungeons and boss encounters, with oodles of side content covertly packed into the caves, castles, and hillsides of each major region in the game.

The open world aspect of this title is both the best and worst thing about it. Spacing out the game's major dungeons (which are designed very much like areas in From Software's Souls games, and often feature complex, multi-layered design layouts), allowing the player to have a reference for their location at almost all times with the (very useful) in-game map, and the experiential breathing room built in via frequent lulls in action are almost all likely thanks to the shift in focus with this title. From Software has done a bang-up job of transitioning the essentials of Souls game design to an environment that makes it much easier to enjoy. With that said, the world itself is also empty enough that poking around areas can quickly become a chore. Oh, the numerous dungeons and bosses themselves are well-designed, but the world itself is a wasteland littered with mobs of enemies (and the occasional field boss) to kill to pass the time as you hunt around for new dungeon-y areas to plumb.

It could have been much worse, of course. Even FS knew they had to include some new elements to entertain players in the game's down moments, and so they wisely chose to include a crafting system. Thankfully, resource collection in the environments is made as painless as possible, and you'll be able to scoop up stuff from your environments as you ride your horse across the game's landscapes without even needing to stop. The logistics of yanking shrubbery from the ground as you ride a horse at a running pace beggars belief, of course, but it's a great gamey concession to player friendliness, unlike games such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Red Dead Redemption 2 where the developer's seem intent on making every in-game animation play out in full.

Unfortunately, as in most games that feature crafting systems, I didn't actually end up crafting much from the weeds I collected throughout the game. What I did need to craft a lot of was arrows for my bow. Your character fashions arrows from animal bones, which are harvested when you kill docile herbivores in this game. So probably a solid 5 - 6 hours of my total playtime was spent terrorizing the local wildlife. There's something simultaneously amusing and disturbing about riding around on horseback, swiping at the fictional in-game equivalents of sheep, deer, and rabbits as they flee in terror, and eventually winding up with a field strewn with small bodies ripe for harvesting bones from. This sounds gruesome, but between the lack of bloody details and no dedicated animation for picking out the bones, it doesn't end up being too much of a bother for someone who doesn't enjoy such senseless slaughter.

One of the biggest boons to this gameplay cycle is Torrent, the ethereal horse you're able to summon with a ring given to you by an in-game NPC near the beginning. Torrent is indispensible in this game. You'll likely ride him through 90% of the in-game map. You'll also frequently use him for fights against field bosses, because Elden Ring actually really nails the feel of combat on horseback. He's not a realistic video game horse at all, but that's only to the game's benefit: anyone who bothered taming horses in BotW knows that the things, in general, weren't worth bothering with. But torrent is fantastic: he'll always go where you direct him to go, can stop and turn on a dime, and can even double-jump! This jumping is so useful in some boss encounters. When a giant is swinging a sword as long as a truck at me, I want to be able to quickly double-jump over it, realism be damned!

And it's not just horseback combat that's fun. Fighting in general in this game is a blast, which is a good thing, because, like FS' other soulslikes, this game is 90% pure combat. The tight, Monster Hunter-esque combat system is largely similar to how it was in Dark Souls, of course, but some new additions really vary up the flow of your encounters. A stagger meter, ostensibly borrowed in part from FS' Souls spinoff title Sekiro, encourages players to use heavy attacks and jumping attacks to reduce the poise of their enemy. Reduce it enough, and you'll throw them off-guard for a moment, allowing you a precious few seconds to get some free damage in. It's a small addition, but it makes the moment-to-moment of combat far more diverse and engaging, versus something like Bloodborne, where I found committing to heavy attacks was almost never worth the time and stamina commitment versus just poking enemies to death with light attacks.

Another great addition is the guard counter. The usual parry mechanic is here as well, which allows you to knock away attacks with hyper-specific timing, but the timing windows on parrying manages to be a massive pain in the butt. Guard counters are much more forgiving, however. When you have a shield equipped, if you press the right trigger immediately after guarding against an attack, you'll be able to unleash a powerful counter against your opponent. This felt almost necessary against certain enemies that liked to turtle behind heavy armor and poke at you with spears and such.

Weapon skills are also a lot of fun. Like the special abilities in Monster Hunter Generations/Monster Hunter Rise, these allow you to use powerful abilities that often turn the tides of combat in your favor. These can be anything from combat skills that draw from your mana pool to deliver staggering strikes to buffs or even AoE attacks, which can be very helpful with mobs. Weapon skills can be customized with Ashes of War, which allow for a massive amount of variation in weapon builds in this game. Worth mentioning is that your weapon skills seem intimately connected with a weapon's affinity in this game, which affects how damage scales with certain stats.

Elden Ring, being a From Software soulslike title, is of course awash in a sense of mystery, but far less than I was expecting given my experience with Bloodborne and Dark Souls. The game helpfully and clearly explains what most items do. I always had a fairly good idea of what my stats affected as well. This even stretches to the narrative: while it continues the tradition of allowing players to piece together the backstory of the world and characters you encounter via dialogue and optional lore, I found the characters themselves to be just well-developed and straight-spoken enough that I found myself actually wanting to talk to them. You still have plenty of cryptic jabbering filled with Proper Nouns, of course, but not to the detriment of the player's experience of the game. I was also surprised by the number of NPCs I encountered throughout the game. It still pales in comparison to something like The Witcher 3 or Skyrim, obviously, but it feels more well-developed in this regard than previous From Software titles I've played. The setup is also self-explanatory and lends itself well to a minimalistic narrative approach.

With that said, Elden Ring still has the problem of quest-lines linked to certain important NPCs requiring leaps in logic to finish. It's not a huge deal, but quest design could stand to be dramatically improved.

The elephant in the room when it comes to Elden Ring since launch has, unfortunately, been its technical performance. This isn't a Cyberpunk 2077-esque mess, of course, but despite not being a technical stunner, the game struggles to run smoothly on almost any platform you play it on. Although, I will say, after hearing about how many issues people were having running the game with modern GPUs, I was shocked to learn the game runs acceptably on my ancient GTX 970 from 2014. Granted, there were little framerate hiccups throughout, and at least one area where my framerate tanked the entire time, but I steeled myself for far worse when hearing about how it was struggling on dramatically my capable hardware. It's definitely not unplayable, but there's no reason for the game to be running like this when far more visually complex and ambitious titles like Horizon Forbidden West run much more smoothly. It's also worth mentioning the game crashed on me several times.

On the plus side, despite not being a technical powerhouse, the game looks great thanks to the fantastic art design of the environments. You still have plenty of creepy environments like crypts, swamps, dungeons, and so on, but the larger, aesthetically diverse environments are often stunning, and help give a sense of identity to the different areas in a way that didn't exist with games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. This being a From Software game, the bosses and enemies you'll encounter are also frequently awesome, and I was happy with how much diversity there was in some of these encounters. You have your usual twitch-based fights that involve tons of dodge rolling and reading enemy movements, of course, but some fights included more diverse mechanics, or felt a bit more like setpieces.

The music is... well, it's a From Software game, so it's barely there outside of boss fights, to be frank. There's a lot of tracks in the OST, but most of them are the same sort of creepy, ambient tunes that fade into the background. It's another missed opportunity with this game, IMO, as the best games I've played have often used great soundtracks to elevate the experiences further.

The main menu loop is short and a tad generic, but it still stands out as one of the best tracks in this game.

While this game wasn't quite the triumph the ecstatic early reception would lead one to expect, I still ended up being quite happy with it. The mix of dungeon-crawling and open world exploration is thoroughly addictive, and it mixes together the best elements of many of From Software's previous titles while also softening some of their rougher edges. It's a great foundation for future games, frankly, and establishes the once niche From Software as a force to be feared in AAA game development.

8.5/10

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Hollow Knight review I wrote back in March of 2021:

Hollow Knight starts off slow. The first area that the player discovers - the Forgotten Crossroads - is bland and ridden with the most basic of enemy types, accompanied by a sombre and melancholic tune that does nothing to pique the player’s interest. After a gritty and difficult fight against the game’s first of many spectacular bosses, the player emerges from the tunnels, ready to put down their controller and never return. When from the dust and ash emerges Greenpath, a lush and bright pilgrim’s path. It is in this second of the early game areas that Hollow Knight reveals its charm, beauty, tune, and atmosphere.

Hollow Knight drops you into the forgotten and ruined ancient kingdom of Hallownest. The player takes control of a mysterious and voiceless protagonist, only known as the Knight. It is up to the player to explore this desolate place and uncover the secrets and history of how it all came crashing down. The kingdom of Hallownest is made up of many different and unique environments, all interconnected in a maze of shortcuts and passages.

The bubbling swamps of the Fungal Wastes are a far cry from the cold and unforgiving mines of the Crystal Peaks, and exploring these unique settings is a joy, although the game's save system that respawns the player at the last bench they sat on, can be rather unforgiving at the start, especially when the player is less skilled and the world vastly unexplored.

Exploration and straying off the beaten path is meaningfully rewarded in Hollow Knight. Fighting and defeating optional bosses usually provide the player with interesting charms that be can be equipped to provide unique buffs during combat. Collectables found across the world can be used to upgrade the Knight’s nail - an equivalent of a sword in Hallownest - or be cashed in for some of that sweet-sweet Geo- the currency of the kingdom.

The Metroidvania design philosophy that this game employs ensures that the upgrades that the player receives almost always open up previously inaccessible locations, like a double jump for a ledge that’s too high to reach or a charm that allows you to swim through pools of acid. Discovering new sights and hidden locations are as satisfying as reaping the rewards they provide.

The combat is Hollow Knight is simple, yet it never got boring throughout the entirety of my 40-hour long playthrough. The Knight’s main weapon is its trusty nail which can be upgraded throughout the player’s journey. Alongside the nail in fights, the Knight has a comprehensive spell system that can be used by consuming soul- a meter that refills upon striking enemies. This same soul meter is also used to heal, opening up interesting combat scenarios where the player must decide whether to use the little soul they have to attack or heal. This system also encourages an offensive playstyle that requires constant retaliation in order to keep the Knight from dying.

Charms also provide passive or active abilities such as creating a shell to protect the player while they are healing or a charm that increases damage when only one health mask is left. The challenge in Hollow Knight’s simplistic combat system is ever-present, with intelligent enemies that won’t stand back in a fight. Mastery of the nail is essential and develops throughout the entirety of time one spends in this world.

Hollow Knight’s charm is present in its hand-drawn environments, animations, and characters. The environments have multi-layered backgrounds, animated to show the rustling of leaves or the scurrying of foes. The art helps make each and every room in Hollow Knight feel densely packed, adding to the aesthetic of this underground kingdom.

Simple actions like pulling out a map or swimming are immaculately detailed. It is hard not to notice and be amazed as the Knight pauses to pull out a map from inside of its cape or at how its cape floats while swimming. These tiny details add tons of immersion to Hollow Knight and really shows the amount of care and passion that developers Team Cherry have poured into the game.

Christopher Larkin’s work on Hollow Knight’s soundtrack is incredible. From the fast-paced tunes that play during boss battles to the background tunes that accompany exploration, every aspect of Hollow Knight’s score strikes home. Little sound effects like sizzling acid or the shrieks of pain released by enemies upon death help increase player immersion in this already incredibly realised world.

While there may not be any dialogue exiting the protagonist’s mouth, the inhabitants of Hallownest have their own language- a sort of yapping gibberish nonsense that is actually pleasantly fun to listen to. It creates comically hilarious moments, ones that are often sorely needed provided just how difficult this game can be at times.

When it comes to storytelling, Hollow Knight uses its world to tell the tale of the kingdom of Hallownest. Environmental signs and NPC dialogue are utilised to show a story, instead of just telling one. While I did not pick up much about the lore and history of Hallownest throughout my journey, keen and interested players can spend hours uncovering secrets of this kingdom and scouring wikis and Reddit threads formulating theories to answer the unanswered.

Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight is a modern classic. Its simplistic combat, deep and rich lore, and interesting expansive world are supported by great art and sound design. While a slow start is not the best impression on a new player, those sticking around will slowly but surely uncover all the great things Hollow Knight has to offer. And there are a lot of them.

Score: 4/5

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Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Review)

I played Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception over the course of about seven months. I initially started playing back in August of 2021, but I stopped after only a couple of hours. There was a simple reason for this- I was burnt out on Uncharted.

I had played and finished both Uncharted 1 and 2 in May and June respectively. Uncharted 3's gameplay was, and still is, by no means bad, but due to my unique circumstances, I found it extremely samey due to the fact I had just played fifteen hours of basically the same thing. The Uncharted formula had lost its appeal to me- temporarily at least.

Over the remainder of the year, I played the game in little bits and pieces. By the time 2022 rolled around, I had made my way to Chapter 7. Slow-moving, but progress nonetheless. At the end of January, Uncharted: The Legacy of Thieves Collection was released on PS5, a remastered collection of Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: Lost Legacy.

Suddenly, people across social media and online forums were talking about Uncharted. The chatter was inescapable and the bandwagon too powerful. Spurred on by the series' newfound attention online, I made the commitment to dive back into Uncharted 3 and finish the game once and for all.

Now I mention all of this because my thoughts about this game are scattered and incoherent. For me to write a detailed review of a game, one that covers all aspects from gameplay to story to visuals and everything in between, I need to take notes while playing.

I did not take notes while playing this game, none at all. This leaves a gaping hole in my critique of much of the early and middle sections of the game. I also played the game over a long period of time, and this impacts how much of my thoughts on the early game I actually remember.

I'm saying all this because this isn't one of my traditional reviews. I am not going to cover all aspects of the game in as much detail as I would like to because frankly, I don't feel knowledgeable enough to do so. Instead, I have a few lines of notes I took down upon finishing the game which I would like to expand upon in this article. I will delve into these points in detail, but not all aspects of the game will be covered.

So with that preambulatory disclaimer out of the way, here are some thoughts on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

spoiler warning

A Character Story

Just like both previous entries in the series, Uncharted 3's overall plot isn't very good. The search for a lost city that contains vast sums of treasure has been done before, both by other pieces of media and the first Uncharted game. While the draw towards finding this treasure exists for Nathan Drake and his companions, it didn't resonate with me all that much. What did resonate with me however are the characters and their relationships.

Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan are once again superb. Their father-son dynamic and witty one-liners kept me invested and entertained throughout the game. Just like Nathan Drake cares about Sully, I do so too, and this comes to fruition when about midway through the game Sully is kidnapped, and you (the player) must go find him. Not only does Nate want to rescue his friend, but you want to do so too, and there is genuine motivation to push through these sections of the game so that you can find and save Sully.

The game's second chapter is a flashback to Nate's childhood and provides much-needed clarity about how Nate and Sully first met. This is appreciated and gives players an interesting glimpse into the duo's past, while also tying into the game's main plot.

After her and Nate's reconciliation at the end of Uncharted 2, Elena's absence at the start of Uncharted 3 may come as a shock to some players. And while this may remain in the back of players' minds as they move through the game's early chapters, Nate and Sully are joined by two other companions. Chloe Frazer returns after her role in Uncharted 2, and she is joined by Charlie Cutter. Together with Nate and Sully, the four of them start the game off together in their search for the lost city.

Chloe is familiar to players of the second game, and her character remains much the same. Charlie is positioned as an old friend of Nate and Sully, and his character is mostly fine but doesn't possess the same stand-out personality that Chloe does. Chloe and Charlie are no Elena Fisher, but they do a decent job in her absence.

Charlie Cutter's reveal is a cool one, with the character posing as one of the enemy before the game reveals it was all a ploy and Cutter is instead working with our protagonists. This hoodwink manoeuvre was orchestrated so that the gang can get closer to Katherine Marlowe- the game's main antagonist. Marlowe is after the same lost city as Nate and the gang, and during the game, it is revealed that she is the leader of a centuries-old secret order that uses intimidation to get what it wants.

I am not going to dive too deep into the game's main narrative here - you can read a wiki entry to find out about that - but I am going to tell you what I think about Marlowe as an antagonist.

Marlowe is a decent villain. It's debatable whether she is better than Lazarevic from the second game, but I think she is vastly better than Roman from the first. Marlowe has the evil potential, and this is demonstrated when she sets fire to the platform Cutter is standing on - leaving him to break his leg while attempting a ludicrous jump to safety - and when she drugs Nathan Drake to get him to walk right into her hands. While she never directly comes to blows with the player during gameplay, she does exert an aura of power around her and fear onto her opposers.

But apart from these two instances near the middle of the game, Marlowe doesn't really do much. We do encounter her again at the end, and to avoid spoiling the game's ending, I'm just gonna say nothing happens at the end to improve her as a villain. There is a lot of untapped potential here. Marlowe doesn't feature at all during much of the second half of the game. She is there at the very beginning, once again near the middle, and then right at the very end. I think the game should have been written with Marlowe playing a more prominent on-screen role.

Coming back to Elena's surprising absence, you do finally meet her in the game's 10th chapter. You are then, not explicitly told, but instead subtly hinted towards the fact that some time between the 2nd and 3rd games, Nate and Elena got married, except they ended up parting ways. This was likely due to Nate putting his obsessive lust for adventure ahead of their relationship, but its clear the two still have feelings for each other. The two largely ignore their troubled past and get on with the job, but their constant dialogue shows the player that the chemistry between journalist and treasure hunter is still there.

The two are then separated again when Nate gets drugged by Marlowe, but he eventually finds her again after a long sequence that involves him being taken captive by pirates, freeing himself, and then trying to rescue Sully from a ship where he isn't actually being held. This may sound confusing but in the game it makes sense. Finally, the two characters show that they actually care for each other, but before a happy ending can take place, they still need to rescue Sully.

Elena helps Nate get on board Marlowe's supply plane that's heading towards the lost city that Marlowe's convoy and a captive Sully are also on their way towards. For fans of the series like me, it was great to see Nate and Elena back together, and the game culminates in a beautiful sunset scene on a runway that is arguably more impactful than the ending scenes in both Uncharted 1 and 2. Heartwarming stuff.

That Airplane Scene

You know the iconic aeroplane fight/crash scene from Uncharted 3? Even if you haven't played the game, I'm sure you must have at least seen glimpses of it in trailers or random YouTube videos. If not, then maybe you've seen the recent Uncharted movie, because even that had a recreation of this scene.

The scene I'm talking about takes place in Chapter 17. Once you enter Marlowe's supply plane through its landing gear, you promptly end up falling asleep or passing out. I can't tell which one it is but it doesn't really matter because once you wake up/regain consciousness, you crawl through the air ducts to get into the plane's main cargo hold. Unfortunately, you crawl right out under a big brute, who slams you against the wall and against all good judgement, decides opening the rear loading ramp to throw you out of the plane while flying thousands of feet in the air is a good idea.

After a short fistfight on the rear loading ramp, you unhook one giant storage crate and it goes tumbling out of the airplane, taking the big brute along with it. Rather comically, this ends up detaching all the storage crates from the holding bay, so along with the rest of the cargo, you are promptly swept out of the plane, Luckily, the tethers connecting one bunch of cargo holds strong, so you grab onto the cargo that's now hanging out of the plane and begin climbing back up into the holding bay.

Once you climb back into the holding bay, the tether finally snaps sending the cargo crashing down to the desert below. Back in the holding bay, you engage in a short gunfight with some enemy soldiers which leads to some fuel barrels exploding and the plane catching on fire. Suddenly it's all chaos. The plane breaks into two and barrels down towards the sandy desert below. You are violently thrown out of the plane and fall into the path of a conveniently falling piece of cargo. The cargo's parachute opens and you slowly but safely descend down towards the sand dunes below.

Before I share my gripes with this entire set-piece, I think it deserves some appreciation. NaughtyDog nailed the cinematic aspects of the scene, with the shots of the plane flying through the sky and the view of the desert below. The physics of tumbling crates of cargo are also cool to witness, and the way you end up slowly descending down to the flaming carcass of the airplane while riding on a piece of parachuted cargo is extremely badass.

What the developers didn't nail however is making this set-piece interactive and different from the rest of the game. All you do is fist-fight, climb, and shoot from behind cover- three actions that are the staple of the game's gameplay loop. There is nothing unique about this, nothing that sets it apart from the rest of the game. There is the fact that this is all taking place in an airplane thousands of feet in the air, but simply having a cool setting isn't going to do all the work.

I wish the developers did something with the part where you are climbing back onto the plane. It would have been so cool to see Nathan Drake leaping from one cargo crate to another as they fell downwards, while at the same time having to shoot enemies on the loading ramp. There was so much potential to do something really fun and kinetic with the cargo crates as they tumbled out of the plane.

It's possible the technology of that time wasn't able to handle such intensive sequences, and maybe I am being too harsh on the game, but I just felt that the set-piece lacked something special. I am sure other people loved the set-piece, and to an extent, I can understand why.

There was another set-piece in the game which I liked much more. The caravan chase in Chapter 20 sees Nathan and newfound friend Salim chase down Marlowe's convoy across the Yemen desert on horseback. Controlling the horses is easy, and they actually run pretty fast, giving a good sense of speed. You chase after the caravan to rescue Sully, who is being held captive.

During this chase, you can leap onto trucks to take out enemies who are firing at you, as well as use the truck as a cover spot to shoot other vehicles from. Trucks eventually catch on fire, however, and you must quickly jump back onto your horse which is conveniently running right alongside. You make your way through the speeding convoy, taking out trucks, jeeps, and bikes along the way. A quick cutscene later, Sully is rescued and the chase comes to an end.

This entire caravan chase is exhilarating and action-packed. It sees you leaping from horse to truck, and trying your best to shoot down fast-moving targets. Its a lot of fun and elements of this sequence can be found in the famous car chase chapter from Uncharted 4.

Cool Environmental Effects

There are three instances during the game where I feel cool environmental effects are made use of. At the end of chapter 11, Nate is drugged by Marlowe, seemingly through a dart fired at his neck. This makes Nate hallucinate, and changes the way the player sees the game world. As the player runs through narrow market streets, the environment gets distorted.

Everything is tinted red, and there's this haze with prevents you from seeing ahead clearly. The walls to your side and the road beneath your feet bend out of shape, all the while Nate's body is stretched out of proportion in some instances and squeezed tightly in others. Weird loud music plays in the background. It is an extremely trippy experience, one that makes the player uncomfortable. This is really cool and immerses the player into the experience. If my memory serves me correctly, this same thing happens towards the end of the game, but since the player has already experienced it before, it isn't as impactful as it was earlier.

The next cool use of the environment is in chapter 13. The player has to make their way across a bunch of moored boats and rafts while a storm is raging, leading to crashing waves and turbulent footing. This entire section is incredible. The work done to make the sea come to life is amazing, and shooting enemies while the boat you are standing on is rocking side to side is a real challenge. My pathetic description does this section a ton of disservice. Give it a watch yourself, it's really cool.

The third cool environmental effect is the sandstorm in the latter half of chapter 20. After the caravan chase I spoke about earlier concludes, Nate, Sully, and Salim make their way towards Marlowe's convoy, during which they run into a sandstorm. Here, Nate and Sully get separated from the rest of the group. Still in cutscene form, Sully and Nate stumble onto the tail of the convoy, where the player is tasked with taking out enemy soldiers.

The sandstorm is still raging on, which adds a new layer to the fight. Visibility is low, and it's hard to see where enemies are standing. While this makes it harder to hit your target, it also means enemies can't see you sneaking up on them, making stealth more viable. I chose to go all guns blazing since my stealth skills suck, and firefights in the swirling sand are adrenaline-pumping moments. While not as nuanced as the previous two, the sandstorm is cool in its own right, and it's certainly an interesting moment when you ride your horse headfirst into it.

General Improvements To Combat

I felt combat was better in Uncharted 3 than in both previous entries. Uncharted 3 had a lot more urban environments, and fewer shootouts took place in forests or the general wilderness. This worked well with the cover-based system Uncharted employs. Urban environments mean there is generally more natural cover. It also means that whatever pieces of cover the developers have placed in the combat arenas have more of a reason to actually be there. The slightly more indoor arenas also meant there was less sideways space to move into, meaning if I had to leave my original spot of cover, I had to push forward towards the enemy. This made the combat in Uncharted 3 more fast and aggresive.

I have no way to tell if this was an actual gameplay tweak made in Uncharted 3, but I felt as if the shooting and cover mechanics were less floaty and more grounded. I don't mean that Nate's actions were more realistic, I mean that Nathan Drake actually felt attached to the ground and to objects he took cover behind like gravity actually was a thing in this game world. I was able to move between cover more confidently due to the game's cover mechanics actually working consistently and not occasionally leaving me standing between two pieces of cover like an idiot. Vaulting over cover also felt much smoother and therefore more viable to use during intense gunfights.

The shooting and cover mechanics in Uncharted 1 and 2 felt very loose, and Uncharted 3 fixed this issue I had with the game's physics. Was this a real change, or am I just imagining things? I don't know, and there's no way to tell. Call me crazy, but I just liked Uncharted 3's combat better.

Another thing in the game that made combat better were the additional guns added to it. Uncharted 2 did expand on Uncharted 1's arsenal, but it drip-fed the player with new guns very slowly. Uncharted 3 on the other hand seemed to not only bring in a few more firearms but also introduce them much earlier on, meaning more time could be spent with each weapon.

The Supernatural Factor

In my Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 2 reviews, I complained about the inclusion of supernatural elements in the game. Uncharted 1 had those zombie-like creatures, while Uncharted 2 had the Shambala guardians. Uncharted 3 has the djinn- supernatural fire-wielding demons that Marlowe wants to use to control her enemies through fear.

Once again, I do not like the inclusion of supernatural elements in the game. I think they were added because all action-adventure media at that time seemingly had to have something like this. The story could've been just fine being about a hidden city with enormous wealth. I also think these djinns ruin the game's combat system, similar to the zombies and guardians from previous games. You have to use snipers and grenade launchers to do any substantial damage, and using the cover system is not viable as the djinn will just get close to you and burst into flames, dealing loads of damage.

It should be noted that quite a few people do like the inclusion of supernatural elements, so NaughtyDog hasn't gone all wrong here, but personally, I don't like their inclusion in the games and feel that they most definitely mess with the flow of combat.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is a superb conclusion to the original trilogy and a great game in its own right. It seemingly wraps up Nate and Elena's relationship arc once and for all (although Uncharted 4 bulldozed right through this), and provides even more of that Sully wit and charm we all love to see.

It does many things really well like combat, general gameplay loop, and environmental design, but also falters in similar places to its predecessors. Having now played all four mainline Uncharted games, it's clear how NaughtyDog's formula developed and improved from Uncharted 1 to Uncharted 3.

I strongly recommend Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception- just make sure you play 1 and 2 first.