OrangeRKN wrote:Jenuall wrote:The incredible linearity and lack of any real player agency was another killer for me - the whole thing just felt like one long interactive movie where you really didn't have any input into what was happening ... If you want to make a movie, make a movie and do it well, but if you are going to make a game then take advantage of what a game gives you - interaction! - and do something interesting with it!
It could very well be that the series isn't for you. Uncharted is the pinnacle of action movies recreated as a videogame. The set-pieces and the spectacle are the big selling points. Uncharted games are unashamedly linear, they are a fantastic thrill ride held together by a narrative more notable for its production value than its content. It's the Fast and Furious of gaming. Player agency isn't important, only player engagement - that's what being a game brings over being a movie.
Still, you should definitely play 2. It is a big step up and a brilliant game - if you still don't rate it, it's safe to say that's just not your type of game!
I'm playing through 2 now, it is definitely much improved - although the shooting is still poor! Not sure which chapter I'm on now but a building collapsed with me in it just now and then I shot a helicopter down so it was a fairly tame session.
Obviously I'm still a long way from having played the whole series but based on where I'm up to I wouldn't necessarily agree that these games are the "pinnacle of action movies recreated as a videogame". I think that is true in a sense that there is plenty of set piece and spectacle going on, it's certainly hugely impressive to look at what is happening at times, but the act of playing it is so limited and restrictive that it completely undercuts the ability to
feel like an action hero.
Something like Half-Life 2 achieves this goal much better in my book. The player is presented with plenty of big set pieces and well choreographed action sequences but the game is designed that they are achieved with a far greater level of freedom - the designers trust the scenario they have constructed, the AI they have implemented, the weapons, tools and skills available, and the ability of the player to allow those elements to work together to provide a genuinely thrilling experience. This goes even more for something like Dishonored - give the player the right tools to express themselves and create a compelling scenario and magic can come from that.
Games which give the player more respect and freedom make me feel like I am an action hero writing my own script to an amazing story, Uncharted feels like I am an actor during the production of an action movie where I must follow someone else's script to the letter - great to watch back but not necessarily that thrilling in the act of creation!