Crytek: Crysis 2 Runs Better on PS3

But of course it does. The PS3 is far more powerful than the Xbox 360 and even most standard PCs. What I’m talking about is that the video game company Crytek have reported that their upcoming game Crysis 2 runs better on the PS3 than the Xbox 360. Many developers have found the PS3′s hardware difficult to work with and were not able to deliver with as much quality as the 360. e.g. F.E.A.R., Bayonetta and just about every port made by EA Games. Read my post about console ports for more details.

Crytek are joining the console generation fairly late and are therefore more capable of developing a good game by learning from other developers’ mistakes. But they aren’t the first developer to do that. Do the words “Naughty Dog” and “Uncharted” ring any bells? They completely blew every other developer and game out of the water with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and even more-so with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. So I guess this is a sign of things to come – developers are slowly getting better. And with Blu-Ray movies coming down in price, this is a very good time to be glad, proud and excited that you own a PS3.

Uncharted 2 Platinum trophy

I’ve finally done it. After hours of frustration of beating the game on Crushing mode (MEGA hard mode), killing 200 people with the GAU-19 and finding the strange relic, I have got the Platinum trophy. It will go very nicely next to my Platinum trophy for the original Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, along with all my others.

Brütal Legend & DJ Hero churn out disappointing sales numbers

I wonder why that could be. Hmmm… Oh yes – neither of those games are exactly anything special. But I think I know the real reason; 3 words – Modern Warfare 2.

Okay, so that’s two words and a number. But still. Brütal Legend has sold 216,000 copies on both PS3 and Xbox 360 (combined) and DJ Hero has sold roughly 123,000 (across 4 different platforms = fail), compared to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves which has sold 537,000 copies & went Platinum within the first month of its release and of course Modern Warfare 2 that sold 4.7 million copies within 24 hours. And because of those 4.7 million sales, several games have had to be delayed so they wouldn’t have to compete:

Alright, that was a joke. But seriously now, why is this all so? Sure, it’s probably a fun game to play. But underneath all the hype, it’s just a sequel to yet another war game. I’ve seen games with 10-times the amount of imagination and work put into them that barely saw the light of day. And with gaming sites giving it your basic 9/10 scores, it just goes to show that even “the biggest launch in the history of all forms of entertainment” isn’t perfect.

I’m literally kicking myself and dreading the thought of what might happen when the inevitable Modern Warfare 3 comes out…

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves review – 9.5

Yep, it’s finally arrived. I was surprised to find that my copy managed to sneak through the postal strike yesterday. Mwahahahahaha!

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – PS3.
Rating – 16+, T.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was one of, if not the best game on the PlayStation 3 when it was released back in 2007. It had some of the most immersive gameplay ever seen, a compelling story and absolutely magnificent graphics. It’s hard to believe that Naughty Dog, the creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, were able to pull it off. I only wish that I had started writing reviews back then, but I guess it’s too late for that now.

Anyway, sequel time! Two years after Drake’s Fortune, we have Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Not only is it bigger and better than the first, but it also has online multiplayer and co-operative play. And they’re so good they could quite easily be classed as an entirely separate game.

You are Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who’s trying to find Marco Polo’s lost fleet. The game’s genre is the same as the last, a third-person action/adventure/platforming/shooting mashup. Naughty Dog did a great job at combining all of these aspects together, and they did it even better in Among Thieves. Every aspect has been fine-tuned to improve on the first game and everything works perfectly.

The gameplay in Uncharted 2 is basically the same as Uncharted 1, but with a few added extras. It’s still the same mixture of third-person shooting, hand-to-hand combat, puzzle solving and platforming, but some of them have been combined to create even more gameplay elements. E.g. You can now shoot at enemies while hanging from something, enemies will not try and counterattack your punches, etc. Also the puzzles are of a much larger scale and far more intricate. The shooting works well and each gun acts like it should, complete with recoil and satisfying reload sounds.

Graphics-wise, Uncharted 2 isn’t a video game. It’s a movie. Just like the first, the graphics are so good that your jaw will literally drop. And if you thought the first game looked good, Uncharted 2 looks even better. The number of polygons on the character models has been increased and new technology has been introduced to provide things like particle effects for dust and snow. Naughty Dog have done a great job at making this game look as good as it does, and also managed to seamlessly merge from a cut-scene to gameplay so you never feel as though you ever lose control over Nate.

Finally, sound. Again, like the first, the sound is fantastic. Every from weapons and explosions to the voice acting and the soundtrack – A lot of work has been put into it.

Naughty Dog are using the PS3 cell chip in a way that no other developer can even dream of. Uncharted 2 is quite possibly the best looking game ever made. It’s better looking than anything on the Xbox 360 and rivals a PC game. Naughty Dog have completely outdone themselves and other developers should learn a thing or two from them.

If you missed the first Uncharted then you are a fool and deserve to be beaten to a pulp with an aluminium baseball bat.

The Good.

- Absolutely gorgeous graphics and wonderful soundtrack, almost as if you’re watching a movie.
- A great mix of gameplay elements, creating one of the most interesting experiences ever seen in a video game.
- Did I mention the gorgeous graphics? At one point in the game I was being chased by some armed henchmen down the side of a cliff and I just couldn’t help but stop to admire the view for a few moments.
- A rich/deep/better than the first storyline with great new characters and some old ones too.
- 100 hidden treasures and multiplayer/co-operative play that will keep you wanting more for quite some time.

The Bad.

- The screen tearing from the first game is gone, but the low-res textures are not. There aren’t that many of them, but when you see one it’s not exactly hard to miss. They don’t affect the experience though.
- A few glitches here and there. I was using a riot shield and a grenade blew up and sent me flying through a nearby wall. I had to throw another grenade at my feet and kill myself in order to get out. Which was fun…
- The final boss fight is excruciatingly frustrating. I’m not sure it’s down to poor level design or just the sheer amount of difficulty, or maybe I just suck.
- There were a few times when I thought Nate might be distantly related to Lara Croft as he can sometimes be a little clumsy when it comes to platforming.

My Score.

9.5/10.

Uncharted 2 still not in my possession

Here’s the story: Halifax sent me a new card even though my current card hadn’t expired yet and failed to mention that they had cancelled my current card. So basically I had pre-ordered a copy of Uncharted 2 from Play.com on an expired card. Which meant the order was cancelled and I had to edit my Play.com account details and restart the order. Royal Mail had better hurry up. Oh, and fuck you Halifax!

My first love

What with the release of Naughty Dog’s next instalment in the Uncharted franchise, I started thinking about their/my very first game.

Crash Bandicoot on PSone

Oh Crash, how I miss you these days…

It was at someone’s house I didn’t know that well and they asked me if I wanted a go. Of course, I said yes. From that moment on I knew I was going to love gaming. When I eventually got my own PSone and a copy of Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (a few years down the line), I got stuck on a level and had to get my brother to help me; it was the one moment in my life that brother and sister united to help each other. What games can do, aye? After that, me and games just clicked.

Now at that time the graphics were incredible, but it was the gameplay that got me. You got to help Crash through his many adventures and control his every move. What more could you want?

I’ve tried games like Pac-Man World, Mario and several other platforming games, but Crash is a game you can never relieve through another title. It was love at first sight, and, although I’ve moved on, there’s always going to be a place in my gaming heart for him.

Delivery of Uncharted 2

It hasn’t arrived in the post yet, probably due to Play.com saying they had a problem with my card. But then they said everything was fine, so that should no doubt delay the delivery by 1 day. *Fingers crossed* It will arrive tomorrow. If it doesn’t, I’m gonna go on a killing spree and take Gordon Brown hostage. The things I’d do to him in a confined space… Or perhaps reenact the first SAW movie with him…

Brütal Legend & 700 hauntings

I would be getting Brütal Legend if I hadn’t already pre-ordered Uncharted 2. Sorry Brütal Legend, but there’s no way I’m spending all my money on you when there’s another Uncharted game out on the same day. Perhaps Christmas, eh?

This blog has reached 700 hauntings (hits/views), which is pretty cool. Lets see if we can reach 1,000 before the end of the year!

With few exceptions, games writing sucks.

Why? Because developers think they’re writing films. A big mistake. Current technology simply isn’t sophisticated enough to capture the nuances of a movie script, even if a Hollywood star’s providing the voiceover. Dialogue always ends up sounding stunted and unnatural, acted unconvincingly by 3D models with about four facial expressions (see Fallout 3). Look at the scene in Heat in which Pacino and De Niro meet in the diner. Look at the power and subtlety of their performances. Do you think a video game could ever recreate that? Of course not. Developers have to play to the strengths of the medium.

Take Ico, for example. Its story is as impactful as any film, with absolutely no discernible dialogue. The developers used the environment and your own actions to tell the tale. Same goes for Half-Life 2. Its dialogue is sparse, but tells an incredible story through background detail and set-pieces. The newspaper clipping pinned to Dr. Kleiner’s wall with the headline “EARTH SURRENDERS” has the same impact an expository cut-scene or piece of dialogue would. This is a narrative method unique to games that’s ignored to make way for cut-scenes filled with Hollywood cliché and stilted characterisation. Some games get it right. Uncharted tells a story in a Hollywood style without it feeling trite thanks to the quality script, expressive character models, and the nature of the game itself; a pastiche of Saturday matinee action films.

Still, the best examples of game storytelling are the ones that give the environment a chance to direct to direct the narrative: the cold, oppressive streets of City 17, the ruined depths of BioShock’s Rapture and the barren and isolated Forbidden Land in Shadow Of The Colossus.

Game narrative + cut-scenes + clever storytelling = better stories.

Uncharted 2 Review coming soon…

Be sure to check the blog for my review of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. It comes out in the UK on the 16th and I’ve pre-ordered it. So I should have it by then. Just gimme a few days to play it and I’ll post the review ASAP.