The zenith of Naughty Dog’s ambitions was realized twice – once in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (which was the game that began their meteoric ascent), which blended pitch perfect pacing, incredible encounter design, and spectacular setpiece moments that added a sense of you actually, literally playing a controllable movie to proceedings.

Developers mostly deliver a paradigm shifting game such as Uncharted 2 once ever decade or two. Naughty Dog, however, delivered a game that, arguably, was even more seminal, and the ultimate realization of their vision for what video games can be. In 2013, Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley delivered to the world The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic third person action adventure game that to this day is regarded as one of the best games ever made. There are many, many reasons for that game’s enduring appeal – it took a relatively tired trope (the zombie apocalypse was, if you can believe it, even more fatigued of a setting in 2013 than it is now), and then flipped it on its head with multiple subtle subversions and impeccable execution. It had extremely empathetic characters, with very relatable flaws and identifiable conflicts. It had top notch performances by the voice actors. And the gameplay was top notch, taut and nail-bitingly tense, blending elements of survival, horror, stealth, and action games in one package that, while not doing anything new, did what it did to near perfection.

There is a reason we are still talking about The Last of Us seven years after it came out – it was a lightning in a bottle moment, the single instance in time where you can say Sony solidified its reputation as a publisher of high quality content (remember, almost every marquee Sony game since has followed in The Last of Us’s footsteps to at least some extent), the moment where even people with no interest in PlayStation suddenly had to pay attention to it, the single moment in time that solidified a lot of people’s faith in Sony’s ability to deliver compelling content for their consoles even if third parties bailed on them (as they had earlier in the PS3 gen, when most announced PS3 exclusives became multiplatform titles). It’s not an exaggeration to contend that The Last of Us was, to at least some degree, responsible for the dominating success that the PlayStation 4 would experience, starting less than half a year after this game’s release. It should come as no surprise to anyone that The Last of Us is Sony’s highest selling game of all time.

The sequel to any such game has a lot of expectations riding on it – with The Last of Us, the stakes are even higher, because the original game was such a perfect, self-contained story that a sequel seems almost necessary. Do we really need a The Last of Us Part 2? Will a game like it stand out as much in today’s market, when so many other games (including almost every Sony first party game) have cribbed from it? Will The Last of Us’s laser sharp focus on just having a few mechanics, cutting out extraneous fat, be as palatable in an era of 100-hour open world games with loot and RPG elements thrown on top? And, more importantly, given the talent churn that Naughty Dog has seen (in no small part because of their culture for horrific crunch), which includes most of the design team as well as Bruce Straley (one of the two creative heads for the original Last of Us), can we even expect the current team to be able to recapture the magic?

It’s hard to know whether or not The Last of Us Part 2 will be able to recapture lightning in a bottle, to be perfectly honest. There are many things that are working against it – the original Last of Us was a new IP (meaning there was no baggage, and no expectations attached to it), and while it generated a lot of hype pre-release (especially after the incredible E3 demo), it was still being marketed in an era where Naughty Dog hadn’t yet fully become the Naughty Dog (though, in the wake of Uncharted 2, they were well on their way, of course). There is, of course, the aforementioned talent churn and personnel turnover, including half the creative duo that powered the original game to such stupendous success. And, regardless of your own personal thoughts on them, there have been undeniable shifts in the gaming market in the last seven years. Linear, cinematic adventure games were all the rage. A new game in that style, polished to literal pitch perfection in its execution, was bound to catch everyone’s attention. Things are very different now, and a game like The Last of Us Part 2 does run the risk of not having that same kind of universal appeal simply because of those shifts.

Then, too, we must consider that there have been very few instances of direct follow ups to these kinds of seminal games ever doing as well as the original did (even if those follow ups end up being beloved in their own right)  – Mass Effect 3 isn’t as universally beloved as Mass Effect 2; Metroid Prime 2 isn’t as universally beloved as Metroid Prime; Dark Souls 2 is nowhere close to being as beloved as the original Dark Souls. And, just looking at Naughty Dog, Uncharted 3 was nowhere near as beloved as Uncharted 2.

Typically, this happens because of the aforementioned expectations factor. Once you have a game that catches everyone’s attention, you have a lot of eyes on you, and the pressure of a lot of expectations to deliver, expectations that can often feed on themselves and perpetuate the hype even further, leading to a self-sustaining cycle. Once there is that kind of expectation attached to a product, it is inevitable that it will end up disappointing someone or the other. It’s not even just a video games thing – look at, for example, The Dark Knight Rises versus The Dark Knight, or anything J.K. Rowling has written post-Harry Potter, and you will see this is a near universal trend. It’s basic human psychology, and it is impossible to work around. By simply existing, The Last of Us Part 2 has created a set of expectations around itself – and for at least some people, those expectations will not be met, and those people will be vocal about that disappointment.

There is also the factor of diminishing returns, though that’s not as much of a given (and it’s hard to even know how much it would apply in this situation), but a lot of times, the newness of something helps add a halo around it. Any follow-up is hypothetically disadvantaged because it lacks that newness – it by definition has to be more of the same, at least to some degree, because if it is not, then you risk alienating your fans in entirely different ways (look at Deus Ex Invisible War versus the original). It’s unclear if The Last of Us Part 2 will suffer from this much, if at all – there has been a near-decade gap between it and its predecessor, and assuming that the gameplay will have been expanded over the original is reasonable (and backed by the tantalizingly exciting glimpses at the game we have been afforded thus far). But there is still a possibility that it does kick in, even if only to a very minor degree.

The sum total of all these factors suggests that it is unlikely The Last of Us Part 2 is anywhere close to being as much of a seminal moment as the original game was. I do not mean this to cast aspersions on the game’s quality, nor do I mean this to suggest that it will be inferior to the original. It is likely going to be an incredible game, probably one of the top rated games of the year, and a frontrunner for the Game of the Year awards come December.  But you can be very well received without being the kind of lightning in a bottle moment the original Last of Us was – again, just using Naughty Dog as an example, Uncharted 4 is extremely beloved, with rave reviews and record-breaking sales. For many, it’s even better than any other game in the series, including the much-vaunted Uncharted 2. But it’s Uncharted 2 that has carved its place in history as a major point in time for video games – in the process, of course, also burdening its follow-ups with having to deal with the pressure of that kind of expectation.

I fully believe The Last of Us Part 2 will be a bold and incredible game, and I expect to be impressed by it in so many ways come June. But at the same time, I don’t hold the expectation that it will be the kind of breakout sensation the original game was. Of course, there is a possibility that it happens – while rare, it has happened in the past (Grand Theft Auto 3 to Vice City to San Andreas, Super Mario Galaxy to Super Mario Galaxy 2, Halo to Halo 2, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to Skyrim). Maybe The Last of Us Part 2 surmounts the various factors stacked against it to emerge triumphant as yet another “lightning strikes” moment for Naughty Dog. But I at least take solace in knowing that, even if it does not, it’s still likely going to be a damn good game. Ultimately, that’s all I care for.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

In light of OnLive’s closure (and purchase by Sony), PlayStation Now service continues to roll on with several new games added to the streaming service.

These include Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, Super Stardust HD, Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Hustle Kings. This means the total number of available titles on PlayStation Now is at 115 and the service is also available on the PlayStation 3 along with the PlayStation 4.

PlayStation Now is Sony’s cloud streaming service wherein subscribers can pay $20 per month (or $45 for three months) to stream and play any available titles that they may like. The service was originally born from Sony’s purchase of Gaikai, which was OnLive’s primary competition until it shut down.

For now, Sony is focusing on adding more titles to PS Now but what does the future hold with the company acquiring OnLive’s assets? Stay tuned for more information in the coming months to find out.

Naughty Dog has been losing top level employees for months now with Uncharted writer Amy Hennig, Uncharted 4 director Justin Richmond, The Last of Us character artist Michael Knowland and many more having departed from the studio. Just when you thought the bleeding stopped though is the announcement that lead narrative designer Taylor Kurosaki and lead game designer Jacob Minkoff have left Naughty Dog to join Infinity Ward. While Kurosaki worked on Uncharted 3 as its cinematic production lead, Minkoff worked on Uncharted 3 and The Last of Us are lead designer.

Both tweeted about joining Infinity Ward with Kurosaki stating that he was “Very psyched to share that I’ve joined the phenomenal team at Infinity Ward as the studio’s narrative director. To infinity and beyond.”

Minkoff later added: “New job! Design Director at Infinity Ward. Love ND; can’t wait to play Uncharted 4 as a fan. Excited to work with the talented team at IW!”

What are your thoughts on more Naughty Dog employees leaving? Let us know in the comments.

Lead game designer Robert Cogburn shared his thoughts about the map Dry Docks, which was originally designed for single-player but later converted to a competitive multiplayer map. Along the way, the map had to be cut altogether but Naughty Dog is bringing it back, better than ever, for fans.

To detail all the changes made with patch 1.18, you can head here to Naughty Dog’s official post on the same. Or you can check out the screenshots for the map Dry Docks below. What are your thoughts on the new update? Let us know below.

Anyway, Tomb Raider’s creative director, Noah Hughes believes there are plenty of differences between Tomb Raider and Uncharted and hopes that people will notice them.

“I may be wrong, but I think if we didn’t have such strong similarities in the subject matter – adventure and archaeology – I don’t think Tomb Raider would be tied directly to Uncharted,” Hughes said while speaking with NowGamer. “We felt probably system-wise combat was one of the things we really needed to evolve the most. That it had fallen behind the curve a little bit and really our goal was, more than anything, just to modernise that combat. Having said that, I hope players see that there are some key differences that we’ve tried to make sure were sufficiently Lara-like.”

The cover system, for example, is different in Lara Croft’s new adventure. “The idea the cover system is less ‘sticky’ than many modern shooters, we really wanted to urge people to keep moving between cover rather than hunkering down in one place,” said Hughes, emphasizing the different feel that the game’s combat has to it. “This was also true of the stealth, the pre-combat and the environmental combat opportunities, it was really just to realise that Lara isn’t just about having the biggest gun, but giving you opportunities to think a little and move a lot.”

“My hope is, as much as it has similarities with some of these other games, is that it really just feels like a modernisation and update of a Tomb Raider combat system,” he concluded.

Recently, the Crystal Dynamics devs also talked about how Tomb Raider is different in that it has a female and actually feminine protagonist. Read the full report here.

Uncharted 3 multiplayer gets a new update which takes it to version 1.1.5. There are a lot of fixes and improvements and we have listed the notes below.

It will be available in all regions soon, Naughty Dog revealed.

“We’ve brought back Classic Mode, made some widespread changes to the Tournament system, and introduced a slew of other gameplay additions and tweaks. A full video recap of the changes will be posted this week,” they added.

Uncharted 3 was released last year and has been pretty successful so far. These notes were posted by Eric Monacelli of Naughty Dog on their official website. It may end up on the PS Blog too.

Check them out below.

Patch 1.15 Notes

Deployment: Globally – October 23, 2012 at 7pm PST.

Matchmaking

• Players will be appropriately matched according to Legacy level in matchmaking.

Team Balancing

• Team balancing will now take into account players’ Legacy level.

Tournament

• New gun skins for Tournament tier rewards will roll out over the next several months.  The new guns skins this month are the Fireball M9, Dragon Sniper and FAL-SS.
• New Shade custom pieces for silver and bronze tier. The new pieces are the Shade Gas Mask, Shade Belling Mask, Shade Headphones, Shade Dark Vest and Shade Biker Jacket.
• Treasure drops can sometimes be tournament tickets
• Progress towards permanent tournament prizes now appears inside of tier screen menu
• There is a new leader board for single tournament scores
• Players can see all Players’ Tournament Tier in the scoreboard during a match. This will happen only if the player is ranked in the Tournament
• Spending a tournament ticket increases your treasure drop chances for that match. This also makes rare treasures more likely to drop.
• Players will now receive a small amount of points based on their kills and deaths for losing during a tournament game.
• Tournament formula change:

 

Winning

Points = [1000 + (100*kills) + (25*assists) – (80*deaths)] * [1.2-(party size*0.2)]

Minimum = 200, Max = 6000

 

Losing

Points = Points = [100 + (10*kills) + (2.5*assists) – (8*deaths)] * [1.2-(party size*0.2)]

Minimum = 100, Max = 500

 

Gameplay

• Classic Mode to replace Hardcore Mode
• Classic Mode details:
  • Boosters on
  • Kickbacks off
  • Throwback grenades off
  • Buddy spawning off
  • No load out weapons so every player starts with an AK and Para 9
  • Lots of placed weapons on the map
• Treasure drops over time so after extended play you will be guaranteed a treasure drop on your next kill
• A treasure will appear in every drop and “Just Cash” is now “Plus Cash” and will never drop by itself anymore
• Revenge grenades will no longer kill teammates
• Toggle in the customization menu to turn on or off the bonuses on your head gear
• 11 new taunts for sale
• Extras section in the main menu for watching trailers and purchasing other UNCHARTED games
• Block mesh lab maps can now be viewed in Cinema
• Increase Elimination only treasure drop rate.  The affected treasures sets are: Sage Deity, Affluent Relics, Deadly Ensemble.

In addition to patch 1.15 we’ve rolled out our Tournament FAQ page. This page will answer all, ok, almost all, of your pressing questions about the Tournament System. No, we don’t think we’ll ever add Wetsuit Elena or Pinkerton or Rika Raja skins as tournament rewards but the fundamental questions about what the tournament is and how it works will be answered there. It’s a living page so it’ll be updated from time to time.

So what do you think? We have more Uncharted 3 Multiplayer surprises to free up and let loose so get ready for some big news in the coming months. See you online!

It highlights some of the best moments from the game, including some great writing by Naughty Dog’s writers.

The Game of the Year Edition of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Fortune includes all the multiplayer DLC packs- 12 maps, forty character skins, co-op adventures and all the new modes that have recently been added on in the MP.

The GOTY Edition is out now and you can purchase ts at any gaming retailing outlet.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception came out November last year and was met with  great critical acclaim and sales everywhere. We gave it a perfect 10/10, calling it “the biggest game of this year” and “one of the best reasons to own a PlayStation 3”. Read our full, in-deapth review here.

Uncharted 3 will get a new patch as described here in the PS Blog, and it features the return of The Lab. It’s a playlist featuring a unique series of multiplayer game types invented by Naughty Dog designers.

You can check out the complete patch notes below:

– The Lab returns and we begin the playlist with a T-bolt/Pistole-only map. We will be rolling out other game types as the year progresses.

• The Lab will contain treasure drops from whatever the base game type is (the T-bolt/Pistole map is considered Team Deathmatch)

– Elimination Mode has been added.

• Elimination mode will contain treasure drops from Team Deathmatch

– Message of the Day returns – a daily message will pop up with news, tips, and other information.

– The following custom game settings are now available via a menu in Custom Game mode called “Advanced Settings.”

• Respawn Time
• Buddy Spawning toggle
• Health Multiplier – by percentage
• Sprinting toggle
• Weapon Mode (Default, Basic Weapons, Pistols, RPG-7)
• Medal Kickbacks toggle
• Boosters toggle
• Grenade Throw Back toggle

– If you leave a game, disconnect, or turn off your PS3 mid-game, it will be counted as a loss.

– Kill and deaths no longer count towards your career stats in Plunder and Team Objective modes

– The technical hooks to make the Game of the Year edition (EU) work properly with DLC were added

– In Team Deathmatch mode the Airstrip and London maps now are listed with “No Intro” variations. If these variations are selected you’ll start those maps with no convoy events.

– The Long Ranger Medal can now be earned by achieving 3 kills at 50 meters in a match instead of 3 kills at 70 meters.

Richard Lemarchand, lead game designer for Uncharted 3, has left Naughty Dog after working in the firm for 8 years. Lemarchand will be joining the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California to teach at the Interactive Media Division, he confirmed to Gamasutra. Incidentally, that’s also where thatgamecompany’s Kellee Santiago and Jenova Chen were trained.

“I’ll be surrounded by awesome people, talking craft and philosophy, and building strange new things,” Lemarchand said, confirming that he will also be working on some experimental games along with his teaching job.

“It seems like a natural transition point,” he said when asked about the timing of his move. “I was involved with the development of the Uncharted series not quite from the beginning, but almost…

“And even though the Uncharted series isn’t intended to be viewed as a trilogy, maybe there’s something about the number three that felt… there is a certain amount of completeness for me.

“I’ve always loved the experimental and avant-garde,” Lemarchand added. “I wanted to try to make a game in that sphere for the best part of a decade, now.”

Well, I’m sure ND will miss you, Richard. You did an awesome job with Uncharted 3.

However, Naughty Dog is moving forward, working on new things. The highly anticipated The Last of Us seems to be a unique concept and everyone’s looking forward to it, but with so much to live up to, can it deliver? Can it beat Uncharted as Naughty Dog’s best work ever?

We certainly think it can. Here’s why:

It actually looks better

Okay, I guess it might be a little too early to say this, but even from the early build it’s pretty apparent that The Last of Us is way better looking than Uncharted 3. That’s a huge achievement in itself- Uncharted 3 is one of the best looking games of all time, and to top that is no easy accomplishment, but it looks like Naughty Dog might just do that with TLoU. We just have to wait for some more footage to definitively make up our minds on this.

Deeper character development

Uncharted is known, first and foremost, for its deep character development and how they interact with each other, making them so likeable and the story so believable. But Naughty Dog has promised even deeper character development in The Last of Us, already fleshing out the characters by giving us vital details and promising unprecedented depth in character growth. I can’t wait to see Ellie and Joel in action- already, they look so good on the screen.

Better emotional development

As I mentioned above, the believable and likeable back-and-forth between the characters in Uncharted makes them so well developed and the relationships between them so well fleshed out. But with just two main characters to focus on in The Last of Us, ND will obviously be able to develop the relationship between them better. We already know that the father-daughter love relationship between Joel and Ellie is the focal point of TLoU, and from what we’ve seen so far, Naughty Dog will probably deliver on that promise with flying colours.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/7-ways-the-last-guardian-might-overthrow-uncharted-as-naughty-dogs-best/feed 3 81528