PS3 Fanboy

Elena Fisher, from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, may look like your average Sara plain and tall, but she's got a wild side too. How do we know? Well, it seems as if she's up and gone on a shopping spree at the local hair salon and neighboring plastic surgeon! Just a little bit of bleaching and a little bit of chin work, and voila! The makeover is complete, and just in time too. Her friends at Naughty Dog say that they "just preferred her blonde". Hopefully she can handle all the blonde jokes that come with the territory.

[via Joystiq]

What happens when you mix one part Gears of War, one part Tomb Raider, and one part Prince of Persia? You get one potentially awesome game. We really want to like Naughty Dog's upcoming PS3 exclusive, Uncharted, but technical issues seriously hindered our enjoyment of the title.

If there's one thing everyone has been talking about with Uncharted, it's the complex animation system. Thousands of animations are blended together in real-time to create a visually complex world that feels alive. Drake responds to his surroundings: you'll see him look at points of interest, struggling to keep his footing, and more. In one heated gunfight, we had him take cover fire and could see the worried look on his face as he breathed heavily The animation system helps make Drake not only a more believable character, but one we can relate to.

Drake is supposed to be a normal guy in an extraordinary situation, and the platforming sequences deliver upon the feeling of overcoming overwhelming obstacles. Drake will have to climb along rocky ledges, or jump from a shaky pillar to the next. Seeing what Drake can interact with the environment is intuitive due to Drake's focus on where he must go next. By observing what Drake wants to do, players will be able to navigate tricky areas with relative ease. Swinging from a rope and jumping to a ledge feels intuitive and empowering. We love the feeling we get when exploring the environment.

You probably read about and watched the incredible video for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune earlier today, but we're going to take a more critical look at the actual gameplay from a demo released to some individuals, like IGN. This side of the story isn't all roses and chocolate boxes, we're afraid. While the game looks gorgeous and fluid, there seems to be an issue with some mechanics. Luckily, combat is saucy and fun, the AI is boasted as being smart and difficult, so those aren't a concern.

What was IGN complaining about? Some pretty important stuff, if you ask us. While the demo they played was an early, but polished graphically, build, there are a few concerns worth noting. First, they mentioned a strange sort of linearity in a jungle. Sure, it's probably made that way on purpose for demo reasons, but we hope there isn't a linear "jungle path" you have to stay on, or invisible walls will nudge you along. Grabbing onto things was hit or miss, and Drake had difficulty judging which action to take when two objects of different sizes were close to one another. Also, timing your jumps isn't a problem, but the game often did the wrong thing and allowed Drake to plummet to his doom.

It sounds like pain, we know, we wanted this game to be perfect, too. But that's why it's an early build and these kinks can be ironed out with ease. Hopefully we'll be back in another month with more hands-on impressions about how the game has turned itself around and everything works beautifully.

While the actual interview over at Kikizo is a lot longer than what we'll be talking about (so you can check out any details you're curious about yourself), they've gathered enough surprising info about Naughty Dog's high-profile title Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to merit a nod. We'll cut the chatter and summarize the important points for you.

• Realistic nuances in human facial features are a large concern for Naughty Dog -- they want every muscle in their character's faces to reflect their emotions.
• Nathan Drake, the main character, was drawn from many different personalities to grow into a unique character. He's a bit Indiana Jones, a bit "random hiker in Thailand" among other things.
• No damned crate puzzles here! Thank goodness.
• The island is the only mentioned location for the game (we expect one or two others, but it's doubtful), but with the PS3's streamless-level system, the entire island is accessible at once. So, while there may be a multitude of places, it all loads as one. Which is awesome.
• Some special online components are planned, but nothing specific.
• Only Nathan is playable, but expect some Resident Evil 4 style buddy system ... or protection system, whichever you prefer.
• There will be content for Home and some special trophies to acquire!
• Sixaxis controller mechanics so far include: balance beam mechanics, grenade throwing, steering, and crazy dancing (we made that one up).
• Naughty Dog is working very hard to make this game ready for shelves this holiday season.

We were very surprised to hear the game would hit retailers this holiday season. The game is shaping up to be incredible, so we hope they don't do anything foolish like rush production just to get those holiday sales. What do you guys think? Since Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII have been pushed into next year, will this game be the game to buy this holiday?

While we're not accustomed to saying this, the gallery we've gathered up for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is pretty much videogame porn. Not that it's lewd or sexual, but because when you look at it, your little synapses that regulate your excitement for a game go off like crazy, sending you into a schoolgirl-like shrill-fest. Thus, this gallery. The game looks brilliant and exactly what we'd expect from Naughty Dog. The game might turn into a better showcase for the PS3 than many other anticipated titles. We can't be sure yet, though. So ... we'll keep you posted. Until then, check out a video after the cut.

The recently not-so-secret Naughty Dog title for the PS3: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has come up on the latest issue of Game Informer. Here's what the folks at the NeoGAF forums have discerned from the article.

• Winter '07 release
• Single-player, apparently
• So far, 50 minutes of cinematics (GI said that the game's presentation actually makes the PS3's price not as difficult to understand... or... something. It's impressive, they say)
• Animation scheme allows for unique ways of doing things -- an example used was for taking cover behind a pillar. There were nine screenshots of Drake hiding behind the same pillar, each time in a completely different stance. The final game is said to have 3,000 animation modifications for doing such actions.
• SIXAXIS allows for balancing stuff, like crossing a narrow log or whatever
• Drake will visibly grow tired when running, shown in his running animation and facial features. How neat, I grow visibly tired from running too!
• Soundtrack, graphics, special effects... all are looking insanely gorgeous.

Game Informer sums up the premise and gameplay this way: "It's Die Hard meets Indiana Jones, with gameplay that goes back to Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider and gun segments like Gears of War. Ultimately however, it's a new genre that's unclassifiable at this point." They talked about their hands-on time with the game, too. It sounds like a lot of fun. Probably because I'm biased about exploring ancient ruins. Awesome stuff. Looking forward to this one!

Naughty Dog has kept a pretty tight lid on its PS3 project, as of yet unnamed. Not anymore. Sort of. Voice actor Robin Atkin Downs has posted an online resume and on it are listed his past and current projects, including: Halo 2, Dirge of Cerberus, and a Naughty Dog project called "Big". This is interesting because Naughty Dog hasn't released any information of a game called "Big" for any platform.

So is this title related to the PS3 Caribbean-centric project? After IGN contacted Sony representatives, it was confirmed that at the very least, "Big" is an internal name for the PS3 Naughty Dog project. So it's not an official name, but the boys (and girls) at Naughty Dog believe the game to be... well, sizable. If the name is indicative of their prediction for the game, let's expect some exciting news in the near future. Tokyo Game Show, please.

We've all heard about the supposed pricing of the next generation of games. Kaz says we're getting off easy when it comes to PS3 games. But what about the developers making these games?

Recently, Brian Eddy (Midway Games), Todd Howard (Bethesda Software), and Evan Wells (Naughty Dog) discussed their take, as developers, over the pricing issues on the latest Gamasutra podcast. Evan Wells says that games are still a bargain at $60, claiming that "a small [price] increase is completely warranted" in regard to price. Could Wells' position be tied to Sony's stance on higher game prices, since he is currently the lead designer on Naughty Dog's PS3 title Naughty Dog (c'mon guys, name that thing something else already).

Brian Eddy and Todd Howard disagree, saying games are too expensive as is. Eddy says that as game prices go up, gamers "simply can't afford that many games" and this may reduce sales numbers. Howard agrees and adds "I'm a proponent of a $19 price point."

With these differences of opinion between developers, do you think that game prices will really affect third-party support on our next-gen consoles? If the games are more expensive, will developers be attracted to the chance to make large amounts of money quickly, or conversely, if they are cheap, will developers tend toward higher sales numbers instead?