I think it's safe to say that one of the largest concerns anytime a Multiplayer game is made these days is if developers want to “broaden the game to new audiences” This usually implies two things, a) that the game is being casualized, and in doing so, b) it is abandoning fundamental roots that made previous instalments so good.
Thus is the concern I have with UC3 multiplayer. Like Killzone 3 and SOCOM 4, Uncharted 3 is looking to branch out its title to a bigger audience in an attempt to “play with the big dogs”. Naughty Dog has openly stated that it wants to be the go-to multiplayer game and such announcements have never boded well with fans.
My main concern with Uncharted 3 is that some of the boosters and kickback system are potentially horrendous in design. Turning into a swarm of "creepy crawlers", disappearing into a puff of smoke, seeing enemies for simply killing you, and spawning with power weapons for dying by one are some of the rather questionable choices Naughty Dog has included in their Multiplayer.
They are both bizarre and unnecessarily anti-competitive in nature. I don't want to have to have my player show up on an enemy screen for simply killing them. That to me is a rather annoying crutch. Kickbacks like insta-spawning an RPG seem to annoy fans who cry out that it ruins the need for skill. I personally don't mind the idea of kickbacks or boosters, but Naughty Dog seems to have rather odd choices in terms of designing them. So long as there is a classic playlist, I don't see Uncharted 3 being completely lost for older fans.
There is also the major concern about "booster upgrading" as it raises the concern for balancing and keeping boosters properly powered.
I only hope that they can constantly tune their game if the need arises. Perhaps ironic, but I feel that Black Ops did a rather good job at pleasing a multitude of player styles: supporting many subset types of barebones and hardcore playlists, Treyarch is able to keep a large percent of their audience happy. Naughty Dog doesn't have as large a community, and too many playlists may thin out the herd, but here's hoping to a constantly supported multiplayer experience.
I really hope that Naughty Dog can avoid the issue they had with having to change their game almost on its head when they lowered health as it was a rather foolish move when you consider the fact that they could have simply added a crushing playlist (their equivalent of a hardcore mode) One other quiff I have about kickbacks is how any medals seem to contribute to your kickback. It seems rather counter-intuitive to reward medals like “Unlucky” (which I believe is going on a losing streak) towards your kickback.
There is also the issue of power plays. Once again, Naughty Dog mixes some nice sounding objectives (Kill the VIP) with some rather silly ones (everybody turns into skeletons and are indistinguishable for a limited time). I like the idea of Power Plays but I really hope they keep it as an optional play, or at least severely limit the amount of times it gets activated. From what I've seen, power plays are activated automatically. Annoyingly, they seem to happen when teams have a simple 5 point lead. Hopefully this was for demonstration purposes at E3. I'd hate for games to constantly crutch the losing team in this manner.
The Good:
One thing I immediately realized upon seeing UC3 footage was that guns have recoil. A lot of recoil. Not since Killzone 2 have I seen a noticable amount of recoil in many titles, and it is pleasant to see. It seems that you really have to control your fire in order to get a kill.
Kickbacks seem to be well paced. They aren't spammed every 2 seconds like they are in Call of Duty, and they seem to be something that do not get in the way of objective modes as any real achievement is rewarded towards your enhancement. It doesn't seem as over the top, but I'm still rather not looking forward to seeing an enemy instantly turn into pests or disappear into a puff of smoke. I do hope that Naughty Dog has a good variety of kickbacks that aren't over the top.
Split-screen, Uncharted TV, theater mode, customization, private matches, and variety modes like Triple Team Deathmatch are excellent things to spice up the game. All I hope for now is custom in-game music and a deep stat tracking system. They said they want to be competitive, and in my opinion, this is how its done: adding a bevy of content beefs up the core gameplay and really enriches the experience. Gambling money adds to the carrot-on-a-stick mechanic so popular in today's multiplayer games and I'm hopeful to see the other multiplayer modes that are yet to be revealed
The old health seems to have returned. Couple this with the recoil and the core gameplay is looking solid in terms of requiring a decent amount of skill. More importantly, you can escape firefights and actually traverse the environment without dying in 2-3 shots. After all, traversing the environment is what makes Uncharted multiplayer so unique.
There is also the neat little addition of adding a precision dot to the crosshairs. A very small but important addition.
While I'm not a fan of Naughty Dog introducing customizing loadouts, it seems that everybody equally has a restricted choice for their loadout. Best of all is that power weapons are still scattered around the map, meaning that active movement and map control are still key to a good victory. I only hope that they don't go too overboard with weapon attachments and that they keep snipers as power weapons and not a loadout option. As far as I know, loadouts are limited to assault rifles, SMGs, and pistols.
Uncharted 3 multiplayer may be a little too clean-cut to be a major multiplayer player. It's a bit cutesy and friendly, and almost silly, but that is what makes it enjoyable to me. When comparing it to a heavy hitter like Gears 3 and Modern Warfare 3, I doubt Uncharted will manage to stick out as a huge multiplayer game. It's simply not a title associated with multiplayer, perhaps a fault of the title's incredible single player (something a majority of multiplayer games lack these days). It seems then that Uncharted may be its own enemy for multiplayer. However, a lot of people enjoyed Naughty Dog's valiant first effort and Uncharted 3 has been taking a lot of great steps. While there is some concern, I expect Uncharted 3's multiplayer beta to show why the game is a friendly, social, and simply fun experience to have with friends.
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