Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Beta Impressions

Those who are familiar with the Uncharted series should feel right at home with the beta, and newcomers will have a fun time with it.

 

Developer: Naughty Dog

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Release Date: November 1, 2011 (NA); November 2 (JP & EU); November 3 (AUS); November 4 (UK)

Platform: PS3

Genre: Action Adventure, Shooter

 

 

The plane’s jet engines roared violently, piercing through my ears as it makes its way down the runway. Several trucks carrying mercenary pirates surround the plane, as its rear cargo door slowly opens. I find myself in one of the trucks, and get immediately shot at and thrown off the vehicle. I then respawn inside the plane and was completely surrounded by the enemy. I respawned again in a truck, tried to move to another, and failed miserably. And that was my first experience with the Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta. Naughty Dog is putting more emphasis on cinematics and intense action in the experience, and it’s great to see the level of ambition they’re aiming for.

 

It’s been well over a year now since I’ve seen any Uncharted 2 multiplayer action, so whatever comparisons I would have between both Uncharted 2 and 3 will prove difficult. That aside, it controls fine, and plays much like Uncharted 2. Traversal mechanics are fast-paced and efficient, though the camera can feel a little swimmy at times; the biggest problem I had with Uncharted 2. It may not look significant from its predecessor’s technological prowess, but Uncharted 3 still looks fantastic. The levels are well designed and various animations, from the fire effects to the explosions, look impressive. Aside from minor glitches like floating objects, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. I did have a fair amount of trouble, however, with the motion blur, as I feel it was layered on too thick. There were times I moved my camera and could not tell if there was an enemy ahead of me or not.

 

Right in the jewels.

 

The standard Matchmaking process is intact, and you can choose to play in up to 5 different game modes. Of course, you have your Team Deathmatch (5-on-5); Team Objective has certain goals for your team to accomplish; Plunder is U3’s rendition of capture-the-flag, in which you have to bring the treasure to your base; Hardcore mode disables medal kickbacks and boosters; and Co-op Arena has you fending off waves of enemies with others, all while completing specific objectives you’re given. The multiplayer also has by far one of its best features: Power Plays. It basically gives the losing team a chance to catch up to the opposing team so players would be motivated to keep going instead of ragequitting.

 

Like in Uncharted 2, you can customize your hero/villain appearances as well as your competitive/co-op loadouts. Since this is only a beta, the choices you have are understandably limited. Nathan Drake and Sully are the only ones available for the heroes’ side, along with the typical Treasure Hunter character. The villains’ side only has the Pirate character available, and you can change his look and voice. There are also options for taunts as well as emblems to make your mark during matches. There are two maps to play on: Chateau and Airstrip, which I briefly described in this preview’s introduction.

 

Wow, this looks fu--OH GOD THAT PLANE IS ABOUT TO TAKE OFF

 

You have your customary primary/secondary weapon slots, complete with unlockable modes, as well as two booster slots and another for a medal kickback. Both of these are more or less perks that give you an edge in battle. You unlock more as you level up, and you can purchase them from the experience points--or money, in this case--you accumulate from your matches. You gain more money after every match depending on your performance. Medals sort of work like in-game achievements, and are awarded for completing explicit tasks during play (killstreak bonuses, stealth killing a player, avoiding grenades, etc.).

 

Uncharted 3 has some new features in store, first with ‘Uncharted TV.’ As the title suggests, you’ll be able to watch gameplay videos, beta highlights, trailers, etc. on Naughty Dog’s highly anticipated title. It’s a nice addition to the multiplayer experience, and Uncharted TV seamlessly plays videos when you’re in the lobby. I imagine they’ll add more videos as the beta rolls on.

 

Naughty Dog is also trying to implement more social interaction into Uncharted 3, enabling you to sync your profile with your Facebook account. As far as I know, this allows you to view people on your FB friends list that are also in the beta, and you can view whatever videos or updates they might have without ever having to leave the beta itself. Speaking of videos, Uncharted 3 also has a Cinema option in which you can view your previous matches. If you really did well in a particular match, you can record and edit that video, change the settings however you want, and upload your best performances for the world to see.

 

 

Having the option to share videos with your Facebook account actually sounds like a fun gimmick, though I couldn’t log into my account because the beta was riddled with major technical problems during my first couple of weeks. Whenever I would quit from the beta, my PS3 would automatically crash and restart. This was echoed by fellow NoobFeed writer Marco, who unfortunately couldn't even finish a match because of it. Sometimes I would be kicked out of a match for no apparent reason immediately after joining one. There were some instances when the matches themselves would just crash and start from the beginning, while others won't work at all.

 

Despite that, Naughty Dog has been aware of the problems, and has since released 3 patches to remedy the situation. With the Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Beta 1.03 now in effect, I can access the rest of its issues with nary a hitch. My PS3 doesn’t crash anymore either. The patches also brought about some updates to the multiplayer modes. When the beta kicked off on June 28, there was Three Team Deathmatch (a mode where you’re paired with another player and compete with 2 other teams). Co-op Arena has since been changed to Co-op Hunter Arena (other players can pose as the villains, putting more pressure on the ‘hero’ players) and Free-For-All was notably taken out. Perhaps the changes were made for balance purposes or to prevent players from spamming certain modes for the fastest methods of leveling up.

 

 

With these in mind, non-PS Plus subscribers should have little problem getting into the beta now. In short, Uncharted 3 beta is enjoyable despite the glitches, and I can’t wait to experience its entirety when the full game launches this year on November 1^st.

 

David Gabriel, NoobFeed.