Why We're Excited for Uncharted 3 Multiplayer

The Sony 2011 E3 Press Conference is just around the corner which can only mean one thing, additional info about Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception and some new singleplayer campaign gameplay will be shown as well. We're very excited and its hard to contain ourselves. Sony's E3 Press Conference details were leaked mentioning that the Uncharted 3 singleplayer campaign would be shown and promised it would have the same mind-blowing effect on us as we'd experienced when viewing Uncharted 2. If this is the case, then we most likely won't be seeing any multiplayer at E3.

However, we know quite a bit more about the Uncharted 3 multiplayer than we had ever known about the Uncharted 2 multiplayer. Admittedly I was skeptical about the multiplayer aspect of Uncharted 2 and I honestly have never been much of an online multiplayer gamer. The Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta was announced to go live at midnight at the E3 2009 Press Conference and I thought, "So what, what about the singleplayer?" and there was no release date information given. I had the beta code having purchased InFamous and didn't really care to use it. Eventually I downloaded the multiplayer beta, or it may have been a demo and thought "eh... its alright" and then moved onto wracking my brain on what the singleplayer would deliver.

Well, this time around, I know better. Remember, I've never been big into online multiplayer except for Uncharted 2 online multiplayer. Other games might last me a month or two post game release, but Uncharted 2 still works its way into my machine and I still log on to get in some multiplayer two years after the games release. Naughty Dog have also continued to drive and support its online multiplayer in so many ways. I honestly cannot tell you the one big reason I'm still playing it today other than its just fun!

We know that the Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Beta will hit on June 28, 2011 and will be available to those whom have purchased InFamous 2 or are PlayStation Plus Subscribers. We don't know exactly what modes will be available during the Beta or when they'll be available, but we know that Naughty Dog have been playing the Gears of War 3 Beta and may follow in similar fashion. If that's the case, in its time period, new modes will be uploaded as time goes and maybe some Beta exclusives will come with playing the beta similarly to Gears of War unlockable Cole Train skin, flaming weapons, Golden Hammerburst and Golden Lancer weapons. We do know that the moment the beta is available, we'll be downloading it and playing it into the ground. Its likely the beta will be similar to Naughty Dogs press reveal and the modes and gameplay available to them which could mean that the multiplayer could be a fairly old build but that's nothing we know for sure.

Never-the-less, the Uncharted 3 multiplayer is on its way and will come bundled with Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception hitting store shelves November 1 of this holiday season. 11-1-11 and what we've heard so far is mind-blowing thus, we simply can't wait to get out hands on it. Naughty Dogs first outing with online gaming was a total success and we doubt not that they'll do it again. So long as they can get the mechanics right, maintain stable servers captivating us with stunning visuals as well as new modes and new maps, its in the bag.

Naughty Dog have chosen to really give it their all this time around. Many sites have been stating that Naughty Dog is prepping to "play with the big boys" of online and multiplayer gaming. When you look at developers like Epic Games, Infinity Ward or Treyarch, Dice, Id or so many other big online developers that have been doing multiplayer for years or even decades, that's a pretty big statement as Naughty Dog have always been about the singleplayer experience and that  again Uncharted 2 was their first real attempt at online gaming or even co-op for that matter. So far, we're not a bit worried and we'll know for sure when we can get out hands on it.

So we're excited for clearly for more Uncharted multiplayer and this is why. We know that the multiplayer will not have dedicated servers but rather will use a P2P connection similarly to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Its the sort of thing that can make the hardcore online gamers cringe as they fear the lag that comes along with that sort of server but, the fact of the matter is that Uncharted 2 ran beautifully lag free and I never had any issues actually. In fact, I've been booted from more Xbox LIVE! games than I ever have with PSN games, which includes Uncharted. Even in my most recent venture with the Gears of War 3 beta which is currently toted for its dedicated servers, I've already gotten bumped from a match after a player has left and says that its switching hosts. Uncharted 3 will have excellent online support as far as servers go similarly to the track record that Uncharted 2 had.

It will also feature the similar treatment Uncharted 2 was given in that matches are monitored according to how the matches are played and the end result, will still feature a cloud system allowing devs to change up things within the map on the fly tweaking and fine-tunning the maps to balance things out. Though the map itself can't be changed, objects within the map can so the experience can change from gameplay to gameplay. We also know that the multiplayer with feature an excellent matchmaking setup in which gamers will be paired keeping things in balance to make the matches much more competitive and giving an overall better online gaming experience playing with gamers that are of your same calibur and permitting those new to the franchise and experience a fighting chance allowing them to learn and grow in the environment and become pros at the gameplay because the fact of the matter is, its frustrating to hop online and five minutes into the multiplayer, you've been slaughtered so badly that its just not fun, you put it down and never play it again. Such as was my experience with Halo and I've never played Halo again. With the Uncharted 3 matchmaker, its a ladder that helps you climb. True, you'll be put in intense situations that will force you to think differently, but you're learning at a gradual pace and my experience with the PlayStation Network online community has been excellent when compared to the competition. I've found 90-95% of the time, gamers on PSN will take the time to give you tips and help you out. My experience sadly with Gears of War in on the contrary as I've had to beat my brains out to learn it on my own as the LIVE! community won't talk or work with me, and they all come with headsets!

We're definitely excited for the new game modes that we've heard of and certainly will be excited for the returning modes from Uncharted 2. Though they haven't yet been confirmed, we're hoping that Elimination, Plunder, Turf War, King of the Hill and Chain Reaction all make their return to Uncharted 3 as it wouldn't be the same without them, though we're certain that we will. Whether maps from Uncharted 2 will carry over to Uncharted 3 nobody knows, but we hope as well that they do. New modes that have been shown and demo'd already include Team Deathmatch 2 vs 2 vs 2 and Free For All which apparently the Forums had been clamoring for and their wish was Naughty Dogs command. (See, they do listen)

We also know that Team Deathmatch itself has been tweaked, or perhaps tweaked doesn't do it justice. It features something called Power-Play which really can humble a gamers ego pretty quickly simultaneously give them the needed challenge which can make it fun. Power-Play features the ability for the team getting its teeth kicked in to catch up as well as well as the winning time a chance to expand their cash winnings, basically meaning its a 'Double-Or-Nothing' sort of scenario.

Free for All has its appeal as a sort of 'Battle Royal' sort of mode. Eight gamers enter but, only one of them will emerge victorious. I love playing these sort of matches and even watching them is spectacular. Its like watching the end of a Street Fighter Tournament where it comes down to the last three and finally down to the last two. They're running and climbing and hiding and it becomes cat and mouse. Everyone is in suspense and when one dies, you can hear a roar of sound on both sides. Disappointment from the losing side of moans and cheering and whistling from the winning side as it was so close. I figure I'll find myself playing this mode quite a bit.

Weapon customization is a very big deal to me. Customization as a whole is a big deal to me. Its awesome creating your own fighter and walking out and beating your opponent senseless in a game like Virtua Figther 5, but what's even more awesome, is customizing your weapons. In Uncharted 2, you would purchase boosters for your weapons with Uncharted dollars that were available as you reached certain levels that give you a sleight edge in many areas of multiplayer and forced you to tactically think and stratagize before another match. What can I use to counter this booster he has and try and top him, then put it into action. Naughty Dog have gone a step further by the actual appearance of your own weapon changing to your liking. If your buying a booster that expands your mag, its going to show on your weapon and that's awesome. Its sort of like Kevin Butler taking stage as E3 last year and using his hand as a gun. "What is this the third grade?"

Having this sort of customization gives personality and realism to the experience. The fact that you're physically changing your tools are changing in an evolving or stressful situation is that sort of "Ah, Capella!" sort if thing. The icing on the cake. We've even learned of an ability that the crazy dude in the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film would always say, "Ninja, vanish!" (Ya know, the guy Casey Jones had suggested some throat spray to in order to clear up his grunt condition) This instant ability, which coupled along with many obtained by getting so many medals like ten kills with hand-to-hand get you, can buy this instant boosters to throw a smoke bomb and vanish to a random point on the map, which can even work against you if you appear in the middle of the enemy spawn point just as they enter and spot you taking you out. One also mentioned was insta-RPG. Ouch....

The weapons felt very well balanced in Uncharted 2 as well I think that will carry over to Uncharted 3 in a similar fashion. I'm actually having a rough time with the balance of the Gears 3 multiplayer and you'll hear it a lot from its beta testers. The Sawed-off Shotgun and Retro Lancer are the games two big weapons and they just feel cheap. There are ways around them, but the balance still isn't there. Nothing has seemed to change with that here into the third week. I think Uncharted 3 is going to have that balance no doubt, even with its sawed-off shotgun. Power weapons will be power weapons and for those that want to play that sort of game, I'm certain Naughty Dog will bring back those weekends of 'The Lab' giving players the ability to vote on the type of game they want to play with those tweaks in that gameplay giving you much more option. Who knows, it being referred to as 'The Lab' was likely a way Naughty Dog would test the water with tweaks that was research for the Uncharted 3 MP.

 

Watch the Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Trailer 

Players can even customize their own characters. You pick Drake, Sully, Elena, Eddy, Navarro, Francis Drake as your base, then customize him to how you want. Even the Jason Statham thug you see in the 'Meet Katherine Marlow' Trailer, or am I the only one that thinks he's a Jason Statham ripoff? But still, its excellent! Having unlockable characters again will be great and then dressing them is well or as badly as you want gives each player a definite uniqueness to them. Naughty Dog have stated that this won't take away from players being able to identify the opposition though. In stages you will find logos or symbals that represent a team that will display on cargo ship containers or walls as that team claims that territory similar to walking the streets of Detroit and finding tags all the walls. "This is our territory. We catch you around here, we're gonna hurt you real bad." Not to mention 'celebrating' taunts which can actually work out to your advantage this time by slapping high five or whatever giving you extra cash to buy new things with. In short, this kind of customization is really going to change the way the game is played.

Attention to Detail

The environments are mind-scrambler. The maps in Uncharted 2 were and still are visually stunning and we expect the same Uncharted 3. I could be wrong, but it seems perhaps as though there could be destructible environments in Uncharted 3. The maps are a beauty to behold. The attention to detail, the lighting and even the textural effects are astounding. The maps are large and vertical. This enables you with more strategic options to climb up high and flank your enemies that just isn't possible in other multiplayer games and we love it! Yes definitely, maps can become far too big and become a chore to traverse unless you have enough playing, Uncharted's hero to enemy ratio is perfect for its maps giving you enough room to breathe and feeling less claustrophobic, which is the issue I have with Gears of War 3 right now, but keeping things tight enough that you're not running all over for centuries trying to seek your enemy. One of my favorite maps for Uncharted 2 was the Tibetan Village map. Rectangular but vertical. There were three four floors to the map with plenty of space, some good coverage. There were area's you could climb to on the roof, the main floor, and a well you could drop down into to lure enemies or psych them out and put up grabbing them and throwing them to their death if they weren't careful. There's so much to the maps and the level of polish they have that will just make the experience even more of a blast.

We're even extremely excited about the Air Field with moving environments and look forward to hear more, seeing more and playing those maps in the future. It seems that rather being three separate maps are actually only two but that the map will actually change throughout the match, if we understand this correctly. You will be able to jump around within the moving environment from vehicle to vehicle and then from vehicle to moving jet. Taking cover behind cargo crates and fighting of your enemies is taking that bragged about train scene from the Uncharted 2 singleplayer campaign experience and applying it to some extent to the multiplayer modes and giving it sort of a new spin. Its something that has definitely peaked and our interest and has us pretty excited about.

Verticallity of Multiplayer Maps

Finally, the extra features to multiplayer. With Uncharted 2, we had seen Naughty Dogs attempt at the use of Twitter. Honestly, not something that had me on the edge of my seat seeing as how I don't use Twitter. However, Naughty Dog had decided to bolster their integration of Social Networking with the use of Facebook, YouTube and Uncharted TV. What this means is that Uncharted 3 features the ability to share game achievements and actions via Facebook directly from the game. Players can also message and play with Facebook friends who aren't connected on the PlayStation Network. The multiplayer menu has a Facebook-specific feed attached as well, so players can browse those updates right alongside the game's new customization features. WOW! Honestly, the world today is all about Social Networking finding old friends as well as making new friends or even future business partners. (Hey, it happens. That's why they call it networking in the industry)

The game also integrates with YouTube. A Cinema mode that was used in Uncharted 2, like Machinema. video can be posted on YouTube from inside the game, and Naughty Dog will run a service called Uncharted TV to post "plays of the week" and other announcements through the video sharing service. The whole setup was surprisingly full-featured. Players will get a look at just how it all works when the game goes into open beta on July 5.

There is already so much that we know about what we can expect from Uncharted 3 multiplayer with yet more to be revealed. Co-op multiplayer we haven't really gone over, but it certain to appear in Uncharted 3 as well as its has been mentioned by Naughty Dog but no additional details. Surely we can expect it to be just it was in Uncharted 2 but featuring missions from stages in Uncharted 3 which is an experience in and of itself.

With so many modes, so much customization to personalize the game for you and how you want to play it, with Social Networking integration allowing you to share your experience with others and gathering together on solid servers and now even on the same TV screen, Uncharted 3 will offer a multiplayer experience unlike any other. As in this paragraph, there is one word that appears most, other than 'the,' but the word is simply 'YOU.' Uncharted 3 and its multiplayer experience are all about you and making the experience the best it can be at this point in time for you. To scoff and stick your nose up at it before even taking a look is sheer ignorance and or total fanboyism. Uncharted 3 will offer a superior multiplayer experience that can in fact step in the ring the big boys and most likely even squash them "like a ten year-old kid in Fresno can make a frat boy in Boston question his own manhood." To brush a multiplayer experience like this under the rug is fear. Fear of something greater and fear of moving on and trying new things. Uncharted 3 multiplayer with set the bar as the game itself will set the bar once again for gameplay and graphical finesse. And call it gimmicky, but multiplayer will have 3D integration for both players as Ballestra had stated it works surprisingly well and all other feedback of even singleplayer 3D has been positive Design Director Richard Lechmarchend stating that it adds to the gunplay with that sense of depth peaking around a corner attempting to take out the bad guy.

Bottom line, Uncharted 3 has our hearts already and the its multiplayer is certain not to dash the hearts of its fans. I firmly believe that Uncharted 3 will carry a large number of PS3's just as its predecessor did in 2009 and developers will look to Uncharted 3, the 'toddler' on shaping their own multiplayer and deepeing their own experiences to compete. We are really excited for the beta, to hear even more than the small taste of batter we've been given and finally play it in all its glory. But, all one step at a time. Multiplayer beta, we'll see you in June!

For all things Uncharted, all things PlayStation and all things gaming check back with us as we bring you more gaming news keeping you inside the gaming zone right here in the X-Zone. What do you think of the Uncharted 3 multiplayer? Has it finally been built to compete? Can Call of Duty be dismantled and will Uncharted 3 be a part of that?