Zombies (Gaming)
by Cody Miller 
, Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Sunday, October 11, 2015, 05:19 (3335 days ago)
I snagged the uncharted collection today, and decided to play through. I started the first one a while ago on PS3, but was kind of off put by the low resolution and bad frame rate.
The PS4 collection fixes all that and it's a blast in 60fps.
But Zombies. WHY?! The game is set up to be realistic, but then out of nowhere you get zombies. Why is it always Zombies with video games? Halo had the flood, Destiny have thrall, etc. Why can't I just murder humans the whole time? Someone please tell me that the new tomb raider games don't have zombies. I'll never play them so spoilers are fine. I just want to know that someone can make a game without them!
I also hate zombies. Tomb raider did not have zombies.
Zombies
by Leviathan 
, Hotel Zanzibar, Sunday, October 11, 2015, 07:45 (3335 days ago) @ Cody Miller
I snagged the uncharted collection today, and decided to play through. I started the first one a while ago on PS3, but was kind of off put by the low resolution and bad frame rate.
The PS4 collection fixes all that and it's a blast in 60fps.
But Zombies. WHY?! The game is set up to be realistic, but then out of nowhere you get zombies. Why is it always Zombies with video games? Halo had the flood, Destiny have thrall, etc. Why can't I just murder humans the whole time? Someone please tell me that the new tomb raider games don't have zombies. I'll never play them so spoilers are fine. I just want to know that someone can make a game without them!
Heh, at least the Flood and Hive have a little bit of a unique culture to them. :)
It's been a year since I played the new Tomb Raider but I don't recall any zombies. There are some otherworldy figures but the Japanese history to them never made me think 'zombie'.
If you play it, I'd recommend keeping on it for a while. I found it be too cinematic and linear at the start but it opens up and widens eventually - enough, at least for me, to have a change of heart.
Zombies
by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Sunday, October 11, 2015, 08:57 (3335 days ago) @ Leviathan
It's been a year since I played the new Tomb Raider but I don't recall any zombies. There are some otherworldy figures but the Japanese history to them never made me think 'zombie'.
Yeah, definitely not Zombies. There is some supernatural-type stuff, but no Zombies so far.
It's a good movie, but not a great game
The second one is better, but still suffers from the same issues - the controls are horrifically clunky, the shooting is uninteresting, the difficulty spikes weirdly (though never too awfully) and the climbing is simple to the point of effectively being a cutscene.
Don't get me wrong, the narrative is great fun, and well executed. I'd just rather watch it than play it again, as the things that make it an actual "game" are also the least fun parts of it.
It's a good movie, but not a great game
by cheapLEY , Sunday, October 11, 2015, 12:23 (3335 days ago) @ someotherguy
That's kind of Naughty Dog's MO now, huh? All the Uncharted Games and The Last of Us. TLoU had more fun gameplay than Uncharted, though, I think. It worked well for that game, but I wouldn't consider playing it again.
It's a good movie, but not a great game
by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Monday, October 12, 2015, 17:21 (3333 days ago) @ cheapLEY
That's kind of Naughty Dog's MO now, huh? All the Uncharted Games and The Last of Us. TLoU had more fun gameplay than Uncharted, though, I think. It worked well for that game, but I wouldn't consider playing it again.
Interesting thing on that note... I'm in the middle of "watching" The Last of Us with my wife, since I thought she'd love the story but she has no interest in playing a game like that. We found a youtube video that features all the cutescenes as well as a good chunk of the story-relevant gameplay (a little over 6 hours total).
It's decent, but nowhere near as effective as actually playing the game. I was never a fan of the Uncharted series, but I think ND tapped into something special with the way they told story through gameplay in TLoU. The cutscenes are really just the tip of the iceberg. There is something about being those characters and being responsible for each other that gets lost when you just watch everything. I think it is the player's active participation in the story that allows it to connect with so many people the way it does. So in this specific example, I'd say TLoU is what it is specifically because it is a game. A movie version could be great too, but it would be a very different animal.
It's a good movie, but not a great game
by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Monday, October 12, 2015, 17:24 (3333 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY
It's decent, but nowhere near as effective as actually playing the game. I was never a fan of the Uncharted series, but I think ND tapped into something special with the way they told story through gameplay in TLoU. The cutscenes are really just the tip of the iceberg. There is something about being those characters and being responsible for each other that gets lost when you just watch everything. I think it is the player's active participation in the story that allows it to connect with so many people the way it does. So in this specific example, I'd say TLoU is what it is specifically because it is a game. A movie version could be great too, but it would be a very different animal.
There's also a difference between killing people just to survive, and killing people because you are looking for a huge treasure haul :-p
It's a good movie, but not a great game
by cheapLEY , Monday, October 12, 2015, 22:17 (3333 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY
It's decent, but nowhere near as effective as actually playing the game. I was never a fan of the Uncharted series, but I think ND tapped into something special with the way they told story through gameplay in TLoU. The cutscenes are really just the tip of the iceberg. There is something about being those characters and being responsible for each other that gets lost when you just watch everything. I think it is the player's active participation in the story that allows it to connect with so many people the way it does. So in this specific example, I'd say TLoU is what it is specifically because it is a game. A movie version could be great too, but it would be a very different animal.
Oh, I absolutely agree that TLoU works the way it does because it's a game. I previously stated it would be better as a movie, but I've come around to thinking the opposite. It COULD work as a movie, sure, but, as you said, it'd have to be different. Actually BEING those characters makes it work in a pretty powerful way.
I'm not sure that I would call it "fun" to play, though. That is definitely a game that I played to advance the story, and not because the moment to moment gameplay was fun.
It's a good movie, but not a great game
by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Tuesday, October 13, 2015, 01:17 (3333 days ago) @ cheapLEY
It's decent, but nowhere near as effective as actually playing the game. I was never a fan of the Uncharted series, but I think ND tapped into something special with the way they told story through gameplay in TLoU. The cutscenes are really just the tip of the iceberg. There is something about being those characters and being responsible for each other that gets lost when you just watch everything. I think it is the player's active participation in the story that allows it to connect with so many people the way it does. So in this specific example, I'd say TLoU is what it is specifically because it is a game. A movie version could be great too, but it would be a very different animal.
Oh, I absolutely agree that TLoU works the way it does because it's a game. I previously stated it would be better as a movie, but I've come around to thinking the opposite. It COULD work as a movie, sure, but, as you said, it'd have to be different. Actually BEING those characters makes it work in a pretty powerful way.I'm not sure that I would call it "fun" to play, though. That is definitely a game that I played to advance the story, and not because the moment to moment gameplay was fun.
I'm totally with you on that last part... at least I was the first couple times I played the game. I found the shooting mechanics to be sloppy and uninteresting, and really detracted from the overall gameplay experience.
Then I played it on the max difficulty setting. Holy crap, what a game changer!
On the toughest setting, TLoU's mediocre shooting mechanics get thrown out the window; you never have enough ammo to shoot anything, so you quickly learn to find other ways to deal with every encounter. The game suddenly reveals itself to be a masterfully well designed stealth game. Supplies are so scarce that it forces you to make meaningful, stressful decisions about how to use what you have. "I can make a shiv or a health pack, but not both" - that kind of thing. It plays in to the dramatic tension of the story, because it puts the player more firmly into a state of stress and fear. Not what I'd call "fun", but it makes the gameplay far more meaningful than it was before.
I feel TLoU is one of those games that had to water itself down in the hopes of wider appeal. Relatively few players are interested in a slow-paced, highly punishing stealth game. But I feel that is what TLoU really is at its core.
It's a good movie, but not a great game
by cheapLEY , Tuesday, October 13, 2015, 11:50 (3333 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY
On the toughest setting, TLoU's mediocre shooting mechanics get thrown out the window; you never have enough ammo to shoot anything, so you quickly learn to find other ways to deal with every encounter. The game suddenly reveals itself to be a masterfully well designed stealth game. Supplies are so scarce that it forces you to make meaningful, stressful decisions about how to use what you have. "I can make a shiv or a health pack, but not both" - that kind of thing. It plays in to the dramatic tension of the story, because it puts the player more firmly into a state of stress and fear. Not what I'd call "fun", but it makes the gameplay far more meaningful than it was before.
I feel TLoU is one of those games that had to water itself down in the hopes of wider appeal. Relatively few players are interested in a slow-paced, highly punishing stealth game. But I feel that is what TLoU really is at its core.
I do recall some of that. I think I only made it about 50% of the way through on its hardest setting, and life got in the way and I never made my way back to it. ):
Not zombies... *spoilers*
by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Monday, October 12, 2015, 04:48 (3334 days ago) @ Cody Miller
I snagged the uncharted collection today, and decided to play through. I started the first one a while ago on PS3, but was kind of off put by the low resolution and bad frame rate.
The PS4 collection fixes all that and it's a blast in 60fps.
But Zombies. WHY?! The game is set up to be realistic, but then out of nowhere you get zombies. Why is it always Zombies with video games? Halo had the flood, Destiny have thrall, etc. Why can't I just murder humans the whole time? Someone please tell me that the new tomb raider games don't have zombies. I'll never play them so spoilers are fine. I just want to know that someone can make a game without them!
If you pay attention, you see that the Descendants aren't zombies, they are inbred descendants of a group of people infected/mutated by a virus about four hundred years before the events of the game. Sentient, living creatures. Of course there is a bit of a supernatural element to the games, but calling them "zombies" is a bit much.
Also, the new Tomb Raider had an undead legion of soldiers that served an undead body-jumping queen... But they weren't quite "zombies" either. Tomb Raider has always embraced the supernatural, though, so it's not unusual or out of place. Also, I had a blast with Tomb Raider's gameplay, which I couldn't really say for Uncharted when I played some of it long ago.
Also, the new Tomb Raider had an undead legion of soldiers that served an undead body-jumping queen... But they weren't quite "zombies" either. Tomb Raider has always embraced the supernatural, though, so it's not unusual or out of place. Also, I had a blast with Tomb Raider's gameplay, which I couldn't really say for Uncharted when I played some of it long ago.
I haven't played it since it came out, and I only played through it once, but I don't remember that at all!
Wait, really? *SP*
by Leviathan , Hotel Zanzibar, Monday, October 12, 2015, 13:11 (3334 days ago) @ cheapLEY
Also, the new Tomb Raider had an undead legion of soldiers that served an undead body-jumping queen... But they weren't quite "zombies" either. Tomb Raider has always embraced the supernatural, though, so it's not unusual or out of place. Also, I had a blast with Tomb Raider's gameplay, which I couldn't really say for Uncharted when I played some of it long ago.
I haven't played it since it came out, and I only played through it once, but I don't remember that at all!
They resembled huge samurais. You don't start to encounter them until the later portion of the game, when you reach the temple in the mountain being ripped apart by wind.
(I was actually happy to meet them as I had been worried there wouldn't be supernatural elements in this new series. I always loved that element of the old games, games I still go back play from time to time. Racing 32 bit speedboats through Venice is still fun to me!)
They resembled huge samurais. You don't start to encounter them until the later portion of the game, when you reach the temple in the mountain being ripped apart by wind.
(I was actually happy to meet them as I had been worried there wouldn't be supernatural elements in this new series. I always loved that element of the old games, games I still go back play from time to time. Racing 32 bit speedboats through Venice is still fun to me!)
Okay, now I do sort of remember that. I guess that game just doesn't really stick out very clearly in my mind. I played that and The Last of Us like back to back, so it was probably overshadowed.
To be fair
by TheeChaos , Monday, October 12, 2015, 11:12 (3334 days ago) @ Cody Miller
The original game was released in 2007, when that whole "zombie" thing wasnt around at that time. I remember really enjoying this game, but I can see how playing it now would make you think it would fit in, but this game was out before most of that. So it makes sense that even the new game will have it in it, because of the original story.
Zombies
Why is it always Zombies with video games? Halo had the flood, Destiny have thrall, etc.
And Star Trek had the Borg. Zombies incorporate at least two mechanics that the human psychy doesn't like:
1. Zombies can't be reasoned with. There is no possible way to talk your way out of trouble.
2. Zombies are the slow but inevitable. This one more than the first makes them the stuff of nightmares.
And as far as gameplay goes, a slow moving target that is still a threat despite the fact that it moves slow is a nice diversifying mechanic.
Zombies
by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Monday, October 12, 2015, 16:48 (3333 days ago) @ Earendil
Why is it always Zombies with video games? Halo had the flood, Destiny have thrall, etc.
And Star Trek had the Borg. Zombies incorporate at least two mechanics that the human psychy doesn't like:
1. Zombies can't be reasoned with. There is no possible way to talk your way out of trouble.
2. Zombies are the slow but inevitable. This one more than the first makes them the stuff of nightmares.And as far as gameplay goes, a slow moving target that is still a threat despite the fact that it moves slow is a nice diversifying mechanic.
In a sci fi universe, you can accept that an alien species behaves like the borg. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, you buy what happens in the end because from the get go you know they are searching for something that has the power of God. But in Uncharted? Nothing indicates anything 'unrealistic' should be happening. You're searching for a gold statue and fending off pirates… Then oh. The statue turns people into zombies. Okay then.
If it were established earlier in the story that such things were within the realm of possibility (perhaps mentioning curses and shit), then it'd be easier to swallow.
You're searching for a gold statue and fending off pirates… Then oh. The statue turns people into zombies. Okay then.
If it were established earlier in the story that such things were within the realm of possibility (perhaps mentioning curses and shit), then it'd be easier to swallow.
I thought all gold statues were cursed?
Zombies
Why is it always Zombies with video games? Halo had the flood, Destiny have thrall, etc.
And Star Trek had the Borg. Zombies incorporate at least two mechanics that the human psyche doesn't like:
1. Zombies can't be reasoned with. There is no possible way to talk your way out of trouble.
2. Zombies are the slow but inevitable. This one more than the first makes them the stuff of nightmares.
If it were established earlier in the story that such things were within the realm of possibility (perhaps mentioning curses and shit), then it'd be easier to swallow.
I guess I misunderstood. I thought your problem was with the Zombie archetype in video games, where Uncharted was just the most recent example in a longer list of games (including Halo and Destiny) that used the idea.
Zombies
by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Monday, October 12, 2015, 18:40 (3333 days ago) @ Earendil
Why is it always Zombies with video games? Halo had the flood, Destiny have thrall, etc.
And Star Trek had the Borg. Zombies incorporate at least two mechanics that the human psyche doesn't like:
1. Zombies can't be reasoned with. There is no possible way to talk your way out of trouble.
2. Zombies are the slow but inevitable. This one more than the first makes them the stuff of nightmares.
If it were established earlier in the story that such things were within the realm of possibility (perhaps mentioning curses and shit), then it'd be easier to swallow.
I guess I misunderstood. I thought your problem was with the Zombie archetype in video games, where Uncharted was just the most recent example in a longer list of games (including Halo and Destiny) that used the idea.
I mean, yeah that's partially it. It seems like every game has to have zombies or something like that. But I can accept it more if it isn't out of left field.
I guess I misunderstood. I thought your problem was with the Zombie archetype in video games, where Uncharted was just the most recent example in a longer list of games (including Halo and Destiny) that used the idea.
I mean, yeah that's partially it. It seems like every game has to have zombies or something like that. But I can accept it more if it isn't out of left field.
Sounds like Uncharted has a problem with narration, not zombies themselves.
So then you would find the top guys completely unacceptable?
It seems like every game has to have zombies or something like that. But I can accept it more if it isn't out of left field.
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