Why is Uncharted 3 so strongly disliked?

I dont really understand the passionate hate for this one. I mean its not as good as Uncharted 2 or 4 but i would argue it was superior to 1 and was still a fairly decent game with some memorable moments. Why does it seem like most people here dislike the game so much?

I don't dislike it, I just got bored and stopped playing it. I thought the first was the best. Haven't played 4 yet though.

Cause Uncharted 2 set the bar too high not even Naughty Dog could surpass it back then, now with The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, ND has well and truly proved they are the best developers for consoles

^^^^^^this

I didn't mind 3, actually liked it a lot. As good as 2, nope, but it was still a good game. The aiming was off a little, but otherwise there was nothing wrong with it.

@Fairmonkey: Already mentioned this in a previous thread.

(The grapple system)

When you see a 6.5 guy you know you're going to be forced into a WWE generic quick-time event, that's the same, time after time, after time, after time. Sometimes they even teleport next to you so it happens during a intense gun fight.

Reviewers praised this feature for some reason, while they'd also review WWE games and state the grappling has to stop being QTE in locked animations. So when Drake does the exact same thing that breaks the combats pace, that's somehow better? . .

Also wasn't a fan of the pacing in U3. To much walking simulator just when I was enjoying the gunplay.

Add to that, the pay-to-win multiplayer and you have me scoring the game a 6/10.

It's not a 'bad' game, but I wouldn't want to play it; ever again_

Sky high expectations due to the quality of its predecessor, not trying anything new, main team probably was working with the last of us, story and pacing not as good as UC2, lack of "wow" factor.

Still, its a game of high quality and I had a great time playing it.

I rank them as 2, 4, 3, 1, GA. As soon as coop is released for 4, it will be the best in the series.

As for U3, it's a great game with a great story. It was mentioned above that U2 set a really high bar and as U3 didn't surpass it, I would say the hate came from people that probably never played it; a.k.a fanboys. Anyone that played it more than likely didn't hate it unless they went into the game expecting to hate it based on fanboy trash talk.

The one thing that they could have done different with U3 is try not to copy U2. Many of the plot sequences were similar in some fashion.

Uncharted 3 is less interactive and more cinematic than Uncharted 2. This is the game where Naughty Dog started to move away from play and interactivity and rely more on cinematic gameplay. There are moments in the game that can be barely considered "playing". I did not like this game because they took control away from the player too often and then there were moments in which the player is given the honor of pushing the analog forward. The funny thing is that Uncharted 4 continues along this part and is heavily scripted and has less gameplay than any of the previous games and it has received glorious reviews. This simply indicates that people don't want to play games they want to watch games pretending to be movies.

3 was fine, but for me the shooting felt broken compared to the earlier ones (just finished it yesterday, so this isn't "before a patch"). I can't put my finger on why, exactly. I also couldn't stand a couple of bullet sponge and fist sponge moments. That battle on the deck of the ship was about as egregious a bullet sponge moment as I can conceive of. I wouldn't rate it "bad" compared to the others, but thus far it's 2>1=3 for me, with 1 and 3 both winning and losing in a few places against each other.

I should say, I'm fairly critical of a number of aspects of the series - none of them have been "OMG 10/10" games for me. But I think 3 did a lot of things well compared to its predecessors despite some annoyances above. So "I don't get the hate" either.

@Telekill: Not to discredit your post, but it seems you read what you wish to read.

Don't be that guy who's blindly loyal to a gaming franchise because a player-base can find flaws.

If you liked Uncharted 3? That's great, however you can't just shout "fanboi" and expect people to take you seriously, when justified criticisms are being made on a product you enjoy.

Uncharted 3 is my 3rd favorite game of all time.

The first time I played it I was astonished by the set pieces.

The boat level, plane level, burning building, and horse chase.

I have yet to see these gameplay segments surpassed by any developer. IMO :) It is just pure fun.

2 was just so good that it made 3 look a little bland in comparison I think.

Beats me.

I liked 3 better than 2 better than 1. Not by much for each case. All three games were okay.

I think because controls were inferior and set pieces felt forced.

@RSM-HQ: If you want to point out flaws, fine. Anyone can point out flaws in any game. Nothing is perfect as people are making them and people aren't anywhere near perfect. That said, much of the hate was from fan boys who wanted to see Uncharted not live up to the hype. When it couldn't beat Uncharted 2 fan boys lined up to call it a failure.

It's different to have legitimate flaws in a game versus bitching about it just to bitch.

Story was horrible. In a ridiculous way.

Idk, but I couldn't be bothered playing any these games after being so bored to death playing the first one.

I just got done playing through the collection in order, which is at least my third time through each. In my opinion, 3 isn't nearly as bad as some people say, but I still think it's inferior to 2. The story quickly gets bogged down in a web of characters that is hard to follow, and ultimately never becomes interesting despite how hard they try to tie Nate's backstory and his relationship with Sully into it. It also doesn't feel as well paced as 2 does. It stuffs so much into the middle, with Yemen, the ship yard, the cruise liner, the airport, the plane, and the desert sequence, and while there are some breathtaking set pieces in there, the minute to minute gameplay drags and again, the story isn't compelling enough to push you forward. In addition, the brutes are a garbage addition that I'm glad they did away with in 4. That being said, there are some great moments in the game and I don't think the mechanics themselves are significantly worse than 2 (enemies are a bit more bullet spongy, but not ridiculously). I just kind of always end up bored when I play it. Even so, I still think it's a good game, just not on the level of 2.

I don't remember the game very well but I remember my impressions of it. I remember the story being rubbish, even for a type of game where you don't expect much from a game in the first place. It only existed to connect the setpieces the designers wanted to have in the game.

I also remember the gameplay being frustrating. Action sequences where you would die way to easily and you had to replay again and again. A certain shootout in a ship comes to mind where enemies keep pooring in from all directions. I have played games where such a situation can be bearable but it doesn't work, at least for me, in uncharted. Appart from trying to play as a pure shooter on a controller, gone are the stealth, the careful approach, the complex environment.

It's been a long time since I played it so I may be wrong on some things. However I didn't go in with prejudice. I wanted to like the game. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I liked both 1 and 2 a lot. I remember being really frustrated and feeling relieved when it finally ended.

@Telekill: I'm not reading many people "bitch" here, it's a discussion relevant to a thread subject. You don't have to take part. However, you are free to see it your way, it's a franchise you enjoy so reading this side of things is probably upsetting.

Uncharted 3 isn't perfect, you're right, in fact it's far from great in some peoples view. Should you see it that way? No, enjoy your perspective on the game. That's what matters most.

Moving on. Though I like to think I took U3 as its own game; does it really have anything to do with coming after Uncharted 2? Very possibly, however some of the things I'm reading here, plus my own experiences suggest U3 made some gameplay and design choices that didn't work out for many. The game isn't bad, not at all, I personally just had better PS3 games to play at the time.

A new sequel will always be compared to its legacy. Resident Evil 5 & 6 are disliked for the most part, living in Resi4s shadow. And some even trash 4 because it's not at all like the previous entries. And I've read valid points to this in many ways. Despite being a big fan of most Resident Evil games.

Though on that note, seems to me more people prefer to compare Uncharted entries to Tomb Raider reboot and its 2015 sequel. Not U2.

I have to agree with something RSM said in their first reply, the forced walking simulator killed the game for me. I was also not a fan of the whole 'run away from random object(s)' that was thrown in every 3rd level. It felt like 40% action & platforming, 30% walking sim, and 30% Indiana Jones running away from a giant rock. I also felt the gun play was sloppy, very sloppy.

So far 4 is great, only 7 chapters in or so, but it's coming close to Uncharted 2 in greatness. I'd rank them 2, 4(so far), 1, with 3 lagging several laps behind.

I think a lot of people dislike it is because it came after Uncharted 2 and thats a tough act to follow... I thought it was the best one until Uncharted 4. It still has the best set pieces of the entire series in it.

@SOedipus:

This. I had the same problem with 2 as well. The game play is very copy/paste from 1 Uncharted to the next. I was very into the story of those games, but the game play was very average and I play too many games to be able to tolerate average these days :(.

I quite liked the third installment, but it was disappointing. After finishing the first two games, I expected a lot from the third. The first few minutes got my attention, but not long after I kinda got bored with the game. I ended up finishing the game and yes I did enjoy it, but it could of been better in so many ways. It's without a doubt the hardest game out of the three. Hard as in cheap. Enemies come in abundance and will beeline towards you. Also, certain set pieces were a letdown, especially compared to Among Thieves, which had the best set pieces out of the three IMO.

My least favourite thing with the game was the stealth. It wasn't too good in the first and second, but here it's total crap. There's one part during the middle eastern level that requires you to find the star in the night sky. After doing so, you need to sneak your way to the other side of the castle. I did this without raising an alarm, but the door to the other side wouldn't open. I thought my copy of the game was broken, but apparently not. There was another enemy that I missed, and he killed me. After I respawned, the place was on full alert and I had to kill every damn person just to open the damn door! How stupid is that? Had I killed the guy who managed to kill me, none of that would of happened. The game expects you to kill everyone before moving to the objective, which is utter rubbish if you ask me.

Still, despite the annoying sections, it's still worth playing. It doesn't really deserve all the praise that it received, but it's definitely not awful.

Uncharted 2 was the first one I played. Then I tried to get into the first but couldn't. 3 was okay but it came after such a great game in uncharted 2, it was a by of a letdown. I thought the fourth was up there with the second.

@pug987: I agree with you on pretty much everything there. The story was too basic, and felt unfinished. Plus the game had issues with the characters. Drake himself was alright, but Sully wasn't as funny, Elena was herself which is horrible, Chloe didn't feel all that special like she did in Among Thieves, Marlowe was interesting but *SPOILER ALERT* dies in a stupid way, Cutter was brilliant but after a while he goes away and you never find out if he survives his ordeal or buys the farm, and Talbot was weak and serves as the very anti climactic final encounter.

Game play was similar to the others, and was just as fun, but it was very frustrating in many places. Shooting mercenaries is noticeably harder, like they all wear bulletproof vests with on and off switches. Seriously, you could pummel a guy for a solid minute and he'll still be on his feet. Don't get me started on the damage output of the enemies though, it was through the roof in Drake's Deception. I died from a handful of bullets from some of the worst weapons in the game far too many times that it became absurd. Another annoying thing is the cryptic level design in the later stages. That shipyard that you had to navigate through was action packed, varied and entertaining, but then after you've slain every enemy in sight, there's no clear indication on where to go next. Same thing with that boat section which, just like the rest of the game, was littered with trial and error.

Like I said at the start, the plot was too basic. Sure, it shined in a few areas but it wasn't enough overall. It's boring to be honest. It all went downhill after the opening cinematic which still stands as my favourite cut scene in the franchise. Once that's over, you're left with plain and bog standard plot devices that didn't hold my attention. The amount of times they recycled the series old 'find something important then have a group of enemies show up' was ridiculous. Yet despite all the problems, I still thought it was decent enough. It has the best melee mechanics out of the three, the best backdrops, the best weapons, the best graphics and definitely the best platforming.

that guy needs a new hobby...like maybe quaaludes. Life is clearly too much for him that he's so upset over something so minor.

I think it is the best out of the first 3.

Part of a wider issue with sequels. Familiarity breeds contempt. Uncharted 2 had spectacular set pieces, dry wit and gorgeous tech behind it. Uncharted 3 was no different, too similar I believe. I think this exposed some of the underlying problems with the Uncharted games, they don't allow for a lot of expression within its mechanics, too restrictive in what it gives/doesn't give to the player. I often found myself in conflict with the game because of this. I'd have a "well, what if I do this" kinda moment, and Drake would end up dying, restarting the section.

It could be disliked because of the violence in the game.

The violence? I don't think Uncharted 3 was any more violent than the other games in the series.

Uncharted 2 was overall better, but Uncharted 3 still gets a nod for finally developing Nathan into more than just a wisecracking treasure hunter. 3 is when Nathan started to become fleshed out (Sully too), and 4 continues this with the introduction of Sam. 3 and 4 have the strongest character development.

While I think 2 was more impressive for its time-and probably the better game, I liked 3 better than 2. But neither 2 or 3 are in the same league as 4, IMO.

i got bored about 4 hours in .