Uncharted shown too early, says Naughty Dog

by Andrew Yoon { Nov 20th 2007 at 3:30PM }

Many wanted to burn an effigy of PS3 Fanboy writer Andrew (that's me) for my negative impressions of Uncharted at E3 earlier this year. "It's too bad that uncomfortable controls, glitches, and a finicky camera are getting in the way of a potentially excellent game."

Of course, things turned around quite significantly. The game received a 9.5 from both Nick and Andrew in their joint PS3 Fanboy review -- a remarkable improvement from the earlier builds, as noted on the fancast. So, what does developer Naughty Dog have to say about such a drastic turnaround? Speaking to 1UP, Evan Wells noted that "Something else that I would say might change is something you guys pointed out in your 1UP Yours show -- the fact that we showed the game so early. In fact, we knew at the time that it wasn't, you know, solid -- in particular the A.I. and the gunplay."

The early criticisms of the game were pretty unanimous across the critical mass, and that has imprinted a negative image on many gamers. Granted, the team used the feedback and really focused their development. "And we put it out there hoping we'd get the benefit of the doubt that we still had seven months of production left and then of course, we got the feedback...and it was good feedback, and in some ways it was a great focus test for where we were headed." But, had Naughty Dog refrained from showing the game so early, could Uncharted have made an even bigger splash on the gaming community?

Tags: naughty-dog, uncharted

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

secret @ Nov 20th 2007 3:37PM

How often does the screen tear occur? Does it happen once every 2 minutes? Once every 30 minutes?

Thanks...

SoulScreme @ Nov 20th 2007 3:47PM

The game is friggin amazing. I don't care that it used to suck, the end product rules.

Akamaru @ Nov 20th 2007 3:48PM

I was really worried about the tearing too but after having finished the game, you hardly notice it when it's there. It happens whenever you have water and heavy lighting effects at the same on a open landscape and you pan the camera around. Other than that, it rarely happens. Of course in close quarters (the tombs, the submarine) or if there isn't a lot of sunlight, it is eliminated all together.

Akamaru @ Nov 20th 2007 3:48PM

ClarkyCat @ Nov 20th 2007 3:54PM

Could've been bigger, definitely. After the E3 showing I completely lost interest in this title, and it was only after playing the demo (and I debated whether I should even bother downloading that!) that I realised what a spectacular game it would be. I fear there's people out there who still have it written off because they haven't played it. Kudos to Naughty Dog, just a shame about first impressions I guess.

drdre74 @ Nov 20th 2007 4:57PM

I knew I wanted this game the first time I saw it. Never had a second thought. Matter of fact I bought my PS3 based off this game and MGS4 and Heavenly Sword.

Dave Comeau @ Nov 20th 2007 4:15PM

I don't really see how such negative earlier impressions could permanently have scarred this release. I mean, anyone who would be in the know from the early reports certainly would be up to date on the buckets of praise this game has been getting now (plus the demo).

I mean com'on...

secret @ Nov 20th 2007 4:31PM

Thanks Akamaru...

kentuckyfried @ Nov 20th 2007 5:03PM

Please do your civic duty and b*tch this SF Chronicle guy out. He reviewed Mass Effect, he review Mario Galaxy, but nowhere did he review Uncharted, nor did he even mention it in the list of this week's releases:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/comments/view?f=/c/a/2007/11/19/DDH7TE6A4.DTL&o=1

KiraXD @ Nov 20th 2007 4:43PM

i cant say it enough... this game is godly. there is VERY mild vsync problems, but theyre almost unnoticable, it never takes away from the beauty of the game.

secret @ Nov 20th 2007 4:48PM

Maybe V-sync issues would be better than a bad game. I might try Uncharted out because I know it's my kind of game, but I know that the v-sync issues would bother me because people have pointed it out. If no one has mentioned about this issue at all, I'd just brush it off while playing it, the same way I probably do when I play Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Resistance. In fact, I don't even notice v-sync at all in Ninja Gaiden Sigma, but it's probably there.

secret @ Nov 20th 2007 4:50PM

but now that it's the talk of the town, I'm definitely going to be looking for v-syncs...

Mr Khan @ Nov 20th 2007 5:14PM

People should know better than to equate what they see at the Media Events or Trade shows with the finish product

NiGHTS 2 got panned at E3, but by TGS, a lot of the older issues seemed to have been ironed out

I'm glad this game turned out the way it did, Tomb Raider for the next generation and in a realistic way

mccomber @ Nov 20th 2007 5:19PM

Uncharted is one of the few games to live up to the expectations this generation.

comtar @ Nov 20th 2007 5:31PM

In reguards to screen tearing in Uncharted, and in Assassin's Creed, seems like a simple V-sync patch could help. It's a feature games on console might need to concider in the future because of High-Def gaming.

As far as this news article is concerned. I have a gut feeling Uncharted might be the best game no one played this year. This article kinda supports that, the thing is people should really read the current reviews, seems like it's getting good marks across the board. I remember when I saw Shadow of the Colossus at E3 in 2005. The game ran maybe at 10 frames a second and looked really squished. Pretty much every review of Shadow of the Colossus started with, "they fixed all the issues from the early builds." Perhaps some Uncharted reviews should have started this way.

aaron_k7 @ Nov 20th 2007 5:55PM

That's a tough position to be in as a game developer, release early to create a buzz or just launch an awesome game that no one sees coming? I hope Uncharted does really well, it's one of two 3rd party exclusives this year (Time Crisis is the other one...meh). I could see this as the best game no one played, though, and that sucks. I did my part, though. Another thing against it is the sheer amount of games coming out this month: Crysis, COD4, Assassin's Creed, UT3 for PC, Guitar Hero III, Rock Band, Gears of War for PC, Super Mario Galaxy...all trying to get gamer's hard earned dollars, and all within the same month! I know that I personally am in a financial bind!!!