PixlBit

Over the weekend I was able to get some recreational gaming in, which is something I haven’t had an awful lot of time to do lately.  I finished up Jurassic Park (review coming soon) and was able to put enough time into Saints Row to get my review going as well (you’re going to want to play this one).

More importantly, I was able to take a stab at my backlog with my complete playthrough of Uncharted 3.  I don’t think I have to tell you how good a game has to be to get me to sit through the entirety of it in just two sittings, especially when I’m playing it just for kicks.

One of things that reviewers and gamers have brought to light is just how linear Uncharted 3 or rather how controlled the elements are surrounding the player.  Walking through the desert, escaping a surge of flooding waters and evading bad guys on the rooftops are sequences in which the player has control over Nate’s direction but little else.  This is an example of the “participatory cut scene” that doesn’t rely on the dreaded quick-time-event.

Still, the question must and has been asked: should developers take control away from the player in order to tell their story or better display a set-piece or event? 

To me, the answer is neither here nor there.  You can’t definitively answer the question unless you have first drawn a hard line in the sand as to what makes a game a game in the first place – an impossible task if I ever saw one.  The definition of a video game is far too malleable.  Instead of coming up with a right answer we must simply concede that it really just comes down to personal choice.

I personally don’t mind when Uncharted takes control of the action for a few moments to show me a truly engaging aspect of the game.  It doesn’t bother me because they do this so fluidly.  You move from complete control to pseudo control and back again without missing a beat.  Your mind will tell you that you’re in complete control the entire time.  It isn’t until after the fact do you realize that the game took the reins for a bit.  It all boils down to whether the game engages the player or not and Uncharted 3 is as engaging as they come.  The only real complaint I have about the game is that the plot is practically paint by numbers with the second game.  I’m hoping that the inevitable 4^th game in the series tries something a little different, perhaps in America.