One of the surprises about Uncharted 2 was that the multiplayer was actually good. The combination of small maps as well as being able to scale the maps allowed for a fast-paced multiplayer game that was addictive.  Uncharted 3’s beta proves that it can be a competent successor, but has it lost its identity in the process?

The Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta improves upon the elements found in Uncharted 2. Shooting is tighter with a better sense of recoil, the graphics are better with improved lighting and animations and the music is just as dramatic as ever. For the most part, players of Uncharted  will have no problems adjusting to this.

One of the key themes to the update is Naughty Dog’s attempt to make the game more ‘cinematic’. Maps now start and end with short cutscenes, putting into context your battles and the consequences of your battle. Maps like Airstrip continue this starting the map on a runway as the plane is chased by a horde of trucks. The concept is interesting by making the game more ‘cinematic’, but at the moment is hampered due to poor spawn placements that can result in one team being spawn camped.

The melee system has been given a new lick of paint with an animation overhaul. Now, when a player is close to death a unique animation, such as a sliding kill, will play to make it look flashier. The result is that melee battles now look better, but in practise they act the same as they did in Uncharted 2. However, due to the nature of peer-to-peer and being a beta, it is easy to be hit despite not being close to the player, or dying moments after killing the other player.

Customization has been increased, allowing players to decorate their characters with new clothes and logos. It allows for a more personalised experience. Weapon customizations also make an appearance, such as allowing you customize your weapon with larger weapon clips. As you level up new mods become available, but this may run the risk of giving players unfair advantages.

There are two maps available in the beta called Airstrip and Chateau.  Both of these maps are larger than the average map found in Uncharted 2, but whether or not this is consistent with the other maps is unknown. This affects the overall pacing of the game, making it slower-paced than Uncharted 2 as you’re likely to spend longer running around looking for enemies.

It is noticeable that this game has been influenced by the Call of Duty multiplayer franchise. Boosters have returned from Uncharted 2 and still give unfair competitive advantages to players who have higher ranks than others. Boosters include Cloacked, which makes you harder to hear and see, and Back in the Saddle, which decreases your respawn time. These kinds of perks don’t make the multiplayer balanced, and instead rewards players over how much time they have invested in the game. Kickbacks further imbalance the game, by rewarding players who do well. Although this may seem reasonable, in reality it gives an unfair advantage to the winning team when they don’t need it. Some kickbacks include getting a RPG or even no longer having to reload. It’s unfair, and there is no need to for Uncharted to try and be like Call of Duty.

Free –for – all also makes an appearance, which is most pointless because Uncharted’s multiplayer was always team orientated.  This addition seems to be one that caters to COD players, and mostly involves getting suddenly by three players and getting spawned upon.

Naughty Dog has also implemented ‘power plays’, in which a team that is losing by over 5 points will get a special perk that gives them a competitive edge. These perks can include being able to see your enemies position, double damage and extra points. In most games the losing team still loses, but it does make the experience generally more enjoyable for them.

Uncharted 3’s multiplayer comes into its own in its hardcore mode, which eliminates powerplay, kickbacks and boosters. The benefit of this mode that no team has a competitive edge, and the only factor that dictates your success is how well you work together in your team. This mode really highlights the design of the game, being able to flank enemies by scaling up the wall and watching the power weapons spawns. It is in this mode where Uncharted’s multiplayer plays like Uncharted, and not some third-person shooter that wants to be Call of Duty.

Overall, the beta shows good signs of what to come when it comes to Uncharted 3. In most cases, the game improves upon its predecessors and delivers a customized and cinematic experience. However, Naughty Dog has to realise that Uncharted is not Call of Duty, and they should avoid the unfair advantages that COD’s multiplayer gives.

http://holdselect.com/2011/06/30/impressions-uncharted-3s-multiplayer-should-concentrate-on-being-uncharted-not-call-of-duty/

i have to agree with most of this having spent time with the beta myself i wouldnt of mind if UC3 didnt go all out with the changes to its MP, just adding the cinimatic maps, custimizations, and new sprint and aiming feel would of been enough for me

So, I guess any game that borrows good elements from a game is trying to be that game.

I like most of the changes in the U3 beta, I absolutely hate the powerplays(well mostly the double damage/other team can see you)

I actually like the boosters Cloaked(so campers won't notice you as much) and back in the saddle(works well for 2vs2vs2...but i understand why it's unfair)

I disagree with the maps making the matches slow-paced, every match(team deathmatch/hardcore/free-for-all/) I have played have been an absolute fire-fight.

I thought a good portion of the Uncharted community wanted a free-for-all and its well implemented

kickbacks work well and some require a good amount of medals to activate, but the lower ones can be abused(speacially those treasure chest "3 medal pick-ups)

I think ND solved most of ones dislike as the could just play hardcore mode

the problem is that it borrowed those elements even though UC2s MPs was fine and offered a different game play experience then most online games at that time and even still today

had ND implemented these features in UC2 from the get go there wouldnt be that much of a issue but now that players are used to UC2 and didnt have that many complaints with it, the changes now feel foreign to action adventure gamers and most can assume that ND just wants what COD has and thats enormous sales

And Kickbacks are nothing like Killstreaks. Kickbacks actually promote anti-camping and teamwork. You get kickbacks from medals and you get medals from:

Assisting a team-mate
Reviving a team-mate
Defending a team-mate
Picking up treasure
getting sneak kills
and many more...

Sure you get medals from killstreaks too, but medals mostly promote anti-camping and teamwork which is the complete opposite of Call of Duty.

Even though UC2s multiplayer was fine to you! because it wasn't find to me. The game felt empty and basic. Thats why I never cared for UC2s multiplayer. I hate the way people say every game is trying to be COD now. I think people should STFU. I especially hate all the KZ2 players who complained about KZ3s changes which resulted in GGs keeping a weighty feel to the character movements and in return loads of people avoided KZ3 and now that game is full of matches with only 4 and 5 people. Just let the developers do what they do best is what I say. Gamers have become real bitches lately.

its great i love almost everything.
and no the kickbacks are nothing like killstreaks. first off you cant camp in a corner call in a helicopter and get 5-10 kills. you have to use team work, and killstreaks alone wont get you the kick back, not o mention that you only get to chose one of the kickbacks for each game.

a complaint i have is that powerplays happen too often, i dont mind them other than they happen too much. make them less frequent.

also reduce the recoil of the AK.
also some of the movement is cumbersome, so refine it. and after all this is a beta, and they have 4 months to fix it.

Let's compare Uncharted 3 and COD

In Uncharted 3, characters are slow. In COD, they are super speed almost like their on speed.
In Uncharted 3, characters have high damage. In COD, it takes 3 bullets (from ANY GUN) to kill someone
In Uncharted 3, guns have high recooil. In COD, guns have NO RECOIL
In Uncharted 3, teamwork is promoted. In COD, rambo style is the way to go.
In Uncharted 3, you get rewared for moving aroung the map. In COD you get rewarded for camping.
In Uncharted 3, the losing team gets an incentive. In COD, the losing team gets mauled by attacked dogs.

Kickbacks actually want you to move around the maps, unlike Killstreaks. You can win Kickbacks by:

- reviving team-mates (promotes teamwork)
- defending team-mates (promotes teamwork)
- avenging team-mates (promotes teamwork)
- assisting team-mates (promotes teamates)
- Picking up treasures(promotes anti-camping)
- Getting melee kills (promotes anti-camping)
- Getting sneak kills (promotes anti-camping)
- Hi fiving over a dead body (promotes teamwork AND anti-camping)

Not really seeing many similarities

they shouldn't copy the horrible graphics of cod either

I don't like that it does not feel like Uncharted 2, but it is still fun. I just wish they kept the whole "rush to the power weapons" way of playing. That made the game feel unique imo.