NIDZUMI+

I’ve just spent the last five minutes mulling over some criticisms by Noah Wardrip-Fruin, targeting the lack of logic in Uncharted 2’s opening scenes. Granted some moments in Uncharted 2 are a little bit nonsensical, he does have a point. Games always replace logicality with combat because that’s what the audiences came for and you have to deliver on that. Who cares if this mission in GTA doesn’t make any sense or move the plot along in anyway, I like stealing tanks.

It does frustrate me when games feel the need to deliver on combat, violence, shock appeal or the cocktail of all three. Yeah, games should be engaging but do they always have to in this generically tried out way. Let’s take The Ballad of Gay Tony, the first ten minutes all I heard was the expansion’s lead protagonist spout on about how he doesn’t want to get involved with the wrong side of the law. Yet less than twenty minutes in, you have to shoot your way out of a tricky situation against two dozen of Liberty City’s finest.

It’s nonsensical. The first ten minutes, you’ve grabbed me, I’m intrigued to see where you are going to take this. Then only to see it pan out the way everyone expected. It’s irritating, when the medium is capable of so much more.

Less than twenty minutes in, you shoot two dozen of Liberty City’s finest

That’s not to say I hate combat, but it doesn’t have to include some every other step of the way. Uncharted 2 was actually a good example of this because personally I enjoyed the platforming more. The ease in which you could guide Nathan around the vast areas was immensely satisfying but they felt the need to deliver on their promise of combat by parking a truck load of enemies to mow down.

To be honest I think that’s the bigger issue here, include combat if you will but make it tie into the story more. There are tons of mindless shooters and brawlers but at the end of the day you don’t remember Bioshock for it’s combat, you remember it for story.

That’s not to say that Uncharted 2 had a bad story because it did have a good narrative and was told incredibly well but, and getting back to my original point, it still felt like it was lost in gaming’s obligation to required combat. Something that needs to change.