Also, BTW, I actually think these recent TR games do environmental puzzle-solving and platforming BETTER than Uncharted, because those moments in all the Uncharted games are pretty short and separated from the rest of the game. And like you said, the damn gunplay. I would argue that Uncharted is a cover-based shooter FIRST, environmental puzzle/platformer second.
The reason I would give the Uncharted series the nod on the environmental platforming is that Naughty Dog are masters at ensuring that the player always knows what's expected of them and what they need to do next. And they do this through largely subtle environmental clues like giving interactive objects an attractive color; maybe occasionally giving an audio clue from an NPC; angling the camera in a particular manner to show off an interactive object; or shining a noticeable light on the next link in the puzzle chain. It's a lot harder to get lost in an Uncharted game than I've found it is in Tomb Raider Legend and Underworld.
By contrast, those games just throw the player into areas that often required substantial exploration (the two big swimming puzzles come to mind), without the aid of environmental clues and
with the hinderance of a particularly obstinate camera. There is a clue system in the game, but you have to pull up a menu to get it and I often found the clues either blatantly too clear or frustratingly vague. It's just very clunky to me. But I will give Tomb Raider this, though: it is really cool to jump off a ledge and engage that grappling hook to cross a chasm or rappel up/down a wall.
I just finished another PSN title, and it's...well...
Zack Zero - Do not buy this game. I can't be any more clear on this point. This game is lazy, generic, bug-filled; and it sports some of the worst voice-acted cutscenes with the worst
storytelling I've ever seen in a game. The studio reportedly set out to make a game reminiscent of the golden age of SNES 2D platformers, and they succeeded in replicating the incredibly lame and generic copycat platformers that were common back then. I realize this is the studio's first game, but there's no excuse for the sheer lack of effort obviously on display here.
You want examples of how the game is lazy?
- The game crashes when you trigger too many particle effects on-screen (like I frequently did using my Ice power to freeze and shatter enemies).
- There are a whopping 3 (admittedly decent) songs on the soundtrack.
- There's a trophy for beating the game on "any difficulty", but there's
only one difficulty level.
- Every time you die by falling into a bottomless pit it plays the
same unskippable 3-5 second animation with only slightly different backgrounds.
- When a boss kills you, the game usually respawns the player right in the middle of the same attack
already dealing them new damage.
- I killed the (really cheap) final boss, and after the cutscene I spawned trapped
underneath the boss' body, forcing me to restart the
entire fight.
-
The cutscenes. God God, those are phoned-in and terrible. Seriously, watch that link, and see for yourself.
The music is kind of decent; the visuals are not unappealing; and there's some decent opportunity for exploration/discovery of secrets, but this game is so
lazy and uninspired that I can't recommend that
anyone play it. The fact that a downloadable game this bland can not only
exist in this age of downloadable excellence but also have a $13 price tag is just unbelievable. That it doesn't even have a real
ending, but just a setup for
another Zack Zero game is just icing on the cake.
I haven't seen a game this half-assed in years. Do not buy this game and reward developer Crocodile's utter laziness.