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Trademark Banter
0:01:45 Australia Dominates Iraq, is now on par with Iran
0:04:53 Phil Has a Kindle/ Book Suggestion
0:06:25 Tom's Deadly Premonition Review is up, we talk about his review
Ongoing Impressions
0:08:40 Phil comments on one week with last of Us
0:14:15 Splinter Cell Discussion (on stealth)
News
0:15:15 Aussie Prices for the Next Gen & NZ Wii U for $200!
0:19:45 Xbox ONE-80. Microsoft's existential crisis reaches boiling point
0:23:20 So will we get one?
0:24:10 One Time Check-in Theory
0:25:10 What's the difference Between XBOX3 and PS4?
0:31:50 Phil Fish, Racism, Nintendo etcetera
0:34:10 Sony. It was good while it lasted (Patch Bricking)
0:38:00 Our E3 Coverage Last Week. We touch on Mirror's Edge, Titanfall and other omissions.
0:41:25 NPD
0:45:30 Which would we buy in the top ten?
0:48:05 Oculus Rift Talk and Phil's Dating Advice
Aural Review
0:54:20 Uncharted 2 (some spoilers, but c'mon) Doom 2, Last of Us, Donkey Kong and many other games discussed as we go through some game design basics. Also, Tom's Shocking score reveal for Uncharted 2.
Transcript
00:00:20.685 --> 00:00:24.345
Tom: Hello, and welcome to episode 11 of The Game Under Podcast.
00:00:24.585 --> 00:00:27.905
Tom: I am Tom Towers, and I'm joined by Phil Fogg.
00:00:28.285 --> 00:00:29.585
Phil: Hello, I'm Phil Fogg.
00:00:30.025 --> 00:00:38.405
Tom: And today, we're gonna be doing an oral review of Uncharted, and we're gonna talk about the big, mind-blowing Xbox One news.
00:00:38.425 --> 00:00:45.245
Tom: Yes, even more mind-blowing than the last lot of mind-blowing Xbox One news.
00:00:45.265 --> 00:00:54.145
Tom: But before all of that, we're gonna go into everyone's favorite segment, and probably the only reason anyone listens to the show, and that is our trademark banter.
00:00:54.925 --> 00:00:59.165
Phil: Well, but before we go into our trademark banter, I have to interrupt it with my trademark banter.
00:00:59.705 --> 00:01:00.065
Tom: Sure.
00:01:00.185 --> 00:01:05.725
Tom: Well, I mean, part of the banter is each of us vying for the top trademark banter spot.
00:01:06.245 --> 00:01:09.645
Phil: Yeah, but we're also trying to interrupt each other as much as possible.
00:01:09.765 --> 00:01:11.745
Tom: Well, that's the banter aspect of it.
00:01:11.905 --> 00:01:16.145
Phil: Just before everyone stops listening, you said you were gonna give an oral review of Uncharted.
00:01:16.165 --> 00:01:17.525
Phil: You did that last week, mate.
00:01:17.745 --> 00:01:19.665
Tom: So Uncharted 2, Uncharted 2.
00:01:19.705 --> 00:01:21.105
Phil: Oh, as well?
00:01:21.725 --> 00:01:23.505
Tom: Yes, no, just Uncharted 2.
00:01:24.245 --> 00:01:26.245
Phil: Oh, only Uncharted 2.
00:01:26.685 --> 00:01:31.785
Tom: Yeah, I could recount my Uncharted 1 review if you prefer as well.
00:01:32.405 --> 00:01:34.565
Phil: No, you can just go on the internet and download that.
00:01:34.805 --> 00:01:35.205
Tom: Okay.
00:01:35.745 --> 00:01:37.705
Phil: It was pretty damn good as far as I'm concerned.
00:01:38.305 --> 00:01:44.345
Tom: Yeah, and I mean, we don't really need any more Uncharted reviews given that we also have your review up on the side.
00:01:44.785 --> 00:01:45.925
Phil: The definitive review.
00:01:46.925 --> 00:01:50.765
Phil: You can read it in less time than it takes to introduce a podcast.
00:01:51.025 --> 00:01:51.305
Tom: Yeah.
00:01:52.125 --> 00:01:52.545
Phil: All right.
00:01:52.565 --> 00:01:55.505
Phil: So let's see how you go with this trademark banter.
00:01:55.945 --> 00:01:56.505
Phil: Mr.
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Phil: Encroaching on My Territory, go ahead, tell your interesting story.
00:01:59.945 --> 00:02:11.205
Tom: I've certainly got the most important and interesting news or topic of discussion is likely to grace trademark banter for at least another four years.
00:02:11.225 --> 00:02:19.965
Tom: And that is that Australia has managed to qualify for its third World Cup in a row and its fourth overall.
00:02:21.265 --> 00:02:22.365
Phil: That sounds very impressive.
00:02:22.385 --> 00:02:25.705
Phil: Who else qualified on the same day?
00:02:26.525 --> 00:02:28.045
Tom: No one qualified on the same day.
00:02:28.065 --> 00:02:30.445
Tom: Well, actually, yeah, no one qualified on the same day.
00:02:30.465 --> 00:02:44.305
Tom: On the same day, Jordan won a qualification spot, not a qualification, a playoff against, I think it was, Uzbekistan, who will then play the fifth place South American team for a spot at the World Cup.
00:02:45.225 --> 00:02:47.445
Phil: Yes, Iran and South Korea, right?
00:02:47.565 --> 00:02:49.085
Tom: Yep, they also qualified.
00:02:50.145 --> 00:02:56.065
Tom: So the Asian teams confirmed then are South Korea, Iran, Japan and Australia.
00:02:57.105 --> 00:03:01.565
Phil: Wait, Iran is in the South Pacific region?
00:03:02.965 --> 00:03:04.925
Tom: Iran is in the Asian confederation.
00:03:06.605 --> 00:03:07.645
Phil: Asian, okay.
00:03:07.665 --> 00:03:15.405
Phil: So what mighty football, soccer playing force did Australia beat to get this glorious title?
00:03:16.325 --> 00:03:16.885
Tom: Iraq.
00:03:20.125 --> 00:03:32.105
Tom: Now, before you laugh at this, yes, before you laugh at this, or technically after you've laughed at this, it was in fact, can you predict what the score would have been given that you think it was against Iraq?
00:03:32.825 --> 00:03:47.265
Phil: Given that every one of the team members would have been given political asylum and allowed to stay in the country, sir, you know, I'm assuming that Australia won 28-0, or nil, as it's called.
00:03:47.565 --> 00:04:17.885
Tom: No, this is not Oceania anymore, so it was an extremely tough one-nil victory, and this may blow your mind, but Iraq won the Asian Cup in 2007, including them beating us in the round of 16 or the quarterfinals, I can't remember which it was exactly, and over the years, they have been something of a bogey team for us, so having to play them in the final match for qualification was actually quite a challenge compared to many teams we could have been against.
00:04:18.225 --> 00:04:19.765
Phil: Well, yeah, good for them.
00:04:19.785 --> 00:04:23.065
Phil: Now, do they, they actually, they don't, they're not like real Iraqis, right?
00:04:23.085 --> 00:04:25.465
Phil: They train in the UK or something like that, I'm sure.
00:04:25.485 --> 00:04:27.265
Tom: I'm not sure about that.
00:04:27.285 --> 00:04:30.805
Tom: They don't play in Iraq, though, when they've got home matches, they play in Qatar.
00:04:31.905 --> 00:04:33.205
Tom: But they are real Iraqis.
00:04:35.025 --> 00:04:38.345
Tom: I'm not a Qatari national team, which is mostly composed of Brazilians.
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Phil: Or Liverpool, which mostly is composed of Nigerians.
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Tom: Yeah, well, that's not a national team.
00:04:45.705 --> 00:04:46.625
Phil: No, still, though.
00:04:46.985 --> 00:04:48.005
Tom: So, yeah.
00:04:48.865 --> 00:04:52.145
Tom: But there's not really much more to say about that, except good.
00:04:52.925 --> 00:05:01.865
Phil: Yeah, well, trademark banner, I'm going to try and pull back our paying listeners and those that somehow get around our paywall.
00:05:03.465 --> 00:05:04.545
Phil: I got a Kindle this week.
00:05:05.285 --> 00:05:05.705
Tom: Excellent.
00:05:06.305 --> 00:05:09.545
Phil: Yeah, I haven't turned on the TV since, like, Sunday.
00:05:10.605 --> 00:05:21.425
Phil: But more germane to that is, I mean, I just can't believe how much I'm reading now, but a good gaming book that I got was hardcoregaming101.net.
00:05:21.585 --> 00:05:27.745
Phil: They're a website, apparently, in the same, you know, universe as ours, because they're a.net.
00:05:27.765 --> 00:05:30.925
Phil: hardcoregaming101.net.
00:05:30.945 --> 00:05:33.125
Tom: So you're currently promoting a competitor.
00:05:33.765 --> 00:05:42.385
Phil: They have a book called The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures, which I bought and I'm reading, and it's just fascinating stuff.
00:05:42.725 --> 00:05:44.605
Phil: You would really appreciate this.
00:05:44.625 --> 00:05:45.145
Phil: It's nothing...
00:05:45.305 --> 00:05:50.645
Phil: It's all about, you know, point-and-click adventure games and everything, and right now I'm reading about Sierra.
00:05:50.865 --> 00:05:51.265
Tom: Excellent.
00:05:51.845 --> 00:05:56.245
Phil: The hardcover would probably be better, but harder to come by.
00:05:56.265 --> 00:05:59.185
Phil: I think the physical copy is like $27.
00:05:59.205 --> 00:06:01.805
Phil: You can get the Kindle version for $10, but it's totally rad.
00:06:01.865 --> 00:06:07.165
Phil: The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
00:06:07.305 --> 00:06:09.885
Phil: So that's my trademark banter.
00:06:10.185 --> 00:06:10.865
Tom: Excellent.
00:06:12.365 --> 00:06:21.265
Tom: And the only other thing to add, which is not really part of trademark banter, but it is another trademark feature, which is the Tom Towers promotional section.
00:06:22.105 --> 00:06:28.845
Tom: Recently posted on LaserLemming was finally, after about probably a month after I should have posted, the Deadly Premonition review.
00:06:29.805 --> 00:06:31.445
Phil: Right, yeah, I read that.
00:06:31.465 --> 00:06:34.665
Phil: Deadly Premonition director's cut.
00:06:37.125 --> 00:06:41.165
Phil: And I thought it was, as always, extremely well written.
00:06:42.505 --> 00:06:49.925
Phil: Though I thought it was frontloaded with a lot of negative criticism for a 3.5 out of 5 star review.
00:06:50.605 --> 00:06:57.005
Tom: Well, I think I wouldn't disagree with that, but there's a reason that it was frontloaded with the criticism.
00:06:57.925 --> 00:07:01.385
Phil: Oh yeah, yeah, I totally understood it, but I don't think anyone else would have.
00:07:01.385 --> 00:07:07.685
Phil: I mean, the game itself is heavily frontloaded with its most negative components.
00:07:08.465 --> 00:07:15.125
Phil: And the review reflected that, and that's when I tweeted Swery, you know, that this is a review...
00:07:15.145 --> 00:07:16.245
Tom: Skip the first several paragraphs.
00:07:17.725 --> 00:07:20.185
Phil: I told him this is a review that is much like your game.
00:07:20.325 --> 00:07:22.845
Phil: You know, it doesn't end the way you think it's going to.
00:07:23.365 --> 00:07:34.405
Phil: Though you thought it ended quite predictably, and there is some signposting in that game, and we're going to keep it spoiler free, because it's still an important game that game scholars should try and play.
00:07:36.745 --> 00:07:53.365
Phil: But yeah, I knew why you were doing it, but I thought that if I were reading this as an outsider, someone who probably isn't used to reading non-traditional reviews, it was kind of front-loaded with the negative stuff.
00:07:53.385 --> 00:07:58.365
Phil: And I respect that, and I think it was a great choice for the review.
00:07:59.505 --> 00:08:08.005
Phil: I think that for people reading your stuff for the first time, like Suiri, probably would have been a little bit more dissuaded from the game.
00:08:08.525 --> 00:08:16.745
Tom: Yeah, well, I'm not sure he could dissuade Suiri himself from the game, but I agree with that, but that doesn't bother me whatsoever.
00:08:16.805 --> 00:08:21.985
Phil: No, and it shouldn't, because you're not writing it for them, you're writing it as a piece of writing.
00:08:22.005 --> 00:08:23.005
Tom: It's not a press release.
00:08:23.545 --> 00:08:26.325
Phil: No, it's a writing exercise, you're not writing it to sell the game.
00:08:27.025 --> 00:08:35.785
Phil: I mean, if you were, you would have done what Destructoid did and front-load it with all the good stuff, and then go, oh my god, but it's so bad, it's a good kind of thing.
00:08:36.705 --> 00:08:38.105
Tom: Yeah, and give it a 10 out of 10.
00:08:38.725 --> 00:08:40.305
Phil: Yeah, completely disingenuous.
00:08:41.625 --> 00:08:57.605
Phil: One game, however, that is being front-loaded with plenty of praise and for good reason, though you're not hearing a lot about it because people are being mostly, spoiler, respectful, is The Last of Us, the game that came out last week.
00:08:57.825 --> 00:08:59.125
Phil: I've had it now for a week.
00:08:59.805 --> 00:09:04.465
Phil: I'm about four or five hours into it, and I'm doing pretty good in it.
00:09:05.205 --> 00:09:07.505
Phil: The game has held up extremely well.
00:09:07.525 --> 00:09:15.645
Phil: It's just a little bit of a challenging game to play after you've been working all day because it is so draining emotionally.
00:09:16.205 --> 00:09:18.505
Tom: Is it draining in terms of gameplay as well?
00:09:18.565 --> 00:09:20.905
Tom: As in, is it a very hard game to play?
00:09:22.085 --> 00:09:28.005
Phil: Not for me, but Velvet tried it, and she was having trouble, and she's like a better gamer than I am.
00:09:29.005 --> 00:09:29.585
Phil: But this is...
00:09:31.365 --> 00:09:38.825
Phil: Probably the biggest thing I could bring to the conversation this week is that it's the best stealth game I've played since the first Splinter Cell.
00:09:39.845 --> 00:09:44.285
Phil: Now, Splinter Cell was a very difficult game with lots of repetition.
00:09:44.305 --> 00:09:45.285
Phil: This game is not.
00:09:46.445 --> 00:09:50.085
Phil: But in terms of its combat, this does have very challenging enemies.
00:09:50.885 --> 00:09:51.805
Phil: You have to be alert.
00:09:51.945 --> 00:09:53.665
Phil: You have to be on top of your controls.
00:09:53.685 --> 00:09:54.685
Phil: You have to have a plan.
00:09:55.965 --> 00:09:56.785
Phil: The other correction...
00:09:57.725 --> 00:10:00.565
Phil: The first correction I had from last week is I talked about the listen mode.
00:10:00.625 --> 00:10:03.525
Phil: This was basically after having played only an hour and a half of it.
00:10:04.025 --> 00:10:08.485
Phil: The listen mode is basically like detective mode in any of the Arkham games.
00:10:09.225 --> 00:10:13.865
Phil: So it's not quite as in your face as those modes.
00:10:13.885 --> 00:10:18.025
Phil: But basically, if you listen carefully, you can see enemies behind a wall.
00:10:19.305 --> 00:10:22.625
Phil: If they're not making noise, however, you can't see them.
00:10:23.045 --> 00:10:27.925
Phil: So if they're standing perfectly still, you can be like, okay, good.
00:10:27.945 --> 00:10:28.765
Phil: This room is clear.
00:10:28.785 --> 00:10:29.585
Phil: I'll go into it.
00:10:29.865 --> 00:10:31.985
Phil: And then there'll be someone right there waiting for you.
00:10:33.025 --> 00:10:34.705
Phil: Because they're doing the same thing to you.
00:10:34.805 --> 00:10:35.825
Phil: They've heard you.
00:10:36.025 --> 00:10:40.525
Tom: You've got to be careful how you're moving, as well as listening for them themselves.
00:10:41.225 --> 00:10:42.185
Phil: Yeah, absolutely.
00:10:42.865 --> 00:10:44.505
Phil: I mean, it's very tense.
00:10:44.505 --> 00:10:46.885
Phil: The gameplay itself is very tight.
00:10:47.745 --> 00:10:48.865
Phil: The enemies are great.
00:10:49.085 --> 00:10:52.045
Phil: The levels are well laid out.
00:10:53.325 --> 00:10:54.845
Phil: Extraordinarily linear.
00:10:55.205 --> 00:11:01.705
Phil: But that's because this game is really pushing this generation in terms of graphics and physics and everything else.
00:11:02.965 --> 00:11:04.405
Phil: So it has to be linear.
00:11:04.425 --> 00:11:06.705
Phil: It can't be an open world experience.
00:11:07.245 --> 00:11:09.925
Tom: Do you think that's beneficial to the story, that it's so linear?
00:11:10.665 --> 00:11:11.685
Phil: Well, very much so.
00:11:11.765 --> 00:11:14.385
Phil: This is a Naughty Dog game, and this is what they're doing.
00:11:15.365 --> 00:11:24.785
Phil: It is strongly determined by the story requires it, the tension requires it, the gameplay requires it.
00:11:24.805 --> 00:11:28.845
Phil: I mean, you can't necessarily have stealth in an open world setting very effectively.
00:11:29.805 --> 00:11:30.425
Tom: Absolutely.
00:11:30.985 --> 00:11:31.405
Phil: Yeah.
00:11:31.445 --> 00:11:33.885
Phil: So, I mean, it is all perfect for this game.
00:11:33.905 --> 00:11:41.645
Phil: It's such a nice world that you wish you could go explore, but you are really on a tightrope in this game.
00:11:43.325 --> 00:11:44.025
Phil: And that's fine.
00:11:44.625 --> 00:11:48.625
Phil: Like, as you've talked about, or you'll talk later about Uncharted 2.
00:11:50.085 --> 00:11:51.605
Phil: So, all in all, it's holding up well.
00:11:51.645 --> 00:11:58.365
Phil: You asked me if Ellen Page is as bad in this game as she is in Actress, and I do have to correct that as well.
00:11:58.385 --> 00:12:01.685
Phil: She's in Beyond Two Souls.
00:12:01.785 --> 00:12:05.245
Tom: I know, that was a joke, because the character looks a fair bit like her.
00:12:05.885 --> 00:12:25.725
Phil: Yeah, well, initially she was supposed to be based on her, and then they lowered her age to kind of desexualize her, and then also because another Sony first party was making a game with Ellen Page, they had to make it a little less obviously her.
00:12:26.185 --> 00:12:28.925
Phil: But so far I'm really hoping to beat it this weekend.
00:12:29.745 --> 00:12:33.545
Phil: Yeah, and then hopefully you'll have exposure to it pretty shortly thereafter.
00:12:34.025 --> 00:12:34.805
Phil: Wink, wink.
00:12:35.685 --> 00:12:39.005
Tom: We could be looking out for final impressions from you on the next podcast then.
00:12:39.365 --> 00:12:39.885
Phil: Definitely.
00:12:39.985 --> 00:12:41.225
Phil: In fact, I guarantee it.
00:12:41.945 --> 00:12:47.725
Tom: Anything you could say if this doesn't happen, that you might do such as eat a hat or something along those lines.
00:12:48.885 --> 00:12:51.785
Phil: I will do the next podcast entirely sober.
00:12:52.385 --> 00:12:55.505
Tom: Not sure anyone will want to hear that, so let's hope it does happen.
00:12:56.905 --> 00:12:58.585
Tom: So is that all for The Last of Us?
00:12:59.065 --> 00:13:00.685
Phil: Well, yeah, I mean, that's the thing.
00:13:00.705 --> 00:13:05.805
Phil: You can't talk about this game without spoiling it if you're not thoughtful.
00:13:06.365 --> 00:13:15.605
Phil: I have listened to three podcasts this week that have said we're going to talk about Last of Us and we're not going to spoil it, and every single one of them, be it...
00:13:16.665 --> 00:13:20.905
Phil: Yeah, the IGN one, the giant bomb, they spoiled it in some degree.
00:13:21.505 --> 00:13:29.305
Phil: And either bringing up a gameplay element that hadn't been yet introduced or saying blank about the story.
00:13:29.325 --> 00:13:31.925
Phil: And it's like fucking idiots.
00:13:33.265 --> 00:13:35.045
Phil: I mean, you know, I did stop listening.
00:13:35.305 --> 00:13:38.045
Phil: Yeah, the Game Informer podcast, oh, we're not going to spoil anything.
00:13:38.065 --> 00:13:43.325
Phil: I had to like emergency pull out the ear headphones because as it goes, like, oh, yeah.
00:13:43.345 --> 00:13:44.665
Phil: And then when I went to shut up.
00:13:44.685 --> 00:13:56.205
Phil: So but if you have a PlayStation 3 and you have played Uncharted, you must buy The Last of Us or in some way acquire it.
00:13:57.165 --> 00:14:09.865
Phil: If you haven't played the Uncharted games, but you like gritty games or games that are technically challenging or even a little bit of stealth, I hate stealth.
00:14:09.925 --> 00:14:10.945
Phil: Let's just put that out there.
00:14:11.465 --> 00:14:14.485
Phil: Ever since Splinter Cell, for the most part, I've hated stealth in games.
00:14:14.845 --> 00:14:16.465
Phil: And prior to that, I was always bad at it.
00:14:16.485 --> 00:14:18.565
Tom: Because Splinter Cell did it better than most or?
00:14:19.505 --> 00:14:25.045
Phil: They reinvented stealth on the original Xbox, I found.
00:14:25.625 --> 00:14:29.145
Phil: And also it was very pleasing graphically, which took off a lot of the edge.
00:14:29.165 --> 00:14:36.765
Phil: But also, I mean, in the original Splinter Cell, it wasn't like in Metal Gear where you had to walk a certain path and do certain things.
00:14:36.785 --> 00:14:39.005
Phil: They really gave you several different ways to do it.
00:14:39.545 --> 00:14:45.785
Phil: So if you wanted to sneak around and put on a silencer and shoot out the lights first, then you could do it that way.
00:14:45.925 --> 00:14:51.085
Phil: But if you want to do it another way, you could just go on with the lights on and all the rest of it.
00:14:52.265 --> 00:14:54.385
Phil: So yeah, I am thoroughly enjoying it.
00:14:54.525 --> 00:14:56.805
Phil: And it's not really my type of game.
00:14:56.825 --> 00:15:03.325
Phil: And I think that anyone who can appreciate challenging game mechanics is going to enjoy it.
00:15:05.105 --> 00:15:08.025
Phil: I'm going to be really interested to hear what you have to say about it.
00:15:08.645 --> 00:15:10.345
Phil: We'll probably do a spoiler cast at that point.
00:15:10.365 --> 00:15:11.625
Phil: We'll put it at the end of the show.
00:15:11.705 --> 00:15:16.945
Phil: Because by the time you beat it, no one's going to give a shit anyway, because they'll all be playing the next thing.
00:15:17.305 --> 00:15:19.145
Tom: So with that, we'll move into the news.
00:15:19.325 --> 00:15:25.305
Tom: And as has been the case in many podcasts recently, we will be beginning with Xbox One.
00:15:25.525 --> 00:15:32.745
Tom: And before we move on to the mind-blowing part, we now have official prices for all the consoles, I believe.
00:15:33.625 --> 00:15:35.785
Phil: Yeah, down here in Australia for the Next Gen.
00:15:36.985 --> 00:15:38.905
Phil: Xbox3 is going to be...
00:15:40.045 --> 00:15:41.265
Tom: $660?
00:15:41.805 --> 00:15:43.385
Phil: $660.
00:15:44.385 --> 00:15:48.005
Phil: PlayStation 4 is going to be $550.
00:15:49.185 --> 00:15:51.245
Phil: And the Wii U $430.
00:15:52.065 --> 00:16:03.145
Tom: So there's a nice bit of continuity between them all with them, each being about $100 different in price compared to one another in the way that you rate them, in descending order.
00:16:03.685 --> 00:16:05.845
Phil: This means a huge success for the Wii U.
00:16:05.905 --> 00:16:14.645
Phil: I think down here, people are going to basically be looking at the Wii, see the number of games drawing up for it, and be like, OK, well, what's next?
00:16:14.885 --> 00:16:22.265
Phil: I can spend $400, $500, or $700 if we round.
00:16:23.085 --> 00:16:37.865
Tom: Me looking at those prices, the Wii U does seem like easily the most enticing product, not just because it's so much less, but because it is close to $400, which seems a lot more reasonable than if you're moving close to $500 or over.
00:16:37.885 --> 00:16:39.605
Phil: That's pretty, yeah.
00:16:39.625 --> 00:16:42.985
Phil: I mean, in New Zealand this week, the Wii U went on sale for $200.
00:16:43.005 --> 00:16:44.165
Phil: I mean, what do you think about that?
00:16:44.185 --> 00:16:45.845
Phil: I mean, why do you think that is?
00:16:45.885 --> 00:16:50.465
Phil: Is this excess, you know, stock or...?
00:16:50.665 --> 00:16:54.645
Tom: Well, that was at Dick Smith, and they often do clearance sales like this.
00:16:54.825 --> 00:17:03.945
Tom: So what I would say is more likely than any other possible conspiracy theory, it was simply that they had a reasonable amount of Wii U's.
00:17:04.305 --> 00:17:13.205
Tom: Not a lot, like a few, in a few stores here and there that they wanted to shift to f*** up shelf space, probably for the PS4 and the Xbox One.
00:17:14.025 --> 00:17:14.865
Tom: Yeah, I agree.
00:17:14.885 --> 00:17:24.325
Tom: Which does have a conspiracy, but I think it's more due to the fact that they had probably not many lying around, which in Australia and probably New Zealand and maybe in America, you can comment on that.
00:17:24.625 --> 00:17:35.545
Tom: Generally, if shops, if shop chains have a few of any sort of console lying around, they want to then get rid of it, because consoles, of course, take up quite a bit of shelf space.
00:17:35.565 --> 00:17:36.805
Phil: Bit of shelf.
00:17:36.825 --> 00:17:41.065
Phil: In New Zealand, that could be as few as 200, right?
00:17:41.285 --> 00:17:41.825
Tom: Or less.
00:17:41.845 --> 00:17:48.745
Tom: I mean, it could literally be there were five stores with two each left in their shops, so they then had a clearance sale.
00:17:49.305 --> 00:17:51.365
Tom: Because it was pick up and collect only.
00:17:51.965 --> 00:17:52.245
Phil: Right.
00:17:52.265 --> 00:17:55.425
Phil: There's probably ten Dick Smiths in New Zealand, realistically.
00:17:56.125 --> 00:18:03.985
Phil: And if each store had three, you know, and they're looking at E3 going, oh, okay, well, we backed the wrong horse here.
00:18:05.145 --> 00:18:06.345
Phil: Let's shuffle these along.
00:18:06.745 --> 00:18:07.505
Phil: Yeah, you're right.
00:18:07.525 --> 00:18:11.785
Phil: It's actually a non-story, but damn, 199 bucks, I'd buy one.
00:18:12.345 --> 00:18:16.645
Tom: Yeah, and that's New Zealand dollars, so that's like $20 in any real currency.
00:18:17.745 --> 00:18:27.445
Phil: At least now there's a $100 separation between the Xbox3 and the PlayStation4 down here in Australia, or $110 separation.
00:18:27.845 --> 00:18:29.025
Phil: That's a big deal.
00:18:29.305 --> 00:18:30.405
Tom: Yeah, that is huge.
00:18:31.105 --> 00:18:37.465
Phil: You'd have to be pretty dedicated to the Xbox to say, okay, you know, 700 bucks.
00:18:38.645 --> 00:18:50.125
Phil: I mean, when it's all said and done, by the time you buy another controller, which is another 70 bucks, and a game, you're walking out of there over 800 bucks.
00:18:51.005 --> 00:18:51.285
Tom: Yep.
00:18:52.385 --> 00:18:59.785
Tom: Yeah, but I mean, when you compare it to previous console price launches, it's probably not as exorbitant as you might think.
00:19:00.745 --> 00:19:02.085
Phil: Oh, it's pretty exorbitant, man.
00:19:02.165 --> 00:19:12.025
Phil: I know what you're saying, that I should get used to this, but I would totally import a PlayStation 4 or Xbox3 at this point.
00:19:14.085 --> 00:19:23.245
Phil: If they had solid state drives, my only concern about importing a console from another country is how that hard drive is going to do in shipping.
00:19:23.485 --> 00:19:23.765
Tom: Yep.
00:19:24.665 --> 00:19:27.845
Tom: Well, with the PS4, you can easily change the hard drive, so...
00:19:28.705 --> 00:19:29.845
Phil: Yeah, that's true.
00:19:29.945 --> 00:19:30.525
Phil: That's true.
00:19:30.645 --> 00:19:35.525
Phil: I know for the Xbox3, it's not, so I mean, you can't change it.
00:19:35.605 --> 00:19:38.045
Phil: It's not a consumer-changeable item, so...
00:19:38.825 --> 00:19:41.745
Tom: Which is just absurd at only 500 gigabytes.
00:19:42.145 --> 00:19:46.125
Phil: Yeah, enough dilly-dallying, because we're in the area of talking about region locking.
00:19:46.925 --> 00:19:50.565
Phil: Obviously, the biggest news of this week was the Xbox One 80.
00:19:51.085 --> 00:19:52.145
Phil: You see what I did there?
00:19:52.165 --> 00:19:52.765
Tom: Yes, I did.
00:19:54.685 --> 00:19:58.465
Tom: Gobsmacked by the originality of that part.
00:19:58.585 --> 00:20:09.225
Phil: Giant Bomb basically got the scoop on this one, but we're just blazed through this, because it can't be a single person in the world who's interested in gaming that doesn't already know this, but we'll take turns.
00:20:09.225 --> 00:20:12.005
Phil: No more always online requirement.
00:20:12.365 --> 00:20:15.265
Tom: The console no longer has to check in every 24 hours.
00:20:16.185 --> 00:20:20.885
Phil: All game disks will work on Xbox One as they do on the Xbox 360.
00:20:21.145 --> 00:20:24.625
Tom: An internet connection is only required when initially setting up the console.
00:20:25.465 --> 00:20:29.785
Phil: All downloaded games will function the same when online or offline.
00:20:30.025 --> 00:20:33.225
Tom: No additional restrictions on trading games or learning disks.
00:20:34.225 --> 00:20:36.045
Phil: And region locks have been dropped.
00:20:36.885 --> 00:20:37.325
Tom: Excellent.
00:20:38.085 --> 00:20:39.105
Phil: Thank you very much.
00:20:39.945 --> 00:20:40.785
Phil: Yeah, what the hell?
00:20:41.085 --> 00:20:52.985
Phil: I mean, how do you launch a system, decree a series of rules, wait two weeks, do E3 where you're going to get the largest amount of media possible?
00:20:54.085 --> 00:21:03.145
Phil: The message comes out from E3 that basically man in the street asks Phil, so what's the deal with the Xbox One?
00:21:03.165 --> 00:21:07.465
Phil: I'm going to say $100 more, no use games, right?
00:21:07.585 --> 00:21:07.885
Phil: Yeah.
00:21:08.125 --> 00:21:14.385
Phil: I mean, the message has been set, and then a week after E3, they go the other direction.
00:21:16.085 --> 00:21:18.065
Tom: Can you imagine if they had done this at E3?
00:21:19.585 --> 00:21:20.265
Phil: On stage?
00:21:20.345 --> 00:21:20.645
Tom: Yeah.
00:21:21.465 --> 00:21:22.085
Phil: You know what?
00:21:22.265 --> 00:21:28.465
Phil: I think if Sony's conference had come first and then they had 8 hours to wait the way Sony did, they would have.
00:21:30.045 --> 00:21:31.045
Tom: That's a good point actually.
00:21:32.125 --> 00:21:38.825
Phil: They would have got up there and said, hey you guys, that last conference thing, just forget that ever happened.
00:21:39.085 --> 00:21:39.905
Phil: We're here to tell you.
00:21:39.925 --> 00:21:40.585
Tom: We were just joking.
00:21:41.025 --> 00:21:42.645
Phil: We were just joking, you know.
00:21:43.405 --> 00:21:52.005
Phil: Now this is something that Microsoft has been doing because with Windows 8 came out and they had this whole Metro thing and they took away the desktop.
00:21:52.425 --> 00:21:59.545
Phil: And now the first service, not a service pack, but the first update for Windows 8 gives you the option to boot to the desktop.
00:22:00.305 --> 00:22:04.105
Phil: It brings back the start button and on and on and on.
00:22:04.125 --> 00:22:15.085
Phil: So, I mean, on the one hand, this is a good sign that this huge corporation is able to like listen to its consumers and make changes on the fly.
00:22:16.645 --> 00:22:19.965
Phil: And in November, all of this will mean nothing, right?
00:22:20.245 --> 00:22:32.585
Phil: So for an Xbox fan, he basically goes from the last couple of weeks of enduring hell, listening to all his buddies pay out on the Xbox to go, okay, good, okay, we're done, okay.
00:22:34.025 --> 00:22:39.865
Phil: And then for everyone else, for Nintendo fans, it means nothing because they weren't going to buy this anyway.
00:22:41.105 --> 00:22:46.345
Phil: For PlayStation fans, it's like, oh, okay, well, cool, you know, I mean, whatever.
00:22:46.865 --> 00:22:50.685
Phil: But for the general gamer, in November, this means nothing.
00:22:50.705 --> 00:22:58.285
Phil: It means they go into the store, one's a hundred bucks and comes with a Kinect and maybe you think, oh, extra hundred bucks, that must be the more powerful one.
00:22:59.165 --> 00:23:02.525
Phil: Better off investing now than later, and I already have an Xbox Live.
00:23:04.305 --> 00:23:07.885
Phil: Or you go into the store and go, oh, PlayStation 4 is a hundred bucks less.
00:23:08.545 --> 00:23:09.705
Phil: I'll get the PlayStation 4.
00:23:10.705 --> 00:23:14.285
Phil: So there you go, that's my entire take on this whole flip flop.
00:23:14.945 --> 00:23:18.805
Tom: Well, has this changed your opinion as to your interest in getting one?
00:23:19.565 --> 00:23:21.185
Phil: Oh yeah, at this point, I'll get one.
00:23:21.425 --> 00:23:21.725
Tom: Okay.
00:23:22.405 --> 00:23:24.305
Phil: If the games are there, I'll get one.
00:23:25.105 --> 00:23:30.285
Phil: I mean, I got and enjoyed a 360 this generation along with my PlayStation 3.
00:23:31.265 --> 00:23:39.125
Phil: And now that I know that I'll be able to play these games forever, which was my one hang up with it, I'd happily buy one.
00:23:40.345 --> 00:23:47.685
Phil: The thing is, they do have this, you have to, internet connection is required when initially setting up the console.
00:23:48.565 --> 00:23:51.245
Phil: I believe that this requirement will be dropped in a couple of months.
00:23:52.105 --> 00:24:11.305
Tom: They don't really go into detail on what that means, because they do say all games will work on Xbox One as they do on Xbox 360, which implies that they should work without necessarily having to connect online to the internet when you first set up, as that will be contradicting that.
00:24:11.985 --> 00:24:22.645
Phil: Yeah, but what they're saying is, you buy the fucking console, you bring it home, you want to play it, you got to first hook it up to the internet, and the reason for that is, this console is launching in four months.
00:24:22.845 --> 00:24:33.645
Phil: I mean, they have already, this is going to be a firmware update for consoles that have already been manufactured or are in the pipeline being manufactured for the next month and a half, right?
00:24:33.905 --> 00:24:54.725
Phil: So a lot of these things like region locking and requiring the internet to play every game and 24-hour check-ins, a lot of that stuff is going to be not in the firmware necessarily, probably the region locks are, but a lot of that's going to be built in on the chip as a part of the operating system of the Xbox3.
00:24:55.185 --> 00:24:59.005
Phil: So that's what that update is all about.
00:24:59.065 --> 00:25:10.665
Phil: I guarantee that after the first couple of months, when they've sold through their initial merchandise, that this thing will just be a regular console you can take home, never connect to the internet and play discs on.
00:25:11.385 --> 00:25:14.665
Tom: So just wait a few months before getting one, is what you're saying.
00:25:15.045 --> 00:25:16.565
Phil: Which you should anyway, really.
00:25:16.585 --> 00:25:38.325
Tom: Now, my only thing with this is, my only take on what you've already said would be that when they did have these features, which is what they were, it made more sense to have such a higher price, even though they were features that no one was going to enjoy.
00:25:38.405 --> 00:25:43.345
Tom: There was something there to differentiate the price visibly more than just Kinect.
00:25:43.365 --> 00:25:53.825
Tom: So actually removing this stuff, even though it is of course stuff no one wants in there, makes it seem even harder to take the higher price to me.
00:25:55.605 --> 00:26:02.485
Phil: Well, I mean, the higher price is necessitated by one thing and one thing only, and that is the Kinect, right?
00:26:03.245 --> 00:26:04.305
Tom: Absolutely, I understand that.
00:26:04.325 --> 00:26:11.185
Tom: I just mean when you then compare the features, it's even less differentiated.
00:26:11.405 --> 00:26:17.785
Phil: Well, okay, I'm just going to get into the nitty-gritty of where I stand on the hardware in terms of PlayStation 3 and 360.
00:26:17.805 --> 00:26:19.385
Phil: The only thing I have...
00:26:19.705 --> 00:26:36.105
Phil: They all look comparable to me, but Jonathan Blow says that the developer, Braid, says that the Xbox3 will dedicate basically a third of its RAM to the three different operating systems that it is running, whereas the PlayStation 4 does not.
00:26:36.365 --> 00:26:38.125
Phil: Now, you know, take that with a grain of salt.
00:26:38.145 --> 00:26:44.325
Phil: He's going to be launching his next game, The Witness, on the PlayStation 4 along with the PC, but he's also a fairly straightforward guy.
00:26:44.345 --> 00:26:49.665
Phil: I don't think he's going to put his credibility online with other developers by, you know, just saying something that's not true.
00:26:50.805 --> 00:26:54.765
Phil: Okay, so having said that, let's say that both of them are equal in terms of hardware.
00:26:55.165 --> 00:26:58.225
Phil: Both of them now charge the same amount for online play.
00:26:59.805 --> 00:27:01.965
Phil: Both of them are DRM-free.
00:27:02.025 --> 00:27:03.525
Phil: Both of them are region-free.
00:27:03.525 --> 00:27:06.265
Phil: Both of them now apparently have excellent controllers.
00:27:07.145 --> 00:27:18.405
Phil: And you'll be interested to note, I didn't know if you heard from the Killzone developers, they're moving the aim and the shoot down to the triggers as opposed to the R1, L1.
00:27:19.305 --> 00:27:20.025
Tom: No, I do not.
00:27:20.785 --> 00:27:22.865
Tom: That's our miniature Yakuza Kills one minute.
00:27:23.985 --> 00:27:28.245
Phil: Forty seconds, so they moved them down to the R2, L2.
00:27:29.705 --> 00:27:40.545
Phil: So yeah, in terms of differentiation, the only thing now standing, until people mention how much the games are going to cost themselves, is the $100.
00:27:40.645 --> 00:28:04.245
Phil: And it would be easy for Microsoft at this point, who has already done the market research, has in fact already successfully implemented a subsidized game console plan in the United States, not only in their own stores, but other large retailers like Best Buy and Walmart, where you can go in and buy a $99.360 with a two-year subscription to Xbox Live Gold, right?
00:28:04.505 --> 00:28:04.765
Tom: Yep.
00:28:05.625 --> 00:28:26.045
Phil: If you take away this $100 advantage that Sony has with a subsidized Microsoft plan, which I honestly fully intend will come before launch, then why would you get the Sony, if you've already got an Xbox Live account with your friends list and your points and everything else?
00:28:26.985 --> 00:28:32.845
Tom: Well, that would be a major selling point, but you'd still have your $360.
00:28:34.545 --> 00:28:43.405
Phil: Yeah, you'd still have your $360, but $360, like I said last week, they're going to drop the $360 like a hot potato.
00:28:43.605 --> 00:28:49.965
Phil: Sony is sticking by the PlayStation 3 with these major masthead games coming out this year.
00:28:50.765 --> 00:28:54.205
Phil: After November, you are not going to find a $360 game.
00:28:54.225 --> 00:29:00.925
Phil: I guess third-party publishers, like the big stuff like Madden and Call of Duty and everything will still continue to come out for it.
00:29:01.625 --> 00:29:07.325
Phil: But their lineup has been pretty slim for the last eight months anyway.
00:29:07.525 --> 00:29:18.165
Tom: But those people, do you think it's necessarily worth the investment for them to pay so much just to keep up with their friends that might move on to the Xbox One?
00:29:19.025 --> 00:29:25.905
Phil: Well, if you look at, you know, you're talking about how, like, you'll probably only get a PlayStation 4 because of, you know, your friends on Killzone.
00:29:26.085 --> 00:29:26.345
Phil: Yeah.
00:29:27.285 --> 00:29:29.005
Phil: So you've answered your own question there.
00:29:29.025 --> 00:29:38.325
Tom: Well, well, yes and no, because I think the thing is, let's look back at the Xbox One, the actual Xbox One.
00:29:38.905 --> 00:29:43.285
Tom: Moving on from that, I cannot remember a single person from my friends list there.
00:29:43.305 --> 00:29:44.805
Tom: Take it that I can remember one.
00:29:45.245 --> 00:29:50.965
Tom: Apart from one, I can't remember a single person I had on there that I did not know from anywhere else.
00:29:50.965 --> 00:29:58.625
Tom: So with the people that I'm moving on to the PS4 with, it would be with people I know in other avenues.
00:29:58.625 --> 00:30:10.985
Tom: So if it did actually come down to it, if the Xbox One had 50 exclusives that I wanted, I would go for it over the PS4 and just miss out on Killzone 4.
00:30:12.185 --> 00:30:20.285
Phil: Not to get too high pollutant about this, but Xbox Live as a social network is relevant and is valid as Twitter or Facebook, which I know to you means nothing.
00:30:20.325 --> 00:30:29.665
Phil: But what I'm saying is you can't just leave Facebook for Google Plus and then tell your 20 friends, hey, guys, I miss hearing from you.
00:30:29.685 --> 00:30:35.905
Phil: Come over here to Google Plus because they've all got 20 people of their own who are still on Facebook, right?
00:30:36.465 --> 00:30:38.505
Phil: And that's what I'm saying about Xbox Live.
00:30:38.525 --> 00:30:46.745
Phil: If you've been playing Call of Duty for the last five years on Xbox Live, you have a game score of 75,000.
00:30:46.825 --> 00:30:48.265
Phil: You have a name that's known.
00:30:48.485 --> 00:30:50.285
Phil: You have a reputation.
00:30:50.585 --> 00:30:58.505
Phil: You're not going to, for $100, switch over to the PlayStation 4 and then start rolling with these noobs you don't know.
00:30:58.525 --> 00:31:02.405
Phil: And then you tell your friends, hey, dude, PlayStation 4 is really cool.
00:31:02.425 --> 00:31:08.205
Phil: Yeah, that's fine, but everyone is still on the Xbox Live.
00:31:08.225 --> 00:31:08.925
Phil: That's where we are.
00:31:11.025 --> 00:31:12.425
Tom: I'd say that's probably fair enough.
00:31:12.905 --> 00:31:14.105
Phil: Region locks have been dropped.
00:31:14.285 --> 00:31:15.725
Phil: Great for us, obviously.
00:31:15.745 --> 00:31:18.265
Phil: The 360 was region locked.
00:31:18.765 --> 00:31:20.225
Phil: It was left up to the publishers.
00:31:20.845 --> 00:31:26.905
Phil: And then whenever Microsoft wanted to not allow Japanese people to import, they would apply it to a game.
00:31:26.925 --> 00:31:28.065
Phil: So that was fair.
00:31:28.325 --> 00:31:33.505
Phil: So this is even better, that if they're just going to drop all region locking, makes my life a lot easier.
00:31:33.765 --> 00:31:41.485
Tom: And this is the only part, the only feature where the PS4 and Xbox One are both ahead of the Wii U.
00:31:41.605 --> 00:31:49.245
Phil: Yeah, but no bagging on Nintendo in this regard because that's always been their policy, like forever.
00:31:50.025 --> 00:31:52.425
Phil: So, you know, at least they're consistent.
00:31:52.665 --> 00:31:55.045
Phil: You know what you're getting into when you buy a Nintendo platform.
00:31:55.185 --> 00:31:56.225
Phil: Yeah.
00:31:56.345 --> 00:32:06.905
Phil: Phil Fish, who is a racist, the guy behind Fez, he's racist because of the comments he made about Japanese game developers at GDC last year.
00:32:06.925 --> 00:32:13.765
Tom: So, there's probably quite a few people who would say you're racist for your comments made last week about Nintendo.
00:32:13.785 --> 00:32:14.085
Phil: No, no.
00:32:14.305 --> 00:32:15.805
Phil: Nintendo was racist.
00:32:15.825 --> 00:32:20.885
Tom: No, I understand that, but the accusations, there would be people who would think that was racist.
00:32:21.305 --> 00:32:24.765
Tom: I'm not saying they'd be right, but that would be an interpretation held by many.
00:32:25.465 --> 00:32:33.685
Phil: No, well, I'm supported on probably the most listened to podcast on the internet and the number one podcast on Neogaf.
00:32:34.045 --> 00:32:35.705
Phil: Guess what they were talking about this week?
00:32:36.745 --> 00:32:37.785
Tom: Nintendo's racism?
00:32:38.405 --> 00:32:38.885
Phil: Yes.
00:32:40.265 --> 00:32:47.545
Phil: They were talking about how Nintendo was so racist, and everyone knows what podcast I'm listening to.
00:32:47.625 --> 00:32:55.005
Tom: By its very nature, I don't think the majority defense is a very good one to choose when dealing with racism.
00:32:55.485 --> 00:32:58.265
Phil: No, I'm not giving a defense to my actions.
00:32:58.805 --> 00:33:00.045
Phil: I was calling out racism.
00:33:00.585 --> 00:33:04.445
Phil: You know, the first thing people want to do when they're called a racist is to call me racist.
00:33:04.465 --> 00:33:05.265
Phil: Well, guess what?
00:33:05.565 --> 00:33:08.105
Phil: They're the racist, because I got in first.
00:33:08.385 --> 00:33:09.925
Phil: All I'm doing is telling that...
00:33:09.945 --> 00:33:11.785
Phil: I'm not calling for any majority defense.
00:33:11.925 --> 00:33:16.845
Phil: All I'm saying is other podcasts are listening, and they're riding our coattails again.
00:33:17.205 --> 00:33:20.285
Phil: And I thought that this had come to a stop when we got no listeners.
00:33:21.085 --> 00:33:24.825
Phil: But apparently, this has started again.
00:33:24.845 --> 00:33:26.865
Phil: And I will be listening.
00:33:27.305 --> 00:33:32.965
Phil: I will be listening to the most popular podcasts, and I will be calling you guys out when you steal our shtick.
00:33:33.345 --> 00:33:34.265
Phil: It's not even a shtick.
00:33:34.905 --> 00:33:36.645
Phil: We can't make this stuff up.
00:33:36.705 --> 00:33:37.665
Phil: It's so bad.
00:33:38.665 --> 00:33:42.965
Phil: Anyway, the racist Phil Fish won't be releasing Fez 2 for any Xbox platforms.
00:33:42.985 --> 00:33:47.005
Phil: And you remember this is the cheapskate who released the broken game for the 360?
00:33:47.025 --> 00:33:48.585
Tom: Yep, and then begged for money to fix it.
00:33:49.225 --> 00:33:49.605
Phil: Nice.
00:33:49.865 --> 00:33:52.845
Tom: And they didn't give me a review copy either for Steam, so fuck them.
00:33:54.605 --> 00:34:01.545
Phil: That's another reason to buy an Xbox, is because racist Phil Fish will not be releasing Fez 2 for it.
00:34:02.345 --> 00:34:03.025
Phil: And guess what?
00:34:03.625 --> 00:34:04.265
Phil: I'll be buying...
00:34:04.785 --> 00:34:07.005
Phil: Oh no, I'm not going to buy any of his racist games.
00:34:07.725 --> 00:34:21.065
Phil: So over there at Sony, their response has got to be, well, it was good while it lasted, and this week we were reminded how great Sony is on the internet, and hopefully our $5 a month will help them buy new servers and whatnot.
00:34:21.085 --> 00:34:23.445
Phil: Why don't you tell us what happened over there?
00:34:23.465 --> 00:34:40.725
Tom: Well, basically they released update version 4.45, which featured probably the best update they have ever released online, and the only notable one, the other notable update was when they removed Linux, which is obviously not a good update.
00:34:40.725 --> 00:34:41.785
Tom: So with this update...
00:34:42.485 --> 00:34:45.385
Phil: No, no, the best update was when they...
00:34:45.405 --> 00:34:51.205
Phil: remember that time that February had 28 days?
00:34:51.805 --> 00:34:52.165
Tom: Oh, yeah.
00:34:52.325 --> 00:35:02.325
Phil: And then to save energy costs, they disabled your PlayStation 3 from being able to play any games.
00:35:03.745 --> 00:35:08.005
Tom: Well, it was good for the environment and also for your electricity bills.
00:35:08.985 --> 00:35:10.185
Phil: What did this moot patch do?
00:35:10.405 --> 00:35:18.245
Tom: Well, what it was meant to do was give the option to finally turn off trophy notifications, which I would have been all over.
00:35:18.625 --> 00:35:18.905
Tom: And...
00:35:19.625 --> 00:35:20.365
Phil: Oh, that's pretty good.
00:35:20.385 --> 00:35:26.585
Phil: You know, in Last of Us, there are notoriously very few trophies because they did not want to break the immersion of the game.
00:35:27.205 --> 00:35:28.285
Tom: True does to them for that.
00:35:28.925 --> 00:35:32.825
Tom: I mean, they've got trophies popping up every 12 seconds on Uncharted.
00:35:33.625 --> 00:35:35.585
Phil: Yeah, it's like a teenage boy on the Internet.
00:35:35.705 --> 00:35:36.045
Tom: Yeah.
00:35:37.465 --> 00:35:47.365
Tom: So, unfortunately, apart from giving the option to disable your trophy notifications, it also disabled many people's PS3s.
00:35:48.145 --> 00:35:48.525
Phil: Yes.
00:35:49.505 --> 00:35:55.125
Phil: And you might be thinking, oh, this is probably only disabling old PlayStation 3s.
00:35:55.145 --> 00:36:01.405
Phil: But no, if you go onto the Sony forums, it's PlayStation Fats, it's PlayStation Slims, it's PlayStation Slims.
00:36:01.425 --> 00:36:02.825
Phil: It's PlayStation Virginia Slims.
00:36:04.885 --> 00:36:06.145
Phil: They're all being taken down.
00:36:06.165 --> 00:36:11.745
Phil: Basically, after you apply this update, it just camps you out on the ribbon sparkly screen.
00:36:11.905 --> 00:36:12.225
Tom: Yep.
00:36:12.825 --> 00:36:14.205
Phil: And you can't proceed from there.
00:36:14.445 --> 00:36:21.945
Tom: Yeah, and they have taken it offline, so you don't need to worry about accidentally signing in and somehow accidentally updating.
00:36:22.585 --> 00:36:25.165
Tom: So at least that risk is now gone.
00:36:25.285 --> 00:36:29.345
Tom: But So2 has the option to turn off trophy notifications.
00:36:29.805 --> 00:36:30.845
Tom: So it's a sad day.
00:36:31.725 --> 00:36:37.765
Phil: If you're a pig and you have enough PlayStation 3s, you can build a brick house, because that's all your PlayStation 3 is going to be good for.
00:36:38.765 --> 00:36:41.405
Phil: There is actually a workaround.
00:36:41.405 --> 00:36:45.785
Phil: I didn't know this, but you can boot your PlayStation into safe mode and then restore it.
00:36:46.965 --> 00:36:57.645
Phil: Yeah, if you press and hold the power button, and it beeps, and it'll beep twice, and it'll beep twice again, it boots into its safe mode, and then you can either choose to restore it or reformat it.
00:36:57.765 --> 00:36:58.825
Phil: So that's kind of cool.
00:36:59.285 --> 00:37:10.325
Tom: Did you know you can also, on the PlayStation Fats, clean the PS3 by having the fan go on at maximum speed for a short period?
00:37:11.525 --> 00:37:12.025
Phil: How?
00:37:12.725 --> 00:37:21.205
Tom: What you do is you turn it off at the back, then you hold down the power button, and I may be remembering this incorrectly, but something like this.
00:37:21.425 --> 00:37:29.845
Tom: You hold down the power button, then you turn it back on the back, and the fan will go on at an extreme speed for about 15 seconds.
00:37:30.465 --> 00:37:34.325
Phil: Oh, like my PlayStation 3 doesn't summer for about four months.
00:37:34.465 --> 00:37:34.765
Tom: Yeah.
00:37:36.285 --> 00:37:37.165
Phil: That's pretty cool.
00:37:37.205 --> 00:37:42.385
Phil: Okay, so all in all, you were not going to be buying one of these Xbox ones anyway.
00:37:42.405 --> 00:37:44.645
Phil: I mean, god, 700 bucks!
00:37:45.165 --> 00:37:58.305
Tom: Yeah, I mean, there is nothing that appeals to me on the console except for D4, I swear it's a new game, but there was not a single Xbox game that at all piqued my interest whatsoever.
00:37:58.825 --> 00:38:07.965
Phil: Yeah, and I do want to say, I've heard from some people, the games we omitted from last week's coverage, you could have heard about and you did hear about everywhere else.
00:38:07.985 --> 00:38:12.385
Phil: The games we chose to talk about in our E3 coverage were games that we were interested in.
00:38:12.405 --> 00:38:14.645
Phil: And that wasn't much.
00:38:15.665 --> 00:38:21.125
Phil: Yeah, I mean, Titanfall is obviously on the, it's a Microsoft exclusive PC, Xbox One.
00:38:21.605 --> 00:38:22.945
Phil: That's the game from Respawn.
00:38:22.965 --> 00:38:27.505
Phil: That's arguably the most attractive game that they've got as an exclusive over there.
00:38:27.665 --> 00:38:28.705
Tom: Absolutely.
00:38:28.745 --> 00:38:35.365
Phil: But yeah, I mean, it looks phenomenal, but not for me, but for you maybe, it's all multiplayer online.
00:38:35.865 --> 00:38:42.485
Tom: I mean, for me, that's something I would be interested in following from a distance without actually playing it.
00:38:42.505 --> 00:38:46.585
Tom: But I have no interest in playing a Respawn game.
00:38:46.745 --> 00:38:50.825
Tom: I mean, let's be honest, it's going to be another Call of Duty.
00:38:51.905 --> 00:38:52.745
Phil: I'm not interested.
00:38:52.945 --> 00:38:53.245
Tom: Yeah.
00:38:53.345 --> 00:39:03.965
Tom: The closest thing that the people involved with it have done to doing something new and interesting was the Call of Duty 4 reboot where they rebooted the Call of Duty series.
00:39:03.985 --> 00:39:06.685
Tom: The only thing they changed was the setting.
00:39:07.165 --> 00:39:19.025
Tom: They did not change anything about the gameplay, so I'm assuming this is just going to be Call of Duty in space, which is fascinating and it would be fun, but at this stage, meh.
00:39:20.145 --> 00:39:22.305
Tom: I've had about 10 years of Call of Duty, that's enough.
00:39:22.965 --> 00:39:23.705
Phil: Meh, indeed.
00:39:24.585 --> 00:39:25.225
Phil: Meh, indeed.
00:39:26.045 --> 00:39:30.125
Phil: We didn't talk about Mirror's Edge 2 last week, though.
00:39:30.185 --> 00:39:33.765
Tom: But we were meant to, so that was just an error on our parts.
00:39:34.125 --> 00:39:37.725
Phil: Yeah, and so I mean, number one, DICE is developing it.
00:39:37.745 --> 00:39:44.885
Phil: I thought if EA was going to bring back Mirror's Edge 2, they would just totally exploit the fuck out of it and give it to some no-name developer.
00:39:45.785 --> 00:39:50.025
Phil: But the fact that DICE is doing it means this is going to be a labor of love, just like the first one.
00:39:50.925 --> 00:39:58.025
Tom: And the trailer just looked extremely good, and if that is the gameplay, that is going to be just incredible.
00:39:58.085 --> 00:40:14.545
Tom: And once again, the color scheme bothers me, but I think it actually works better with how the graphics are now, because from watching the trailer, it moved at a much faster pace, and there was much more fluency.
00:40:14.545 --> 00:40:32.845
Tom: So with the extreme color scheme they were using, it made the color sort of meld together more and blend together, whereas on the original, because it was slower, you were staring at these primary colors as static things, so it should be less distracting here.
00:40:32.845 --> 00:40:45.845
Phil: Yeah, it has a much more fluid look to it, a little bit more evocative of the original Alan Wake, which had this, like I've talked before, an otherworldly effect that was somewhat closer to reality.
00:40:47.365 --> 00:40:57.105
Phil: I think, yeah, so much more closer to human vision than camera vision, and maybe that's one thing that the next generation of consoles is going to be able to bring to us.
00:40:58.185 --> 00:41:04.405
Phil: So that is a game that we did not mention last week that we totally planned on and should have mentioned, but...
00:41:04.785 --> 00:41:07.085
Tom: And we didn't mention Halo 5 because we don't care.
00:41:07.945 --> 00:41:10.125
Phil: Well, and they didn't even say it was Halo 5.
00:41:10.145 --> 00:41:13.785
Phil: They were just like the next Halo game, and it was basically Master Chief in a poncho.
00:41:13.805 --> 00:41:16.605
Tom: I think it's been since confirmed as Halo 5.
00:41:16.625 --> 00:41:16.965
Phil: It has?
00:41:17.305 --> 00:41:21.985
Tom: Well, I don't know if it's been confirmed, but everyone is referring to it as Halo 5, so...
00:41:22.065 --> 00:41:23.445
Phil: Well, okay, great.
00:41:23.465 --> 00:41:24.285
Phil: I mean, good on ya.
00:41:25.265 --> 00:41:27.325
Phil: You know, I loved Halo 4, so...
00:41:28.245 --> 00:41:31.825
Phil: Let's move on to If It's Okay, Good Sir, NPD.
00:41:32.105 --> 00:41:34.565
Tom: Well, it's not okay, but I will humor you.
00:41:34.985 --> 00:41:38.445
Phil: Well, it happens about once a month, and this month we're gonna do something a little bit different.
00:41:38.705 --> 00:41:44.645
Phil: I will say that overall retail, the industry was down by 25% over this time last month.
00:41:46.945 --> 00:41:53.325
Phil: Massively huge, and it was so bad that, you know, consoles weren't releasing hardware sales figures.
00:41:53.365 --> 00:41:57.025
Phil: I mean, usually Microsoft wants to do that, that they weren't even trumpeting that.
00:41:57.045 --> 00:42:00.765
Phil: This week I think they were even below the DS or 3DS or whatever.
00:42:00.785 --> 00:42:01.345
Phil: It doesn't matter.
00:42:01.505 --> 00:42:13.845
Tom: Do you think that this is because of E3 and the new consoles given release dates and prices, or do you think it is just indicative of the general downturn getting even worse?
00:42:14.365 --> 00:42:16.285
Phil: It's May, and it's just the downturn.
00:42:17.105 --> 00:42:24.705
Phil: It's the lack of exciting games, because Last of Us doesn't hit in this one, and Last of Us isn't exclusive, so it doesn't count.
00:42:25.045 --> 00:42:29.745
Phil: But just looking at the top ten here, and I'll give you time to think over this.
00:42:29.765 --> 00:42:33.765
Phil: I'll tell the viewers at home, listeners at home what the top ten were, in order.
00:42:34.225 --> 00:42:36.565
Phil: Just let me know if any of these jump out at you at all.
00:42:36.845 --> 00:42:39.865
Phil: Starting at number ten, Lego Batman 2.
00:42:40.445 --> 00:42:43.485
Phil: Quite frankly, it's only on the list, because it was released for every console.
00:42:43.545 --> 00:42:56.745
Phil: So Lego Batman 2, Battlefield 3 for the HD systems, Bioshock Infinite at number eight, NBA 2K13, it's NBA finals time in the United States.
00:42:57.445 --> 00:42:58.745
Phil: Metro Last Light.
00:42:59.365 --> 00:43:01.905
Tom: That's surprising to see it that high, I would say.
00:43:02.945 --> 00:43:04.865
Tom: And it has done very well.
00:43:04.885 --> 00:43:07.765
Tom: I believe it sold over 3 million units thus far.
00:43:07.785 --> 00:43:13.205
Tom: So that is absolutely huge when you consider how niche 2033 was.
00:43:14.345 --> 00:43:24.865
Tom: And even more shocking, even more shocking, the sales of 3 million units, according to the publishers Deep Silver, this was a great result as opposed to a crushing disappointment.
00:43:25.965 --> 00:43:28.585
Phil: Well, Deep Silver is a much smaller developer.
00:43:28.605 --> 00:43:37.105
Phil: I don't even think or know actually, I don't think that they're publicly held like these other companies that crow about how poor these sales are.
00:43:38.265 --> 00:43:39.965
Phil: And they're a much slimmer operation.
00:43:40.005 --> 00:43:44.565
Phil: Obviously, yeah, I mean, so that's great that they appeared at all.
00:43:45.405 --> 00:43:55.045
Phil: Luigi's Mansion, 3DS, number 4, Dead Island Riptide, which is just basically a cheap cash in, got in number 4.
00:43:55.085 --> 00:43:57.765
Tom: And that is another Deep Silver published game, by the way.
00:43:57.785 --> 00:43:59.845
Phil: Yeah, it is actually two in the top ten.
00:43:59.865 --> 00:44:02.085
Phil: So they're doing very well at the moment.
00:44:02.965 --> 00:44:08.045
Phil: They'll be churning out some regrettable games soon with their ill-gotten gains.
00:44:08.305 --> 00:44:12.905
Phil: Number 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns for the 3DS and Wii, not Wii U.
00:44:13.145 --> 00:44:17.705
Tom: So clearly everyone hates this series, as has been shown with the backlash.
00:44:18.265 --> 00:44:19.305
Phil: Yep, and number...
00:44:20.305 --> 00:44:22.165
Phil: Yep, people talking with their wallets.
00:44:22.225 --> 00:44:22.545
Tom: Yep.
00:44:23.885 --> 00:44:26.005
Phil: Number 2, Call of Duty Black Ops 2.
00:44:26.405 --> 00:44:26.905
Phil: Why not?
00:44:27.285 --> 00:44:28.185
Tom: Not a surprise there.
00:44:28.885 --> 00:44:29.605
Phil: Yep, why not?
00:44:29.845 --> 00:44:33.945
Phil: And then finally, again, this totally surprises me.
00:44:34.905 --> 00:44:39.685
Tom: I was in some disagreement with you as it too had been surprising, and on the VG press...
00:44:40.805 --> 00:44:42.105
Phil: We haven't said what game it is yet.
00:44:42.165 --> 00:45:02.065
Tom: Yep, Robio did in fact confirm that it has a lot to do with the comic it's based on, and God's Among Us is actually a comic book series, I believe he said, so it is in the title, as we were wondering about a while ago, so that's not actually surprising that it might still be up so high, I would say.
00:45:02.085 --> 00:45:12.025
Phil: Well, in Injustice God's Among Us, the fighting game made by the Mortal Kombat guys set on the DC universe is number one seller.
00:45:12.785 --> 00:45:24.425
Phil: So God's Among Us, I mean, if comic book aficionados and collectors bought it just because of collecting, I mean, that's good for what, 16,000 copies?
00:45:25.365 --> 00:45:28.705
Phil: But the rest of it, I guess it's a new fighting game.
00:45:28.965 --> 00:45:30.665
Tom: And it has Batman in it, so...
00:45:31.245 --> 00:45:34.785
Phil: So, NPD, probably the most boring month of them all.
00:45:34.805 --> 00:45:43.525
Phil: Of those ten, if I were to give you a free pass that says you can buy any of these games that you haven't already played, go ahead and get it, what would it be?
00:45:43.965 --> 00:45:45.605
Tom: Any single one or all of them?
00:45:45.625 --> 00:45:46.845
Phil: Any single one, just one.
00:45:47.705 --> 00:45:49.305
Tom: Does it have to be for a console I have?
00:45:49.325 --> 00:45:51.225
Tom: Are you going to throw in a console for me as well?
00:45:51.245 --> 00:45:56.225
Phil: No, free console thrown in, but you can only use that console to play this one game, then I take the console back.
00:45:56.525 --> 00:45:58.365
Tom: Luigi's Mansion, Dark Moon.
00:46:01.545 --> 00:46:02.645
Phil: Really?
00:46:02.765 --> 00:46:03.205
Tom: Easily.
00:46:03.925 --> 00:46:07.185
Phil: I have a 3DS, why would I want to buy Luigi's Mansion 2?
00:46:07.805 --> 00:46:11.465
Tom: Because it's Luigi's Mansion and it is, by all accounts, awesome.
00:46:12.945 --> 00:46:14.385
Phil: Mario!
00:46:16.565 --> 00:46:17.445
Phil: Mario!
00:46:17.465 --> 00:46:22.445
Tom: If you're not a fan of Luigi's Mansion, I take it.
00:46:23.725 --> 00:46:24.945
Phil: I dug it, it's cool.
00:46:24.965 --> 00:46:30.005
Phil: I bought it at fucking launch with a console to play it, so I'd say I'm a pretty big fan.
00:46:30.405 --> 00:46:31.985
Tom: So then what are you complaining about?
00:46:32.885 --> 00:46:34.205
Phil: I sold it back 2 weeks later.
00:46:36.265 --> 00:46:36.965
Phil: Those were the days.
00:46:38.225 --> 00:46:40.165
Tom: What single game on this would you buy?
00:46:41.205 --> 00:46:48.045
Phil: You know, it'd be a toss up between Bioshock Infinite or Donkey Kong Country Returns.
00:46:50.685 --> 00:46:53.145
Phil: I'm not sure I could go back to Wii graphics at this point.
00:46:54.345 --> 00:46:56.625
Tom: I would hope you get Donkey Kong Country Returns.
00:46:56.645 --> 00:46:59.005
Tom: That is a challenging 2D platform.
00:46:59.025 --> 00:47:00.685
Tom: You do realize that, right?
00:47:01.205 --> 00:47:06.845
Phil: I know what it is, and I beat Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 and 3.
00:47:07.265 --> 00:47:09.305
Phil: So I know what I'm getting into here.
00:47:10.085 --> 00:47:10.705
Phil: Oh, God!
00:47:11.405 --> 00:47:18.645
Tom: How can you have beaten Donkey Kong Country yet have so much trouble with Mario, which is much easier to play?
00:47:19.165 --> 00:47:20.385
Phil: It was made by Rare.
00:47:20.665 --> 00:47:24.185
Phil: It was made by English speaking people, and I understood where they were coming from.
00:47:26.185 --> 00:47:27.605
Phil: And I played a lot.
00:47:27.965 --> 00:47:30.805
Phil: And I didn't beat 3 until about 2 years ago.
00:47:31.565 --> 00:47:32.685
Phil: But I don't know.
00:47:32.785 --> 00:47:34.105
Phil: These things don't make sense.
00:47:34.325 --> 00:47:37.685
Phil: You know, it's very complicated.
00:47:39.465 --> 00:47:40.585
Phil: All right, well, you know what?
00:47:40.605 --> 00:47:47.445
Phil: I'd probably get Call of Duty Black Ops 2 just so I could see what the Nintendo Wii U console thing was like.
00:47:48.125 --> 00:47:48.925
Phil: So there you go.
00:47:48.945 --> 00:47:52.865
Phil: That's the game I'd get Call of Duty Black Ops 2 for the Nintendo Wii U.
00:47:52.925 --> 00:47:53.585
Tom: Excellent.
00:47:55.225 --> 00:48:00.385
Tom: The only way you could have chosen a less popular choice was to go with Dead Island, I would say.
00:48:01.225 --> 00:48:05.365
Phil: Yeah, for the decapitated booby torso.
00:48:07.165 --> 00:48:12.185
Tom: So moving on from NPD, we've got a final short bit of news here.
00:48:12.865 --> 00:48:22.145
Tom: And we're just leading to it by announcing that apparently the Oculus Rift received in total $16 million in backing on Kickstarter.
00:48:22.745 --> 00:48:23.365
Phil: Yeah, right on.
00:48:23.525 --> 00:48:24.825
Tom: Yep, so that is huge.
00:48:24.965 --> 00:48:39.905
Tom: And even bigger news related to the Oculus Rift is that there is going to be the erotic game that everyone backing the project for no doubt has fantasized about and secretly, secretly donated their money for.
00:48:40.005 --> 00:48:48.745
Tom: And this is going to be made by developers who worked on the likes of Rage, the Call of Duty series, Lost Planet, Madden and Planetside 2.
00:48:49.285 --> 00:48:50.805
Tom: It's called...
00:48:51.125 --> 00:48:51.825
Tom: What's it called?
00:48:51.845 --> 00:48:52.305
Tom: I've forgotten.
00:48:53.025 --> 00:48:54.805
Phil: Oculus Rift Erotic Adventure Game?
00:48:54.825 --> 00:48:55.985
Tom: No, that's not the title of it.
00:48:56.925 --> 00:48:57.505
Tom: That's not...
00:48:57.525 --> 00:49:04.325
Tom: The game is called Wicked Paradise, and it's described as a world with highly realistic inhabitants.
00:49:04.345 --> 00:49:09.165
Tom: You could walk into a bar, notice a beautiful lady, start talking to her and seduce her.
00:49:09.185 --> 00:49:13.625
Phil: How are you going to do that?
00:49:15.785 --> 00:49:17.665
Phil: Certainly not using my wit and charm.
00:49:19.205 --> 00:49:23.305
Tom: Is anyone noticing a small problem with the Oculus Rift interface here?
00:49:23.805 --> 00:49:25.885
Tom: What's going to happen when you have seduced her?
00:49:26.625 --> 00:49:28.525
Phil: Okay, here's the biggest problem.
00:49:29.125 --> 00:49:30.825
Phil: Imagine walking into a bar.
00:49:31.085 --> 00:49:33.225
Phil: Okay, I'm with you up to that point.
00:49:34.985 --> 00:49:36.885
Phil: I walk to the bar, I order a drink.
00:49:37.245 --> 00:49:38.985
Phil: Okay, this is all good so far.
00:49:39.605 --> 00:49:40.625
Phil: Order another drink.
00:49:40.785 --> 00:49:42.065
Phil: Okay, great.
00:49:42.705 --> 00:49:50.025
Phil: Notice a beautiful lady, feel insecure, ignore her, have another drink, leave the bar.
00:49:51.345 --> 00:49:55.145
Phil: I mean, if this is a reality simulator, that's what would happen in my life.
00:49:56.365 --> 00:49:58.505
Phil: I'm supposed to talk to her and seduce her?
00:49:59.285 --> 00:50:00.845
Phil: You can do that in Yakuza games.
00:50:01.425 --> 00:50:02.405
Tom: Yep, indeed.
00:50:02.705 --> 00:50:05.525
Tom: But it's not virtual reality in Yakuza games.
00:50:06.485 --> 00:50:16.445
Phil: Well, the Oculus Rift, I will answer your question, but the Oculus Rift, I've thought about, you know, I've seen these things since the 90s, back when you were just a pup.
00:50:18.665 --> 00:50:20.905
Phil: I've seen these things and I'm like, okay, I get it.
00:50:20.925 --> 00:50:24.765
Phil: These big heavy clunky things you put on your head and they're horrible and they don't work.
00:50:25.445 --> 00:50:39.605
Phil: I have heard the most skeptical of skeptical people who have actually experienced the Oculus Rift gush about it and just hope that this game is rifted or that game is rifted, which really has me interested in this.
00:50:39.705 --> 00:50:52.025
Phil: You know, they talk about games where you're in a mech and you look down and you expect to see your legs and you move your legs just to see if they move, you know?
00:50:52.425 --> 00:51:00.465
Phil: Because if you're looking down and you're, oh, there's a pair of legs, oh, there's some hands, you want to move your hands just to see if they move, you know?
00:51:01.865 --> 00:51:03.705
Phil: It's got to be pretty impressive.
00:51:03.725 --> 00:51:10.425
Phil: And so far, right now, it's only the developers' kits out there that have pretty degradated graphics and all the rest of it.
00:51:10.985 --> 00:51:13.505
Phil: I'm excited to see what they can do with this thing.
00:51:14.285 --> 00:51:21.465
Phil: Now, to answer your question, once you do seduce this woman, yeah, what are you supposed to do?
00:51:22.705 --> 00:51:24.705
Phil: I'm assuming your head has a lot...
00:51:24.845 --> 00:51:28.065
Phil: I mean, you can only move your head around, right?
00:51:28.385 --> 00:51:28.825
Tom: Correct.
00:51:28.965 --> 00:51:31.525
Tom: Well, you could also use a treadmill to walk around.
00:51:31.545 --> 00:51:35.785
Phil: No, that's a lot of effort.
00:51:36.005 --> 00:51:38.225
Phil: I mean, how does walking help you in a situation?
00:51:38.985 --> 00:51:44.905
Phil: The bottom line is, you're going to be seeing virtual reality nakedity, right?
00:51:45.105 --> 00:51:45.385
Tom: Yeah.
00:51:45.405 --> 00:51:45.805
Phil: Nakedness.
00:51:45.925 --> 00:51:52.965
Tom: Yeah, but you will have to use third-party peripherals for any other more immersive experiences after the seduction.
00:51:53.605 --> 00:51:54.525
Phil: This is the other thing.
00:51:54.545 --> 00:52:01.525
Phil: I had a great friend back in the 90s say, okay, you know, this game was so great.
00:52:01.845 --> 00:52:13.945
Phil: I was wearing this virtual reality headset at E3, and there was an apple on a table, and I could pick up the apple, and I could move the apple towards my face, and it was just like I was eating an apple.
00:52:13.965 --> 00:52:17.585
Tom: Apart from the part where you're eating an apple, that is.
00:52:17.645 --> 00:52:22.605
Phil: Yeah, we were sitting, we happened to be at a kitchen table, and I grabbed an apple, I'm like, here, give it another try.
00:52:22.965 --> 00:52:33.425
Phil: I mean, you know, that is what virtual reality has been up to this point, is like, oh man, I could pick up an apple and eat an apple, except the actual tasting of the apple.
00:52:33.725 --> 00:52:39.785
Phil: It's like, okay, well, I mean, you know, I know a lot of gamification could be added to this.
00:52:40.165 --> 00:52:43.585
Phil: I know that driving a car in a video game isn't just like driving a car.
00:52:43.605 --> 00:52:46.945
Phil: I know that shooting a gun in a video game is nothing like shooting a gun in real life.
00:52:46.965 --> 00:52:51.005
Phil: So, you know, the bottom line is, I'm really excited about the Oculus Rift.
00:52:51.025 --> 00:53:01.965
Phil: And, you know, I know it's just like the first generation of hopefulness, and I'm really excited to see when this stuff starts to bleed over into regular PC gaming and console.
00:53:01.985 --> 00:53:14.145
Tom: Now that you do have a more powerful PC, would you actually consider getting this over a console, given that it is, I think, going to go on sale for something around $300, so actually cheaper than a console?
00:53:14.825 --> 00:53:21.045
Phil: If it has developer support, and it's already being supported, I think, by the Crytek engine and the Unreal Engine natively?
00:53:21.285 --> 00:53:21.545
Tom: Yep.
00:53:21.745 --> 00:53:22.545
Phil: Absolutely.
00:53:22.645 --> 00:53:24.145
Phil: I mean, why wouldn't you do that?
00:53:24.625 --> 00:53:25.765
Tom: Over a console, though?
00:53:26.645 --> 00:53:28.805
Phil: Oh, yeah, for 300 bucks, yeah.
00:53:28.825 --> 00:53:43.945
Phil: I feel like if I had a finite amount of money and I can control what the left and right arrows on a keyboard does, and then basically just wear it and then use a mouse, yeah, I'd be all for it.
00:53:43.965 --> 00:53:56.205
Phil: I mean, as long as it doesn't cause nausea the way the 3DS does for me, I'd have to test it first, but assuming that it works the way that people are crying about it, absolutely, I'd give it a try.
00:53:56.385 --> 00:53:56.785
Tom: Excellent.
00:53:56.805 --> 00:53:58.165
Tom: So you are all behind it then?
00:53:59.045 --> 00:54:10.165
Phil: I'm all behind the concept of it, and as I said, I've heard the most skeptical people on the internet gush about it, so there has to be something going for it.
00:54:11.565 --> 00:54:17.205
Phil: I think with that we'll close out the news, and I've already talked about the game that I've been playing mostly this week.
00:54:18.185 --> 00:54:19.765
Phil: Last week we talked about Uncharted.
00:54:19.785 --> 00:54:21.545
Phil: You were going to start Uncharted 2.
00:54:21.745 --> 00:54:23.025
Phil: Did you get a chance to do that?
00:54:23.045 --> 00:54:24.125
Tom: Yes, I did.
00:54:25.845 --> 00:54:28.285
Tom: And I have since finished Uncharted 2.
00:54:29.005 --> 00:54:30.025
Phil: What?
00:54:30.745 --> 00:54:31.445
Phil: You glutton.
00:54:32.645 --> 00:54:33.725
Tom: Well, they're quite short.
00:54:33.765 --> 00:54:38.545
Tom: I mean, it took probably under 10 hours, or maybe around 10 hours to play through.
00:54:39.085 --> 00:54:40.885
Tom: They're not long games at all.
00:54:41.245 --> 00:54:41.665
Tom: So...
00:54:42.405 --> 00:54:46.605
Phil: Will this include any spoilers, my man?
00:54:47.365 --> 00:54:48.005
Tom: No, it will not.
00:54:48.665 --> 00:54:50.705
Phil: Okay, well, this game is from quite a while ago.
00:54:53.145 --> 00:54:54.185
Phil: But I just want to give one...
00:54:54.285 --> 00:54:56.205
Phil: This is right at the very start of the game.
00:54:56.585 --> 00:54:56.845
Tom: Yep.
00:54:57.085 --> 00:55:05.945
Phil: Right at the very start of the game, they start out at a tropical bar, and then they move into a stealth setting.
00:55:05.965 --> 00:55:06.945
Phil: What did you think about...
00:55:07.105 --> 00:55:10.405
Phil: How did you like that opening, first of all, before they moved into the stealth setting?
00:55:10.665 --> 00:55:12.145
Tom: The bar scene specifically?
00:55:13.845 --> 00:55:15.325
Tom: Well, here's the thing.
00:55:15.345 --> 00:55:36.745
Tom: The first thing I noticed about the bar scene was what they have done really badly, compared to the first Uncharted, is they have not found the balance between having the cutscenes look close enough to the gameplay where you don't notice it that it looks better, but it looks good enough where they can frame their shot so that everything looks perfect in the shot.
00:55:37.325 --> 00:55:46.205
Tom: So the first thing I noticed was that obviously, technically, this wasn't the first thing I noticed, given that the gameplay followed directly afterwards, but not technically.
00:55:46.225 --> 00:56:07.645
Tom: The first thing I noticed was what they've done here is they've made the cut scenes look a lot more painterly and they make it look more like they've filmed the actors and then painted them over, whereas in the first Uncharted, they looked like they had slightly higher res models, polygonal models of the characters themselves.
00:56:07.665 --> 00:56:13.605
Tom: So the first thing I noticed about that scene was the disparity when compared to the gameplay.
00:56:14.365 --> 00:56:20.765
Tom: And the other bizarre thing I noticed about this scene was the fact that it looked bad.
00:56:21.425 --> 00:56:41.725
Tom: And at first I thought this was due to me playing it in 576p and playing something that was designed to be played in 1080p or 720p, but I went to YouTube and it looks washed out, the contrast is off, and I don't know, the depth looks all wrong.
00:56:41.745 --> 00:56:50.645
Tom: It just looks nowhere near as polished and consistent as the actual game does, even though it is of high fidelity.
00:56:51.485 --> 00:56:53.585
Phil: Wow, I'm so sorry I asked.
00:56:55.025 --> 00:56:56.505
Phil: I thought it was a great intro.
00:56:56.525 --> 00:57:00.245
Phil: You got the English guy and this new character, Chloe.
00:57:00.265 --> 00:57:06.745
Tom: See, now can I just ask, did this stand out to you at all when playing the game?
00:57:07.345 --> 00:57:09.845
Phil: When playing the game, yeah, it was great, because it's just like...
00:57:09.865 --> 00:57:12.745
Tom: No, no, no, I mean the graphics parts that I'm talking about.
00:57:12.885 --> 00:57:14.125
Phil: Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
00:57:17.465 --> 00:57:25.105
Phil: I just love the scene, I love the setting, and I love the characters that were there, and the interplay between them.
00:57:25.585 --> 00:57:39.305
Tom: As to the actual scene, I would say it was definitely a much better opening than Uncharted, simply for the fact that an early stage Alana was not involved in it.
00:57:40.105 --> 00:57:51.625
Tom: Beyond that, I think it did suffer from many of the problems that Uncharted did right at the beginning, in that Chloe, who is the new love interest, right?
00:57:51.645 --> 00:58:05.125
Tom: She begins off incredibly underdeveloped, and the English guy, they're both such extreme stereotypes as well, and the most hilarious thing about this is though, the new woman is Australian, right?
00:58:06.785 --> 00:58:09.625
Phil: Apparently, she could be South African, quite frankly.
00:58:09.725 --> 00:58:11.285
Tom: Well, she's meant to be Australian.
00:58:11.885 --> 00:58:12.305
Phil: Is she?
00:58:12.325 --> 00:58:15.925
Phil: I mean, they make no reference to Nate going down under.
00:58:15.945 --> 00:58:19.605
Tom: Well, according to the Wiki, she is Australian.
00:58:21.105 --> 00:58:44.445
Tom: She uses Australian slang, and they cast an Australian actress to play her, and instead of choosing an Australian actress who has some sort of stereotypical Australian accent, they've chosen Claudia Black, who is famous for English sounding or South African, as you said, but the point being, who has an accent that is anything but Australian.
00:58:45.345 --> 00:58:52.885
Phil: Yeah, and I think that adds to it, because they basically wanted to sound somewhat exotic without lending her a specific background.
00:58:53.245 --> 00:58:54.145
Phil: I found it annoying.
00:58:54.645 --> 00:59:12.505
Tom: Yeah, well, I think what it is, either A, they had no idea what an Australian accent was, or B, they knew exactly what an Australian accent was, and because she was meant to be this hardcore edging love interest, they decided to steer well clear of the Australian accent.
00:59:13.605 --> 00:59:17.105
Phil: Oh, you didn't want them sounding like our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
00:59:18.285 --> 00:59:20.465
Tom: That's what I'm thinking with her character.
00:59:22.665 --> 00:59:25.745
Phil: Who is actually Welsh, you know, by birth.
00:59:28.205 --> 00:59:32.925
Phil: I thought that they basically cast her on a voice, and her voice is very sexual.
00:59:33.405 --> 00:59:38.005
Phil: It's exceedingly breathy and deep.
00:59:38.445 --> 00:59:45.185
Tom: By this you mean it sounds like she is a career smoker with a bad case of emcema.
00:59:46.085 --> 00:59:47.825
Phil: Or a transvestite.
00:59:48.745 --> 00:59:52.965
Phil: Either way, I can see why they cast her.
00:59:53.165 --> 00:59:56.005
Phil: She is everything that Elena is not.
00:59:56.045 --> 01:00:08.425
Phil: She is a hard driving sexual object, whereas Elena is more of a bookish, nebbish kind of person.
01:00:09.905 --> 01:00:13.585
Phil: But I did not like her as a character.
01:00:13.605 --> 01:00:17.185
Phil: I thought they overplayed her ass ridiculously.
01:00:17.685 --> 01:00:21.565
Tom: Well, it wasn't just her ass, they also did that with Elena as well.
01:00:22.545 --> 01:00:23.025
Phil: Did they?
01:00:24.125 --> 01:00:26.045
Tom: There were a couple of references there as well.
01:00:26.645 --> 01:00:29.505
Tom: It was that they completely overplayed the ass joke.
01:00:29.505 --> 01:00:31.345
Tom: It wasn't that they overplayed it with her.
01:00:31.685 --> 01:00:34.885
Tom: They did it throughout the entire game constantly, including...
01:00:35.785 --> 01:00:48.605
Phil: The reason why you're correct on that is because I'm playing another Naughty Dog game, and the first time I saw this 14-year-old girl climb a ladder in front of me, I went, where's the Naughty Dog joke?
01:00:50.165 --> 01:00:56.865
Phil: I mean, this is the time when the guy is down and the female character climbs the ladder.
01:00:57.265 --> 01:00:58.745
Phil: Where's the joke?
01:01:00.905 --> 01:01:02.265
Phil: So you know they overplayed it.
01:01:04.085 --> 01:01:12.905
Tom: But here's what I'm saying about the opening cutscene and why it worked so much better than how Uncharted 1 began.
01:01:13.145 --> 01:01:21.685
Tom: And that is, I don't think that Chloe was at all a more engaging character to begin with than Alana and the English guy as well.
01:01:21.765 --> 01:01:28.185
Tom: I think they were both really underdeveloped at this stage in the story, but they were actually relevant to the story.
01:01:28.425 --> 01:01:33.365
Tom: And you know, there was some mystery as to what their role was going to be in the story.
01:01:33.385 --> 01:01:36.965
Tom: So both of them, you thought, okay, they could be on our side or not.
01:01:37.665 --> 01:01:38.165
Phil: Yeah.
01:01:38.265 --> 01:01:40.325
Tom: That was not there at all in the first one.
01:01:41.865 --> 01:01:44.405
Phil: Wait, wait, but in the first one, you do have that moment.
01:01:44.585 --> 01:01:48.505
Phil: And again, this is spoiler territory, guys, for a game that's seven years old.
01:01:48.525 --> 01:01:50.145
Tom: I would have just said there's no spoilers.
01:01:50.525 --> 01:01:52.245
Phil: There's plenty of spoilers ahead.
01:01:52.565 --> 01:01:53.445
Tom: Yeah.
01:01:54.665 --> 01:01:59.845
Phil: Post the sub with Sully, there is some question.
01:02:00.445 --> 01:02:03.165
Tom: Yeah, but that's like two hours into the game.
01:02:03.165 --> 01:02:04.925
Phil: Okay, you're saying, but right off the bat.
01:02:04.945 --> 01:02:07.185
Phil: Yeah, you're right, because I was dealing with these people.
01:02:07.205 --> 01:02:08.625
Phil: I'm like, are these guys friendly?
01:02:08.845 --> 01:02:09.745
Phil: Are these guys not?
01:02:09.765 --> 01:02:10.565
Phil: Where's Sully?
01:02:10.585 --> 01:02:11.285
Phil: Where's Elena?
01:02:11.965 --> 01:02:22.065
Tom: Yeah, but more importantly, and this is where Uncharted 2 is vastly improved over Uncharted 1, and it is evident right at the beginning.
01:02:22.825 --> 01:02:26.905
Tom: So, as you said, it doesn't continue on from the bar scene.
01:02:26.925 --> 01:02:35.325
Tom: It moves from the bar scene into a totally different setting, and this was actually following an opening that was also unrelated to the bar scene that was in a different setting.
01:02:36.125 --> 01:02:59.065
Tom: So, already they've set up the fact that this is going to move from setting to setting in a very cohesive manner, which I don't think worked particularly well with how they told the story, because it did prevent them from building up much narrative momentum, but what it did was completely change how the gameplay unfolded.
01:02:59.125 --> 01:03:11.665
Tom: In Uncharted 1, you start off in a tropical setting on some boat shooting people, you end up in a tropical setting on an island shooting people, and this lasts for hours and hours.
01:03:11.945 --> 01:03:26.565
Tom: And after a while, and the other reason it's so bad in Uncharted 1 is within this one tropical setting, you're moving through the same area multiple times, like three or four times through the exact same spot to move on to another.
01:03:26.885 --> 01:03:38.005
Tom: So it very much emphasizes the repetition in the setting in Uncharted 1 until you do move from the jungle to the exotic town.
01:03:38.265 --> 01:04:01.545
Tom: In Uncharted 2, it starts off in one setting, moves to another, then to another, and so at the very beginning, instead of having the one setting overdone, it's moving you from setting to setting very quickly as it introduces the game mechanics, which is a brilliant way to slowly introduce mechanics through an extended tutorial setting, which is what the first two hours of an Uncharted 2 are.
01:04:01.565 --> 01:04:07.125
Tom: And it's not until the end of the game where they have you in the one setting for an extended period of time.
01:04:07.405 --> 01:04:12.525
Tom: At which stage you're then used to the game and you've been all around the world.
01:04:12.705 --> 01:04:16.585
Tom: So that's the right time, I would say, to then have the player settled down somewhere.
01:04:16.965 --> 01:04:21.245
Tom: And I think that is played absolutely perfectly in Uncharted 2.
01:04:22.185 --> 01:04:30.465
Phil: I do now realize why the impact of that bar setting in a tropical setting, why that had such impact.
01:04:30.485 --> 01:04:43.225
Phil: And that is because I forgot the opening scene of the game, which of course is that classic vertical climb up a train with Nate making all the usual self-comments about, God, how did I get into this situation?
01:04:43.245 --> 01:04:44.945
Phil: And it's so cold and all the rest of it.
01:04:45.165 --> 01:04:55.945
Phil: And he finally gets up to the top and you feel like you've really accomplished something and some guy shoots you and then it fades and then it goes back to this tropical setting.
01:04:55.965 --> 01:04:57.325
Phil: How did this all get started?
01:04:57.785 --> 01:05:05.145
Phil: And I thought that was a wonderful opening and it talks to what you're talking about, which is this variety of settings.
01:05:05.605 --> 01:05:14.245
Phil: And I think that probably coming from the most desperate situation where you've just seen Nate shot, possibly dead, how did this all get started?
01:05:15.185 --> 01:05:29.285
Phil: Moving from the snow to a tropical island where light beers are being served was a massive impact because it was kind of like, Nate's dead, and then you get moved to a, oh, this is all very nice, who are these people?
01:05:29.985 --> 01:05:32.245
Phil: And then from there, they move into that stealth level.
01:05:32.645 --> 01:05:36.405
Phil: And then from there, I mean, I don't even know where it goes.
01:05:36.425 --> 01:05:38.265
Phil: It just keeps rolling and rolling and rolling.
01:05:38.385 --> 01:05:49.805
Tom: Well, I actually carry through this contrast, which works extremely well for the tutorial because in the opening scene where you are climbing, the whole point of it is that Nate is not in control.
01:05:49.825 --> 01:05:54.785
Tom: Then instead of moving on with the story, he would continue not being in control.
01:05:54.785 --> 01:05:58.965
Tom: It does go to the cell section where he is 100% in control.
01:05:58.985 --> 01:06:03.625
Tom: He's basically being a dickhead, robbing a place, and he's in full power of it.
01:06:03.985 --> 01:06:07.585
Tom: And they basically play on that until they have introduced all the mechanics.
01:06:07.605 --> 01:06:18.725
Tom: So even in the settings following that, until they've gone through their extremely long-winded tutorial 100%, it's always in a setting where Nate is the aggressor and is in control.
01:06:19.205 --> 01:06:36.605
Tom: So they have tailored the story to perfectly suit the gameplay rather than the other way around, whereas in Uncharted 1, they were telling the story in a much more traditional action film sort of way, which worked against the gameplay to a degree.
01:06:36.625 --> 01:06:42.045
Tom: So here they've reversed how they're doing that, which is to the game's great benefit.
01:06:42.065 --> 01:06:45.485
Tom: Now, the great change in it is actually the stealth.
01:06:45.645 --> 01:07:01.405
Tom: Now, they did play with stealth in Uncharted 1, by which I mean they said you should go and kill this person quietly, but the reality of the situation was you could maybe kill one or two people before you were eventually inundated in a shootout, right?
01:07:01.925 --> 01:07:02.285
Phil: Right.
01:07:02.285 --> 01:07:12.965
Phil: I mean, you could basically drop down on a guy and knock him out, or you could sneak up on a guy and choke him out, but it was only a matter of time before it devolved into regular gameplay.
01:07:13.125 --> 01:07:13.425
Tom: Yeah.
01:07:13.985 --> 01:07:42.025
Tom: But in Uncharted 2, not only do they have sections where you actually have to kill everyone stealthily, which adds so much to it, because it gives the game yet another thing to have the player doing, which, being Uncharted, being a game that does not focus on doing any single thing extremely well, the more things that they do do reasonably well make the whole experience so much better.
01:07:42.185 --> 01:08:03.405
Tom: But even in combat, in a lot of areas, you can actually play it as a stealth game, so you can hide somewhere and carefully watch what the people are doing and formulate a plan as to how to kill at least the majority of them before you get into a gun battle with the few remaining, or on a few occasions even all of them.
01:08:03.565 --> 01:08:11.505
Tom: And this isn't just where they've sign posted, how you've got to be quiet, where there are a lot of occasions where that happens, where you can then kill people you want.
01:08:11.605 --> 01:08:15.345
Tom: But this is in areas where it's assumed that you are in combat.
01:08:15.485 --> 01:08:20.205
Tom: So there is actually a genuine stealth mechanic that can be utilized in a lot of the battles.
01:08:20.825 --> 01:08:29.325
Tom: And that adds so much to the combat, because the actual mechanics of the combat, they're still only mediocre.
01:08:29.665 --> 01:08:40.645
Tom: So if you've then got a mediocre stealth mechanic involved as well, it means that there is so much less repetition, and it gives you something else to think about as well.
01:08:40.785 --> 01:08:43.265
Tom: So it gives you some strategy to take into battles.
01:08:43.805 --> 01:08:55.085
Tom: Now, the other incredible improvement in the combat, which was not mediocre in Uncharted 1, it was just abysmally bad, is the cover.
01:08:55.245 --> 01:09:08.465
Tom: They've gone from completely nonsensical cover placement that not only made no sense as far as the composition of the battles and the levels, they also looked incredibly stupid.
01:09:08.485 --> 01:09:17.145
Tom: So you would be walking through a church aisle and there would be giant slabs of stone stuck there for no discernible reason, right?
01:09:17.825 --> 01:09:19.605
Phil: Well, a very clear reason.
01:09:20.045 --> 01:09:27.625
Tom: Well, yeah, the clear reason being the combat, but no narrative reason, no logical reason beyond the gameplay.
01:09:28.425 --> 01:09:36.125
Tom: And the gameplay wasn't much justification because they were placed so poorly that they didn't make sense in terms of the gameplay either in their placement.
01:09:37.245 --> 01:09:54.025
Tom: But in Uncharted 2, they have put the cover in incredibly clever places to force the player to get sucked in some areas where they're really getting overthrown by the encroaching enemies, which results in some really tense things.
01:09:54.685 --> 01:09:58.665
Tom: And so they've got sections where you can hole up, where you can move forward.
01:09:58.665 --> 01:10:00.505
Tom: It's very well done.
01:10:00.525 --> 01:10:03.705
Tom: It's not extremely good because it is so limited.
01:10:04.245 --> 01:10:08.485
Tom: It is also very directed and obvious.
01:10:08.505 --> 01:10:12.625
Tom: So you can predict where the cover is going to be.
01:10:13.325 --> 01:10:16.725
Tom: So it is still very rudimentary design, but it is well done.
01:10:17.045 --> 01:10:19.565
Tom: And it makes a huge difference with the combat.
01:10:19.585 --> 01:10:22.365
Tom: And it also affects how the AI behaves.
01:10:22.625 --> 01:10:37.065
Tom: So in Uncharted, what they had to do to make the battles tough because of how poorly designed the levels were, they had to have the enemies spawn behind you so that you were fighting them on both ends.
01:10:37.165 --> 01:10:54.845
Tom: Here, instead of doing that, because they've designed the cover well enough to direct the enemies towards you in a discernible and challenging manner, they have improved matters further and made it more varied by increasing the number of different enemies you face.
01:10:55.425 --> 01:11:02.185
Tom: And this adds yet more strategy to the combat where you then got to be considering what enemies to kill and what enemies not to kill.
01:11:02.905 --> 01:11:23.105
Tom: And the only other changes to the combat are minor things such as you can zoom in if you've got a rifle, which is, I can only assume, was not introduced at that stage due to the early age of modern third-person shooters because that is the most obvious and logical thing to do, right?
01:11:23.125 --> 01:11:23.545
Tom: Right.
01:11:24.405 --> 01:11:43.025
Phil: Yeah, I mean, it was included in Grand Theft Auto 3, so, I mean, it's pretty obvious that that should be a part of a game, but, you know, I think Uncharted, they were, the original Uncharted, they were, even though it didn't come out at launch, they were rushing it along as fastly as they could to produce a basic game, so.
01:11:43.445 --> 01:11:51.145
Phil: Well, certainly one of the things with the variety of enemies that were added in this game, that's certainly something that comes up in Last of Us as well.
01:11:52.025 --> 01:12:09.585
Phil: I mean, there are basically four or five different classes of enemy in the Last of Us, and if they are, let's just say, the human military enemy, they're going to act differently to just the regular human enemy, and then you have other classes beyond that.
01:12:10.645 --> 01:12:13.705
Phil: But this also ties back to level design.
01:12:14.525 --> 01:12:30.005
Phil: In Last of Us, if they are the human military level, you can just sprint to the exit, and if you're good enough at navigating levels, as I am, you can get by them and just proceed to the next level.
01:12:30.625 --> 01:12:37.185
Phil: Whereas in other levels, if they're another kind of enemy, they're just going to keep respawning, and you have to deal with the situation.
01:12:37.845 --> 01:12:38.905
Tom: Is that at all cheap?
01:12:39.625 --> 01:12:46.225
Phil: Well, I'd say that it is as cheap as me sprinting my way past the military enemies.
01:12:51.385 --> 01:12:59.145
Tom: Speaking of cheap, another thing I've changed in the combat is you remember me complaining about the grenades in Uncharted 1, right?
01:12:59.645 --> 01:12:59.905
Phil: Yep.
01:13:00.765 --> 01:13:11.565
Tom: Well, what they've done is they have made them much more effective against enemies so that there is some motivation to use them if you've got a group of enemies close together.
01:13:11.845 --> 01:13:16.665
Tom: But quite bizarrely, they have made them even less dangerous to you.
01:13:17.045 --> 01:13:23.185
Tom: You can have them land literally at your feet, on hard, and not be killed.
01:13:23.785 --> 01:13:29.725
Tom: But what they do do is they make it have much more visual and aural impact.
01:13:29.745 --> 01:13:37.745
Tom: So when it lands, the screen gets distorted as it explodes and there's a buzzing noise in the speakers.
01:13:38.245 --> 01:13:49.425
Tom: So it does actually change the combat to a degree because it is disorienting if you are having multiple grenades land at your feet and exploding.
01:13:49.445 --> 01:14:07.485
Tom: So even though just absolutely bizarrely, the fact that they do basically no damage to you, it almost makes them have a larger impact on combat because of the fact that they do have an explosion with some visual and aural impact.
01:14:07.945 --> 01:14:10.525
Tom: Now, so that all sounds great.
01:14:10.685 --> 01:14:13.245
Phil: Oh, especially the aural impact thing.
01:14:13.265 --> 01:14:15.525
Phil: It just reminds me of a VHS movie I used to own.
01:14:15.545 --> 01:14:15.845
Tom: Yeah.
01:14:16.645 --> 01:14:19.645
Tom: Well, not so good is the platforming.
01:14:19.785 --> 01:14:25.725
Tom: And what I will say is, you told me it was much more signposted than Uncharted 1, correct?
01:14:26.425 --> 01:14:27.125
Phil: I felt so.
01:14:27.145 --> 01:14:30.485
Phil: I thought they overdid the yellow pipes more so in this game.
01:14:30.945 --> 01:14:35.785
Phil: But in the ice levels, it was a fucking mess.
01:14:36.185 --> 01:14:40.425
Phil: In the ice levels, I had no idea where I could jump or where I couldn't jump.
01:14:40.685 --> 01:14:42.305
Phil: Could this be an easy jump to make?
01:14:42.405 --> 01:14:43.925
Phil: Could this be a leap to my death?
01:14:44.285 --> 01:14:57.365
Phil: And that was the one failing of Uncharted 2 for me, was once you got into the ice levels, you had no idea where to go, where you could safely jump, where you couldn't, where you could throw a rope, and where you couldn't.
01:14:57.745 --> 01:14:59.065
Phil: Is that where you're talking about?
01:14:59.165 --> 01:15:00.265
Tom: Well, here's the thing.
01:15:00.345 --> 01:15:03.625
Tom: It does tie into what you're saying, but I've got a different reason for it.
01:15:03.625 --> 01:15:08.005
Tom: I would say that the signposting is not too extreme.
01:15:08.305 --> 01:15:17.865
Tom: I would say, except for some of the yellow pipes, some of the more ridiculous ones, overall, it's no more signposted than the original Uncharted.
01:15:18.045 --> 01:15:22.445
Tom: Some of the ice areas, as you said, I would say are less signposted than the first game.
01:15:22.585 --> 01:15:28.185
Tom: But the major change is Uncharted 2 is so much more directed and linear.
01:15:28.645 --> 01:15:31.265
Tom: So you've got, there is no choice.
01:15:31.285 --> 01:15:37.925
Tom: You have to move along these very obvious jumping points and places to move.
01:15:38.965 --> 01:15:47.205
Tom: To me, this makes it harder to follow because there are going to be times where the direction fails more so than the signposting.
01:15:47.805 --> 01:15:56.305
Tom: The problem with that is, if you're doing it entirely through direction, what happens is you get lazy on your physics and your game logic.
01:15:56.325 --> 01:16:09.085
Tom: So there are so many surfaces in Uncharted 2 which are lower than surfaces you can climb with nothing on them that Nate just jumps into and knees for no discernible reasons.
01:16:09.305 --> 01:16:19.945
Tom: There are so many ledges that are jutting out that are as visually obvious as other ledges that you can grab that you are going to jump into and Nate's just going to fall off to his death.
01:16:20.485 --> 01:16:41.085
Tom: And on top of that, there are so many areas that you have walked on and can access that you can't jump back down to without dying instantly, yet the paths you were meant to follow a few steps away, you're going to do a 20-meter jump which you have not been able to survive anywhere else, and he's going to do a roll.
01:16:41.545 --> 01:16:43.225
Phil: Yeah, yeah, yep, yep, yep.
01:16:43.245 --> 01:16:47.505
Phil: There's a lot of laziness in this, and I did release this in a pretty quick turnaround time.
01:16:47.845 --> 01:16:55.185
Phil: I've got to say for our listeners, of course, we are listening to an oral review of Uncharted 2, a PlayStation 3 exclusive from Naughty Dog.
01:16:56.285 --> 01:16:58.325
Phil: I gave this game a 10 out of 10.
01:16:58.365 --> 01:16:59.785
Phil: I thought it was a perfect game.
01:17:00.085 --> 01:17:05.845
Phil: It did have its shortfalls, and certainly the traversal provided most of those.
01:17:06.345 --> 01:17:09.285
Phil: Also the bad ending, which I think we're probably going to get to.
01:17:10.245 --> 01:17:16.625
Phil: But the traversal parts of it was like, there were certain times where they didn't signpost it at all.
01:17:16.845 --> 01:17:21.985
Phil: Like, so in some of the urban settings, it's like, oh, so now I can jump on signs?
01:17:22.205 --> 01:17:22.605
Tom: Yeah.
01:17:23.365 --> 01:17:34.025
Tom: Well, those were the parts I enjoyed because those were the parts that were more in the vein of what the first game did so extremely well.
01:17:34.645 --> 01:17:37.025
Tom: And I have my own term for this.
01:17:37.025 --> 01:17:38.125
Tom: You call it traversal.
01:17:38.165 --> 01:17:40.345
Tom: I call it contemporary platforming.
01:17:40.365 --> 01:17:47.405
Tom: So I put Mirror's Edge in the same genre as the traversal or contemporary platforming parts of Uncharted.
01:17:47.425 --> 01:17:52.045
Tom: And in the first Uncharted, I cannot think of a game that did it better than Mirror's Edge.
01:17:52.825 --> 01:18:04.145
Tom: In Uncharted 2, there were a few moments where it was almost as enjoyable as far as the puzzle-solving and the actual platforming skill were involved.
01:18:04.665 --> 01:18:14.125
Tom: And those were moments where there was a moment of revelation, where you're exploring this area, and there might have been a couple of red herrings.
01:18:14.465 --> 01:18:21.225
Tom: And then suddenly you realize, oh, wait a minute, why the fuck is there a post with 50,000 signs on it?
01:18:21.485 --> 01:18:26.065
Tom: And you jump onto it and think, fuck yes, that was actually what I was meant to be doing all along.
01:18:27.045 --> 01:18:30.425
Tom: And those were the best moments to me with the platforming.
01:18:30.525 --> 01:18:30.745
Tom: And...
01:18:31.625 --> 01:18:34.145
Phil: So the signposts were literally signposts.
01:18:35.225 --> 01:18:38.705
Tom: That works on a hilarious level as well, doesn't it?
01:18:38.725 --> 01:18:41.625
Phil: See, like, when I think I'm a horrible platformer, right?
01:18:41.645 --> 01:18:41.785
Tom: Yeah.
01:18:42.025 --> 01:18:45.425
Phil: So when I talk about traversal, I'm just talking about how you get about in a level.
01:18:46.365 --> 01:18:50.705
Phil: So the best platforming experience I ever had...
01:18:51.125 --> 01:19:12.545
Phil: I don't mean that, but what I'm saying is, when I'm playing Donkey Kong Country, and I'm jumping from vine to vine to vine, and then you land, you know, and you're timing that stuff perfectly, that sort of thing happens in Uncharted 2, where you just get this rhythm down, where you're moving from point to point to point, and if you fuck up any one of those, you're gonna have to restart.
01:19:13.065 --> 01:19:14.645
Phil: So there is something on the line.
01:19:14.705 --> 01:19:17.985
Phil: It's kind of like playing Blackjack in Vegas or whatever.
01:19:18.685 --> 01:19:25.085
Phil: You're doing something instinctively that does have a material cost if you fail.
01:19:25.345 --> 01:19:41.565
Tom: Except, I'm gonna have to disagree a little with that, because I would say the vast majority of the moments where you do get into an excellent rhythm in the platforming, and it is enjoyable, but it is only due to how linear and directed the levels are.
01:19:42.885 --> 01:19:46.205
Phil: Yeah, no more directed than Donkey Kong Country or Mario Brothers 3.
01:19:46.525 --> 01:19:46.905
Phil: I mean...
01:19:47.145 --> 01:19:47.825
Tom: Yep, absolutely.
01:19:47.845 --> 01:19:59.765
Tom: And there were literally times with how directed the platforming was, and it was generally in the parts where you get in the perfect flow, where I was literally thinking, well, why am I playing this?
01:19:59.785 --> 01:20:31.105
Tom: Because this would be in a cut scene, and they could have animated it more interestingly, and it would have been just as interesting, because my input is so completely meaningless, because most of the times where there was a chance for you to have an error and die were sections where they slowed it down and were involving movement puzzles, say, where you were moving through gears and that sort of thing, or where something could hit you off a ledge, and those were the parts that didn't have much flow to them.
01:20:31.585 --> 01:21:08.685
Tom: So I would say the parts that did have flow to them, they were more due to the direction, and there were a lot of moments in Uncharted where they got the balance perfect, where you were moving through an area that required some level of platforming skill, where you needed to time what you were doing, and because they had the jumping physics so good, and the clipping detection so good, and because they had had such consistency in what was a landable thing and whatnot, you got the same level of bringing flow as you were moving through the levels, but it was through your own ability that you got that flow.
01:21:10.365 --> 01:21:11.525
Phil: Yeah, I agree entirely.
01:21:11.685 --> 01:21:40.925
Tom: But what I will say about the platforming is, despite my disappointment in what it is, for the overall pacing of the game, it does work, and the whole hook of the Uncharted series is not that it does any one thing well, so for the overall structure of the game, I don't think you can fold it too greatly for what it is, because it is so directed, it does mean that the vast majority of the platforming is very flowing.
01:21:41.125 --> 01:22:15.585
Tom: Personally, I got lost much more than in Uncharted 1, because the way I play platforming is by exploring a lot and working out all the rules of the game world, so rather than following how the game is attempting to direct me, so that has resulted in me getting lost a lot more than in 1, but apart from my own stupidity, it's probably beneficial to the overall pacing of the game for people that might not be good at platformers, because there are a couple of sections in Uncharted where you could get stuck in platforming.
01:22:16.485 --> 01:22:31.005
Tom: Here, the only places where that happens is where they do stuff up the direction, but I would say that's more rare than in Uncharted 1, so despite my criticism of it, I can see why they went for this, and for the most part, they did pull it off.
01:22:31.025 --> 01:22:38.025
Tom: It's just a bit disappointing that they didn't continue to do the other stuff about the platforming to the same degree of quality.
01:22:38.305 --> 01:22:43.985
Phil: I think with Naughty Dog's games, the traversal part of it or the platforming part of it has never been the game in itself.
01:22:43.985 --> 01:23:02.625
Phil: It's just a way to get you to the next thing, and that's certainly true of Crash Bandicoot, where you didn't really feel like you were in control as you were running towards the camera, or in Jak and Daxter, where the platforming took a backseat to the collecting and combat and story, and I think that this is just an evolution of that with the Uncharted series.
01:23:02.925 --> 01:23:26.345
Tom: Yeah, well, I would agree and disagree with that because that is basically what I'm saying about the overall structure and intention, but the thing is, Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter were still both fully functional and consistent in their design of the platforming, whereas here there is gross, vast inconsistencies throughout the platforming.
01:23:26.905 --> 01:23:36.185
Phil: Well, I'd say, yeah, I'd say there's probably only, in Uncharted 2, there was really only one level I felt that was inconsistent, that I've already talked about.
01:23:36.205 --> 01:23:45.325
Phil: I thought in all the other levels, I knew exactly what I was expected to do, but that did lend to the experience of, am I even really playing this game?
01:23:45.405 --> 01:23:48.645
Tom: No, but they're not inconsistent in what they're doing.
01:23:48.665 --> 01:23:55.325
Tom: They're inconsistent in the quality of the platforming and also inconsistency in the logic of the game world.
01:23:56.285 --> 01:23:56.845
Phil: Oh, certainly.
01:23:57.105 --> 01:24:04.305
Phil: And that's something that we've had since Doom 2, where you have different level designers designing different levels.
01:24:04.385 --> 01:24:10.705
Phil: And there's not that one, you know, or tear impression on a game, unfortunately.
01:24:11.085 --> 01:24:25.565
Phil: Which is what Nintendo is still excellent at, which is, in Mario Galaxy, you know from one level to the next, it doesn't matter if there were 19 level designers, you know precisely what is going to happen when you press a certain button or button combination.
01:24:25.565 --> 01:24:32.485
Tom: Absolutely, but the last part of that is not just the level design, it is the design of the controls, the physics and...
01:24:32.865 --> 01:24:34.365
Phil: Absolutely, the engine.
01:24:34.385 --> 01:24:41.945
Tom: I don't think there's really any excuse for that being inconsistent, which it is quite obviously in Uncharted 2.
01:24:43.125 --> 01:24:55.925
Phil: It could be because Amy Hennig, you know, the game's director, is not, you know, attuned to the, you know, more technical aspects of game development and is more attuned to the directorship of it.
01:24:55.945 --> 01:25:01.505
Phil: You know, and so when it comes to these technical things, she leaves it up to technical people.
01:25:01.925 --> 01:25:14.245
Phil: But yeah, you do need good game, you need consistent game development tools and engines and all the rest of it, so that no matter how artistic or creative a level designer wants to be, they're still playing with the same rule set.
01:25:14.685 --> 01:25:22.445
Phil: And that's something that I absolutely agree happened with Uncharted 2, is that yeah, from time to time, you had a lot of inconsistency.
01:25:22.685 --> 01:25:39.865
Phil: And that may have been as a result of some game directorship, you know, of the director stepping in and saying, well, you know, can you make it a little bit tougher for Nate to get to this level, because we need to play to really feel like they've accomplished something when they get to the end of this, because we're going to have an emotional moment, blah, blah, blah.
01:25:40.165 --> 01:25:45.865
Tom: With all that in mind, this is going to be my brief final summary before we do actually talk about a couple of other things.
01:25:46.665 --> 01:26:05.785
Tom: After playing Uncharted, which I gave a 5.5, right, with how glowing a lot of the stuff I've been saying about, I can't help but feel that I am overrating a great deal of the game just because it is such a mind-boggling improvement over Uncharted 1 all in all and as a whole package.
01:26:05.805 --> 01:26:11.565
Tom: I mean, it is just a completely better game.
01:26:11.585 --> 01:26:20.445
Tom: They've done, apart from a couple of the details, they've done everything they did in Uncharted and drastically better, except for the platforming.
01:26:20.465 --> 01:26:28.085
Tom: They've taken stuff that was mediocre or bad in Uncharted and made it consistently at least mediocre or good.
01:26:28.585 --> 01:26:32.685
Tom: And it's all been combined in absolutely excellent pacing.
01:26:32.705 --> 01:26:45.485
Tom: But at the same time, I can't get out of the back of my mind that I am, a lot of my reaction to this is because of the fact that it is such a huge improvement over Uncharted.
01:26:45.505 --> 01:26:49.685
Tom: And that taken in a vacuum, it is not actually as good as I'm thinking it is.
01:26:49.965 --> 01:26:52.765
Phil: It is as good as you are thinking it is.
01:26:52.785 --> 01:26:56.865
Phil: This game got one of the greatest meta critics.
01:26:57.425 --> 01:26:58.785
Phil: It's up there with Last of Us.
01:26:58.805 --> 01:27:00.365
Phil: It's got 96 out of 100.
01:27:00.845 --> 01:27:05.945
Phil: And the reason why it's better than the original is because the original was them experimenting with this.
01:27:06.545 --> 01:27:15.345
Phil: Plus it has all of the character development that you've invested in the first game, moved over to the second game, which only gets better in the third game.
01:27:15.365 --> 01:27:18.965
Phil: It is as good as you think it is.
01:27:19.405 --> 01:27:21.905
Phil: You're not being tomfooled into it.
01:27:21.925 --> 01:27:22.185
Tom: No.
01:27:22.225 --> 01:27:30.825
Tom: Well, I may be being tomtowers fooled into it, because if you've read any of his reviews, you'll know they are quite convincing.
01:27:30.845 --> 01:27:35.185
Tom: So what I will say is this, though, in my final summary.
01:27:35.205 --> 01:27:37.765
Tom: Now, you said it's got a 96 Metacritic, right?
01:27:38.205 --> 01:27:38.645
Phil: Mm-hmm.
01:27:38.885 --> 01:27:41.505
Tom: What's your prediction of my score based on what I've said?
01:27:42.605 --> 01:27:45.525
Phil: Well, you gave Uncharted, which I gave a 10 to.
01:27:45.545 --> 01:27:46.365
Tom: Yeah.
01:27:46.785 --> 01:27:48.725
Phil: Actually, I think I gave it an 8.5.
01:27:49.465 --> 01:27:50.625
Phil: I gave it a 9.5.
01:27:50.645 --> 01:27:52.445
Phil: You gave it a 5.5.
01:27:53.905 --> 01:28:00.145
Phil: I think you're probably going to give this a 7 out of 10.
01:28:01.105 --> 01:28:01.985
Tom: Well, close.
01:28:02.225 --> 01:28:03.405
Tom: Well, here's the thing.
01:28:03.405 --> 01:28:09.205
Tom: I probably would have given it a 7 out of 10, but I gave Tomb Raider a 4 out of 5.
01:28:09.225 --> 01:28:14.025
Tom: So I'm forced to then give this the same score as Tomb Raider.
01:28:14.785 --> 01:28:15.825
Phil: Oh, my God.
01:28:15.845 --> 01:28:17.325
Phil: You're giving this 4 stars?
01:28:17.345 --> 01:28:17.545
Tom: Yep.
01:28:17.565 --> 01:28:19.065
Tom: I'm giving this an 8 out of 10.
01:28:19.105 --> 01:28:19.925
Phil: Whoa.
01:28:20.525 --> 01:28:21.965
Phil: You used to be cool, man.
01:28:22.025 --> 01:28:23.745
Tom: That's a big score for me.
01:28:24.725 --> 01:28:25.905
Phil: That is amazing.
01:28:25.925 --> 01:28:27.105
Phil: 4 out of 5?
01:28:27.845 --> 01:28:32.825
Phil: For a game that everyone loves, and you're just saying, yep, that's right, I love it, too.
01:28:33.045 --> 01:28:33.945
Tom: Yep, I know.
01:28:33.945 --> 01:28:40.885
Tom: But I think I'm still okay, because I was worried about that until I heard you say the Metacritic was 9.6.
01:28:40.945 --> 01:28:45.585
Phil: Okay, I'm going to give you something here.
01:28:46.745 --> 01:28:51.805
Phil: The side characters, I'm going to give you the choice of two side characters in this game.
01:28:52.545 --> 01:28:53.945
Phil: You tell me who is cooler.
01:28:54.065 --> 01:29:01.805
Phil: You have Jeff, the cameraman, who wonderfully dismisses with a line, Yeah, thanks Jeff.
01:29:03.405 --> 01:29:04.445
Phil: And you have Tenzin.
01:29:05.805 --> 01:29:08.145
Phil: What do you have to say about either of these two characters?
01:29:08.165 --> 01:29:10.405
Phil: Do you have a favorite?
01:29:11.525 --> 01:29:12.185
Phil: What do you like?
01:29:12.785 --> 01:29:14.345
Phil: This is spoiler territory, folks.
01:29:14.885 --> 01:29:16.985
Phil: We're plunging deep into spoilerism here.
01:29:17.085 --> 01:29:20.425
Phil: So if you're an idiot and haven't played Uncharted 2 yet, spoilers ahead.
01:29:20.485 --> 01:29:22.105
Tom: Here's what I'll say.
01:29:23.245 --> 01:29:34.265
Tom: As we will eventually be getting to this in our brief discussion, which is like a stretch on forever, Tenzin has by far the best acting performance in the game without question.
01:29:34.745 --> 01:29:39.505
Tom: He also has by far the worst voice acting performance in the game without question, but...
01:29:39.965 --> 01:29:41.005
Phil: What are you talking about?
01:29:41.025 --> 01:29:44.785
Phil: The Sherpa that can't speak any English has the worst voice acting?
01:29:45.085 --> 01:29:46.445
Phil: What, do you speak Sherpa now?
01:29:46.465 --> 01:29:48.325
Tom: No, I don't, but I don't need to speak Sherpa.
01:29:48.345 --> 01:29:49.665
Tom: He sounds like utter shit.
01:29:50.665 --> 01:29:54.425
Phil: Well, you're a racist because he's speaking Nepalese, not Sherpa.
01:29:54.445 --> 01:29:56.405
Phil: Okay, Sherpa is not a language.
01:29:56.725 --> 01:29:57.545
Phil: He is a Sherpa.
01:29:57.565 --> 01:30:00.605
Tom: You've clearly never been on a climbing expedition.
01:30:00.625 --> 01:30:02.445
Tom: I think you'll find Sherpa is a language.
01:30:02.565 --> 01:30:05.425
Tom: It is internationally documented.
01:30:05.445 --> 01:30:18.085
Tom: They all speak the same language so that any climber from any place can go to any mountain because people from different countries climb different mountains, so it's easier to have an official professional language in place.
01:30:18.385 --> 01:30:20.885
Phil: Well, why wouldn't that be English, French or Yiddish?
01:30:21.145 --> 01:30:27.765
Tom: Well, I didn't say it wasn't, but it's colloquially known as Sherpa-ish due to their poor grasp of English, you see.
01:30:27.845 --> 01:30:28.645
Phil: Sherpa is.
01:30:28.665 --> 01:30:28.985
Tom: Yep.
01:30:29.645 --> 01:30:29.905
Tom: Yep.
01:30:29.925 --> 01:30:31.785
Phil: Alright, so what about Jeff, the cameraman?
01:30:32.405 --> 01:30:35.545
Tom: No, I'm finished on Tenzin.
01:30:35.565 --> 01:30:36.605
Phil: No, we get back to Tenzin.
01:30:36.625 --> 01:30:37.985
Tom: No, no, no, it ties into Jeff.
01:30:38.065 --> 01:30:39.005
Tom: It ties into Jeff.
01:30:39.485 --> 01:30:40.465
Phil: Alright, here we go, folks.
01:30:40.525 --> 01:30:41.405
Tom: Here we go, Jeff.
01:30:41.425 --> 01:30:42.405
Tom: The moment you've all been waiting for.
01:30:42.965 --> 01:30:44.525
Tom: The moment you've all been waiting for.
01:30:46.425 --> 01:31:01.305
Tom: I think you've got to love the guy because he realized that Alana's camera was a piece of shit and got her to upgrade to something that was vaguely, almost believably professional.
01:31:01.385 --> 01:31:04.485
Tom: So I think that's his major strength as a character.
01:31:05.865 --> 01:31:06.025
Phil: Yeah.
01:31:07.105 --> 01:31:07.985
Phil: Oh, okay.
01:31:07.985 --> 01:31:08.245
Tom: Yeah.
01:31:08.985 --> 01:31:19.725
Tom: And as for Tenzin, and despite that about Jeff, I'm still gonna have to go with Tenzin because he has a hat, which is awesome and he looks a little bit like the guy from Strangers of the Wrath.
01:31:21.225 --> 01:31:22.425
Phil: Yeah, he does a little bit.
01:31:22.525 --> 01:31:26.685
Phil: He looks very indigenous American, if that's a term.
01:31:27.845 --> 01:31:38.945
Phil: Jeff, of course, meets his tremendous demise where Lazarevich executes Jeff in front of Drake and Alana, which I thought was great.
01:31:39.685 --> 01:31:41.425
Phil: I love Jeff for his dispensability.
01:31:41.985 --> 01:31:43.405
Phil: He never served a purpose.
01:31:44.345 --> 01:31:46.125
Phil: I love the fact that Nate was jealous.
01:31:46.145 --> 01:31:48.885
Tom: See, this is what they should have done to Alana in the first game.
01:31:49.345 --> 01:31:51.725
Tom: She was just as dispensable.
01:31:51.745 --> 01:31:54.925
Tom: Someone should have just shot her.
01:31:55.085 --> 01:32:04.125
Phil: What I loved about this, right, is that Nate, you know, cock-jockey Nate, you know, he's riding Chloe over here, Alana over there, you know.
01:32:04.985 --> 01:32:10.445
Phil: You know, Jeff is just the cameraman who's along with Alana on a very tough job.
01:32:10.965 --> 01:32:27.525
Phil: And right from the get-go, or right from the get-go, you know, if you want to go there, Nate is giving Jeff a hard time and being felt like all put out, as if, you know, he's like replaced him in...
01:32:27.545 --> 01:32:28.545
Phil: Replace Nate.
01:32:28.545 --> 01:32:29.285
Tom: He's jealous.
01:32:29.285 --> 01:32:30.285
Phil: Yeah, exactly.
01:32:30.305 --> 01:32:30.665
Phil: Right.
01:32:30.685 --> 01:32:30.965
Phil: Yeah.
01:32:31.145 --> 01:32:32.585
Phil: Oh, nice input, Jeff.
01:32:32.605 --> 01:32:32.825
Phil: Yeah.
01:32:32.925 --> 01:32:34.125
Phil: I'll consider that, Jeff.
01:32:35.045 --> 01:32:36.245
Phil: Good idea, Jeff.
01:32:36.785 --> 01:32:37.105
Phil: Right?
01:32:37.165 --> 01:32:37.445
Tom: Yeah.
01:32:37.625 --> 01:32:41.105
Phil: And then he gets shot and he's like, oh, wow, that sucks, huh?
01:32:41.645 --> 01:32:45.525
Phil: So in terms of comedy value, I think Jeff is great.
01:32:45.905 --> 01:32:58.785
Phil: Tenzin is up there as one of the greatest video game partners ever, with his rope-yielding abilities and yeti-killing abilities.
01:32:59.165 --> 01:33:01.505
Phil: Doesn't speak English, lives in a village with a yak.
01:33:01.705 --> 01:33:03.545
Phil: Did you pet the yak when you were in the town?
01:33:04.285 --> 01:33:05.105
Phil: How was that yak?
01:33:05.425 --> 01:33:06.305
Tom: It was very soft.
01:33:06.625 --> 01:33:11.165
Phil: What did you think about that experience where the gameplay was essentially walking through the Tibetan village?
01:33:11.525 --> 01:33:22.165
Tom: Well, I think if that had been the beginning, I would have hated the game because I was so pleased with the being in Uncharted because they didn't go there, which basically every big release has to do.
01:33:22.165 --> 01:33:23.565
Tom: Tomb Raider did that, right?
01:33:23.585 --> 01:33:29.985
Tom: The opening is her just walking around saying, Yeah, but that's after Uncharted 2.
01:33:30.005 --> 01:33:35.445
Tom: Yeah, I'm saying all games do this, so I would have been pissed off if Uncharted 2 did that.
01:33:35.745 --> 01:33:38.245
Tom: At that time in the game, I thought that was well put.
01:33:38.685 --> 01:33:39.765
Tom: That was a good thing to have there.
01:33:40.565 --> 01:33:41.265
Phil: Nice piece.
01:33:41.485 --> 01:33:49.385
Tom: And this leads perfectly into something else about Uncharted, which you mentioned in our Cursed Mountain discussion, right?
01:33:51.425 --> 01:33:58.105
Tom: You said that Uncharted 2 had just as much Buddhist culture in it as Cursed Mountain, right?
01:34:00.405 --> 01:34:03.365
Phil: I may have dismissively made that ridiculous point.
01:34:03.385 --> 01:34:05.425
Phil: Yes, I mean, they have the prayer flags.
01:34:05.845 --> 01:34:08.025
Tom: They have the prayer flags.
01:34:08.045 --> 01:34:09.125
Tom: They have the prayer wheel.
01:34:09.905 --> 01:34:11.585
Tom: And here's the thing.
01:34:11.865 --> 01:34:15.965
Tom: It's true they have those things in it, but the prayer flags may as well be bunting.
01:34:18.505 --> 01:34:26.405
Tom: And the other thing that I find fascinating about the way they've done this is they go on in their hype.
01:34:26.425 --> 01:34:28.045
Tom: I don't know if they did this with Uncharted 2.
01:34:28.065 --> 01:34:39.425
Tom: I haven't watched all the videos yet, but in the first Uncharted, one of the things I was really pimping was attempting to say they weren't just inspired by Indiana Jones, saying they were big fans of 1930s madinaise and they watched 100 of them, right?
01:34:39.645 --> 01:34:46.805
Tom: Well, there's nothing in that depiction of Tibet of 1930s madinaise whatsoever.
01:34:47.045 --> 01:35:12.825
Tom: And that's what I was saying was so good about Cursed Mountain is in 1930s madinaise and up to the 50s, and this started going out in the 60s, if you were doing your pulp story and you had something from a different land in it that you were making exotic and whatnot, you would take what was actually the culture or what you were told was the culture, which was likely a load of bullshit, but...
01:35:13.385 --> 01:35:16.405
Phil: Like fortune cookies and, you know...
01:35:16.665 --> 01:35:17.225
Tom: That's right.
01:35:17.245 --> 01:35:18.225
Phil: That kind of thing, yeah.
01:35:18.245 --> 01:35:30.245
Tom: But you take some degree of research on the thing itself and you would include what the thing actually was, then you would go off in a new direction, like eating blue resin makes you into Nazis.
01:35:30.925 --> 01:35:31.525
Phil: Oh, good God.
01:35:31.545 --> 01:35:32.105
Tom: This, of course...
01:35:33.365 --> 01:35:34.625
Tom: That's not the case in Uncharted.
01:35:34.645 --> 01:35:41.325
Tom: They've just got a prayer wheel stuck in there, like Indiana Jones might have some guy with a traditional knife stuck in there.
01:35:42.245 --> 01:35:51.045
Tom: And they missed that whole thing, which is a major part of what made stuff pre-1960s pulp different.
01:35:51.425 --> 01:35:53.185
Tom: And that went out pre-19...
01:35:53.285 --> 01:35:58.045
Tom: after the 60s, because, of course, from that stage on, everyone had been overexposed to it.
01:35:58.065 --> 01:36:06.805
Tom: So then it was, let's just see how we can come up with an interesting new idea that has nothing to do with the source material, right?
01:36:07.025 --> 01:36:09.245
Tom: And that is what Uncharted is doing.
01:36:09.245 --> 01:36:18.445
Tom: So I just find it hilariously bizarre that they go to such a length to distance themselves from admitting that they're inspired by Indiana Jones.
01:36:20.205 --> 01:36:20.625
Phil: Yeah.
01:36:21.405 --> 01:36:22.125
Phil: That's pretty good.
01:36:22.145 --> 01:36:23.065
Phil: Yeah.
01:36:23.345 --> 01:36:26.345
Phil: Now, I have like three questions for you, but I want you to finish...
01:36:26.365 --> 01:36:29.165
Phil: You finish what you're going to say, and then I'll get into our questions.
01:36:30.605 --> 01:36:38.565
Phil: But just to tease and don't respond to it, I think this is one of the worst endings in a video game ever, and I want to hear your thoughts on that.
01:36:38.925 --> 01:36:44.945
Phil: But before we get to that, I do want you to cover the territory that you need to, and then I have a few other questions as well.
01:36:44.965 --> 01:36:48.125
Tom: I've got one other thing quickly that I thought was interesting.
01:36:48.585 --> 01:36:50.425
Tom: Now, you said this lacks soul.
01:36:50.605 --> 01:36:52.725
Tom: I mean, has soul in Tomb Raider?
01:36:52.745 --> 01:36:53.305
Tom: It doesn't, right?
01:36:55.025 --> 01:37:02.665
Phil: Yes, and that is imbued mostly because of the relationship between Nate and Sully and Nate and Elena, in my opinion.
01:37:02.685 --> 01:37:04.065
Tom: And I can buy that, though I...
01:37:04.545 --> 01:37:08.065
Tom: To me, the soul walks elsewhere in Tomb Raider, but they are...
01:37:08.085 --> 01:37:09.665
Tom: It's funny that this is...
01:37:10.365 --> 01:37:11.205
Tom: Tomb Raider was...
01:37:12.725 --> 01:37:24.185
Tom: Got so much flack for ripping off Uncharted, because Tomb Raider is actually, in many ways, the antithesis of Uncharted, or at least Uncharted 2, I should say, specifically.
01:37:24.425 --> 01:37:34.425
Tom: Because in Tomb Raider, the major focus in the design of Tomb Raider was not on set pieces and not on the overall pacing, and that was a major flaw in the game.
01:37:34.705 --> 01:37:39.705
Tom: But the greatest focus on Tomb Raider was getting all the mechanics absolutely right.
01:37:39.845 --> 01:37:48.445
Tom: So they had to get the shooting feeling really good, they had to get the cover perfect, they had to get the movement extremely flowing and solid, and they had to get the jumping physics right.
01:37:48.825 --> 01:38:03.345
Tom: They had to get all the mechanics and all the individual aspects of the game extremely well done, but they didn't then care as much about the overall pacing and the overall composition of the game.
01:38:03.485 --> 01:38:14.965
Tom: Whereas in Uncharted 2, it's the reverse of that, where the focus is of the overall composition of how the game plays out and not the individual parts themselves as far as the mechanics are concerned.
01:38:15.105 --> 01:38:19.445
Phil: Now, I agree 100% and that was exactly what I was going to say.
01:38:20.565 --> 01:38:26.805
Phil: There's only one thing that Tomb Raider rips off from Uncharted and it's an inconsequential thing that I'm not even going to bring up.
01:38:27.505 --> 01:38:38.125
Phil: But in every other way, it is the exact opposite, in that it focuses on the game play precision and mechanic primarily and the story secondarily.
01:38:38.205 --> 01:38:43.945
Phil: Whereas with Uncharted, the reason why you go through all of those levels is to get through to the cutscenes.
01:38:44.745 --> 01:38:57.885
Tom: And that's actually detrimental in many ways to the game play in Tomb Raider, because of course how you depict a story gives the game play designers more insight into what the pacing should be.
01:38:58.325 --> 01:39:00.445
Phil: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
01:39:00.465 --> 01:39:07.865
Tom: So then they're going to know, well, we need a crescendo here, we need a climax here, and that sort of thing, which is what Tomb Raider was lacking so much.
01:39:08.205 --> 01:39:16.025
Phil: And that's what was missing in the precursor to Tomb Raider, and that is Tomb Raider Underworld, where there was no real pacing.
01:39:16.025 --> 01:39:25.145
Phil: It was just either a relentless or just a plodding, or a plodding, then a relentlessness, and it never really had any cadence to it.
01:39:25.285 --> 01:39:31.205
Phil: And we always talk about pacing, but cadence might be even more precise, right?
01:39:31.225 --> 01:39:33.825
Tom: Yeah, I would say that's probably a better description.
01:39:35.545 --> 01:39:41.845
Tom: Now, the final thing I want to say is, you can give me some insight into this.
01:39:42.765 --> 01:39:57.025
Tom: Having lived so long in America, what the fuck is going on with Americans' bizarre, incredibly exploitive, and mind-boggling offensive obsession with the Yugoslavian wars?
01:39:57.805 --> 01:39:58.765
Tom: What's the deal with this?
01:39:58.785 --> 01:40:10.465
Tom: Because they did it in GTA IV, it was not as bad in GTA IV, because Rockstar, for all my criticism of them, when they do satirize or parody something, they do it well.
01:40:10.485 --> 01:40:20.805
Tom: Their flaw is they're not having the ball to go after anything big, so they go after the Yugoslavian war, which I assume most Americans know absolutely nothing about.
01:40:21.305 --> 01:40:22.965
Phil: I know nothing about it.
01:40:23.225 --> 01:40:25.345
Tom: And have no relation to whatsoever.
01:40:25.825 --> 01:40:30.865
Tom: This is a huge thing in Australia, because there are so many Yugoslavian immigrants, of course.
01:40:33.465 --> 01:40:38.245
Tom: But in Grand Theft Auto IV, they actually had an interesting...
01:40:40.005 --> 01:40:41.985
Phil: Oh, the Bosnian War.
01:40:42.545 --> 01:40:44.805
Phil: Herzkivina, Bosnia, yeah.
01:40:45.405 --> 01:40:46.785
Phil: Yeah, we know what that is.
01:40:47.145 --> 01:40:48.265
Phil: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:40:48.285 --> 01:41:03.305
Tom: They had an interesting take on that, because for all we knew, the main character in Grand Theft Auto IV could in fact himself have been a war criminal, and it was certainly implied that he was involved in crimes against humanity.
01:41:03.365 --> 01:41:05.625
Tom: So that was actually an interesting, satirical take.
01:41:05.645 --> 01:41:19.025
Tom: And despite being incredibly exploitative, and there's no way they could have got away with doing that or would have even contemplated doing that with, say, having someone coming back from Abu Grub to America.
01:41:19.805 --> 01:41:27.625
Phil: The whole Rockstar thing, I mean, there's a famous movie where Niko is directly referenced.
01:41:27.645 --> 01:41:32.665
Phil: He has the same sweater, he limps, the same haircut, everything about him.
01:41:32.685 --> 01:41:34.345
Phil: Are you familiar with that film?
01:41:34.605 --> 01:41:35.665
Phil: Do you know it peripherally?
01:41:35.685 --> 01:41:36.745
Phil: I don't think so.
01:41:37.185 --> 01:41:47.725
Phil: Yeah, I mean, the character of Niko is based off of a, specifically off of a movie character from a film made about this conflict.
01:41:47.745 --> 01:41:53.985
Phil: You know, because, you know, far be it for Rockstar to come up with an original concede.
01:41:54.485 --> 01:41:55.085
Tom: That's right.
01:41:55.685 --> 01:41:58.085
Tom: But that's literally a direct comparison.
01:41:59.085 --> 01:42:07.625
Tom: Having Niko, equivalent to Americans, it's only off by, you know, five years or a decade, not even a decade in terms of time.
01:42:07.645 --> 01:42:19.865
Tom: I would be having the person coming to America being an American war veteran that was torturing people at Abu Ghraib or something like that, or murdering Iraqi civilians.
01:42:19.865 --> 01:42:22.405
Tom: It's that exploitative, right?
01:42:22.405 --> 01:42:23.385
Tom: You see what I'm saying?
01:42:24.005 --> 01:42:32.805
Tom: If you're actually aware of the situation, and if you're not in America, or at least if you're in Australia, you would be because it is a big thing in Australia because of all the immigrants.
01:42:33.085 --> 01:42:38.305
Tom: But at least GTA 4 actually did something vaguely interesting with it.
01:42:38.345 --> 01:42:59.305
Tom: In Uncharted, they've basically just taken what is currently the case, as I'm sure everyone is aware of, that is war criminals who were involved in Yugoslavian crimes against humanity going around the world evading capture, and they've basically turned him into some ridiculous comic book villain.
01:42:59.485 --> 01:43:05.725
Tom: I mean, it's just the most ridiculous exploitation you could possibly do.
01:43:06.425 --> 01:43:08.285
Phil: That character was based on...
01:43:08.665 --> 01:43:12.525
Phil: Niko is based on Sasha from a movie called Behind Enemy Lines.
01:43:14.285 --> 01:43:17.725
Phil: So, you know, you can check that out for yourselves, folks.
01:43:17.745 --> 01:43:18.905
Phil: But yeah, you're absolutely right.
01:43:18.925 --> 01:43:19.785
Phil: They take it...
01:43:20.165 --> 01:43:30.165
Phil: And basically the character is entirely stereotypical, superficial, ridiculous, Mario-level boss by the end of it, right?
01:43:30.505 --> 01:43:39.685
Phil: He's this massive smurf that you have to run around in a circle and shoot something that will shoot back in his face and then you can hit him.
01:43:40.285 --> 01:43:43.705
Tom: I mean, that whole thing is just so incredibly distasteful.
01:43:44.285 --> 01:43:50.485
Tom: Now, you might think that's a big criticism, but I do enjoy distasteful stuff, so I did enjoy that despite everything I've just said.
01:43:51.105 --> 01:43:56.945
Tom: But as for the actual ending, now, what was your major problem with it?
01:43:56.965 --> 01:44:00.825
Tom: Because I thought it was improvement on the ending of Uncharted 1.
01:44:01.685 --> 01:44:16.685
Phil: Well, it just turned into what I call a traditional Super Mario boss, where basically you butt stomp the ground to move the boss up into the air, he lands on his shell, and then you get to hit him in his weak spot.
01:44:17.605 --> 01:44:19.385
Phil: That is what this end level is.
01:44:19.745 --> 01:44:24.885
Phil: And they had received criticism for their end level after Uncharted.
01:44:25.145 --> 01:44:36.485
Phil: They knew this was an area that they had to improve upon, and their choice was to go to Mario 64, which in and of itself is great, but doesn't fit this game at all.
01:44:37.665 --> 01:44:48.465
Phil: Basically, you just run around in a circle backwards using a shotgun to shoot, you know, blue shit on this guy.
01:44:48.845 --> 01:44:53.325
Phil: He goes, oh, I can't see, or oh, I feel weak, whatever the case was.
01:44:53.345 --> 01:44:54.865
Tom: Despite his apparent invincibility.
01:44:55.825 --> 01:44:57.345
Phil: And then you shoot him again, right.
01:44:57.365 --> 01:45:02.645
Phil: Yeah, you shoot the kryptonite trees, and then Superman's fallible, and you go in, you pound him in the face.
01:45:02.665 --> 01:45:08.065
Phil: And you do this like three times or five times, and then you win, right.
01:45:08.965 --> 01:45:19.265
Phil: Now, Uncharted 3, they do do a better job at the end, boss, but I think this continued the history of terrible endings from Naughty Dog.
01:45:19.285 --> 01:45:20.405
Tom: Well, here's what I would say.
01:45:20.965 --> 01:45:27.145
Tom: I thought on a pure gameplay level, I enjoyed it because it did something different with the combat.
01:45:27.165 --> 01:45:32.945
Tom: It wasn't a particularly interesting boss battle, but well, I couldn't at least basically just run around in a circle.
01:45:32.965 --> 01:45:34.725
Tom: Bear in mind, I was playing in hard.
01:45:35.065 --> 01:45:39.845
Tom: I had to actually learn the layout of the area, where all the ammo was.
01:45:39.865 --> 01:45:42.265
Tom: I mean, it wasn't a badly designed thing.
01:45:42.285 --> 01:45:42.565
Tom: It was...
01:45:43.205 --> 01:45:46.925
Phil: I had to do the same thing, but ultimately, we're both doing the same thing.
01:45:47.545 --> 01:45:49.305
Phil: And the fact is, I didn't think...
01:45:49.445 --> 01:45:53.785
Phil: I think that end boss levels are unbecoming for this franchise.
01:45:53.805 --> 01:45:54.565
Tom: Well, that's the thing.
01:45:54.585 --> 01:45:57.865
Tom: I would say that in and of itself, I thought it was a good...
01:45:58.005 --> 01:45:59.525
Tom: a solid boss.
01:45:59.545 --> 01:46:03.545
Tom: Nothing particularly good about it, but it was certainly enjoyable.
01:46:03.565 --> 01:46:04.485
Tom: But the thing is...
01:46:04.905 --> 01:46:08.665
Phil: Why couldn't they have gone from the crumbling bridge thing...
01:46:08.685 --> 01:46:08.845
Phil: Yep.
01:46:09.465 --> 01:46:09.825
Phil: Right?
01:46:09.905 --> 01:46:12.445
Phil: That preceded it to the very end?
01:46:13.465 --> 01:46:15.705
Tom: The crumbling bridge thing was at the end.
01:46:15.705 --> 01:46:17.125
Tom: That was after the boss battle.
01:46:17.685 --> 01:46:19.765
Phil: Oh, well, did they skip the boss battle?
01:46:19.785 --> 01:46:21.445
Tom: That's what I was about to say.
01:46:21.585 --> 01:46:22.225
Tom: Here's the thing.
01:46:22.365 --> 01:46:27.845
Tom: As far as the way the story is laid out, it was completely unnecessary.
01:46:27.865 --> 01:46:32.005
Tom: It should have been a narrative showdown between the two.
01:46:32.165 --> 01:46:48.365
Tom: And it also makes no sense whatsoever from the story's perspective to end it in that way, because Lozarevich at the end says, when Nate finally has the chance to kill him, well, you, blah, blah, blah, you don't have the balls, you're a good person, so you're not going to kill me, right?
01:46:49.105 --> 01:46:50.005
Tom: And so he doesn't.
01:46:50.665 --> 01:46:54.245
Tom: Conveniently, these guys jump out of the jungle and kill him for Nate.
01:46:54.985 --> 01:46:57.305
Tom: There's one major problem with this.
01:46:57.325 --> 01:47:04.125
Tom: If you remember only moments ago, Nate shot him repeatedly in cold blood to kill him.
01:47:04.705 --> 01:47:07.585
Phil: And if given the choice, I would have shot him.
01:47:07.605 --> 01:47:08.165
Tom: That's right.
01:47:08.245 --> 01:47:16.305
Tom: But I mean, if that had killed him, that would have been a far more logical ending for both the story and for the game.
01:47:16.325 --> 01:47:24.025
Tom: If he had got there just before he fucking drank the blue resin and shot him then and there, it would have made more sense.
01:47:24.485 --> 01:47:31.345
Phil: Yeah, and keep in mind that he killed 16,000 people who worked for Zarevich up to this point.
01:47:31.365 --> 01:47:34.545
Tom: I love that they comment on that in the dialogue, though.
01:47:34.965 --> 01:47:35.465
Phil: Oh, they do?
01:47:35.485 --> 01:47:39.225
Tom: Yeah, he says, You're not much different from me, Nate.
01:47:39.425 --> 01:47:42.125
Tom: How many people have you killed even today?
01:47:42.525 --> 01:47:43.665
Tom: Or something along those lines.
01:47:43.805 --> 01:47:44.945
Tom: And I thought that was awesome.
01:47:46.285 --> 01:47:51.725
Phil: You sure he doesn't say, how many people have you killed today?
01:47:53.125 --> 01:47:56.925
Phil: Wait, that's not the right voice.
01:47:56.985 --> 01:47:58.765
Phil: Keep going, keep going, move on.
01:47:59.625 --> 01:48:05.385
Tom: So that was basically, I think that's the only good thing to take away from the ending, was that line.
01:48:05.585 --> 01:48:15.245
Tom: But here's the worst part of the ending, which you will get to hear our own rendition of after the podcast, or rather at the very end of the podcast, after our outro.
01:48:15.265 --> 01:48:22.645
Tom: And that is the small discussion between Alana and Nate at the very end.
01:48:23.305 --> 01:48:24.345
Phil: I thought it was sweet.
01:48:24.905 --> 01:48:25.525
Phil: I loved it.
01:48:25.585 --> 01:48:26.665
Phil: I thought it was great.
01:48:26.725 --> 01:48:27.965
Phil: It moved me to tears.
01:48:27.985 --> 01:48:28.405
Tom: Really?
01:48:28.525 --> 01:48:30.485
Phil: And I'm not afraid to say it.
01:48:30.805 --> 01:48:33.185
Phil: I thought it was the best thing in video games ever.
01:48:33.205 --> 01:48:33.905
Phil: I loved it.
01:48:34.785 --> 01:48:37.265
Tom: I thought it was just absolutely atrocious.
01:48:37.385 --> 01:48:38.145
Tom: It was awful.
01:48:38.165 --> 01:48:39.565
Phil: I'm a sentimental bloke.
01:48:39.685 --> 01:48:41.145
Phil: I thought it was wonderful.
01:48:41.165 --> 01:48:42.485
Phil: I thought it was really cute.
01:48:42.525 --> 01:48:43.925
Tom: You know what it sounds like, though?
01:48:44.005 --> 01:48:47.325
Tom: I mean, here's the bizarre thing about it is this.
01:48:48.205 --> 01:48:50.945
Tom: It should have been a good moment.
01:48:51.305 --> 01:48:53.205
Tom: It's written fine for that.
01:48:53.225 --> 01:48:55.065
Tom: It's incredibly corny.
01:48:55.325 --> 01:48:56.505
Tom: I have no problem with corn.
01:48:57.205 --> 01:48:58.265
Tom: That's not my issue with it.
01:48:58.305 --> 01:48:59.685
Phil: Yeah, he loves corn.
01:48:59.705 --> 01:49:00.385
Tom: I love corn.
01:49:01.265 --> 01:49:02.385
Phil: Hardcore corn.
01:49:02.765 --> 01:49:10.345
Tom: My issue with it is the delivery of it from both Nolan North and whatever the fuck the woman is called.
01:49:11.085 --> 01:49:19.685
Tom: They deliver it like it is some fucking satirical cartoon that is making fun of writing like that.
01:49:20.265 --> 01:49:20.965
Phil: You're wrong.
01:49:21.625 --> 01:49:23.645
Phil: Let's just move on because you're wrong.
01:49:23.885 --> 01:49:25.265
Phil: You're embarrassing yourself.
01:49:25.465 --> 01:49:26.065
Tom: Listen to me.
01:49:26.485 --> 01:49:38.805
Tom: On SBS, there is currently a show on SBS One, which is a post-Simpsons cartoon where every single line is some ironic parable.
01:49:39.745 --> 01:49:44.025
Phil: Well, isn't that every animated fucking cartoon in the last 15 years?
01:49:44.225 --> 01:49:47.605
Tom: This is post-Simpsons then.
01:49:47.745 --> 01:49:49.485
Tom: This is on a degree beyond that.
01:49:50.185 --> 01:49:53.445
Phil: This is my major problem with animated shorts.
01:49:53.665 --> 01:50:00.885
Phil: I mean, everything is so goddamn, you know, self-referential and, you know, postmodern.
01:50:00.925 --> 01:50:01.785
Phil: I've had it.
01:50:01.865 --> 01:50:02.585
Phil: I'm done with it.
01:50:02.605 --> 01:50:05.305
Tom: Yeah, but why do you like this?
01:50:05.325 --> 01:50:07.125
Tom: Because this was delivered in...
01:50:07.885 --> 01:50:12.365
Tom: If you put this in that show, you would not find an iBit.
01:50:12.585 --> 01:50:13.865
Phil: Big spoilers.
01:50:13.885 --> 01:50:16.205
Phil: Yep.
01:50:16.385 --> 01:50:17.865
Phil: Elena was dead.
01:50:17.945 --> 01:50:20.705
Phil: You find out she's alive in this scene.
01:50:22.205 --> 01:50:24.685
Tom: But you find out she's alive before those lines.
01:50:26.625 --> 01:50:28.245
Phil: You find out she's alive.
01:50:28.465 --> 01:50:30.145
Phil: You find out she's alive.
01:50:30.165 --> 01:50:31.225
Phil: That's the biggest thing.
01:50:31.245 --> 01:50:34.485
Phil: So you're like, oh, she's alive, and here she is talking cute with Nate.
01:50:34.505 --> 01:50:40.365
Tom: So what you're saying is, this fact is enough for you to ignore the awful delivery of the lines.
01:50:41.625 --> 01:50:42.425
Tom: Okay, that's fine then.
01:50:42.445 --> 01:50:43.405
Tom: I've got no problem with that.
01:50:44.845 --> 01:50:45.885
Tom: I've got no problem with that.
01:50:45.905 --> 01:50:48.505
Tom: I just thought it was mind-bogglingly awful.
01:50:49.465 --> 01:50:50.905
Phil: Are we done here, my friend?
01:50:50.925 --> 01:50:51.525
Tom: Yep, we're done.
01:50:52.285 --> 01:50:54.685
Phil: Because you cannot bear to talk.
01:50:54.705 --> 01:50:55.325
Phil: You think we're done.
01:50:55.345 --> 01:51:01.125
Tom: You cannot bear to talk for it any longer after I've just cut you down and destroyed you.
01:51:02.065 --> 01:51:03.145
Phil: Two things, vehicle levels.
01:51:03.165 --> 01:51:03.365
Tom: Yes.
01:51:05.045 --> 01:51:06.285
Phil: Up or down, yes or no?
01:51:07.065 --> 01:51:08.645
Tom: Vehicle levels in what context?
01:51:09.645 --> 01:51:10.485
Phil: Like, not like.
01:51:11.205 --> 01:51:14.145
Tom: No, I mean, what are you referring to as the vehicle levels?
01:51:14.165 --> 01:51:18.145
Tom: When you're walking around on the train, are you classing that as a vehicle level?
01:51:18.165 --> 01:51:20.365
Phil: No, driving trucks, jumping from truck to truck.
01:51:20.685 --> 01:51:21.285
Tom: I enjoyed it.
01:51:21.345 --> 01:51:22.085
Tom: I'll give it an up.
01:51:23.065 --> 01:51:28.185
Phil: Okay, next thing, you're in the village where the tank is chasing you, up or down?
01:51:29.505 --> 01:51:30.505
Tom: I'll give that an up as well.
01:51:31.625 --> 01:51:32.645
Phil: Oh, really?
01:51:32.805 --> 01:51:37.105
Phil: Because that's where I got stuck quite a bit until I figured out what the hell I was supposed to be doing.
01:51:37.685 --> 01:51:39.325
Tom: Were you trying to kill the tank?
01:51:40.225 --> 01:51:42.985
Phil: I don't know what I was trying to do, but I could not figure it out.
01:51:43.005 --> 01:51:47.525
Phil: That's the only point that I got stuck other than jumping from ice level to ice level.
01:51:47.545 --> 01:51:56.085
Tom: It was actually, as far as I can remember, I can't remember exactly what it was, but there was some confusion at the very beginning.
01:51:56.545 --> 01:52:06.945
Tom: One major problem with that is, it gets the direction of the old area off to a poor start, so you then have doubts in your mind as to what you're meant to be doing.
01:52:07.145 --> 01:52:21.025
Tom: What helped begins is, you've got the tank directly in front of you, and there's cover there, and there isn't even a pathway to the right, so you move into the cover and you think, okay, I've got to somehow kill the tank, right?
01:52:21.085 --> 01:52:34.045
Tom: But what you've actually got to do is, you move further to the side to a particular spot with nothing special about it whatsoever, at which stage the tank blows a hole in the wall and the camera moves to direct you along the pathway.
01:52:34.465 --> 01:52:34.965
Tom: So yeah.
01:52:34.985 --> 01:52:35.865
Phil: Yeah, exactly.
01:52:36.145 --> 01:52:41.205
Phil: It is kind of what we were talking about before though in terms of signposting being inconsistent.
01:52:41.205 --> 01:52:41.725
Tom: That's right.
01:52:41.745 --> 01:52:44.825
Phil: But anytime you want to play this online, I am up for it.
01:52:44.825 --> 01:52:46.765
Phil: I am fully patched and ready to go.
01:52:46.785 --> 01:52:49.905
Phil: The co-op in this game is amazingly good.
01:52:51.485 --> 01:52:52.265
Phil: What is the co-op?
01:52:52.285 --> 01:52:54.045
Tom: Is it presumably not through the story?
01:52:54.965 --> 01:53:09.685
Phil: No, the co-op presents you with some levels through the game where they provide different story elements and you have to play with another friend, up to three friends, and basically you are going through these different levels.
01:53:09.705 --> 01:53:13.905
Phil: But it is an entirely different story that adds to the full story.
01:53:13.925 --> 01:53:14.985
Tom: So it has its own story.
01:53:15.705 --> 01:53:17.465
Phil: Yeah, it is really great.
01:53:17.485 --> 01:53:17.705
Tom: Excellent.
01:53:18.485 --> 01:53:20.705
Phil: Yeah, so I'm up for that whenever you want to play that.
01:53:21.705 --> 01:53:23.385
Phil: Let me know in the coming days.
01:53:23.625 --> 01:53:29.645
Tom: And I just want to say the bonus features that were so awesome in Uncharted 1 returned.
01:53:29.865 --> 01:53:30.685
Tom: So thank god for that.
01:53:30.705 --> 01:53:32.985
Phil: Yeah, I mean, good job on that stuff.
01:53:33.005 --> 01:53:34.865
Tom: Have you tried the Next Gen filter?
01:53:35.805 --> 01:53:36.225
Phil: No.
01:53:36.245 --> 01:53:38.725
Tom: Okay, I'm not going to tell you what it does.
01:53:38.745 --> 01:53:40.045
Tom: You need to go and turn that on.
01:53:40.425 --> 01:53:41.985
Tom: It is hilarious what it does.
01:53:42.205 --> 01:53:44.885
Phil: I assume it was lots of bloom and lens flare.
01:53:45.445 --> 01:53:46.365
Tom: I will not comment.
01:53:47.025 --> 01:53:47.385
Phil: Okay.
01:53:47.405 --> 01:53:48.625
Tom: I will not spoil it for you.
01:53:48.765 --> 01:53:50.905
Tom: Go and turn it on and have your mind blown.
01:53:51.805 --> 01:53:58.505
Phil: All right, well, dear listener, just as an inside joke, if you've listened this far into the show, you know how long the show has lasted.
01:53:58.725 --> 01:54:04.585
Phil: We had originally pitched internally between Tom and myself that this would be a 60-minute show.
01:54:05.645 --> 01:54:12.605
Phil: So you can giggle about that and know that upcoming we will have a 60-minute show and God knows what it will look like.
01:54:12.945 --> 01:54:18.765
Tom: I'm thinking what it will be is probably 60 minutes of us reading from the Uncharted script.
01:54:20.085 --> 01:54:24.505
Phil: And have you any intention to play Uncharted 3?
01:54:24.525 --> 01:54:28.325
Tom: I will be starting it probably tomorrow, if not today.
01:54:28.345 --> 01:54:33.605
Tom: So it should be treated to yet another episode full of Uncharted.
01:54:33.685 --> 01:54:38.185
Phil: My brief spoiler is going to be I believe that as with...
01:54:38.605 --> 01:54:41.485
Phil: I told you Tomb Raider is better than any of the Uncharted games.
01:54:42.485 --> 01:54:43.145
Phil: As a game.
01:54:45.005 --> 01:54:49.365
Phil: I think Uncharted is better than Uncharted 2, but I liked Uncharted 2 more.
01:54:49.385 --> 01:54:50.545
Tom: That's my expectation.
01:54:51.305 --> 01:54:52.985
Phil: Yeah, just sequel stuff.
01:54:53.005 --> 01:55:02.665
Tom: If it is not a vastly superior game, technically I will be probably not only disappointed, but quite surprised given that that's generally how Naughty Dog works.
01:55:03.525 --> 01:55:08.365
Phil: And there's some disappointing things about it that I can't wait to talk to you about next episode.
01:55:08.785 --> 01:55:11.425
Tom: Also, I can't wait to see the crap all over your favorite parts.
01:55:12.285 --> 01:55:14.505
Phil: Yep, we're going to close off episode 11 at that.
01:55:14.925 --> 01:55:22.685
Phil: We do have a special bonus after the outro where Tom and I are going to reenact the final scene of Uncharted 2.
01:55:22.705 --> 01:55:24.545
Phil: It's something that you must listen to.
01:55:24.565 --> 01:55:26.205
Phil: It's something we rehearsed all week.
01:55:27.405 --> 01:55:36.245
Phil: I disagreed with some of the blocking on the set, but eventually we came to terms and we did record this in a local church.
01:55:36.605 --> 01:55:38.665
Tom: So it might be a little echoing.
01:55:39.305 --> 01:55:44.865
Phil: Yeah, it might be a little bit of echo on it, but I'm going to add the soundtrack, which will probably block out a lot of that.
01:55:44.885 --> 01:55:49.685
Phil: And boy, did those heels hurt.
01:55:50.605 --> 01:55:51.945
Phil: In any case, you're listening to...
01:55:51.965 --> 01:55:54.005
Tom: I'm sure you won't get to see the outfit he was in.
01:55:54.905 --> 01:55:55.585
Tom: It was pretty spectacular.
01:55:55.605 --> 01:55:56.185
Phil: Thank you for listening.
01:55:56.865 --> 01:55:59.525
Phil: Yeah, well, the rubber chafed as well.
01:55:59.585 --> 01:56:00.445
Phil: I'll just add that.
01:56:01.305 --> 01:56:03.205
Phil: You've listened to episode 11.
01:56:03.505 --> 01:56:05.305
Phil: Congratulations, achievement unlocked.
01:56:05.685 --> 01:56:08.165
Phil: Please do come to our website, gameunder.net.
01:56:08.225 --> 01:56:11.505
Phil: But if you don't want to do that, just tell a friend about the podcast.
01:56:11.525 --> 01:56:15.425
Phil: Don't go to iTunes and review it or rate it or any of that crazy stuff.
01:56:16.165 --> 01:56:18.005
Phil: But tell a friend, hey, you can listen to this.
01:56:18.025 --> 01:56:20.285
Phil: If they listen to Stitcher, they can listen to us on that.
01:56:21.125 --> 01:56:26.485
Phil: You can follow me on Twitter at GameUnderPhil.
01:56:26.925 --> 01:56:29.285
Phil: And the reason to do that is because I won't spam you.
01:56:29.305 --> 01:56:30.845
Phil: I'll just tell you when shows are coming up.
01:56:31.445 --> 01:56:35.645
Phil: And also ask for you to give us input on a show just before we record.
01:56:35.685 --> 01:56:37.225
Phil: And you'll get mentioned on the show.
01:56:37.765 --> 01:56:42.545
Phil: Sometimes I also give out our Skype number, so you can call in and be on the show.
01:56:42.745 --> 01:56:44.165
Phil: So, GameUnderPhil.
01:56:44.805 --> 01:56:49.565
Phil: And with that, I am Phil Fogg, 1L2G's.
01:56:49.585 --> 01:56:50.125
Phil: And you are?
01:56:50.585 --> 01:56:52.245
Tom: Well, actually, you are Thomas.
01:56:52.465 --> 01:56:53.805
Tom: And I am George Woodman.
01:56:55.565 --> 01:56:59.925
Phil: And here is our rendition of the final scene of Uncharted 2.
01:57:07.326 --> 01:57:11.046
Phil: So on a scale of 1 to 10, how scared were you that I was going to die?
01:57:11.646 --> 01:57:12.046
Phil: Four.
01:57:12.906 --> 01:57:13.366
Phil: Four?
01:57:15.286 --> 01:57:15.926
Phil: A four?
01:57:15.966 --> 01:57:16.446
Tom: Yeah.
01:57:17.186 --> 01:57:18.486
Phil: You were at least an eight.
01:57:18.826 --> 01:57:19.526
Tom: An eight?
01:57:20.286 --> 01:57:21.446
Phil: You were a total eight.
01:57:21.526 --> 01:57:22.026
Tom: An eight?
01:57:22.046 --> 01:57:23.846
Tom: Those guardian things were an eight.
01:57:24.326 --> 01:57:25.226
Phil: Are you kidding me?
01:57:25.346 --> 01:57:26.866
Tom: Yeah, those were terrifying.
01:57:27.666 --> 01:57:29.006
Phil: Then what's a ten?
01:57:29.606 --> 01:57:30.266
Tom: Clowns.
01:57:31.086 --> 01:57:32.646
Phil: Clowns over my dead.
01:57:33.386 --> 01:57:33.646
Tom: I...
01:57:33.666 --> 01:57:35.166
Tom: I hate clowns.
01:57:35.906 --> 01:57:36.446
Phil: Clowns?
01:57:37.566 --> 01:57:39.106
Tom: I hate clowns.
01:57:39.986 --> 01:57:40.806
Phil: Oh my word.
01:57:41.106 --> 01:57:42.326
Phil: You thought I was dead.
01:57:42.446 --> 01:57:42.826
Tom: No.
01:57:43.766 --> 01:57:45.346
Phil: No, you thought I was gone.
01:57:46.646 --> 01:57:47.366
Phil: Yes, you did.
01:57:47.486 --> 01:57:48.806
Tom: No, I had you all along.
01:57:49.526 --> 01:57:50.686
Phil: I saw you shed tears.
01:57:50.786 --> 01:57:51.866
Phil: You shed a bunch of them.
01:57:53.566 --> 01:57:53.906
Phil: Mm-hmm.
01:57:54.326 --> 01:57:55.126
Tom: It was raining.
01:57:55.586 --> 01:57:56.486
Phil: No, it was not.
01:57:56.646 --> 01:57:58.546
Tom: You were unconscious and it was raining.
01:57:58.986 --> 01:58:01.686
Phil: It was totally sunny out and you were bawling.
01:58:02.126 --> 01:58:04.646
Tom: It was not sunny and you were unconscious.
01:58:05.406 --> 01:58:07.426
Phil: Whatever, I kept your tears in a jar.
01:58:07.706 --> 01:58:08.326
Phil: I have proof.