Advice for Uncharted 3's Coop

( 2 Votes ) First let me start off by saying yes I am aware that Uncharted 3 hasn’t been officially announced and therefore neither has its coop story mode. However that doesn’t change the fact that they’re coming. Anyone who’s played Uncharted 2 for more than two hours could sense that at some point in its development it was going to have coop through its campaign. I lost count of how many times I gave or received boosts and the ridiculous number of times I or another character was expected to catch someone at the last moment seemed destined for a quick time event.

The real tipping point for me though was a section near the end where Drake and two NPC’s worked together to open a door that was eerily reminiscent of the Uncharted 2’s coop mode. I think the reason the game ended up without campaign coop was because Naughty Dog realized that these situations were incredibly contrived and weren’t worth sacrificing the more exhilarating set pieces of that could only work if the game was single player.

Even still I believe Uncharted coop story mode is coming. The series has been inching towards it with each new game. In Uncharted 1, it was opening doors and riding jet skies. In Uncharted 2, it’s giving boosts, catching people, and a whole lot of other little actions it takes two people to do. I’d wager that Uncharted 2’s coop missions were born out axed single player ideas. With each game Naughty Dog comes up with more and more ways for two people to work together and I can tell they’re close to putting in true coop, but are just waiting until they have enough unique ideas to avoid Resident Evil 5 syndrome. That said, here are some of my ideas that I feel just arrogant enough to suggest to Naughty Dog for use in Uncharted 3:

1. Stay the course: You were right to remove coop from Uncharted 2. The game’s thrilling opening sequence, train section, and other moments I dare not spoil would only be diluted if it were with another person and there probably isn’t an Uncharted fan alive who would want you to trade telling a fantastic story for shoehorned coop. If it doesn’t work then it just doesn’t work and that’s ok.

2. Coop doesn’t mean attached to the hip: While you would certainly want to work together during major encounters there is nothing wrong with working together from afar. In Uncharted 1, Elena and Drake would split up simply because they had different things to do. Splitting up creates replay value to get the whole experience and negates the feeling of coop being tacked on. Sure there is a risk of players feeling disconnected. That can be avoided by making it clear to the players that even though they are apart they are actually working together to accomplish a single tangible goal.

3. Different styles for different characters: Characters in the Uncharted-verse have unique personalities and abilities and this should carry over into gameplay. For example if we’re playing as Elena, we shouldn’t have access to Nate’s athletic abilities or CQC moves. She would need to have her own set moves and more importantly animations to set her apart from Drake. On top of that when two players are working together they don’t necessarily have to be doing the same thing. The jet ski section in Uncharted 1 exemplifies this best. Had one person been driving and one been shooting the gameplay would have been much improved.

4. Communication is key: I can certainly picture myself enjoying coop with someone over PSN, but like a movie Uncharted is best experienced in a vacuum free from the noise of the outside world. So with that in mind having to listen to some obnoxious twelve year-old crack jokes just because he can, would kill the game’s immersion. The only logical way to deal with this is to exclude mic support from coop. Another idea,

It would definitely be a blow to the people who would actually plan out tactics during fights, but most fans would appreciate and understand this as a necessary evil. And I probably don’t have to mention that in no way shape or form should there be a call button for people to abuse. If players really need to indicate status let it be automatic or it could be having a menu of predefined character messages that can shouted out, similar to the Unreal Tournament games.

5. More time with characters: Most importantly, If coop story is going to work in Uncharted then the franchise is going to have to return somewhat to its roots. Even though Drake spends most of his time with at least one NPC in U2 who you’re with is always changing. That can’t happen in Uncharted 3. A hallmark of the Uncharted series is how we identify with all the characters and especially the ones we travel with. It would simply be too dissonant for one person to play as Nate and one to play as Elena, Sully, and Chloe at various points in the story.

If you have two players then you have to engage them both with a compelling character. So to mitigate this dissonance it might be best to set up a situation not to dissimilar from Uncharted 1 where two characters are working together for long stretches of time unbroken by too many time skips. If Uncharted 2 was an epic experience then Uncharted 1 was a more personal one and Uncharted 3 would have to be both of these to work well with coop.

So those are my thoughts. Feel free to blast them at your leisure and blast me for assuming that Uncharted 3 will have coop at all, or that it even needs it, (Which it doesn’t really.) That’s what comments sections are for right?

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