A very well made game but the jump from 2 to 3 doesn’t feel as noticeable as the jump from 1 to 2. There are some aspects where the gameplay feels worse and things like melee combat have unnecessary fluff added (like the grab mechanic) that manage to negatively interact with other systems (grabbing an enemy when you actually meant to roll)
The story is pretty messy, with characters improperly setup and phasing in and out of existence when their immediate usefulness is seen through, and the locations you visit don’t really have a natural flow like 2 did. Nate literally washes ashore on a beach for a place he needs to be and says “that’s convenient”. The writers literally know they’re hacks!!! Also there’s a lot of forced drama going on, in between hallucinations where you’re shooting your friends in the head, or everyone asking Nate why he’s going through with finding some epic treasure (spoiler alert it’s because he’s a FUCKING TREASURE HUNTER!!! A profession you have been familiar with for two WHOLE GAMES!!!).
In comparison to 2 this game really just doesn’t have the same key ingredients that helped it succeed. Things happen because the writers thought they’d be cool to witness, not because they make sense. The gameplay has additions that don’t add much to the total experience. This game frustrated me back in 2011 on release and it has done the same to me this week in 2023. Some things never change!
Some of the puzzles were pretty cool
The story is pretty messy, with characters improperly setup and phasing in and out of existence when their immediate usefulness is seen through, and the locations you visit don’t really have a natural flow like 2 did. Nate literally washes ashore on a beach for a place he needs to be and says “that’s convenient”. The writers literally know they’re hacks!!! Also there’s a lot of forced drama going on, in between hallucinations where you’re shooting your friends in the head, or everyone asking Nate why he’s going through with finding some epic treasure (spoiler alert it’s because he’s a FUCKING TREASURE HUNTER!!! A profession you have been familiar with for two WHOLE GAMES!!!).
In comparison to 2 this game really just doesn’t have the same key ingredients that helped it succeed. Things happen because the writers thought they’d be cool to witness, not because they make sense. The gameplay has additions that don’t add much to the total experience. This game frustrated me back in 2011 on release and it has done the same to me this week in 2023. Some things never change!
Some of the puzzles were pretty cool