MEMBER BLOG

Wow, now that's a lot of comments for not playing a game. I feel like Kathy Griffin walking across the dance floor at a bar and seeing the room divide into two camps. Of course, I'm glad to see many people siding with me. I didn't think not playing Uncharted was going to be that huge of a forum war, partially because I'm not completely shooting into the dark when I say that Uncharted didn't have a "wow factor" for me.

I have seen enough gameplay footage (especially watching joeblow play it for about two hours during a party), read enough reviews of Uncharted (ours, GameSpot's, and GameInformer's), edited Jesse's review for Uncharted, and uploaded the screenshots for Uncharted to warrant an informed opinion - one that actually agrees with the A- for what is really a great game. One small "wow factor" was seeing how Drake's clothes changed when he dipped into the water and seeing it dry gradually when he climbed out.

Asking around, Blake and Duke did play it for more than a couple of hours, said it was brilliant but just wasn't good enough to make the top ten list - which is why, ultimately, it was forgotten along with a host of other great titles. If GR did split the nominees into separate categories, I'm pretty sure that Uncharted (and some that we didn't mention due to the format of this year's list) would at least be nominated for the best PS3 title of the year, if not win it.

This isn't to say that I disagree with what Longo said about having played the game to safely and securely place it on a list. I would be the first to want to have played a game fully, so that my judgements comes from personal gameplay experience - you know, with the controller in my hands. Unfortunately, sometimes just an informed, researched opinion is all editors can hope for with their personal taste and the amount of time and money they get. I'm sure you don't want to ask Blake and Duke which games they have or have not played on that list as well. I suppose the bottom line is that we're people, too, and sometimes we have to make due by doing all we can to gather an opinion that isn't grasping at straws and loose wires.

Why do you think we drink so much?