The much anticipated Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Beta was recently released for Playstation Plus members and Infamous 2 owners. Uncharted 3 is easily one of the most anticipated titles of year, and it drops this November. Is the multiplayer beta enough to whet your palette or is it just another so-so shooter? Read on to find out. Here are our top 5 features:
5. Customization – One nice feature of the U3 Beta is the ability to customize your player. Not only are features such as taunts and appearance customizable, but so are weapons. Upgrades such as additional ammo clips and grenade slots can be purchased as you earn money by playing the game. Additional taunts, upgrades and guns are unlocked as you play through the game.
4. Power Plays – Power plays are new to Uncharted 3. Basically, one team has an advantage over the other for a certain period of time such as being able to do 2x the damage. It’s understandable that some people might be turned off by this. Why give the losing team an unfair advantage? They’ve done nothing to earn it. However, it’s worth noting that the winning team receives double money for each kill of the losing team during a power play. Not only is a power play a way to increase the difficulty, but you get compensated for having the odds stacked against you. However, if you’re turned off by power plays entirely you can switch them off by playing in “Hardcore” mode.
3. The Airfield – The U3 Beta has 2 levels available, the Chateau and the Airfield. While neither stage is particularly large, each does have some fun things to do. For example the airfield starts with one team on a cargo plane at takeoff, and t
he other team trying to chase down the cargo plane. Crossing between moving vehicles while shooting at enemies is a fun interesting twist and presented its own set of challenges. Additionally, the hangar at the end of the airfield provided plenty of places to take cover and shoot at the opposing team.
2. The Chateau – The Chateau is a very basic, fun level that’s not too complicated. There are plenty of places to hide and it also has a gatling gun turret to pick off members of the opposing team. Be careful if you use the gatling gun turret. It takes time for it to get warmed up. The Chateau also has a few unique elements that differentiate it from levels in other shooters. Scaling up a wall and shooting an enemy from a ledge is cool. So is sliding down the zip lines.
1. Game Modes – Fans of shooter games will be most familiar with Free for All, Team Deathmatch, Hardcore (team deathmatch without power plays) and King of the Hill modes. U3 Beta also features Co-op Arena Mode and 3 team Deathmatch. 3 Team Deathmatch is basically Team Deathmatch with one more team. Co-op Arena pits you and up to 2 additional friends against waves of computer controlled enemies with different goals such as killing as many enemies as possible or gathering as much treasure as possible.
Final thoughts: The U3 Beta handled pretty well. I had some minor difficulty scaling walls and picking up guns, but didn't find any major flaws. The game itself is fun and has a variety of ways to play. While it's not a shooter on the caliber of Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, or Battlefield it's still fun in its own right and is a welcomed addition to Uncharted 3.