• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Was Naughty Dog games better before Neil Druckman?

Was Naughty Dog games better before Neil Druckman?

  • Total voters
    301
LordOcidax

LordOcidax

Member
cybEQM9.jpeg
 
P

PauloRoberto

Member
In a lot of aspects, he reminds me of kojima... genius, but should not be the final decision maker. Nadine from U4 is a example of Drunkman's 'strong woman obsession' GOd dam it my mom hates U4 because she automatically knows that when Nadine is in scene, she will easily defeat everyone on screen... (truth be told, Uncharted Lost Legacy was WAY BETTER in this aspect).
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Uncharted was the end of ND's relevance as a developer for me. With the exception of TLOU 1 (which I generally liked), every game I've played from them since then has been a miss. I really liked their platformer era, though.
 
Insanemaelstrom

Insanemaelstrom

Member
I personally loved UC4 and TLOU part 1 more than any other ND game( although I do admit their previous games were also excellent). Disregarding my preferences towards story, I think ND has been equally good before as it is currently in Niel's era, just in a different direction.
 
Golgo 13

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
The Cockatrice said:
Uncharted 4 and TLOU1 are one of the best games ever made so no.
Click to expand...
I agree about TLOU1, but that game was directed by Straley, who forced Druckmann to rewrite the story of TLOU1 at least once (which was originally a revenge story that went “off the rails”….sound familiar?) So there were guardrails in place for him there that really helped mold the story, a guiding force that was a counterweight to Neil’s ideas.

Sometimes a collaborative effort in the realm of entertainment somehow produces magic that cannot be replicated by the individual people involved when split apart and do different projects.
 
viveks86

viveks86

Member
Luipadre said:
There is a new ND or Druckman thread on this site every fucking day. This guy living rent free in some heads here holy shit. Let it go
Click to expand...
This is Druckman's revenge for (allegedly) not getting the clicks during the golden globes. "All eyes on me forever, bitches".
 
Last edited:
SlimySnake

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Golgo 13 said:
I agree about TLOU1, but that game was directed by Straley, who forced Druckmann to rewrite the story of TLOU1 at least once (which was originally a revenge story that went “off the rails”….sound familiar?) So there were guardrails in place for him there that really helped mold the story, a guiding force that was a counterweight to Neil’s ideas.

Sometimes a collaborative effort in the realm of entertainment somehow produces magic that cannot be replicated by the individual people involved when split apart and do different projects.
Click to expand...
He also wanted to kill off Elena in uncharted 2.

Guy is too emo, and needed Bruce Straley.
 
Gamer79

Gamer79

Predicts the worst decade for Sony starting 2022
I just wish he would stop putting his woke ideologue bullshit in vidoegames
 
hinch7

hinch7

Member
They were a lot more light-hearted, fun and with less focus on cinematics. So yes. And thats before we go into forced DEI, or lack thereof in prevous games.
 
Last edited:
semiconscious

semiconscious

Member
i liked the 2 uncharted he just scripted (1&2), & i liked last of us, which he scripted/directed. that's about it...
Golgo 13 said:
I agree about TLOU1, but that game was directed by Straley, who forced Druckmann to rewrite the story of TLOU1 at least once (which was originally a revenge story that went “off the rails”….sound familiar?) So there were guardrails in place for him there that really helped mold the story, a guiding force that was a counterweight to Neil’s ideas.

Sometimes a collaborative effort in the realm of entertainment somehow produces magic that cannot be replicated by the individual people involved when split apart and do different projects.
Click to expand...
thanks for this...
 
Fbh

Fbh

Member
Yes.
ND peaked with Uncharted 2, when they nailed the cinematic style by making a game that felt like you were playing an action movie.
Now they make the boring style of cinematic games that constantly get in your way and don't let you engage with the gameplay because Niel cares more about the story than anything else.
 
Markio128

Markio128

Member
Fbh said:
Yes.
ND peaked with Uncharted 2, when they nailed the cinematic style by making a game that felt like you were playing an action movie.
Now they make the boring style of cinematic games that constantly get in your way and don't let you engage with the gameplay because Niel cares more about the story than anything else.
Click to expand...
Uncharted 2 was fantastic for its time, but you’re talking shit if you think it plays better than Uncharted 4, or TLOU 1 and 2.
 
Fbh

Fbh

Member
Markio128 said:
Uncharted 2 was fantastic for its time, but you’re talking shit if you think it plays better than Uncharted 4, or TLOU 1 and 2.
Click to expand...

Uncharted 4 and specially TLOU2 have better gunplay and combat than Uncharted 2, no doubt.
But instead of giving you a game that focuses on it, they constantly force you into endless walking and talking sequences, boring 40 minutes long flashbacks and other such "story" sequences where you don't really do anything. Niel puts story above everything, ND during the Uncharted 2 era felt like they thought about cool gameplay sequences first then wrote the story around that.

2,5 hours into Uncharted 4 you've barely been allowed to play it and done almost no shooting except for that brief prison break sequence with Sam.
2.5 hours into Uncharted 2 you've infiltrated the museum, gone through the whole Borneo jungle sequence, which has a lot of combat, and done the early part of Nepal including that awesome chopper chase setpiece.

If ND would make a game with the combat mechanics and gameplay of Uc4/TLOU2 but the pacing and gameplay focus of Uncharted 2 I'd probably still like their games. But Niel is too busy smelling his own farts.
 
Last edited:
RagnarokIV

RagnarokIV

Battlebus imprisoning me \m/ >.< \m/
PauloRoberto said:
In a lot of aspects, he reminds me of kojima... genius, but should not be the final decision maker.
Click to expand...

Mate, you are insane.

If Kojima is a genius, let’s say on Nicolo Paganini level (or Bob Dylan for normies) then Druckman is Right Said Fred.
 
Saturn Dragon

Saturn Dragon

Member
Fbh said:
If ND would make a game with the combat mechanics and gameplay of Uc4/TLOU2 but the pacing and gameplay focus of Uncharted 2 I'd probably still like their games.
Click to expand...

I would go to California myself and lick Druckmann's balls for an entire game development process.
 
Vick

Vick

Member
Before Druckmann took complete control, of course.

No longer facing push-back on his retarded ideas like killing Elena in Uncharted 2 or making TLOU I a revenge story with Tess as antagonist.. is what basically destroyed this studio.

It's only hard to see for some due to the studio evolution in other aspects, higher budgets and tech advancements granted by the newer machines.
 
Vick

Vick

Member
dezzy8 said:
Last of Us was one of the greatest games ever. I don't understand where your hate is coming from.
Click to expand...
And the Druckmann-only version of The Last of Us would have been a completely different game.

Don't know about you, but I'm glad Straley and company were there to prevent the game from being a revenge story about Tess, as a main antagonist, torturing Joel after chasing him for a year, before being killed by Ellie.

137580718848.png


The fact the entire Part II plot is nothing more than a recycled, rejected nonsense from the previous game, mixed with a total fan fiction tier "NPC #4790 had a family who seek revenge", starring that joke of a character Abby, should make it crystal clear what kind of complete hack he really is.
 
Azelover

Azelover

Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
Yes. The games became too movie-ish.. I would rather get Jak & Daxter any day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Neil Druckman says there are multiple singleplayer projects in the works at Naughty Dog
Game Dev 2
76
4K
semiconscious replied
  • Locked
  • Poll
Was Neil Druckmann better before Neil Druckmann?
20
931
Dr.Morris79 replied
What if Bloodborne 2... by Naughty Dog?
2 3
125
6K
Darkmakaimura replied
  • Locked
whys Neil Druckman loves butch characters??
Opinion Business Analysis 2 3
118
6K
dcx4610 replied
  • Locked
Neil Druckmann: Don’t bet on there being more of 'Last of Us.'
1
261
Sooner replied
Top Bottom