Review written by Playstation4.net staff member Adam Hanson
Drawing inspiration from the same adventure stories that inspired films like Indiana Jones and National Treasure Uncharted: Drakes Fortune takes advantage of the power of the PS3 to tell a compelling story of modern day pirates and lost treasure. Developer Naughty Dog (creators of the Jak and Daxter series) manages to do quite well with their first PS3 also their first original IP since the original Jak game on the PS2.
From the moment the game starts players find themselves immersed in the role of Nathan Drake the self proclaimed descendant of the famed explorer and privateer Sir Francis Drake. At the start of the game Drake finds himself battling pirates off the coast of Panama with the prize in question being a clue to the location of the treasure of El Dorado. From there the game takes players to a variety of locations including a jungle, a ruined city, and even a nazi submarine. While the game has relatively few main characters each of them are well written and memorable.
The gameplay is largely a mix of platforming and shooting with some puzzle and driving segments scattered throughout. The platforming is done similarly to Assassin’s Creed where perfect timing is rarely necessary and a single context sensitive button handles jumping and climbing. In addition to traditional platforming there are incidents where the player must quickly press a button to correspond with an on screen prompt similar to the God of War series or use the motion sensitivity of the Sixaxis to maintain Drake’s balance as he crosses a fallen log or other narrow bridge.
The game’s shooting is much more complex than it’s platforming. The nature of the battles requires the player to think strategically and make use of the games environment both to provide cover from enemy gunfire and to use against one’s foes. There is no shortage of cover to hide behind with some of it being destructible (wooden crates for example will break apart after they have been shot enough times) and permanent (walls, and rock formations can survive even a grenade blast). The game makes it easy to maintain cover as players move around an object or from one secure location to a nearby one. Shooting from a covered location can be done blindly by simply firing the equipped weapon or the player can choose to emerge from cover to aim and fire a more accurate shot. Firing blindly often leaves the player having to reload rather than doing any real damage to the enemy so most of the time players will opt to aim and fire even if it means taking some damage.
Fighting the enemy is further complicated by the fact that the enemy AI is quite advanced. Enemies will try to flank Drake, make use of cover, and even notice when the player is out of ammunition. Drake’s arsenal is limited to one pistol and one larger gun (shotgun, machine gun, rifle) as well as a few grenades. Weapons are based off of real world guns with some slight changes to the names (Dragunov is now Dragon Sniper, SPAS 12 is SAS 12 etc). Hand to hand combat is an option but Drake’s moves are limited and enemies can often gun the player down before he closes to melee range. The game does not feature healing items but instead allows drake to recover if he is able to go long enough without taking damage. This helps the player enter each new fight sequence fresh which is important as Drake does not have the tolerance for damage found in many shooters. Enemies are similar in that they too can be felled by a small number of well aimed bullets. One example of this is that a headshot is lethal for both Drake and his enemies.
The graphics in Uncharted are what one would expect from a top tier PS3 title. The characters are detailed and well animated with more points of articulation than were possible on the PS2. Environments are similarly detailed and varied enough that players will not feel as if they are seeing the same thing over and over. Of particular note are the game’s water effects which are more realistic than anything that has come before. One great example of this is that if Drake enters water he will emerge wet and dry off over time. In addition to being technically proficient the graphics are also artistically brilliant. Every location is designed in a way that enhances the cinematic experience of the game by adding an air of wonder or fear or whatever is appropriate. The game’s sound is similarly well done. Every line of the script is voiced and the voice acting is very well done and on par with what one would hear in a high quality animated film. The sound effects are also dead on with everything sounding the way it should.
If there is one negative thing to be said about Uncharted it is that the game is short. A single playthough on normal difficult level can be completed in about 10 hours of playtime. Luckily the developers put in a number of medals similar to the skill points in Ratchet and Clank. These medals can be obtained by finding treasures scattered throughout the game or by performing certain tasks in combat such as getting a set number of kills with a certain weapon. Each medal has a point value and the points can be used to unlock costumes for drake as well as behind the scenes video. Like the Jak games Uncharted makes it easy for players to replay any of the game’s cut scenes which is a great addition because the scenes are so good that players may want to view them again and again.
WIth all things considered Uncharted: Drakes Fortune is a great addition to the PS3 lineup and a top tier title that any PS3 owner should have in their collection. With talk of a sequel already beginning to hit the net it seems that Uncharted is a great start to what will likely be a great franchise.
5/5
