Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Review
Before I start, I need to say only one thing. If you own a PS3 and a HD Display, you MUST get this game. This is the console exclusive game that PS3 owners have been waiting for with baited breath. To sum it all up, this is one of the best games I have played in the past few months. Uncharted is simply not just the best game to grace the Playstation 3 console, this is one of the best games I’ve played in the past few months on any platform, and those games include Bioshock, Heavenly Sword, Jeanne D’arc and Monster Hunter Freedom 2.
Frankly, if you have a PS3, and you don’t own this game, I don’t know what in the nine lower and upper hells you spent $700 AUD for. So far, this is the very first PS3 game that commands me to play it through from start through to the end in one sitting (actually, Heavenly Sword made me did just that, but not the oomph this game gave). The best way to describe the experience is that its like playing a movie, an classic pulp action Indiana Jones-esque kinda movie. This game, along with its nearest shadow, Heavenly Sword disproves the idea that games cannot be written and acted to the same level of television and film. Having said that fanboyish sounding shameless promotion of Uncharted (no really, its one of the most fun game I’ve ever played and reminds me why I’m such a hardcore gamer in the first place), now lets get on with the review!
There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.
- Sir Francis Drake, 1587
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune puts you in the shoes of one modern-day fortune hunter, Nathan Drake (who is supposedly a descendant of Sir Francis Drake). The hero Nathan Drake, is your everyday-man. He is not your average Gears-of-War-esque-bulging- muscles-ripping-tough-guy-macho hero. Nathan is actually leaning on the clumsy side and has a knack for getting himself in all kinds of troubles. Following Nathan Drake (Notice the initials for Nathan Drake and developer Naughty Dog are the same. Coincidence?) is his mentor with a roguish personality, Victor Sullivan. Also on hand to document Drake’s adventures is journalist Elena Fisher.
The game opens with Nathan Drake recovering the coffin of Sir Francis Drake himself from the ocean floor, using coordinates inscribed on a ring in Nathan’s possession. Upon prying open the coffin, it was found to be empty with no corpse. However, what Drake did find was a diary written by Sir Francis Drake, which points to the location of El Dorado, the fabled city of gold where Sir Francis Drake went to find the treasure, proving he faked his death like Nathan had originally believed. At this very moment, they were attacked by pirates and so begins the great adventure in the same vein of an Indiana Jones movie (and that is not a bad thing either).
The gameplay for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is a mix of 3D platform game and a third-person shooter elements. The platforming elements are similar to games such as Prince of Persia (the recent ones starting from Sands of Time) or Tomb Raider (which Uncharted is often compared with to the dismay of the developers). So, Nathan is able to jump, swim, grab and move along ledges, climb and swing from ropes, and other similar acrobatic actions that we’re all used to, to make his way along the many ruins that he explores.
When facing enemies, Drake can use either a melee combo attacks at close range or using the traditional weapons such as the pistols and rifles. It is interesting to point out that Drake can only carry one pistol (sidearm) and one rifle (also includes shotguns and machine guns) at any one time as well as limited amount of ammo per gun (each gun has its own max spare ammo). This makes it realistic as you can see Drake wearing a sidearm on his side and the larger gun swung across his back. Drake can also carry grenades in addition to his arsenal. Then comes the core mechanic that keeps Drake alive – Cover. Drake can take cover behind walls with a simple tap of the cover button, and use either blind-fire or covered fire to take out foes. To compensate for a lack of a health bar, whenever Drake takes damage, the colour of the screen will gradually fade to black and white and grow a bit hazy. Taking cover and not getting shot will gradually return colour to your screen. This is a very interesting and intuitive mechanics that adds to the immersion factor with minimal HUD.
The general format for a battle starts with Drake huddled or cornered in one spot while the enemies attack (he’ll cringe and duck as the bullets rain down on his position while muttering and cursing his bad luck) and Drake returning shots when they reload. Similar to most shootout scenes shown in movies. While it may seems repetitive, trust me its not. The enemy AI in Uncharted is one of the best I’ve seen in games. They will constantly move around to flank you and hurl grenades to flush you out into the open. The AI doesn’t seem to be scripted to move in a set position as I’ve noticed the AI adapting by changing positions and tactics based on what I’m doing. This truly make the fights intense and fast-paced. To keep the action varied, Uncharted includes the usual action movie staple car chase section (this is my favourite scene) and a jetski along Venice like canals while avoiding enemy fire and explosive barrels.
The Tomb Raider-esque platforming is also done right. Scaling crumbling walls, jumping from ledge to pillars and balancing on fragile beams is fun. There are times when trial-and-error platforming is required but each time Drake dies (whether death by bullets or falling into bottomless pits) you will be alive again in no time (read: no loading). And what any self respecting treasure hunt won’t have puzzles to solve? The puzzles aren’t hard to solve thanks to both Sir Francis Drake’s journal and the “hint” button. Sometimes, Nathan himself will even automatically turn his attention to certain objects or mutter some clue if you take too long solving the puzzle. That is my only gripes with the game. Otherwise, its good.
If that is not enough things to do, there are are 60 treasures that will glint momentarily at times to indicate their presence hidden around the game’s levels. Although these treasures have no direct effect on gameplay, collecting a number of these will earn “reward points”. Reward points can be earned also by completing certain accomplishments such as making a number of headshots or using specific methods of killing enemies. In subsequent playthroughs of the game (sometimes immediately), the player can spend these rewards points to unlock special options ranging from unlimited ammo to slow-motion to various filters (i.e. black and white, sepia or next-gen). The rewards points can also unlock several concept art, ‘making of’ videos, and alternate costumes for Drake and the enemies that he faces. This is Naughty Dogs way of implementing an achievement system as per the Xbox 360.
When it comes to the visuals, Uncharted is downright gorgeous. The lush, green palette are a well come change to the brown grey-ish palette that seems to be the fad these days. The environments are better than any I’ve seen in a long time. When you’re standing on a ledge thinking where to jump next, and then you realise there are actually exotic birds flying around from time to time, your realised how much effort and dedication the developers put in to this game. It’s equally impressive to see that the characters move naturally in the game. Nathan not only rolls and runs realistically, he even climb up or down the stairs! And by that i mean he actually places his feet on each step as he walks or runs up and down the stairs!!! Not only that, whenever any part of Drake’s body enters a water, that part will be wet! After playing Uncharted, I noticed I’m starting to pick on games (for example Devil May Cry 4) that seemingly floats up and down the stairs. Also, It really is something when you cannot really distinguish between when a cut scene ends and the in-game action begins because in Uncharted, it’s practically seamless.
Uncharted’s soundtrack that plays throughout the game deserves kudos as is makes the the game feel like a true Hollywood blockbuster. The game’s soundtrack is composed by Greg Edmonson of the Firefly TV series fame. The voice-acting cast is also spot on. The actors did an excellent job of making both Nathan and Elena very endearing and likeable characters.
As I’ve said at the start of the review, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is the reason you should own a PlayStation 3. Few action-adventure games pull you into its world, making you savour its most exciting moments and at the same time appreciate and care for its cast of characters. There are a few issues that keep this from being a perfect game but in the end, the issues are just way to minute and there are just way too many good things going for it.
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