Lot's of fun but maybe tad short
As with my Motorstorm review this is another game I missed on it's released because of no PS3 in this household that time. Uncharted has always been high on my wishlist and when a friend offered this game for a £10 I couldn't say no of course. Having played through the game here is my take.
Uncharted is developed by Naughty Dog who has done several games across Playstation and Playstation 2 platforms. Uncharted 1 being my first Naughty Dog game. So I can not really say anything about the previous games. Although if any of their previous titles are done with the same quality I definitely need to check them out.
Visually Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is displaying one the best graphics on current generation consoles. From the lush green jungle to beautiful Pacific Ocean, everything looks absolutely amazing. My better half even commented how the game looked like a movie. That is a fitting description. Face models might not be as close to photo-realism as Heavy Rain but overall I have no complains on this front.
The story and game-play draws inspiration from classic treasure hunter movies and games. Ala Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider. Only difference being that Uncharted is based in a green Pacific Ocean remote island type instead of grey dungeon/jungle. Game-play is combination of shooter platformer game. Nathan Drake, the main dude, has similar athletic characters as Lara Croft, Ezio/Altair from Assasin's Creed games. Occasionally the progression is broken down with simple puzzles. The shooting part of the game is something I have heard complaints about. Nathan fights hordes of baddies while trying to find a lost treasures of his ancestor Sir Frances Drake. Story might be slightly generic but works well in such short action packed theme.
Personally I had no problems with the (seemingly)endless waves of enemies, but I can understand why this can annoy some. Controls are solid and despite several narrow edges and cliffs where Nathan needs to leap about everything felt right in place.
Game can be finished in less than 10 hours. After finishing the game in Hard difficulty a new crushing difficulty is unlocked. There are also 60 different treasure items hidden which add longevity. Sony has also added Trophy support to keep the interest even further.
Game has gotten some criticism on the fact that game play might feel too linear and scripted. You are given this nice fresh colourful environment but the movement is restricted to a narrow field. Again I thought that this was more suiting than a problem. In no point I felt that I was lost or did not know what to do. This does shorten the game a little and you get a feel that you could have enjoyed this even longer. Well Uncharted 2 has been out for a while already which should give more Uncharted fix.
Music for Uncharted 1 has been done in Skywalker Sound studio with original score. This with more traditional action film themes to more ethnic pieces that relay the remote island perfectly.
composed for.
Game is voiced by proper voice actors and this really adds to the entertainment factor. The bickering between the lead male, the lead female and their sidekick is occasionally really funny. Not to mention the one-liners Nathan fires a way while battling through.
Despite all this praise I still won't give this game a perfect score. Biggest problem with the game I have is the personally is the disappointing supernatural enemies encountered after half way. For me the enemies just felt out pf place and the story didn't properly justify them. As mentioned the story is bit short and besides the different difficulty levels and the odd mini treasures there isn't too much to get back into.
