If You have a PS3, you NEED This Game
2007 was basically a complete Dry Spell for Sony's Black Behemoth. However in comes Q3 and Sony is pushing out some Pretty Impressive looking games. One of these happened to be Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Naughty Dog's first game on this Generation of Systems. We all know its a looker but is it the what we should expect?
Story-
Uncharted stars Nathan Drake as he searches for his relative's (Sir Francis Drake) grave in the ocean of of Panama's Coast. To fund this he makes a deal with Elena Fisher who will shoot a documentary of Drake's findings. They soon discover a journal instead of a body in Francis' coffin. The Journal points to the lost treasure of El Dorado which in actuality is a statue of solid gold. Upon finding that the statue is not in the ruins it was originally in the duo is ambushed by Roman and his thugs who reveals that Sully (Drake's Partner) owes him a lot of money and that El Dorado was what Roman considered payback. Roman then shoots Sully after Sully intervenes in Roman's plans to murder Drake. Drake and Elena then head to where Francis documented that the statue was now headen to avenge Sully by taking the statue first. The Story in Uncharted is interesting as it takes an alternate take on what happened to the famed explorer after he dissappeared. Of course what really draws you in are the characters who thankfully put on a great performance and really drag you into the story, which isn't very dark at all.
Score-8.8
Design-
Uncharted takes a page out of Gears of War in that the game is very linear, in fact its so linear that pressing the L2 button will actually have Drake face the direction he's suppose to go in. Some light but intense platforming moments pop up quite frequnetly and are a nice distraction seeing as the animation for it all is so excellently done. Uncharted has the standard fair of armaments to get you through the game such as pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and rocket launchers. Uncharted doesn't have any multi-player options which is a good thing as the game really lends itself to its Single-Player adventure. Although a leaderboard would be nice as there is stat tracking through trophies.
Score-8.3
Gameplay-
Most games that borrow from other games usually end up being big failures but Uncharted proves this theory wrong. Uncharted plays like a dream in every sense. For gunplay Uncharted uses a Cover system which allows you to hide behind cover and pop out at times to make a shot. The system works just as good as it did in Gears of War as it allows for quick and precise aim. If you don't feel daredevelish you can also blind fire at your opponets. Their are many other types of gameplay sprinkled in to balance the gameplay. 2 times you will take control of a jet ski where you will use Elena to fire at the enemies both blindly or by aiming. You'll have an exciting on-rails expericence as you take control of a turret on a jeep that fires both machine gun bursts but also gernades. Then theres the quick and easy Melee combat which shows some of the slick and painful finishing moves Drake can pull off. Of course theres the twist in the end which forces you to change all of your tactics completely. Drake's Fortune will offer you plenty of gameplay in its 12 hours that will satisfy you and then once you complete the game you may use your achievements to unlock filters and extras to make the experience even different.
Score-9.4
Presentation-
One look at this game and you'll think that its an actual depiction of real life. Uncharted is easily the best looking game on ANY console this generation, possibly tieing with Killzone 2. The Textures are crisp, hair is realisitc, plants sway as you past them, sun rays part through the trees making stellar shadows and lighting. The game even has the best looking water effects to date on any Console Game, even Bioshock can't match it. Then of course there is the strong attaention to detail. For the first time in any game you can see the wonderful look of a wet person as Drake's clothing appears wet. Drake carefully matches all of his cover positions based on the geometry of the object he is hiding behind. He runs with a sense of gravity and as far as any console game goes, it has the greatest looking jungle ever seen before. Of course the performances lent by each actor in both vocal and physical are top notch and help the atmosphere feel like this is a high end Hollywood preduction.
Score-9,9
Drake's Fortune is a stupendous game. From its Amazing Graphics to its brilliant Gameplay, this is a game that deserves your attention if you own a PS3.
Total Score- 9.1
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