Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Uncharted is the latest game to be developed by Naughty Dog and is a departure from their previous work in the platforming genre and is one of the limited number of exclusive PS3 titles which have been released so far.

The game came highly recommended, with several friends insisting that it was a truly outstanding achievement and if I didn't rush out and get a copy my life would be significantly poorer.

So, I approached the game with a few expectations but with an open mind and was soon settling down with the opening cutscreen.
The game's story follows Nathan Drake (mostly abbreviated to Nate in order to save people the effort of having to say the extra two letters out loud) who sets out to find the lost treasure of El Dorado with the token female companion and grizzled mentor.

Whilst the story doesn't really push the boundaries of the genre it is handled relatively effectively until the final third of the game (more on that later). The characters are likeable enough if a little irritating at first, although the key baddies only really seem to be an afterthought to the plot.

The graphic and sound design for this game is truly outstanding and I can certainly see why this has impressed people. There were some set pieces during the game which really made my jaw drop and really demonstrate the PS3's technical superiority over the console market. In particular the jungle environment where the game is set is astonishing in the realism achieved, there were times when I became really immersed in the game and was a little disappointed to realise I was still in my rather untidy living room with a half eaten sandwich and a cold cup of tea.

Water glistens realistically, the trees seem to move and sway with the wind and the sky is bright and attractive, all adding to the sense of a believable world which really enhances the over the shoulder gameplay.

This largely consists of a mixture of the death defying platforming sections of Tomb Raider and the ferocious duck and cover gunplay of Gears of War. The different sections are very much separated so one minute you will be climbing a cliff face, reach the top and battle a group of mercenaries and then carry on to another cliff ascent.

Whilst these sections are enjoyable they do feel very familiar to a lot of other adventure games, albeit with fluid next generation animations. If you have ever played a few platforming games you will probably be able to breeze through these in a few attempts.

The shooting sections are somewhat different, with a slightly sub Gears of War system of cover and shoot. Nathan can only take a few hits before he dies, so sticking to cover, leaning out and taking one or two shots is essential unless you want to end up watching the "Aargh, I am dead" animation over and over again.
The game has only a minimal HUD, instead of a health bar the game gradually fades to black and white to indicate how injured you are, which looks fairly effective, but isn't particularly effective in the less well lit areas which appear later on in the game.

I also found that the difficulty of these gun fights varies considerably. Copying the limited weapons system found it most games; you can only carry one side arm, one large weapon and a selection of grenades. Whilst this adds a tactical element to selecting your weapons according to the situation, this can sometimes be incredibly frustrating.

As you have no idea what type of confrontation you will be faced with, it is merely guesswork whether you will need a shotgun for a close rage corridor fight, a sniper rifle for a long distance duel or a rifle for all round fighting. The incredibly unhelpful checkpoint system almost reduced me to controller snapping rage at one point. Each time you die you are returned to a preset point with whatever you had at the time, which meant that I was left with an empty AK47 and only 2 pistol bullets whilst trying to take out half a dozen mercenaries on a number of occasions. Trying to punch someone shooting you with a grenade launcher is never fun.

The melee combat system is fairly effective with a small number of combos available for close quarter's scraps and a lethal blow style finishing move for damaged enemies. I must admit that drop kicking someone you just blasted several times is rather satisfying.

All in all, the gameplay is well handled if nothing particularly new or innovative and the difficulty curve is generally reasonable (laser sighted enemies who can headshot you from half a mile excluded).

However, there are one or two areas where the game annoys. The game has one or two vehicle sections which tend to drag on for longer than they need to be; often the sections are one after another. Now I don't mind vehicle sections but when the game doesn't tell you that your female companion can shoot, which is essential to the progression: that does get on my nerves. The assumption that I automatically know something which has never been explained occurs elsewhere, in one or two random "button press" events which occur so infrequently that you always never expect them. The fact that these end in certain death, just forces you to repeat sections twice which is annoying and unnecessary.

The game takes time developing the story, which becomes reasonably involving but suddenly near the end of the game, the story takes a totally bizarre and ridiculous plot twist which was totally unnecessary. I won't spoil what it is, but it left me feeling annoyed and really undermined what had been an enjoyable, although clichéd narrative. When this is coupled with an unsatisfactory final level, it undid all the solid work the game had done previously and left me feeling a bit disappointed.

The game has a decent number of levels, and certainly never outstays its welcome, but don't expect more than a few days gaming out of it, I managed to complete it in a weekend, taking my time.

So, in conclusion Uncharted has some pretty solid if unoriginal gameplay but is enjoyable to play through. Despite some dodgy story elements and occasional hiccups in the difficulty, it was an entertaining "Hollywood" style game to play. I would recommend renting or borrowing rather than purchasing at full price, just to avoid any slight feelings of disappointment.

Uncharted is still one of the best "Exclusive" PS3 games out there, but there really isn't much competition for that title at the moment.