Uncharted 3: Drakes Fortune – The Review

Developer: Naughty Dog

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Genre: Action / Adventure

Rating: PEGI 16

As a long time Uncharted fan and ranking Uncharted 2 as one of my favorite games ever, Uncharted 3 had a lot to live up to in my mind!

The Story:
As with the previous Uncharted titles, the story is amazing. You’ll be placed in locations ranging from a secret lair under the streets of London to the vast expanse of the desert. I don’t want to get into the finer details, as it will give away too much info, but suffice to say that the story involved being chased, finding hidden treasures, lots of AWESOME action sequences and plenty of gun fights.
The “baddy” in Uncharted 3 is far more understated and less “evil” than previous ones. This little old lady has clearly been modeled on Helen Mirren (if , not I’ll eat my own hat!), but it’s not voice acted by her. We learn as the game progress that there is a history between Drake, Sully and this new baddy and it’s a nice new part of the game being able to build on the back story of Drake and Sully and see how they came to be!
The story, scripting, acting is that of a AAA movie title, it really does pull you into the world and it becomes difficult to put the controller down when you get so sucked into this amazing world.

The Graphics and Sounds:
While the story is brilliant and really sucks you into the lives / world of the characters, the graphics are JAW DROPPING. Naughty Dog are really pushing the limits of the PS3 now. From the textures to the animations, there’s very little, if anything, out there that can touch Uncharted 3’s level of detail. It’s the subtleties that you’ll start noticing. For example, Drake will touch a door frame when he’s passing through if he’s too close to it, or he’ll step out of the way of the NPC’s in the game. The lighting, character models and textures are leaps and bounds beyond the original Uncharted and even a significant leap up from Uncharted 2 (which was, to me, the best looking game to date!). Naughty Dog spent a lot of time working on the sand elements of the game (give there’s a lot of desert in the game) and it really pays off! You never question if Drake is really there or not.
Unchrated 3 is just a visual treat for the eyes and ears. The audio in Uncharted 3 is also up there with some of the best I’ve experienced. Select the DTS track and you’ll be put right in the middle of a full on movie score / sound track. The clarity of the effects / ambient sounds is amazing. Then there’s the voice acting. As mentioned above, the team behind Uncharted are old pro’s now at this and they seem to have down! They really convey all the emotions they are felling in the game and it really helps keep you in the moment and feel for the characters.

Controls:
This area is were I would have one or two gripes. My main one is the aiming system. It just isn’t that good. In the gun sequences I found myself getting frustrated trying to aim at the baddies and well, I just couldn’t get the cross-hair where I wanted it. It was really getting on my wick to be honest. You do get used to it, but for a game that shines in most other areas, this really lets it down. Some of the movement controls are also a bit flakey. It’s like there was a trade off for better animation over a tighter controls mechanic. Don’t get me wrong, these irks aren’t enough to stop me playing, but they are just enough to pull me out of the moment and make me realize that there’s something not quite working right!

Verdict:
If you own a PS3, you need to own this game! It’s easily the flagship title of the system at the moment. Looking beyond the issues I felt the controls had, the game is outstanding. It’s a Audio Visual feast for the senses and tie that in with an amazing story and acting, well, Naughty Dog have produced what very may well be the game of the year!
Final Score: 9/10

 

Here’s our interview with Co-lead Designer of Uncharted 3, Richard Lemarchand.