Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Years ago, when I got my first PS3 there where way to few games on the market for it…actually if I stay for a second and think …it was a really bad investment as a gamer to buy a PS3. Why? I was amongst the first ones that I got a PS when it appear here in Europe…it was extremely expensive and after I got it I was confused seeing that I have nothing to play on it because there were like 3 or 4 games on the market for it. I remember that the games available then were “Genji: Dawn of the Samurai”; “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune”; “Heavenly Sword”; “Resistance”; “Ninja Gaiden Sigma” and that awful idiotic game “Dark Kingdom: Untold Legends”. I actually bought everything on the market besides Uncharted, which I admit, was probably a stupid decision…and the reason why Uncharted was not on my buy list is because, honestly, I wasn’t attracted by the cover and its presentation. Back then I wasn’t a well read gamer…I didn’t read any reviews and I would actually purchase games randomly judging by how pretty they are. And this is the short story on how I missed playing a great game when it first came up. Last week ,reading many news on Uncharted 3 and seeing so many gamers excited about this upcoming release I decided to go out for a gaming shopping spree and buy all the great games I skipped unintentionally over the time, including the first two titles of Uncharted…so here’s my replay review for this great title.
Before deciding if the game worth purchasing I went to PSN downloaded the demo…and give it a try…beautiful graphics, realistic movement, strong AI enemies, treasure hunting…what’s not to like? The main question that I was thinking about was: How about the story? You can’t figure out playing just a demo…so yes…i decided that this game has caught my attention and I should own it.
When the game starts it gives you a movie like feeling…feeling that I honestly encounter in very few games. So playing a game that actually was not made after a movie and give’s you that feeling it means only one thing…keeps that feeling and this will end up being a blast of a game.
When playing the first chapters my girlfriend that was watching me play sad something I found entirely true…”this game is like Tomb Rider without Lara and with more shooting”…and this should say a lot. Over the years , I found lots of gamers that did not enjoy playing Tomb Raider ,even if they like the idea of treasure hunting, because of the lack of action that Tomb Rider provides …so shortly sad: “there’s not enough killing in this game” …well the solution for this guys is “Uncharted”.
Storyline
Yes the storyline is one of the most important features when you play an action game or an RPG. The storyline here is captivating…it has it all, drama, romance, adventure, betrayal, twisted plots and so on…like I’ve mentioned…it’s like you watching a movie…No wander that they going to make a real movie after this one…
The game took me about 8-10 hours to finish it, which, speaking frankly, it’s the perfect amount of time a game of this kind should last.
So let me ask you this, did you ever get the feeling that you could enjoy a game just by watching it while someone else is playing? I did… and this is the case of Uncharted, and that is because of its great written script.
The AI
If I am to talk about AI I want to start by saying that is perfectly made when it comes to the two characters that are at your side. Elena and Sullie are made to help you make you enjoy the game, keep you company, helping you with puzzles and even killing enemies for you…they never need rescue during a fight…their not extremely zealous killing every enemy you encounter not living anything for you …
The enemies are varied…when it comes to pirates…they have different styles which make this game enjoyable in a huge way because you don’t know what to expect. I played this kind of games a lot …and the most common feature when it comes to shooting bad guys is that they hide behind cover and they stay there until they are dead…well not here…here you can encounter enemies that they take real good cover and the only way they come out is when you throw grenades at them …you can encounter enemies with shotguns that are kamikaze style, coming straight to you firing the shotgun aggressively…you can encounter enemies that are flaking you, sneaking behind you and so on…so yes the fights are quite impressive and challenging when it comes to harder modes.
The Graphics
The Graphics in Uncharted are amazing…great environments…especially the ones in the open when you encounter all kind of beautiful ruins…the jungle in all its splendor and so on… there is nothing to complain when it comes to graphics…oh yes…they could have done Elena more prettier …but that’s it…that is my only complaint…
Seriously talking the game looks great.
Gameplay
The gameplay is lots of fun…it got jumping from ledge to ledge, shootouts that can be quite challenging sometimes…even some vehicles driving…puzzles to solve…and so on…It can get a little bit annoying because the camera moves slow at some points when you’re surrounded by those nasty creatures and because of that you can’t act more quickly, but that’s just something minor comparing with the hole game.
Sound
The dialogues and the voices are great. There is nothing that I would want different here. The music and the soundtrack are also perfect…
Closing comments
Before this game never paid much attention to the guys of Naughty Dog…but they done it…a simple idea with a great script, captivating story, characters that will make you ache for a sequel, great gameplay, beautiful graphics and that’s it…this is how you develop a classic game…a game that for many will be a point of reference when it comes to action/adventure games.
