Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Sony Playstation 3, 2007)

Well, it's hard to review a product I haven't finished yet, b/c I am only about an hour or two into the game. However, this is probably the most fun I've had with a game since a little under-the-sea FPS by 2K (not sure if eBay will let me say the name in a review for another game).

You can tell that Naughty Dog put a ton of effort into this game. It just shines with polish. The lush jungles are littered with detail. I still can't believe the lighting that is rendered on-screen. It is drool inducing. The temple level that I've played is anything but bland. It shows that Naughty Dog actually put some thought into the level design and architecture. Water effects are top notch too. I love how reflections on water are realistically mapped based on the surrounding environment, and not a universal generic texture. Just well done, period. Too bad I don't have an HDTV yet.

And the combat is actually interesting. Enemies aren't completely stupid either. They will dodge shots. They will take cover. They will come in close when they feel they have the advantage. Overall, the combat is very fun. The only nitpick I have is that your female partner (Elena? Can't remember right now) seems to not find cover sometimes and just stands around getting shot. I'm not sure if she can die either. I haven't let enemies shoot her enough b/c I wanted to shoot them. That's about the only nitpick so far.

The story grabbed me right from the start. The dialouge is delivered with great believability, and your characters express emotion when they speak. So far, eyes have been the hardest thing to get right with the next generation of video games, but I think they did a good job trying to express emotion with the characters' eyes. That's something I look for just to see if the developers actually tried. The story seems a little cookie-cutter at first, but everyone loves a good treasure-hunting story, and this seems like it will actually deliver.

It seems like the level design so far is pretty linear, but it's so well done and detailed that I haven't really cared. I'm all about some open world, open choice gameplay (like Bethseda's latest post-nuclear war game), but this is a nice break from that. I can see the importance of pushing the player along a certain path for this type of story b/c it seems that clues probably need to be discovered in a certain order to properly tell the story. I'm not sure if there are branching or multiple paths in later levels as I haven't made it to one yet, but if so great. If not, it's not a big deal either.

Overall, games come down to one thing: fun. If a game has great graphics and story but it's not fun, why play it? Uncharted has fun in spades. The graphics and story in this game are just icing on the cake. I can't wait to get home and play it more!

Score (So far) 9.8/10

I decided to get this game after playing the demo. The environments were stunning and moving Drake around felt very intuative.

In the demo you begin playing somewhere in the middle of the story, it virtually is a part ripped out from the full game. As I have played the demo this felt like a wise choice. Replaying the demo the first thing you do would have felt too much like a repitition. Instead you are given some more backstory. This story keeps unfolding throughout the game. Mostly with the help of a number of cutscenes. It's all rendered in game so the transitions between cutscene and gameplay feels smooth and some of the dialog takes place while you explore the environment. Some of the dialog is funny but doesn't try too hard to do so, it's also about the right amount to feel like fit for the situation at hand.

The game breaks up the shooting action with solving puzzles, exploring or climbing. As I failed climbing and fell to the bottom I found myself reaching for the "rewind time" button. Either the agility of mister Drake is very much like the Prince of Persia or I have played way too much of that series. At this point such acrobatics only feels natural but it's still fun to explore the mindboggling views. Besides, Drake can draw his weapon while hanging on to a ledge! It's about being in the middle of the action while pulling insane stunts. You're the hero after all! And it should make you think of Indiana Jones.

Uncharted does not play like a survival horror game. You don't necessarily feel like you have to reserve your ammo or make every shot count, even if you are awarded for doing so. In fact, if you are pinned down without ammo it doesn't automaticly feel like you are loosing the battle. Because the camera and the pace of the game is such that you always have a nice overview of what is going on. And from there you can carefully plan a melee attack to acquire some more guns. This gives the game a nice flow. You can move from one point to the next dealing with situations as they come up. You have a gun? You fire it. If not, that's ok Drake has fists too!

This game is probably a bit on the easy side. Especially since you are given hints guiding you where to go next. I'm not sure who the target group is for this game but in an already linear game this feels like a spoiler. Luckily you can turn the hints off and I also recommend setting the difficulty to hard right from the start. The difficulty can be adjusted at any point in the game.

I can recommend this game to anyone really. Or someone who likes to have themselves a little bit of an adventure.

I finished the game tonight on crushing and have concluded if you own a PS3, buy this game!!!!

While this game may arguably be one of the best games out on the PS3; when it comes to the PS3's first party line up this is probably the best PS3-exclusive out to date (even above Resistance Fall of Man...though Resistance is the better bang for your dollar if your PS3 has internet connection for multiplayer). So why is Naughty Dog's (the developer of this game and Jax & Daxter /Crash Bandicoot series) game so great?

The Pros:

1. The story is very original and feels very cinematic (many cut-scenes). If you've seen the movie National Treasure, it has similar tie ins to history to make the setting; which is off the South American coast in jungles, looking for the famed 'El Dorodo'(which in this game is a 500 pound golden statue).

2. Plot turns & twists. The game's story pivots around you (Drake) Sully, an old man who enjoys a cigar and local barflies, and Elena, a female British reporter who knows how to shoot film as well as a gun. The plot will involve you rescuing each of these members variously, or fighting alongside them. I will not offer spoilers, but the biggest twist occurs around chapter 18.

3. Graphics and gameplay. Apparently, Naughty Dog took four years to make this game; from the moment you start this is evident in the graphics alone; for PS3 owners this is a testament of the PS3's power (though this game only utilizes a third of the PS3's potential). The game does run at a smooth 30 FPS with some screen tearing issues present though nothing that interferes with gameplay. As per gameplay; this is a 3rd person shooter with some vehicle action (Jeep/Jetski). When you are on the Jetski; take a look at the water reacts...probably the best I've ever seen in any video game; not to forget how when Drake enters water whatever body part that gets soaked will dry off with time. As per shooting; there is maybe 20 or so weapons with melee combat optional with some of the best AI (artificial intelligence) and cover system I've ever played with. For instance on the hardest mode the AI will never hide behind cover and continue to pop out on the same side...they will change positions, pop out on different sides or advance on you.

4. Don't have an internet conection for your PS3? This game is perfect for those times when you can't play Warhawk.

The Cons:

Teen Rating: Parents be advised that the sh** word (frequently) and ah-le (once) word is used. Sexual jokes are made too. Personally I don't care about this, but concerned parents may be.

Multiplayer: None. Apparently, there will be a trophy for Uncharted when Playstation Home releases the trophy room.

Price & Re-playability: This is an excellent game, but if you're stretched for money, don't buy the game at 60 dollars, because with out multiplayer; after you beat the game which is approximately 8-12 hours (it took me 8 on normal and 10 on Crushing) you may pick up the game again to get all of the hidden treasures or awards...but if you're only interested in the story just rent it or wait until it comes discounted on ebay and half.com.

Overall: 9.4 I had fun playing this game...in no instance did I want to break my controller out of frustration like I did playing Sonic the Hedgehog (PS3). This is a great game to show off to Xbox owners, family and friends.

While this game may arguably be one of the best games out on the PS3; when it comes to the PS3's first party line up this is probably the best PS3-exclusive out to date (even above Resistance Fall of Man...though Resistance is the better bang for your dollar if your PS3 has internet connection for multiplayer). So why is Naughty Dog's (the developer of this game and Jax & Daxter /Crash Bandicoot series) game so great?

The Pros:

1. The story is very original and feels very cinematic (many cut-scenes). If you've seen the movie National Treasure, it has similar tie ins to history to make the setting; which is off the South American coast in jungles, looking for the famed 'El Dorodo'(which in this game is a 500 pound golden statue).

2. Plot turns & twists. The game's story pivots around you (Drake) Sully, an old man who enjoys a cigar and local barflies, and Elena, a female British reporter who knows how to shoot film as well as a gun. The plot will involve you rescuing each of these members variously, or fighting alongside them. I will not offer spoilers, but the biggest twist occurs around chapter 18.

3. Graphics and gameplay. Apparently, Naughty Dog took four years to make this game; from the moment you start this is evident in the graphics alone; for PS3 owners this is a testament of the PS3's power (though this game only utilizes a third of the PS3's potential). The game does run at a smooth 30 FPS with some screen tearing issues present though nothing that interferes with gameplay. As per gameplay; this is a 3rd person shooter with some vehicle action (Jeep/Jetski). When you are on the Jetski; take a look at the water reacts...probably the best I've ever seen in any video game; not to forget how when Drake enters water whatever body part that gets soaked will dry off with time. As per shooting; there is maybe 20 or so weapons with melee combat optional with some of the best AI (artificial intelligence) and cover system I've ever played with. For instance on the hardest mode the AI will never hide behind cover and continue to pop out on the same side...they will change positions, pop out on different sides or advance on you.

4. Don't have an internet conection for your PS3? This game is perfect for those times when you can't play Warhawk.

The Cons:

Teen Rating: Parents be advised that the sh** word (frequently) and ah-le (once) word is used. Sexual jokes are made too. Personally I don't care about this, but concerned parents may be.

Multiplayer: None. Apparently, there will be a trophy for Uncharted when Playstation Home releases the trophy room.

Price & Re-playability: This is an excellent game, but if you're stretched for money, don't buy the game at 60 dollars, because with out multiplayer; after you beat the game which is approximately 8-12 hours (it took me 8 on normal and 10 on Crushing) you may pick up the game again to get all of the hidden treasures or awards...but if you're only interested in the story just rent it or wait until it comes discounted on ebay and half.com.

Overall: 9.4 I had fun playing this game...in no instance did I want to break my controller out of frustration like I did playing Sonic the Hedgehog (PS3). This is a great game to show off to Xbox owners, family and friends.

It's been a rough year for PlayStation 3 owners. Exclusives have been lost, a handful of titles have been bumped from the bottom line-bolstering holiday season, and Lair was Lair. With each disappointment, more and more fans have looked to Uncharted: Drake's Fortune -- a title whose screenshots have been lauded for months -- to be the saving grace of Sony's 2007.

But pinning so much on one title pretty much guarantees a letdown, doesn't it? Can Naughty Dog live up to more than a year of mouthwatering coverage and placate fans who forked over $600 to see stellar title after stellar title come out on non-PS3 platforms?

Yes. Yes, it can. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is the most fun I've had in a videogame this year.




Putting you in the shoes of Nathan Drake -- a worldly treasure hunter on the trail of something big -- Uncharted tosses players into a third-person action/adventure/platforming/s​hooting homage to the pulp-action movies of yesteryear. Nate takes on pirates, scales ancient walls, swings from jungle vines and solves puzzles using the most basic of clues on his path to unearthing the secrets of his ancestor Sir Francis Drake alongside his cigar-chomping buddy Sullie and newswoman Elena.

Uncharted does what few titles manage -- it completely immerses you in its experience. From the moment the game begins with a sweeping camera move through the waters off Panama, a rich score and the words of Sir Francis Drake etched on screen, Uncharted will have you hooked. It'll maintain that hold with its story, style and gameplay.

If the broad strokes of Drake's treasure hunting story sound hackneyed -- a tough female reporter who hates the hero at first slowly starts to dig him, the older partner's past catches up with him on the hunt of the century, etc. -- rest assured that the possible setback is blown out of the water by the superb dialogue and motion capture from the cast.


I don't like your haircut.
A lot of times we as an industry like to wax on and on about how videogames rival movies, but rarely do we have an example as well done as Uncharted. Nate is funny as he laments over yet another wall he needs to scale, Sullie is loveable as he tells the same traveler's tales over and over, and Elena's fire for her story and give-and-take with Nate is endearing. When these characters interact and you watch their relationships grow, you feel like you're part of their circle. You feel like they're your friends.

Hell, Naughty Dog even went the extra step and made Elena and Sullie non-playable characters that actually help you out.

From the first time Elena and I got into it with a set of pirates, she was alongside our hero shooting the bad guys. Mind you, she wasn't softening them up for Drake and she wasn't hiding, she was shooting to death the guys I missed. When Sullie and I were investigating ancient ruins in the heart of the jungle, my former mentor was quick to pull chain levers to open doors for me as well as provide his lighter to enact certain puzzle pieces on our journey.

Non-playable characters with spot-on AI is something we don't see enough of in games.