(release date) 11/6/07
(developer) Naughty Dog
(publisher) Sony Computer Entertainment America
(platform) PS3
Nathan Drake is the face of the PS3. Everyone and their grandmother loves the Uncharted series. So what I’m going to say may seem odd: I did not really enjoy Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. I keep mulling it over in my head. “Am I being too harsh? Did I miss something that everyone else picked up on?” The resounding answer is that while the game does have its fun set pieces and nice looking visuals, Mr. Drake’s first outing is not all it’s been cracked up to be.
The story begins with our hero, Nathan Drake, recovering the coffin of his ancestor Sir Francis Drake from the bottom of the sea floor. Drake has inherited a ring that once belonged to the great explorer and written on it are the coordinates to El Dorado, the Lost City of Gold. Joining Drake is Elena, a journalist documenting the expedition, and Victor “Sully” Sullivan, Drake’s adoptive father and longtime partner.
All of this probably sounds familiar: a hunky, charismatic treasure hunter hears of adventure and excitement and takes his merry band of friends and carries them off on another danger laden adventure. Sounds like the script to a summer blockbuster doesn't it? Well that’s exactly what Uncharted is. It’s an action packed popcorn movie you can play on your PS3. An energetic mix of Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones. We’ve seen games like this before, but this one has something a lot of others don’t: character. Lots of character.
Visually the game looks fantastic. Even playing it well after its release I can tell how amazing it must have looked to players in 2007. The jungle locales and ancient monasteries are both stunning and crisp to decrepit and barren, respectively. Plants sway as Drake runs by. His clothes will be noticeably soaked after a dip in the water. It’s a nice touch. There is plenty of eye candy between firefights and they are the perfect medium of showing off what the PS3 is really capable of in the hands of a talented developer. Character animations are smooth and detailed, right down to Drake platforming with his pistol still in hand if he hadn’t put it away yet. Every cutscene and dialog segment help immerse you in Drake’s world.. The voice acting and motion capture are still a cut above a lot of the games you’ll play today (even 5 years later). A great effort that goes a long way to help soak up more of the story. The original score also matches the high production values set by the visuals and cinematics. Composer Greg Edmonson (King of the Hill, Firefly) really nailed the summer blockbuster feel with every note. I even found myself sitting at the main menu on several occasions to hear the main theme loop. It really does help you get into the mood every time you hear the music. Plus, how often do you reference the composer when talking about a game? Yeah, it’s that good. Naughty Dog knew them had a gem on their hands during development and the high production values match that ambition every step of the way.
“Wait, I thought he said he didn’t like the game?” Yeah, everything I’ve written has been positive so far, but that’s because I haven’t talked about the gameplay yet. That’s where this story takes a wrong turn. The game plays as a mix between the aforementioned Tomb Raider’s platforming and exploration and Gears of War’s stop-n-pop cover based shooting. It’s an interesting take on paper, but this is where the game starts to lack in its execution. Speaking of exploration, for a game set in jungle ruins and ancient temples, it’s far too linear. You are funneled down narrow corridor after narrow corridor cleverly disguised as jungle paths to the next open area for another shootout. There is literally no exploration to be had, save for a few empty rooms from time to time that may or may not hold a hidden collectible. You are constantly being rushed to the next plot point or cutscene without much deviation. The game has a set focus and the developer definitely wants you to follow it closely. Some light puzzle solving does exists but it never slows you down and makes you get frustrated and look at a walk-through.
Enemy encounters are altogether too frequent and hardly give you a chance to catch your breath. You’ll most likely be outnumbered and out of ammunition during the many firefights. My favorite reason for running out of ammo so frequently? Probably having to put 6 or 7 AK-47 rounds into the chest of a enemy wearing nothing more than a wife beater. Seriously stupid. These enemies aren’t always the smartest foes, either, charging at you in the open offering an easy pop-out headshot or throwing grenades at a walls right next to them. Another question I have: who’s bright idea was it to make the evade button the same as the cover button? You’ll die more than once in battle because you end up panicking with these controls.
Your arsenal contains your average shooter fare: pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and grenade launchers. Most gunfights consist of you hiding in cover until the opportunity arises to pop out and get some kills. I actually found myself using the pistol the most because it seemed the best for pulling off headshots with some consistency. Grenades have the Gears of War style arc telling you where they will land. This can be controlled with either the analog sticks or the PS3’s sixaxis motion control. It’s a neat feature but during an intense firefight you will most definitely not be waving the controller around. You have the luxury of having AI partners (Elena or Sully) to help you along the way, but they don’t offer much help. Sure they may get a kill every once in awhile, but you’ll be doing the bulk of the work.
They gunplay actually feels decent enough for the most part, but I wish they would have had a bigger emphasis on exploring. There’s also some light melee mechanics thrown in for good measure but you’ll hardly ever be forced to use the. They feel clunky at best and all you’re given is a 3-hit combo. Drake’s one-liners are more harmful than his fists. The pen is mightier, as some may say. (SIDE NOTE TO DEVELOPERS: NO MORE EXPLODING BARRELS IN ANCIENT RUINS PLEASE!)
Now we come to my most hated part of the game: the platforming. I normally love platforming. Who doesn’t like jumping around, navigating cliff walls and swinging from vines? It can be especially nice when it’s not the main focus of a game and it helps mix things up. Prince of Persia: The Sands of time is a great example.The platforming is fluid and intuitive and you have to use your brain to get by many of the harder parts. In Uncharted all you need to do is point in the direction you want to go and hit jump. That’s all there is to it. You may come across a vine or a crumbling ledge, but it really offers no challenge whatsoever. They missed the mark with the platforming and the game could have been a lot more fun (and challenging) if it were more finely tuned.
Uncharted feels like two totally different games. There’s the cinematic joy of the story and characters, making you feel like a kid again watching your favorite heroes on the silver screen. Then there’s the clunky, trial and error shooter that can frustrate you to no end with its bland, repetitive gameplay. Both sides of the game pull you back and forth the entire time. It would be nice if there was a big, satisfying end to all of it, but all you get is a “boss fight” that consists of a few button presses and you’re done. That’s it. Far from rewarding.
FINAL WORDS:
Perhaps I have been too harsh. There’s something about this game that is a bit infectious. Shoddy combat and weak platforming aside, you might still find a weekend of enjoyment out of it. It's worth it for the story alone so you can dive right into the sequel. Just make sure you know it’s not all fun and games the first time around.
-Andrew Schwaiger
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