I was a *bit* late to the party with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. This came out for the PS3 a few years ago and did so with a good deal of fanfare. I finally picked this and its sequel up around Christmas time and just had a chance to play Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and came away impressed. It holds up quite well despite being a couple of years old. The game clearly draws inspiration from the Tome Raider games and Indiana Jones movies, with high production values that give it a summer blockbuster feel.
Graphics - 8:
Everything looks good. There is a lot of polish in place on the cinematic scenes, and the various lighting effects and varied locals from deep passages to lush jungle vegetation really help sell the story and overall adventure. There are times where your pre-canned animations look a bit odd, and you see clipping and tearing with some of the set pieces as you interact with them, but even at a few years old this game's visuals please.
Sound & Music - 9:
The voice acting is very good and really immerses you in the storyline. Sound effects are good with a wide range of convincing gunshots, explosions, grunts and more - though sometimes the firefight sound effects and comments can get a bit repetitive. The music fits the action, the scenes and chases perfectly.
Gameplay - 8:
Platforming is fun, and seldom frustrating. Some felt it was a bit too easy, but I enjoyed it. The fight scenes are usually good, though they can get frustrating from time to time due to the huge swarms of enemies that seem to never stop. I can appreciate that the chase/vehicle scenes add a nice bit of variety to things, but they did not always control as well as I would have liked.
Intangibles - 7:
There's some rewards and bonuses, and they've added trophies retroactively to this PS3 exclusive. That said, the game was pretty short and having played through it once, I did not really have an urge to play it again. The lack of online/multiplayer hurts the game's lifespan a bit too, unfortunately.
Overall - 8:
That said, it can be acquired pretty cheaply used, and if you enjoy these hybrid adventure/3rd person shooting games, I think this is among the best I've played to date. I had a lot of fun with it, my kids enjoyed watching me play it. My oldest kid is not much of a gamer, but she watched more than 90% of the game, even choosing to do more of her laundry folding in the living room just so she could watch it. She said it was like watching an interactive movie. When I teased her that it really wasn't interactive for her, she said it was because she could point and laugh at me every time I died. Doh!
Good review as always!
ReplyDeleteHere's the big question - Will Lara Croft in her new game topple Mr Drake?
I personally think so! These games are great, don't get me wrong, but there is something that just, ever so slightly, doesn't click with me. Can never put my finger on just what that is though.
Gotta say, I didn't even read it!
ReplyDeleteIt's in my collection, and on my list though...
I'm hit and miss on these. I played the early Tomb Raider games at a friend's house and enjoyed them, then picked up some of the later ones and kind of went 'meh'. Then, I've liked some of their later releases and Drakes right at first didn't grab me, but before long I was enjoying the movie-like qualities to the game.
ReplyDeleteI do agree though, that the new Tomb Raider game is shaping up to be something else. I'd like to see some of the actual combat though - gameplay has been such a huge part of the Tomb Raider and Uncharted series so far, and I haven't really seen any of it demonstrated in this new release yet, so it could very well turn out to be a very different kind of entry altogether when it's said and done.