Uncharted Drake's Fortune Review - 10/10

Its been quite a long time since gamers had the pleasure of raiding tombs, hunting for treasure and fighting wild animals in huge jungle settings aka Tomb Raider, in fact, since the legendary Tomb Raider franchise, many gamers have been hungry for another game to relive many Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones moments in the way of ancient temples full of booby traps, classic platforming, braind bending puzzles and of course, jungle settings that team life. Well, the wait is over, those who want to have another crack at an adventure with Tomb Raider flavour can wait no longer, as Naughty Dog has produced a game of Lara Crofts nature that simply blows anything on PS3 away. Uncharted Drakes Fortune is the name of the game, a PS3 exclusive that beams A grade quality through every chapter, all 22 chapters that is.



Many gamers will put Uncharted down as Tomb Raider with out the breasts, shorts and boots, or is it Lara Croft? Or many will simply label the game as "Tomb Raider with a guy" In a sense, yes that is true, but Uncharted Drakes Fortune elevates above the Tomb Raider franchise in almost every single way possible. First of all, the characters are much more likeable, the sense of exploration, trinket hunting, hidden cave skulduggery, humor, gorgeously lavish jungle environments & overall presentation & visual quality trumps the TR series in embarrassing ways, but this is unfair in a sense to compare a next gen jungle beast like Uncharted to the last gen classic of Tomb Raider, maybe when a next gen Tomb Raider is released, there may be more competition.


There is a tomb full of reasons to like Drakes Fortune, everything about the game is just amazing, the story is true classic relic hunter fanfare with twists and turns through each chapter keeping you on edge throughout the entire game. You play as pretty boy adventurer, Nate Drake, who resembles a cool golden boy like stereotype, the kind you would see off the Survivor TV programs, Drake and his sexy female sidekick, Elena, are on the golden tracks of Drakes descendant, Sir Francis Drake, in a nutshell, they are hot on the tracks of a hidden treasure of El Dorado, buried somewhere beneath the tropical island that you will be soon exploring, but hunting for this hidden trophy wont be easy, as they're not the only ones who want to get there mud covered hands on this bronze pile of spanish gold.


The storyline is perfect for the setting & is the kind of plot that grabs your attnetion as soon as you flick through the manual to read about what the hell the game is about. The characters and there bubbly appearance really make Drakes adventure so intriguing and fun to trek through, you have the humerous heroes and the troublesome bad guys who want to steal the trinkets you're hunting for. The cast include:



Nate Drake: The handsome spruced up spunky adventurer of the game, Drake is one of those guys that you will either love or hate, he fits the role perfectly adding humor, a cheesy smile and a smart ass comic attitude. He may resemble a male model, but he is one of the most memorable lead characters in any game, whether it be cracking a joke, being sarcastic or just adding genuine quirky wit to the experience, Uncharted without Drake, wouldnt be Uncharted.



Elena Fisher: The sexy, sassy, smart, intelligent, cheerful all-american adventure gal of the game, Elena almost resembles a virtual Jennifer Aniston for this game, her bubbly, charming attitude brings glimpses of romance to the storyline of Uncharted, she also has abit of viper wit about her making her one of the most believable female characters in a game.



Navarro: The treasure hungry spanish bastard companion of Ramon, who seems to take orders only from Ramon, but is he leading Ramon on a wild goose chase to fulfill his own needs?


Victor "Sully" Sullivan: The shady sleazy ladies men Victor Sullivan, supports the rich man's moe, and wealthy appearance *you first see him in a sea plane that looks like it belonged on the set of playboy mansion*, he seems to only care about the gold being in his pockets, can Drake trust this slimeball, or is Sullivans intentions to really assist Drake in the search for Sir Francis gold?


Gabriel Ramon: The white haired posh snobby british head honcho villian of the pack of mercenaries hunting down Sir Francis's treasure, Ramon is the kind of european guy you would expect to see on the set of Days of Our Lives.


Eddy Raja: The sleazy, grim south american arch rival of Drake, this guy has a real scumbag, heart of hatred, revenge plot against Drake and seems to be the lone villian who does things on his terms and his terms only.


The characters are not the only aspect that help Uncharted as a game become the adrenaline rushed, beautifully constructed tropical thrill ride that it is, the user friendly control interface also go a long way in making Uncharted the terrific title that it is. Not once in the game will you ever have to blame the controls for missing that long jump, if you miss that cliff edge or fail to land on that platform, you have noone to blame but your impatient self, the control schemes are perfect, fluid, smoother then warm butter & make Drake move slicker than anything. Whether it be running across a temple wall with overhaning vine in hand to get to the other side, or hanging from a ledge above a rive stream, Drake can move incredibly easily through these obstacles thanks to the perfect control configuration. In fact every move Drake can do, such as blindly shooting at villians behind cover, leaning against walls, jumping or rolling, all is executed with such grace and ease, it is an absolute privelige to have a game with such fine controls, frustration is almost non existent in Drakes Fortune.


The combat, although limited is also quite slick to navigate through, when running up to a nearby pirate of submachine gun wielding rebel, a button seqence will come across the screen, if you press these icons in seqeunce and with correct timing, Drake will pull off a stylish combat finishing move to KO his enemy, and the moves looks awesome too, left/right hooks to the jaw, or a double footed mid air kick to the head will see to that rum reeking pirate will get some permanent shut eye.


If there was one game that showed off a treasure chest of show off memorable moments, its Uncharted. There are so many terrific scenes of brilliance in this game, every chapter brings you another good hour of amazing action. Want some standouts? Maybe its Drake & Sullivan exploring a dark dank bat filled ancient temple *torches in hand* full of architecure and brain fritzing puzzles? Maybe its Drake & Elena parachuting out of there soon to be crashing seaplane? Maybe its the sombre exploration of a sunken submarine on top of a waterfall amidst a stunning afternoon sunset? Maybe its swinging from ivy to ivy across a crumbling temple fortress? Perhaps its fighting the super natural flesh monkey spaniard monsters of Sir Drakes past? Or a Jet Ski chase through a lost water logged city? A shootout through the cemetary against rebels with red laser guns? if thats not enough for you, then wait until you see the chaotic jeep chase, this scene has Elena at the wheel of a muddy jungle jeep, while Drake mans the turret to shoot down any oncoming pirates chasing you on quad bikes or trucks through the island. This chase isnt just a long dull path, it takes you every where, out of a temple, through dark tunnels, behind teaming waterfalls, across sandy cliffs, through muddy swamps & when Drake isnt shooting down trees to block the following enemies, you will find yourself staring at the sunny skies, the distant sparling clean coral beach water and white sandy shores in the distance as green trees and branches smack your windscreen. If this scene alone doesnt wind you with excitement than the second Jet Ski scene certainly will. This chapter has Drake and Elena in a jet ski riding up river whilst trying to defeat the strong currents and crashing waves that hammer your jet ski every turn you take. Then there is the final boss battle with Navarro, this is right up there with the best conclusions to a game, this battle has you on a full on assault against Navarro on a ship during an afternoon rain storm, the scenery in this scene in particular is breathtaking, the purple skies, the rippling night water and the sun dawning behind those distant trees will make you moist at the lips. It is marvelous!


To help show off the exotic feel you will no doubt embrace while playing Uncharted are the environments you tread through. The team at Naughty Dog have dished up a bunker full of locations to drool over. Steamy dense lush green amazonian jungles with vivid colours, vibrant flora and fauna, murky creeks, swampy mangroves, deserted monastaries, sinister isolated sanctuaries and tall whispering trees are only the start, things get really interesting when you find yourself scrambling over a rickety rope bridge above a huge flowing river stream, exploring the echoeing walls of a mystical fort, searching for maps in an ancient library full of skeleton bones, dusty books and puzzles *that can be solved by reading through Draked journal*, maybe its walking behind a towering waterfall above a rippling river stream or perhaps duking it out in your wetsuit on your yacht against a dingy full of invading pirates. Every environment shows off colours, rippling water effects, pallettes of shading and lighting that will more than water the pupil. It is as beautiful as games can possibly get.


Once you have completed the game, you will no doubt be revisiting and replaying some of the chapters just for the pure joy that offered you on first impression. Naughty Dog have also given gamers an idol full of hidden treasures and trinkets to find through the game, to add to replay value, so get back to exploring every nook and cranny in search for that magic discovery of that hard to find bronze chalice, ruby encrusted crown, skull ingot, goblet, pendants or emerald mottled idol. Its worth searching for all treasures as it unlocks videos, galleried and videos for you to watch later on.


Vocally the game is has acting better of most movies, Drake is fantastic and has the young gun treasure hunter hero tone about him, Elena has the very strong american accent and throws in the odd cheerful joke or two to help lighten up the situations that Drake and Co find themselves in. The music also matches the settings perfectly, the flutes, tribal chants and jungle drums really gives this game the exotic jungle treatment of a real island. And your ears will never get tired of the cacophony of your assualt rifle or shotgun. Overall, audio wise, the game is impossible to fault.



Visually the game buries its own flag on the peek of games visuals, this is the best game the PS3 has produced from a graphical perspective, it will obviously only get better as time goes on, but as for this year, Uncharted is simply untouchable in terms of looks, Character anaimation is as gorgeous as Heavenly Sword, the jungle settins show off so much cartoonish detail and vibrant colours and sense of sheer atmosphere and splendour you will need to have a swig of some whiskey just to make sure what you're seeing is really just a game. The scenery is pure eye candy, glowing evening sunsets, richly detailed ancient temples, rippling water effects, and details such as textures and realism, for example if Drake rolls through a waterfall his clothes will looks wet and damp and will dry off when he is in the sun. Overall, its the best looking game on PS3 this year by quite a margin. In fact you would be hard pressed to find a console game that looks as good as Uncharted, its a marvel and reeks of true Naughty Dog style.





Overall, Uncharted Drake's Fortune is more than a sleeper hit, Naughty Dog have produced one of the killer apps for the PS3, a remarkable refreshing game from start to finish brimming with a multitude of likeable aspects from top notch visuals, pro grade voice acting, memorable characters, attractive locations, slicker then velvet combat and controls that are so user friendly you will never feel the need to get frustrated. An incredibly polished game that every PS3 owner should have in their gaming collection, as far as action games go, Uncharted Drakes Fortune simply cannot be beat. A sequel is no doubt on the cards, and with such a perfect start, it can only mean future success for a sure to be massive new franchise from Naughty Dog.

Submitted by callan5 16/12/2007 14

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Uncharted Drake's Fortune

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