Friday, July 07, 2000

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 9.0

Nathan Drake is not typical of characters you see in videogames much lately. Nate doesn't look like he pumps iron, he won't win any sexiest man alive awards, and his unassuming ways make him enjoyable. Of course you may recognize the name Drake for the famous explorer Sir Francis Drake. Yes Nate is related to the famous explorer and now he is off to find the mysterious El Dorado(City of Gold). To say the least the journey will be unforgettable to most.

The story starts off more like a movie. On this quest you are accompanied by an attractive documentarian Elena and of course your comrade Sullie. What sets Uncharted apart from some many games is the cinematic approach is so seemless it makes it hard to seperate gameplay from movie watching. As your journey progresses you begin to realize you have many enemies. It seems Sullie doesn't live the cleanest life and borrowing money from a bad guy doesn't help. So now the bad guys are out to collect the debt by finding El Dorado. Although it becomes apparent that El Dorado is not a city of gold but a man of gold.

Without getting too much into the story it will definately leave you filling your aderaline need. The gameplay is incredible in this game. The enemy A.I. starts off slow and quickly progresses as you get further into this game. Enemies will actually out manuever you. If you don't plan out your attacks well you will find yourself dead. Although the battles are not the only thing you face in this game there are a number of puzzles that are not overlly difficult. What I do enjoy about this game is that it has a hint option. You can use it to help you in confusing spots. Although if you are more hardcore you will probably leave this option off. There are four difficulty levels and the toughest option is locked until you beat the game on hard. What is a first for a PS3 game is the reward system that is being used. There are 60 treasures that can be found througout your journey. On top of that there are objectives that you can try to complete. Some are simple like killing a certain amount of enemies with one of your weapons and others are more complex like getting a certain amount of stealth kills.

The visuals in this game are stunning and some of the best I have ever seen. What is good to watch is the incredible amount of detail put into everything. The jungle environments are lush and beautiful and the water effects are some of the best ever. Sometimes it is enjoyable just to stand and enjoy the beauty of the environment. Tree branches sway, clouds move, and leaves fly all over the place. This is as close to reality as I have seen.

If you own a PS3 this game is a must buy. To say the least it is one of the best games available on any console. The storyline is enjoyable and reminiscent of many great adventure movies. Uncharted sets a new bar on next gen games and hopefully others will follow with this excellent quality. If you like action and adventure and don't mind being the star of a playable movie then Uncharted should be on your list.

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