Review by Tom Mimnagh
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £49.99 | Region PAL | Developer Naughty Dog | Publisher Sony
The Uncharted franchise is one of the biggest in the Games industry in recent years, both in terms of critical, and audience reception, and in many ways the franchise has taken the place of the Tomb Raider series in offering an archaeological Indiana Jones type adventure series with a serious following among gamers. So Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is hardly short of anticipation. Of course with the rules of sequels and the law of diminishing returns, I assumed this game would mark a downturn from the excellent standard set by Drake’s Fortune, and then bettered by Uncharted 2. However, I could not have been more wrong.
Uncharted 3 follows the returning Nathan ‘Nate’ Drake and his mentor Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan, as they try and sell a ring purported to be owned by Sir Francis Drake in a London Pub backroom, only for them to be ambushed and shot. However, after a flashback to the meeting of Sully and Nate years earlier when Nate was just a kid on the streets on Cartagena, it becomes clear this was an elaborate ruse, and they are attempting to flush out a much larger, much darker organisation, only to find themselves embroiled in a global conspiracy involving historical secrets of both Sir Francis Drake, and years later TE Lawrence.
The plot of Uncharted 3 is exactly what fans of the previous two instalments would have hoped for, giving opportunities for Nate & co to travel to all kinds of far flung locations, and various different terrains. There are plenty of puzzle elements and a cinematic style story, which make the game a familiar, but still engrossing experience.
Graphically, Drake’s Deception makes good use of the PS3’s capabilities, and the game looks smooth and the character movements are generally well done. Nate’s jumping abilities are excellent, and look realistic, despite that fact they clearly aren’t particularly realistic movements, which is a testament to the games design. If I had one minor gripe on this front it is that occasionally the jump from cut scenes to in-game action is almost too sudden and makes it less clear that it has changed from one to the other, leading to a slightly delayed reaction from the player, but this is something that is easy to adjust to after some continued gameplay, and does not significantly hamper the enjoyment of the game.
I’m not going to focus for any great length on the online Multiplayer aspect of the game, as Nathan Hardisty’s review for Screenjabber has already dealt with at length. However, it is an excellent online multiplayer, with a huge amount of customisable character traits, and an excellent team deathmatch mode, including a ‘buddy’ function, where your character is essentially linked by the HUD to another player. This is just a further string to the bow of an excellent gaming experience.
Overall, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is an excellent action adventure game, with a cast of familiar characters, really user friendly in game controls, beautiful sprawling landscapes, and fantastic graphics. For those who are new to the franchise, it is accessible and easy to follow, even without prior knowledge of the characters, and for those who love the franchise already this is more of the same, but that’s genuinely not a bad thing, especially using a story that plays to the strengths of this particular genre, and helps to make Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception a real contender for game of the year plaudits.