Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Lookin’ Good!

It seems that every new game on the 360 or PS3 results in a new round of exclamations over the graphical capabilities of next gen consoles, and Uncharted is no exception.

The developers at Naughty Dog have said that they wanted to develop a game that veered away from the greys and browns that are predominant in next gen titles, and they've certainly achieved this.

Uncharted's environments are huge and, being set in jungles, are full of lush and verdant vegetation. The ruins look, well, ruined and are crumbling to pieces and covered in moss just as you'd expect from something that's been lying around untouched for the last few hundred years.

The water also rivals that of BioShock – it shimmers realistically, and when Nathan comes out from the water, his clothes are actually shiny and wet. It’s just like in Lara’s latest adventures, but without the need for trouser tents.

Cleverly though, if Nathan walks through a stream, only the bottom of his trousers gets wet. It's little touches like these that show just how much effort has gone into writing the graphics engine.


Character models also show the amount of work that has gone into producing them. Not only are the movements realistic, but the lip-sync and facial animations are top notch too. It's easy to forget during the cut scenes that you're actually playing a game. The quality of the dialogue and the movements of the characters lend realism and help with the immersion that is so important with a good game.

Unfortunately, there are just a few little graphical niggles that spoil the beautiful looks of the game in general. While the draw distance for buildings and the landscape is impressive, it's less impressive for small items like barrels or crates. These suffer from pop-up, and seem to come into view just as you approach them.

Accompanying the graphics is a musical score that soars and dips with the action, and provides musical cues that reflect what's about to happen. For example, the music dies away as combat ends to let you know it's safe to come out and start running around again.

Added to the music are other little audio titbits, such as Nathan panicking when a grenade lands close to where he's hiding or the muffling of sound and tinnitus when an explosion occurs nearby.

Conclusion

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has been proclaimed by some as the best game so far for the PS3. While this is true to some extent, it has to be judged against the relative paucity of the console's current games catalogue. It's a bit like films that come out in January with posters proclaiming themselves the best film of the year.

So, while Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is possibly the best PlayStation 3 game to date, that doesn’t have to be taken as seal of perfection.

Thankfully the game is still pretty damn good. There’s enough to keep you coming back for more and the replay value is enhanced by the bonus features. On the first run the game is short enough that it's not a grind to replay on higher levels, but long enough to be enjoyable and entertaining.

The frenetic pace sustained throughout Uncharted helps to hide its flaws, but it's impossible to get round the fact that this game is flawed. The pace of the game is maintained by the fact that there are no loading pauses to speak of. Each chapter flows seamlessly into the next, and you're never left looking at a stats screen or standing in an elevator.

Naughty Dog set out with the intention of creating something new and different, and instead what it has ended up with is a game that feels somewhat schizophrenic in nature, but which still remains charming. Uncharted is really two separate games, the jumpy adventure part and the shooty combat part, and there isn't really anything that links these two together. The on-the-rails nature of the game only serves to emphasise the separateness of the component parts.

What we have here is a great looking, great sounding game that is let down by two different types of gameplay that jar together. It's a great platform to show what the PS3 is capable of, but it'll never be a GOTY candidate.