Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Sony PlayStation 3
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Rated: T for Teen
Released: 2007
Completed: 07 May 2016
I remember renting Uncharted from GameFly shortly after its release, and being impressed by how well it captured the scale of a grand adventure akin to the Indiana Jones films. In the absence of a decent Tomb Raider game, Naughty Dog's Uncharted series filled the void of treasure hunting action, combat, and acrobatic platforming. The series has always been critically acclaimed; it's one I've always intended to revisit. With Uncharted 4 mere days away, there's no time like the present. What I discovered is that Uncharted may show signs of age - it's not as pretty as I remembered it being in 2007 - but like a good wine, you can still appreciate it.
If you don't know the premise of the franchise yet, you play as explorer Nathan Drake, a brash but dashing, cocksure descendant of Sir Francis Drake with a perpetually untucked shirt. Voiced by Nolan North, Drake is essentially a stand-in for Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, so much so that the series has colloquially been called Dude Raider by fans. Throughout his adventures in search of untold riches, Drake cracks wise and smirks as he mows down hundreds of enemies from behind waist-high cover. Seriously, the dude would be a psychopath if he weren't so funny and likeable. I've played war shooters with lower bodycounts. Nathan Drake is a world-class adventurer, but he's also the world's most prolific serial killer.
In his first adventure, Drake and his partners Victory "Sully" Sullivan, and documentarian Elena Fisher, set off in search of the fabled city of El Dorado, but as one might expect from a yarn of this type, they get more than they bargained for. Nate will have to jump, dangle, climb, roll, and shoot his way through ancient ruins, jungles, and crypts (or tombs, if you prefer) if he wants to escape with the treasure, the truth, and his life.
If it sounds exciting, it is. Uncharted borrows heavily from the Indiana Jones franchise for its story, and Tomb Raider for its gameplay, but updates both for the modern age. In fact, one can see how this has come around full circle now that Tomb Raider has made a resurgence thanks to Square's excellent reboot, which plays very much like Uncharted. The action is pulse-pounding, filled with death-defying leaps, chase sequences, light puzzle solving, and copious shootouts. Unlike the Tomb Raiders of old, Uncharted moves with a natural fluidity instead of the clunky tank controls of video game relics. Hardly a moment goes by where you're not having fun, and even in those brief moments the superb writing will pull you through, leaving you dying to see what happens next.
Drake may be a bit arrogant, but he's witty and charming. Like any good action hero, he even has his own catchphrases, repeated often. Sully is equally likeable - a venerable, seasoned explorer, friend, and mentor. Heck, even Elena is a solid character. Occasionally she'll tell a little white lie or manipulate Drake, but she's far from the damsel in distress or the one-dimensional eye candy most female video game characters are portrayed as. She's self-sufficient, brave, and (mostly) capable as she joins you throughout most of her adventure. She does have a tendency to stand directly in your line of fire, but since she can't be killed it's more of an annoyance than anything.
The fabulous writing is brought to life by the excellent voice acting. North brings Nate to life and infuses him with personality. Such is to be expected from a veteran of video game V.A., but equal praise goes out to Emily Rose, Richard McGonagle, and the incomparable Simon Templeman as Elena, Sully, and Gabriel Roman, the game's version of Indy antagonist Rene Belloq - the douchebag rival who shows up to steal all your hard work. The banter between all the characters is top notch, lending to the game's cinematic feel, as does the musical score.
Since it was a fairly early release for the PS3, Uncharted's character models definitely don't look as good as those of its sequels. Characters look waxy, their hands are noticeably rigid, and details like hair and clothing look flat. Drake's rope necklace, for example, never seems to move or swing (a minor detail corrected in the sequels). That said, the animation still looks fantastic, and much of the scenery is breathtaking. The lush jungles pop with bold colors - bright blue skies, vibrant greenery, crystal waters. This is still an attractive game, even if it has a few spots.
There are some gameplay blemishes too. The camera occasionally fixes position to give you a view of where you need to go, but it also skews your depth perception, making it hard to judge certain jumps. A few times I fell to my death because I couldn't tell whether a platform was the same height as the one I was on or not. Nate will sometimes grab a ledge if you miss a jump and fall, but other times he just seems to give up and lets gravity win. These moments are few and far between, but they can be annoying when they come at the tail end of a series of platforms and you find yourself back at the beginning.
If there's anything that will turn some people off, it's the constant gunfights. The best parts of the game are usually navigating the environments, figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B. The heavy combat focus definitely bogs it down a bit when wave after wave of enemies keep coming at you and all you want to do is get to the next platforming segment. Neither the combat or the exploration elements are that hard, but again it's frustrating to fight your way through a protracted shootout only to be killed by the last remaining enemy and have to start all over again.
Luckily, the game is generally pretty liberal with its checkpoints so replaying long stretches is rare. At around eight hours, you can cruise through the whole thing fairly quickly even with the occasional mistake or death.
Naughty Dog has always been a talented developer, and few games showcase that better than the Uncharted franchise. The first game may have a few flaws, however, it's a great first step for a franchise many consider to be one of the best of the last console generation. It's like being the center of a great action-adventure movie, even if the main character is a homicidal killing machine.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was completed on a PlayStation 3 with no cheats.
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