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Definitely worth charting.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 04, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Developer Naughty Dog has had a long history with the PlayStation starting back with the first Crash Bandicoot and its sequels, on to Jak and Daxter. So it comes as no surprise that their next game is exclusive to the PlayStation, but it isn't the mascot-driven platformer that we are used to seeing from them. Fret not, though, there is no shortage of adventure and platforming in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

Lights, Camera...

Uncharted puts you in the shoes of Nathan Drake. Nathan is a character who will seem familiar if you have ever seen any treasure hunting movie ever. Nathan shares a lot of the same qualities with the protagonists from these movies. He's a little bit Indy, and a little bit Matthew Mcconaughey from Sahara. Nathan is joined on his journey with his older buddy Sully, who plays a predictable "no nonsense, older guy" role. He's gruff, drinks, and just an all around no nonsense kind of a guy. Then there is the love interest, Elena, who plays the cheery sidekick, but she's no damsel in distress, she can hold her own.

I intentionally used the word "play" to describe the characters, because Uncharted feels a whole lot like a summer action/treasure hunter movie. The characters, the story, and even the humor, comes straight out of Hollywood's handbook. Nathan at one point in the game even remarks "I thought that only happens in the movies!" So it seems even the characters are aware of the connection. The presentation is great and, again, movie-like in its execution. The cut scenes and voice acting are top notch, and the music score for Uncharted is fantastic, very grand and sweeping.

Action!

Not only does Uncharted borrow themes and ideas from Hollywood, it also borrows them from other games. Some have said that Uncharted looks like Tomb Raider with a guy, and they do have a point. The game does feel a lot like Tomb raider when you are jumping from ledge to ledge and hanging far, far too high in the air than anyone should ever hang from. You are also spending a lot of time in ancient tombs and in jungle areas, but that is about where the comparison ends. The basic shooting mechanic feels like it was pulled straight from Gears of War. The game takes a more "stop and pop" approach to gunfights than "run and gun."The cover system is also similar to Gears of War, but it also shares some of the same problems. Sometimes when you jam the cover button, Nathan will randomly stick on the wrong wall, or on the wrong side of the wall. This can get you into trouble especially if you stick on the side facing the enemy and the oncoming swarm of bullets. Other than that slight hitch, the cover mechanic is done extremely well and is also very well animated. Nathan cringes, ducks, yelps, and overall reacts realistically to bullets as they hit the barrier. Those small touches go a long way to helping flesh out and make Nathan feel like a real character. Uncharted looks absolutely beautiful in motion and all the environments looks very rich and full. Other small touches, like his reaction when he runs out of bullets during a firefight, "uh-oh," and reloading your gun, "here we go," also go a long way to just make the game feel more real. It certainly shows a good amount of polish was given to the game.

Cut!

What Uncharted doesn't do as good as Gears did, though, is blend the barriers into the environment. Most of the time you will be running through a fairly linear pathway, when all the sudden you come upon a big open area with crates and fallen pillars strewn throughout, and right when you walk in that room, enemies spring on you. So you can usually tell when you are about to get into a gun fight, because the environment opens up with the obvious placements of the aforementioned barriers. That leads to another aggravating problem you will encounter in the game, enemies spawn everywhere. You start at one end of a room and progress through the room as you kill enemies, but enemies will begin to spawn behind you where you have been. That causes you to become swarmed sometimes in a short amount of time. This may seem like a small quip, but it does make some parts of the game overly hard.

There are also some vehicle sections throughout the game that do a good job of mixing up the action. The vehicle sections on land are a blast, but the same can't be said about the Jet Ski sections. When you are on the Jet Ski you think you are going to be screaming across the water, shooting some bad guys and just having a crazy action movie-ish type of time. Instead you have to basically stop and pop on the Jet Ski, because the enemy has laid the most classic trap of videogame history- the explosion barrel. They are all over in the water and you can't ride past them, because the bad guys will shoot them and you will die. I tried many times to avoid it, but eventually I just rode a bit, stopped, and had to shoot the barrels and the bad guys before I could move on. This made the Jet Ski segment last longer than it should have, and made it way to tedious and aggravating.

Final Take

Overall, though, Uncharted is a great game and a great start to a franchise. You could argue that it isn't very original, but it is a hell of a fun ride. The graphics are amazing, the voice acting and dialog are great, and overall the game just feels good. There are minor things with pacing and odd design choices, but when the finishing credits hit, you will most likely be thinking about all the fun parts of the game instead of the not so great ones, which is the mark of a good game isn't it? Plus, with the just added bonus of Trophies to the game, now is the best time to jump into one of the PS3's finest games.

*Hums the Indy them* Vote Drake for the next Indy!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game was a HUGE surprise for me. I knew it would be good, but I wasn't really interested until I heard about some comparison's to one of my fav old games, pitfall. I ordered this game and beat it within 3 days of its arrival on my doorstep. I absolutelly cannot wait until Uncharted 2 is released.

This game is 1 part Pitfall, 2 parts Tomb Raider, 1/2 part Syphon Filter(control-wise), and 5 parts hollywood adventure film. Never before have I seen a game come so close to an actual movie in script, story, and dialogue(note that I played this before MGS4 came out ;p ) and actually laughed out loud many times during the journey. The voice acting is outstanding and the script is quite witty for videogame fair. The movie scenes are always short and too the point, but compelling while they last. It really feels like your there in the midst of the chase-scenes and such. The atmosphere of the game is its greatest asset though as the landscape is shwon in near perfect detail. I have never seen the lighting or gorgeous sunlight effects this game has in any other "console" game. Climbing from ledge to ledge, I actually found myself at points just angling the camera a bit to catch the perfect view of the distant sunset shimmering off the nearby plane wreckage, or the waterfalls cascading down 100 feet below to a rapidly flowing river waiting for you to fall headlong into its depths.

The shooting elements, the platforming elements, and everything in between is perfect. I figured this game would just have some lame throwback shooting system but its actually very fine-tuned and works better than most I've played. If you played Gears of War and thought those controls were to your liking due to the tightness in all aspects, then you will find solace in the fact that these controls feel just as simple and smooth.

The only drawback I can think of for this game is that its much too short. You can beat it under 10 hours, maybe less than 5-6 if you really know where your going. I can't express enough, however, that this absolutelly does NOT mean you should bypass this gaming journey. On the contrary, the short time you spend playing this game will only serve to stregthen the experience as you will probably find yourself appreciating it that much more for its jam-packed content.

Lightning Deal-Aparent Scam

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 12
Date: August 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Attempted several times to add to my shoping cart when only 25%-39% claimed, then Amazon screen displayed "We are currently in the process of obtaining product information for a new Deal Of The Day. Please check back soon!" All lightning deals vanished, while only 39% were claimed. When finally updated, "undefined" "100% claimed". How could all be claimed if amazon system was being updated? I guess that amazon only wanted to sell these at Full List Price. So much for their supposed deals. Therefore game is rated poorly due to inability to purchase at advertised sale price.

Best PS3 Game Still!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I bought a PS3 way back in December of 07' and I made sure to buy this game with the system. All I had seen of the reviews and screen shots were amazing, let me tell you that all the good reviews out there are right or even an understatement.

This game is one of the best looking games ever made for any system. The graphics are truly amazing, keep in mind that i am using a 1080p HDTV so you will need one of those for the best quality, but even without one this game would look great.

Also this is a longer game so you won't finish it in a week. And to add more to this game, they recently released trophies to earn. That's why i am writing this review after having the game for 9 months. I sat down to play it again and i am still amazed at how great the game looks and how smooth and fun this game is as well.

After the PS3 being out for a while now, i still think that this is the best game out there, highly recommended.

Great Example of a real PS3 Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Every PS3 owner should give this one a shot. Naughty Dog deserves full credit for the effort of this game. It is perfectly paced, just long enough and has a mostly coherent plot line.

Short and Brilliant

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Lets get right to it. This is the AAA single player game we've all been waiting for. If only it lasted longer.

Pros
- True Next Gen graphics running in native 720p
- Perfect pacing, quick puzzles, quick cutscenes, lots of action
- Smooth controls, intense combat, solid enemy AI
- AAA voice acting
- A story that beats 95% of summer movies
- Trophy support patched!
- in game medals/rewards
- No time wasting extended switch hunting or backtracking
- No needless respawning enemies in most areas

Cons
- very short, can beat in 5 hours or less if you speed game
- Final boss battle is a big let down
- Some cheapness w/ unfair scripted events
- Treasure hunting is a bit pointless
- Puzzles are easy, too easy for some people
- Story can get a bit unrealistic
- Not enough extras like new skins/outfits/weapons etc...

Not bad

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: July 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The game has very good graphics and the controls are very well done. Storyline is also pretty good. The game seemed pretty short and easy. I didn't really understand the point to all the little treasures you find along the way. overall a pretty entertaining game.

An eye candy feast!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

im not sure where to begin really. This game was great in so many aspects. First and formost is the incredible eye candy feast that you're treated to. The game is just flat out stunning looking. it looks like the makers of this game really pushed the PS3's graphics capability to the limit. As some of the other reviewers already stated, the gameplay is something out of an Indiana Jones Film. You wont be dissapointed!

Beautiful Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you ever wanted a perfect mix between Pitfall and Indiana Jones, this is it. The graphics are beautiful in every area and the targeting/cover system is the best I've seen in a shooter game. You have to make critical decisions about what types of weapon to carry all the while keeping an eye on your ammo. There will be times when you are out of bullets yet there are still enemies after you. Should you run away or try to quickly grab a loaded magazine from a guy you shot dead?? Very hard to think of a reason to give this less than 5 stars. Fun, exciting, nerve racking, strategic, and beautiful all at once.

Chart your course for fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game. Easily the best game I've played on the PS3. The gun battles are intense and exciting. The controls are really smooth. The graphics are gorgeous. I hope we get a sequel to this one! Great game!!!

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