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"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
9 years ago
A Sony staple.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
This time I’m going to be looking at what is now one of Sony’s staple series for their systems, the Uncharted series. I’m starting with the first one obviously, as that is where the series began. I’ve heard good things about the series, but up until now, I honestly didn’t know what the games were really about. Is Uncharted something that is really worth the praise it gets for being one of Sony’s big exclusives, or is it all hype and just another mindless shooting game to add to the bunch? Let us take a closer look and find out shall we?
Gameplay
The gameplay of Uncharted I feel sort of seems like a mix between Assassin’s Creed, in that you are doing acrobatic climbing and jumping on walls high up off the ground, and one of those duck and cover gun fire games. What I mean is those kinds of games where you jump between cover spots and attack enemies otherwise you would be taken out rather quickly. Uncharted has you playing as Nathan Drake as you progress throughout the game. The game follows a very linear path as you run from room to room looking to get to the next area of the game. If you were expecting something where you are going to free roam, that is in very limited supply. You can free roam a big room you may be in at the time, but there is only one way forward in any given circumstance. Yeah, this is one of those games. Linear does make the game easy and quick to get through from start to beginning, but it does take away any sort of freedom that may be in a game where you are meant to be acting as an explorer type. You will quite often in the game run into large groups of enemies and you must duck and cover behind walls and small barriers as you work to kill them all with the various types of guns in the game. You are only allowed two guns at any given time though, so you do get to pick your desired load out. Some guns are obviously better than others, but it is still your choice for example if you prefer an AK-47 or a shotgun, or a pistol or an Uzi pistol. When attacking though, you can’t just stand still most of the time while you are attacking. The enemies are often times trying to get to better positions to attack you and also will occasionally show up behind you or find ways to get to your side to try and get around your cover. This isn’t always the case, but when they do, you are pretty much done for usually. Sometimes, this does feel like the enemies will get a bit of an unfair advantage, especially the ones that will for some reason want to spawn behind you. Those do feel a bit unfair to me. The ones that are in front of you trying to work their way around you though, that’s just your fault if they manage to overcome your cover. They will throw grenades to try and make you evade from cover, and will sometimes try and wait for you to fire to fire. They aren’t stupid, at least not all of them. You will see some enemies just stay out in the open and become easy targets. Other enemies will stay hidden well and make you use a lot of ammo to kill them. I do think the enemies do take more gunfire than necessary sometimes to put down, but maybe that’s just me. When not fighting, you are either jumping along from ledges trying to get to the open door or window to progress the story, or occasionally solve a puzzle. The puzzles aren’t too challenging, and the solutions are usually very obvious, as long as you are able to read the clues. The parkour like stuff though does give you that very AC feeling of course, but I think every game that has that kind of movement may remind some people of those games. Still, it is a very interesting thing to watch, as you imagine how dangerous it must be for someone to try and get around by hanging and jumping from these narrow ledges, which in this game can in some places break away and fall. Which will cause you to die, and believe me, you are going to die a lot in this game, both from the falls, and the gunfire, but especially the gunfire. The jumping and exploring aspects aren’t that difficult as long as you are careful, but the gunfights will cause you to die many times if you aren’t careful. There are a few areas where you are clearly at a disadvantage, but no area is completely unwinnable though. This is the bulk of the game really. You are either gun fighting, or you are doing the parkour like jumping to get to new areas. Not the most innovative gameplay around, but it gets the job done at least. It isn’t bad by any means, but you will sometimes wish you could explore a bit more as I did mention the game is quite linear. If you don’t mind a linear game though, this gameplay is easily for you. It is simple, to the point at least.
Story
The Story of Uncharted is definitely the shining star of the entire game. You play as Nathan Drake as he is exploring to try and find a hidden treasure that had supposedly been found by his long ago maybe ancestor, Sir Francis Drake. With the help of Sully, an older guy that is like a mentor to Drake, and a reporter like girl named Elena you are out to start looking for clues for the treasure. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the treasure you are looking for is the legendary El Dorado. As you play through the game, you see the twists and turns as Nathan Drake not only hunts for the treasure, but has to deal with evil treasure hunters who not only want to find the treasures for themselves, but want to kill the hero’s due to not only Sully owing some debt, but also because they are honestly just dishonest black market dealers. You know the type you see in most of these movies that only care about the money and not about human life at all. Those sort of guys. You watch the progression as Nathan looks for the treasure, to see if it really exists and if it does exist, is it even worth recovering. The game’s story plays out like a movie in a way, and honestly, if the game was a movie and followed this same story line, I could see it working. That says something about a game’s story when you think it could be a movie if it didn’t have the game aspect to it of course. This game is definitely all about the story for sure. While the gameplay isn’t an afterthought, you can sort of tell they built a lot of this game around the story. Being so linear as well, the story is meant to be followed and not deviated from. I don’t want to give the entire story away, which is a sign of a good story, but if you have seen the treasure hunter movies before, it follows most of the normal ideas that go along with it. Guy is looking for treasure while fighting bad guys as he tries to help a stubborn girl out that wants to come along with him. Yup, that’s all right here, and it still works yes.
Graphics
The graphics of this game are actually quite well done. The jungles you are going through most of the game look realistic enough, and the ancient ruins look like your stereotypical ruins that you would find in a jungle. If it is what you expect then you will see it here. I honestly can’t complain about the look of the game, or the design of the characters. Everything is so detail, that you can believe this is an actual jungle island out in the middle of the pacific. All the characters are unique, besides the grunts of course, and you see all the little unique touches that each character has to them. No one looks blurry either. Everyone has their details and done in a good way. Though, I do have a few complaints about the graphics in general. There were a couple of times in the game that I did see people’s character models go all wobbly and out of whack, and there was even a time where I was thrown high up into the air, with the entire background being taken away. These things weren’t often of course, but it was enough to where I was going, okay, what in the world just happened there? Also, while the vehicle scenes in the game were few, there was some motion blur that did actually bug my eyes just a little bit. It isn’t super obvious, but when things start to turn and go to the side, motion blur becomes a bit more obvious. I don’t think I’ve had something bother my eyes like that for a while. I can’t hit the graphics too much of course, as these were very minor problems, but they were still problems that I noticed mixed in with the rest of this nicely designed game.
Sound
The voices from the game are actually nice movie quality voice acting, and I have to commend them for adding quite a bit to the story. You aren’t going to hear me complaining about the voice acting at all here. My only real complaint comes from the lack of noticeable music. I know there is music there, but it is honestly very absent through most of the game. Most the sound of the game is from enemies and from background noise. This actually does work well despite what I am saying. If you are in a jungle, you want to be able to hear if people are around trying to attack you. You also want to be able to tell where they are when you are being attacked, as they do have chatter as the gun fights are happening to help you out a bit. While there is music in the game and it does play at certain times, I just wish there was a bit more of it and that it was more noticeable. This isn’t something big, but I do wish it was there of course. It doesn’t take much away from the game though.
Control
The control of the game is good, though there were times again with games like this where it is easy to press buttons by accident that can get you killed. What I mean is that instead of changing position, your guy can instead pop out of cover for a moment, which can result in you taking shots. There are also times where you can want to jump over to this particular ledge in the jumping and parkour sections and you don’t do it or you don’t jump in the right way and you either miss your jump or end up hanging on a breakable ledge too long and you lose a life. Most of these though are human error over fault of the game itself, but it is still an easy mistake to make and one that players are bound to make at times throughout play. There are a few QTE’s in the game, but they are very few and only placed in spots to see if you are really paying attention to the game or not. These often times happen in action sequences as well, so there aren’t surprises out of nowhere that will result in gameover’s. You run. You jump, and you shoot. That is the bulk of this game when it comes to the controls in general. There is nothing broken here at all, but there will be parts where the controls will sort of throw you for a loop in the heat of battle. While not broken, that is always a pet peeve of mine.
Replay Value
The replay value in this game isn’t bad, but it could be better. Once again, some of the replay value in this game comes in the form of collecting hidden items in the game, and by getting rewards for doing certain actions in the game. Most of these are in the form of the trophies that the get in the game as well, but still, that is where a bulk of the replayability is in this game. You have to find 60 hidden treasures in this game as you are playing. These are hidden all throughout the game, but to be able to find them, you have to be watching for sparkles on the ground, as that is your only clue that a hidden treasure is there. These are very easy to miss and more than likely will take more than one play-through to find them all. When you replay the game, really the only thing different is the difficulty, if you choose a different difficulty that is. Other than that, all you are doing is looking for hidden collectables, or trying to collect trophies and rewards. While it adds some replayability, I’m not really impressed with how much is there. There could have been so much more. The linear feeling this game gives once again strikes at its score.
Overall, I must say that the first Uncharted is a good game and one I can see being a lure to someone that wants an exclusive for their PlayStation system. The game has a great story, to the point that it could be a movie, with most of the other elements being pretty good or above average. Still, there are a few problems I wish could be ironed out here and there. Really, the big thing that is either going to draw or turn some people away is the linear feel this game has. It really is a linear game and has limited replay ability. If you can’t stand a game that makes you go a certain way and doesn’t really have much else to offer than what is on the straight forward path, then this game isn’t for you. If you want something that has a good treasure hunting story and is something you want to complete over a weekend, give this game a try. At the very least, I would give this game a playthrough for yourself to see what it is all about. It’s cheap, and worth the time that you put into it on that first playthrough. It is at least worth checking out at the very least.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune an eight out of ten.
Gameplay: 7
Story: 10
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Control: 8
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 8
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
This time I’m going to be looking at what is now one of Sony’s staple series for their systems, the Uncharted series. I’m starting with the first one obviously, as that is where the series began. I’ve heard good things about the series, but up until now, I honestly didn’t know what the games were really about. Is Uncharted something that is really worth the praise it gets for being one of Sony’s big exclusives, or is it all hype and just another mindless shooting game to add to the bunch? Let us take a closer look and find out shall we?
Gameplay
The gameplay of Uncharted I feel sort of seems like a mix between Assassin’s Creed, in that you are doing acrobatic climbing and jumping on walls high up off the ground, and one of those duck and cover gun fire games. What I mean is those kinds of games where you jump between cover spots and attack enemies otherwise you would be taken out rather quickly. Uncharted has you playing as Nathan Drake as you progress throughout the game. The game follows a very linear path as you run from room to room looking to get to the next area of the game. If you were expecting something where you are going to free roam, that is in very limited supply. You can free roam a big room you may be in at the time, but there is only one way forward in any given circumstance. Yeah, this is one of those games. Linear does make the game easy and quick to get through from start to beginning, but it does take away any sort of freedom that may be in a game where you are meant to be acting as an explorer type. You will quite often in the game run into large groups of enemies and you must duck and cover behind walls and small barriers as you work to kill them all with the various types of guns in the game. You are only allowed two guns at any given time though, so you do get to pick your desired load out. Some guns are obviously better than others, but it is still your choice for example if you prefer an AK-47 or a shotgun, or a pistol or an Uzi pistol. When attacking though, you can’t just stand still most of the time while you are attacking. The enemies are often times trying to get to better positions to attack you and also will occasionally show up behind you or find ways to get to your side to try and get around your cover. This isn’t always the case, but when they do, you are pretty much done for usually. Sometimes, this does feel like the enemies will get a bit of an unfair advantage, especially the ones that will for some reason want to spawn behind you. Those do feel a bit unfair to me. The ones that are in front of you trying to work their way around you though, that’s just your fault if they manage to overcome your cover. They will throw grenades to try and make you evade from cover, and will sometimes try and wait for you to fire to fire. They aren’t stupid, at least not all of them. You will see some enemies just stay out in the open and become easy targets. Other enemies will stay hidden well and make you use a lot of ammo to kill them. I do think the enemies do take more gunfire than necessary sometimes to put down, but maybe that’s just me. When not fighting, you are either jumping along from ledges trying to get to the open door or window to progress the story, or occasionally solve a puzzle. The puzzles aren’t too challenging, and the solutions are usually very obvious, as long as you are able to read the clues. The parkour like stuff though does give you that very AC feeling of course, but I think every game that has that kind of movement may remind some people of those games. Still, it is a very interesting thing to watch, as you imagine how dangerous it must be for someone to try and get around by hanging and jumping from these narrow ledges, which in this game can in some places break away and fall. Which will cause you to die, and believe me, you are going to die a lot in this game, both from the falls, and the gunfire, but especially the gunfire. The jumping and exploring aspects aren’t that difficult as long as you are careful, but the gunfights will cause you to die many times if you aren’t careful. There are a few areas where you are clearly at a disadvantage, but no area is completely unwinnable though. This is the bulk of the game really. You are either gun fighting, or you are doing the parkour like jumping to get to new areas. Not the most innovative gameplay around, but it gets the job done at least. It isn’t bad by any means, but you will sometimes wish you could explore a bit more as I did mention the game is quite linear. If you don’t mind a linear game though, this gameplay is easily for you. It is simple, to the point at least.
Story
The Story of Uncharted is definitely the shining star of the entire game. You play as Nathan Drake as he is exploring to try and find a hidden treasure that had supposedly been found by his long ago maybe ancestor, Sir Francis Drake. With the help of Sully, an older guy that is like a mentor to Drake, and a reporter like girl named Elena you are out to start looking for clues for the treasure. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the treasure you are looking for is the legendary El Dorado. As you play through the game, you see the twists and turns as Nathan Drake not only hunts for the treasure, but has to deal with evil treasure hunters who not only want to find the treasures for themselves, but want to kill the hero’s due to not only Sully owing some debt, but also because they are honestly just dishonest black market dealers. You know the type you see in most of these movies that only care about the money and not about human life at all. Those sort of guys. You watch the progression as Nathan looks for the treasure, to see if it really exists and if it does exist, is it even worth recovering. The game’s story plays out like a movie in a way, and honestly, if the game was a movie and followed this same story line, I could see it working. That says something about a game’s story when you think it could be a movie if it didn’t have the game aspect to it of course. This game is definitely all about the story for sure. While the gameplay isn’t an afterthought, you can sort of tell they built a lot of this game around the story. Being so linear as well, the story is meant to be followed and not deviated from. I don’t want to give the entire story away, which is a sign of a good story, but if you have seen the treasure hunter movies before, it follows most of the normal ideas that go along with it. Guy is looking for treasure while fighting bad guys as he tries to help a stubborn girl out that wants to come along with him. Yup, that’s all right here, and it still works yes.
Graphics
The graphics of this game are actually quite well done. The jungles you are going through most of the game look realistic enough, and the ancient ruins look like your stereotypical ruins that you would find in a jungle. If it is what you expect then you will see it here. I honestly can’t complain about the look of the game, or the design of the characters. Everything is so detail, that you can believe this is an actual jungle island out in the middle of the pacific. All the characters are unique, besides the grunts of course, and you see all the little unique touches that each character has to them. No one looks blurry either. Everyone has their details and done in a good way. Though, I do have a few complaints about the graphics in general. There were a couple of times in the game that I did see people’s character models go all wobbly and out of whack, and there was even a time where I was thrown high up into the air, with the entire background being taken away. These things weren’t often of course, but it was enough to where I was going, okay, what in the world just happened there? Also, while the vehicle scenes in the game were few, there was some motion blur that did actually bug my eyes just a little bit. It isn’t super obvious, but when things start to turn and go to the side, motion blur becomes a bit more obvious. I don’t think I’ve had something bother my eyes like that for a while. I can’t hit the graphics too much of course, as these were very minor problems, but they were still problems that I noticed mixed in with the rest of this nicely designed game.
Sound
The voices from the game are actually nice movie quality voice acting, and I have to commend them for adding quite a bit to the story. You aren’t going to hear me complaining about the voice acting at all here. My only real complaint comes from the lack of noticeable music. I know there is music there, but it is honestly very absent through most of the game. Most the sound of the game is from enemies and from background noise. This actually does work well despite what I am saying. If you are in a jungle, you want to be able to hear if people are around trying to attack you. You also want to be able to tell where they are when you are being attacked, as they do have chatter as the gun fights are happening to help you out a bit. While there is music in the game and it does play at certain times, I just wish there was a bit more of it and that it was more noticeable. This isn’t something big, but I do wish it was there of course. It doesn’t take much away from the game though.
Control
The control of the game is good, though there were times again with games like this where it is easy to press buttons by accident that can get you killed. What I mean is that instead of changing position, your guy can instead pop out of cover for a moment, which can result in you taking shots. There are also times where you can want to jump over to this particular ledge in the jumping and parkour sections and you don’t do it or you don’t jump in the right way and you either miss your jump or end up hanging on a breakable ledge too long and you lose a life. Most of these though are human error over fault of the game itself, but it is still an easy mistake to make and one that players are bound to make at times throughout play. There are a few QTE’s in the game, but they are very few and only placed in spots to see if you are really paying attention to the game or not. These often times happen in action sequences as well, so there aren’t surprises out of nowhere that will result in gameover’s. You run. You jump, and you shoot. That is the bulk of this game when it comes to the controls in general. There is nothing broken here at all, but there will be parts where the controls will sort of throw you for a loop in the heat of battle. While not broken, that is always a pet peeve of mine.
Replay Value
The replay value in this game isn’t bad, but it could be better. Once again, some of the replay value in this game comes in the form of collecting hidden items in the game, and by getting rewards for doing certain actions in the game. Most of these are in the form of the trophies that the get in the game as well, but still, that is where a bulk of the replayability is in this game. You have to find 60 hidden treasures in this game as you are playing. These are hidden all throughout the game, but to be able to find them, you have to be watching for sparkles on the ground, as that is your only clue that a hidden treasure is there. These are very easy to miss and more than likely will take more than one play-through to find them all. When you replay the game, really the only thing different is the difficulty, if you choose a different difficulty that is. Other than that, all you are doing is looking for hidden collectables, or trying to collect trophies and rewards. While it adds some replayability, I’m not really impressed with how much is there. There could have been so much more. The linear feeling this game gives once again strikes at its score.
Overall, I must say that the first Uncharted is a good game and one I can see being a lure to someone that wants an exclusive for their PlayStation system. The game has a great story, to the point that it could be a movie, with most of the other elements being pretty good or above average. Still, there are a few problems I wish could be ironed out here and there. Really, the big thing that is either going to draw or turn some people away is the linear feel this game has. It really is a linear game and has limited replay ability. If you can’t stand a game that makes you go a certain way and doesn’t really have much else to offer than what is on the straight forward path, then this game isn’t for you. If you want something that has a good treasure hunting story and is something you want to complete over a weekend, give this game a try. At the very least, I would give this game a playthrough for yourself to see what it is all about. It’s cheap, and worth the time that you put into it on that first playthrough. It is at least worth checking out at the very least.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune an eight out of ten.
Gameplay: 7
Story: 10
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Control: 8
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 8
