Eurogamer Expo 2011 Hands-On: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Preview
by Joseph Trotter , posted on 27 September 2011 / 4,573 Views
I'll be honest; the Uncharted craze has somewhat passed me by (due to not having a PS3 more than anything else), and, although having heard great things about it, this was my first time with the series. In what is a recurring theme, only the multiplayer was available to play, but my, what a tremendous experience it is.
There are a few major concerns though. Shooting is far too loose and haphazard, and impacts are nowhere near solid enough to be satisfying; this is strange, considering how versatile and chunky the engine is for almost every other aspect of the game. Sometimes, it felt like trying to take out a tank with a pea-shooter, which, for a combat-based multiplayer, is unforgiveable.
However, it makes up for this greatly with the high-octane, multi-layered levels and parkour chases, ranging from rooftops to aztec temples. The manoeuvrability of your avatar is undoubtedly the highlight of the package; they run, tumble, leap and catch as they lunge around the packed arenas. Frankly, it is far more fun to chase an opponent across the sprawl rather than actually catch and kill them. A punch-tag mode would be brilliant here. The levels have been brilliantly designed, with each offering vantage points, escape routes and ambush opportunities, depending on your style of play. The environments are there to be used, and the best players take advantages of the multiple levels and routes to outflank their opponents. Mobility is absolutely the aim of the game; stand-still for too long and you will be picked off quickly.
The overall presentation is fantastic; the characters have been motion-captured perfectly, and their agonising, sprawled jumps are exciting and charming. Clearly, a lot of time and money has been put into it, and boy does it show. There aren't many 3rd person deathmatches out there (we could only play team deathmatch) but this is certainly one of the best. Like Assassin's Creed, it just offers something a bit different, adapting the outstanding feature of the main game and fine tuning it to work in an arena environment. It is, indeed, quite unlike anything else out there.
As such, it is nearly there, and is so very close to being an essential multiplayer experience. However, until the combat is fine-tuned and given more grit and solidity then it may end up being a case of 'what if?' I sincerely hope this is not the case.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is released on the PlayStation 3 on the 1st November 2011.
