--OkeyDokey--

User Score
9.2

Presentation - 9.5
Gameplay - 9.5
Value - 8.0

At a glance, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune may seem like a departure from the cuddly platformers that made Naughty Dog what it is today, but considering the evolution of the Jak franchise over the years into darker and increasingly mature territory, this may not come as a surprise to some.

Uncharted tells the story of Nathan Drake, descendant of legendary explorer Sir Francis Drake, on a mission to uncover the lost treasure of El Dorado with the help of ditzy reporter, Elena, and an old friend, Sully. I won’t go into any more detail than that, but the story is cheesy, clichéd and over the top. In short; it’s absolutely brilliant, thanks largely to excellent voice acting which lends the characters some much appreciated personality. It’s not going to win any awards but the summer action flick vibe will keep you entertained throughout the course of the game.

Appropriately nicknamed “Dude Raider” in the months leading up to its release, Uncharted takes all the best elements of Eidos’ Tomb Raider franchise and blends them with the same stop-and-pop gunplay that was perfected in 2006’s Gears of War to great success. The action is broken up between some slightly annoying jet ski sections, some on rails Jeep-turret action, the odd context sensitive cutscene (which are so infrequent you'll probably never see them coming) and some simple puzzle solving.

"Hold still!" *unzipping sound*

Every facet of the gameplay is well executed--the cover system works just how you want it to and the platforming is streamlined without feeling dumbed down. Nate demonstrates his versatility as he scales large structures, leaps fearlessly from ledge to ledge, engages in melee combat and pulls of headshots while hanging from steep cliffsides. In short, there's plenty of variety here and there’s a good balance for the most part, but it seems to lean more on the shooter side towards the end of the game’s (roughly) 8 hour duration. The reasonably short length and lack of multiplayer or any apparent replay value (aside from some well hidden treasures used to unlock extra features for the dedicated) may seem discouraging at first, but rest assured, this is a game you will want to complete multiple times. The ability to replay any of the 22 chapters in whatever order you please is a welcome feature.

As you’ve probably already noticed by now, this game is bursting with eye candy. Both technically and artistically impressive, Uncharted’s charming almost cartoony visual style will win you over and have you gaping in awe at its incredible scope and attention to detail. Water ripples realistically as you pass through it, the sun sets over the lush jungle setting that stretches as far as the eye can see and the characters animate beautifully and seamlessly, all without any significant blemishes apart from a few instances of texture pop in. Uncharted was one of the early titles that truly set the PS3 apart from its competitors in terms of graphics capabilites and it still looks great in 2009.

The gameplay may be far from groundbreaking, but everything it does is done extremely well. Throw in a cast of likable characters an entertaining story and some seriously impressive visuals that, to this day, remain some of the best the PS3 has to offer and you’ve got one hell of a game. A must play for all PS3 owners and adventure fans.

~OkeyD