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User Score
8.8

Presentation - 9.0
Gameplay - 8.5
Value - 7.0

Introduction:

You are Nathan Drake. A man supposed to be the decendent of the famous Sir Francis Drake. When you find a coffin containing the long lost journal of Sir Francis, you embark on the greatest journey of your life to find the lost treasure El Dorado, meet some new people along the way, and fight your way through deadly pirates. Yup, just another day in the life of Nathan Drake.

Presentation:

This game is exactly how games should be. Polished. Looking back at this 2 year old title, it is by far one of the best looking Playstation 3 games to date, only to be out trumped by its sequel, Uncharted 2. Load times are practically non-existent throughout the entire story, and the menus are a breeze to navigate through. My only complaint is some technical issues. While the game is a marvel to look at, I noticed multiple instances of screen tearing and some pop-in throughout the game. While this is something to be aware of, it didn't hurt the experience at all for me, and was most apparent only in larger firefights.

Gameplay:

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune blends a mixture of third person shooting and platforming. The shooting is your standard third person shooter, that focuses on taking cover. I think that Naughty Dog did a great job with the shooting parts, as they took what was right in other games, and added nothing less, yet nothing more to it. It does get fairy repetitive at times, as the enemies are all exactly the same. For that, the game suffers a lot. Luckily, the good folks behind the Jak and Daxter series have blended the best of both worlds by also putting a high emphasis on platforming sections. You control Drake as you jump from ledge to ledge, hop over seamingly impossible gaps, and solve intricate puzzles that will test your patience. While not doing anything new to games, Naughty Dog successfully perfects the gameplay in Uncharted where many others have failed.

Value:

The story in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a great experience, my only complaint is that it ends way too soon. The story will take most people anywhere from 10-13 hours, mainly depending on difficulty. Sure, the added treasures and unlockables will add a lot more play time, but after that, there isn't much reason to come back. There is an option to replay the story and reset the treasures, but that doesn't really change much. Ultimately, the lasting appeal will turn off many gamers, expecially if you compare this to other great story only shooters such as Bioshock that has a 20+ hour story.

Conclusion:

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a great Playstation 3 debut for Naughty Dog, and I see a very bright future for their upcoming games. Uncharted is a blast to play, and will easily go down as a classic. The graphics shine like no other, with minor pop-in issues. The only major problem with this game, is that it ended too soon. I'm not so sure that this will be a game you'll be playing for weeks and weeks on in to come. Otherwise, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a great addition to any Playstation 3 owner, just try to get it on sale!!!