One of the saving graces of the PS3 in its troubled early years, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune offers high thrills in Hollywood-esque style.
GAMEPLAY:
You'll mainly be doing 3 things in Uncharted: shooting, jumping and puzzle solving. Most of the game is concerned with taking out wave upon wave of enemies from the relative safety of the many convenient waist high walls throughout the game. You'll also be navigating cliffs, solving ancient puzzles and exchanging bullets with baddies in a few obligatory vehicle sections. It's far from the most original design, but the game is just so darn fun you probably won't really mind.
Part of what puts Uncharted above its 3rd person cover based shooting contemporaries is mobility. In many shooters of this type (even now, 5 years after the game originally came out) you often have to make a choice between moving quickly and turning like a boat, or turning quickly and moving like a turtle. Drake, on the other hand, is agile, quick, turns on a dime and (most importantly) doesn't seemingly get glued to any piece of cover he puts his back to. It's very easy to navigate the battlefield, which keeps the challenging combat from getting too frustrating. That's not to say it's perfect, though. You'll occasionally get caught on a piece of the environment you thought you could jump on, or roll to a piece of cover you didn't intend to in more crowded sets, which could have fatal consequences. These instances are pretty rare, though. For the most part, Drake handles like a dream.
It's a good thing he does, too, as his opposition can be pretty brutal. Enemies are smart; they'll try to flank you, flush you out with grenades, and won't pop out of cover in the same spot twice. It's challenging, and it's unlikely that you'll complete an area without feeling like you've earned it, especially on the higher difficulties (it's called "crushing" for a reason).
Less challenging, however, is the platforming. There's almost always only one way to go and so long as you don't jump in the opposite direction of your next ledge, Drake will make sure you get there safe. That's not to say it isn't fun; I actually enjoyed these segments immensely. The fun comes primarily from the thrill of the actual jump, as opposed to finally lining it up properly. This may not be ideal for some, but at the very least it eliminates a lot of the frustration that plagues other 3D platformers.
Now, if the platforming is unchallenging, then the puzzle solving is Sesame Street easy. Whenever confronted with an ancient puzzle, Drake whips out his trusty journal, which pretty much tells you the solution. Then it's just a matter of turning a few statues or pulling a few levers (or both in the really tough ones). With the exception of one, these segments are less puzzles than just simple errands the game makes you run.
SCORE: 3.5 out of 5
STORY:
Uncharted follows the adventure of the sarcastic, yet lovable, Nathan Drake, his mentor, lady killer Victor "Sully" Sullivan and intrepid reporter (because reporters are never not intrepid) Elena Fisher on their quest to find El Dorado. The story is an homage to pulpy adventure tales like those of Indiana Jones and is just as much fun. There are twists and turns (including one doozey of a twist that turns both the story and the gameplay on its head), a bad guy with more money than sense, and plenty of large and over-the-top action set pieces. The story isn't breaking any new ground, but it gets the job done well.
The characters have great chemistry and are fun to watch. Nate is in the role of the lovable rogue whose quips are almost as deadly as his guns and his interactions with his supporting cast are just as entertaining to watch as the game is to play. It's not the deepest or the funniest script out there, but it's probably the most fun (at least it was until Uncharted 2 came out).
SCORE: 4 out of 5
PRESENTATION:
Above all else, the presentation is where Uncharted (this game and the franchise as a whole) really thrives. The game looks amazing with wonderful lighting effects and a beautiful color palette filled with vibrant greens and blues. Trees look lush, even dust clouds look pretty, and the water. O lawdy, the water! At the time, only BioShock could claim to have such lovely water effects. Get this: the water even affects Nate's clothes amazingly. If you dump his whole body in water, his whole body gets wet, but if you only go in water up to his waist or knee or something, then that's all that will get wet. It sounds inconsequential, I know, but when I played the game the first time and experienced that, it blew my mind. It's the little things, really.
Little things like Drake's feet adjusting to varied elevation or the reactions to gunfire from both Nate and his adversaries. From the subtle facial expressions to the way Nate doesn't duck back into cover the same way every time. This game is an animation powerhouse. All these little touches really bring the game to life. It nails the big stuff too, though. Camera angles are dramatic and cutscenes look like they were taken straight from a movie. But really, it's the little things.
Uncharted is fantastic audibly as well. Nolan North does great voice work as Nathan Drake, really bringing him to life with an enthusiastic performance. The entire cast does a great job as well; there's not a bad one in the bunch. It's easy to tell that everyone had fun making this game. If there's anything wrong with the sound design, it's that most of the guns don't pack much of a punch, but that's easy to forgive when the awesome music kicks in. Seriously, this game has one of the greatest soundtracks I've ever heard. It's grand, motivating and a perfect compliment to the action in the game. Greg Edmonson should be very proud.
SCORE: 5 out of 5
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is an exciting game. It's gameplay is strong, though not perfect, and its story is great for those who love pulpy adventure tales all wrapped up in one of the prettiest packages gaming had offered at the time. Even now it holds its own pretty well. Highly recommended for lovers of high action and high production values.
OVERALL: 4 out of 5 (Not an average)