It almost kills me to lay down such a cliched statement that video game critics around the globe hate to spout out of their mouths (or their fingers?), but Uncharted 3 almost feel like Uncharted 2 - 2. Not that this accusation is necessarily a bad one—Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is still, to this day, one of the best games this console generation. But when you observe the formulaic method Uncharted 3 bands to together its 20+ chapter campaign, you more or less know what to expect around each and every one of its umpteen corners.
It’s quite unfortunate that despite being a fantastic product based on its own merits, Uncharted 3 will always be looked upon as the follow-up to its award winning predecessor. The question then becomes this: is it as good (or better) than Uncharted 2? But is it even fair to access the game based on this? Either way you look at it there’s no denying that Drake’s Deception is quite positively an Uncharted game, thorough and through. It’s just a matter of how good this new Uncharted game is. And though there are some spots that may be starting to show their age, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is, by no means, a bad game. It’s quite a good game, actually, every which-way you look at it.
And what usually sets these games apart from the rest of the gaming industry is the way the series has seamlessly transitioned between cut-scenes, climbing sections, and dude-shooting, in the same manner as a Hollywood film. It may not come as a surprise, but Uncharted 3 is definitely this. You’ll run, gun, climb, watch some pretty intense cut-scenes, and maneuver Nathan Drake through some insane set pieces—all of which are blended together in a rock solid overall package. A package that despite having to live up to ridiculously high expectations, still manages to grab you and take you for a ride.
Like previous games in Naughty Dog’s well respected series, main protagonist Nathan Drake finds himself once again caught up in treasure hunting (as if I really needed to let y’all know). And like most (if not all) of Drake’s adventures, this quest has him globe trotting through some pretty crazy locals and intense situations. This time Drake finds himself on the hunt for the “Atlantis of the Sands” which takes him to a bunch of different locals including the London underground and the Rub' al-Khali desert. What this place possesses, no one knows—unmeasurable wealth? A tamed, thousand-year-old curse? They haven’t a clue.
In the same manner as Among Thieves, Drake’s Deception helps develop some of its characters through awesome dialog, cut-scenes, and flashbacks, delivering a very well-told narrative. It’s very par for the course, not dazzling you with any particular twists or insane good-guy/bad-guy juggling, but has a solid beginning, middle and end. But it plays its cards in the right places, never blindsiding you with questionable betrayals or lackluster thrown-together conclusions. It hit the right notes with an acceptable hint of ridiculousness, without going overboard. Basically: yep—this is totally an Uncharted game!
But the real bulk of your playtime will be spent either shooting dudes in the face, or by simply hitting the X button to climb between crumbling.... stuff. Like the games before it, Drake’s Deception is very formulaic and sticks very closely to this formula right up to its conclusion. So yes, you will run into an area, meet a boat-load of enemies wanted to kill you, then proceed to a climbing section where Drake nearly falls to his death about 6 or 7 times, only to reach his destination without a scratch. You will know what to expect, and whilst Naughty Dog does a fine job at giving you new reasons to do all of these things, it does feel a little too familiar in many respects.
For example, the melee combat has been tweaked from Among Thieves to be a little more involved. Rather going up to an enemy and mashing the square button Naughty Dog has given the player more options like using the Triangle button to reverse incoming attacks and the circle button to grab enemies and push them. This new system becomes apparent right at the start of the game where Nathan and Sully are attacked by a mob of enraged Brits. It almost felt like Batman’s combat from Arkham Asylum/City where pushing the corresponding button at the correct time lead you to victory.
But with this improvement came some annoyances with the combat in particular. When surrounded by a plethora of enemies, for example, your best bet is to melee kill the enemy next to you. The problem with this was that enemies still love to shoot you, even when you’re involved in a fist-fight. This became apparent once I got to the more open areas with large amounts of enemies. The next best option was to skip the melee combat altogether and just shoot, save for the specific parts where the only way to proceed is to punch dudes. For an improvement to an already sound combat/shooting system, it didn’t seem very incremental. Rather it felt as if it was a change for the sake of change. It wasn’t more fun or more engaging—it just was what it was.
As unrealistic as the Uncharted games can feel, at times, one of the easiest parts to look past was the sheer amount of humans Nathan Drake has murdered. While its nothing short of staggering at just the waves of enemies Drake has to shoot, it’s all forgivable considering that shooting dudes is, well, fun. The problem I have with Uncharted 3 is that the shooting doesn’t feel the same. It doesn’t necessarily feel bad, but it feels worse. It’s feels like the aiming is a bit less accurate and the guns have much more kickback. This was especially noticeable in the campaign where I would sometimes have trouble killing the most simple of enemies whereas in Uncharted 2, I would mow them down with ease.
Uncharted 3’s campaign really feels like it could’ve used a bit more of... something. What it needs, I haven’t an idea. It just doesn’t have the same hooks that got me with Uncharted 2. It starts out very un-Uncharted like, and takes a while before you really feel like you’re playing an Uncharted game. The locals, too, blended together poorly with forced reasons. And though the game still has its famous (and incredible) set-piece moments (like fighting enemies on a crashing motherfuckering plane), there’s definitely not nearly as many. Oh, and that desert from all the trailers and screenshots? That’s only in the last hour of the game or so.
Luckily Uncharted 3 features much more than a simple campaign to keep things interesting. Naughty Dog has included a rich multiplayer component both competitively and cooperatively gameplay modes. The competitive is what you’d expect, featuring modes like deathmatch, team deathmatch and so forth. The best addition from Uncharted 2, though, is the new customization options for your character. Collecting treasures from downed foes, for example, unlock gear for specific characters, plus earning kills and wins nets you cash which you can spend on new gear, weapons and mods, boosters, and other stuff.
Personally I thought, and still think, the best multiplayer modes are the cooperative, team-based modes. In these you can group up with two other dudes and either take on wave-based objectives like capture the flag or king of the hill. Think: Horde mode from Gears of War 2 with objectives. The quest-based cooperative modes are back, too, and are as fun as ever. Personally these always feel as if they could use a bit more polish, but the objectives are fun.
If you look at Uncharted 3 as an overall presentational package, it’s incredible. The visuals are absolutely jaw-dropping featuring some fantastic lighting and shadow effects, smooth & realistic character animations, plus an amazing sense of realism throughout its varying locals. It’s soundtrack, too, takes what we love about the Uncharted games and gives a tune to fulfill the mood. It’s both intense, and atmospheric. It’s simply one of the best looking games on the market today.
On its own merits, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is pretty damn good. It’s campaign, albeit short and sometimes not fun, has some pretty memorable moments blanketed by a decent narrative and insane production values. The multiplayer is also great, having some of the most fun cooperative modes I’ve played this year. The only problem is that Naughty Dog also made Uncharted 2, and Among Thieves is by far and away a better overall product. But judged by itself with nothing to compare it to, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is a fun romp that Naughty Dog can be proud of. Just don’t expect it to knock your socks off like Uncharted 2 did in 2009.