Review: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PlayStation 3)
Undoubtably, Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception will make waves in the gaming industry, and for good reason.
First and foremost, the game is visually stunning. Armed with motion capture and high definition graphics, the game feels less like a game and more like you’re directing a movie.
This is part of the problem I personally had with it — the overall gameplay feels derivative and a little “been there, done that”. More on why later.
The standout of the title is the story, especially to fans of the series. UC3 fleshes out the backstory of all the well known cast and does this in a way fans will appreciate.
New to the series is the “melee” combat system, which does add a level of newness to the series and can be quite fun (if a little cumbersome). This does away with the series annoying stealth parts, a welcomed change most will agree with.
The biggest problem I had with the game, as mentioned earlier, is that it feels very derivative. It’s almost like the developer went too far with the story and forgot they were making a game. Scaling walls and jumping around in a pre-rendered world is very 1990‘s “Pince of Persia” — more innovation is needed. Yes, it looks stunning, the story is epic, but the levels feel short and lack depth.
Thankfully, the game does have lots to occupy those with forgiving attention spans. Hundreds of hidden items lurk within the game, and there’s a multiplayer mode for those done with the story.
Multiplayer is a mixed bag — for diehard fans of the series it’s an orgasmic treat waiting to be experienced. For hardcore fans of third person shooters, GTA IV is probably where you’ll return to, as Uncharted still feels a little clunky and the maps too massive for their own good.
Overall, though, the game presents very well and is probably the best looking game ever made — this has been accomplished at the expense of innovative, fun gameplay which sadly lets the title down.
