Game Review : Uncharted - Drake's Fortune (PS3)

Finally, after buying a PS3 (yeah late, I know) I got the chance to play and finish Uncharted - Drake's Fortune. All the reviews I went through were citing this title as one of the bests that the PS3 had to offer. Naturally, I was intrigued by this statement and bought the game, went through it and beat it and now here's my review.

The story is a rip-off of the 'Indiana Jones' movies. The good guys and the bad guys are after a treasure and something happens in between and the bad guys *spoilers* die and the good guy gets his treasure and the girl along with it. I actually hoped it wasn't this formula but nah, it is. The story was "meh" to say the least, nothing new.

The characters were okay, I'd say. Nathan Drake was likable but I just couldn't make up my mind as to whether he means business or whether he is a playful jerk. During some instances he is all serious, whereas in others he makes bad jokes during dangerous situations. Elena Fisher is the damsel-in-distress type but she is full of guts, so that was interesting albeit a bit odd. Victor Sullivan is the gruff companion of Drake's, who was okay. Both the villains - Gabriel Roman and Navarro were forgettable. Again, it all boils down to "meh".

The graphics were praised when this game was first released. And to my surprise they actually still hold good. The lighting, the foliage, the textures and the character models all looked wonderful. The animation, however, was a bit cartoonish and that put me off a bit. The graphics were the only thing that wasn't "meh".

That brings us to gameplay *sigh*...This game is frustrating. It is basically a 3rd person, stop-and-pop shooter with platforming sections thrown into the mix. Why was this formula frustrating?... I'll tell you. So I stay behind cover and keep shooting at my enemies. All's fine and dandy until one of the bad guys flanks me from the right. No worries, I clear him and continue shooting the guys to my front. Then another guy creeps up on me to the left. OK, I finish him too. Then 2 more flank me, then 3 more flank me. One guy has a rocket launcher and the others, a shotgun. I run frantically all around the place and finally I come to what I think is a safe spot. But no, a bad guy is already standing behind and he blasts me off into oblivion and I get a game over. This happens like a 1000 times throughout the game and causes frustration to the point where I took a break from this game for a week. That is a bad sign. Overall, the gameplay was "meh" again since the formula had been perfected by the 'Gears of War' a year before this game came out.

The sounds of gun shots, the voice-acting and the music were good but nothing memorable. The only song that wass memorable, to me atleast, is the theme song which reminded me more of the old COD games.

Well, that is all I can say about this game. If you are new to the PS3, I'd suggest you to check this out IF it was available for dirt cheap like it did for me on Ebay. Or else, skip this one.

Score - 6/10