Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Review

• 5th Nov 2011

Nathan Fillion, Sorry, Nathan Drake is back in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Already the game has been getting rave reviews, heralded as the best of the series so far and coming along with greater graphics, greater game play, a greater story, greater acting and so on.

This time round Drake is back to his Sir Francis Drake obsession and we pick up already into the action as he is off to discover the “Atlantis of the Sands.” We get a nice glimpse into how Drake broke into this kind of life as a child – and we follow him, Sully and the gang as they trek across the globe to find what they are looking for.

Well. The good news is that it is the best looking of the series, the combat system has been improved and the story is a bit better. But pay close attention to the words “a bit.” Uncharted 3 is only a bit better than its predecessors. The story is the better thing here – with all main characters returning and a few nice additions to the cast. The acting though is probably on a par – but there are a few links. The Jason Statham-esque new member of the team could do with a better actor.

An issue I had with the game is the sense of déjà-vu from previous games. One darkly lit tomb or hall starts to look pretty much like ones you have seen before. The contraptions you have to puzzle over (whilst often ingenious) also come over as repetition from previous games. So I can’t quite see how this game is breaking from the mould as other critics are praising it for. To me it’s very much another solid game in the franchise that ups its game by a small percentage.

The beat is often easy to figure out – You will wander, natter, solve grand puzzles and then end up in a gun fight. The next area you travel to you will explore, talk, solve puzzles and then end up in a gun fight. And so on. And it flows like this for the first half of the game especially. Thankfully it picks up in the second half.

Make no mistake, it’s great fun, has many thrills and spills and a fabulously comedic lead character. But I won’t praise the game as one of the best ever made when the first game already set the bar for this one to climb upon. I think the greatest advances were made with the second game – which also had more exciting gun battles throughout in more varied environments. Most of the first half of this game has its gunplay resigned to old tombs, ancient buildings and undergrounds.

Also finding those hidden treasures is predictable for the large part. I managed to find most of these as I progressed with little thought to where I may have to look (so you walk to the bottom of a metal staircase, do you think there will be a hidden treasure behind the bottom flight of steps?).

The main actual complaint is probably that the crosshair aiming needs a steady hand. So if you plan on racking up the headshot count then you will have to be patient with your movements.

On the upside is the general design of the game. Ok the designers need a few fresh conceptual artist in to really make this game stand out from the pack, but the job this bunch do should still be commended.

Medals also need to be handed out to the writers of the game for delivering a tale that expands the characters greatly and keeps you on your toes. The final award has to go to the music which is truly worthy of the big screen. And with a film still in the offing (Seriously if you want this character to work on screen folks either hire the guy who did the game, or get Fillion!).

All in all it’s a fun experience, but I do question how often I may want to return to it. Arkham City on the other hand – I am still locked in on.

Steven Hurst