Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3 - 1st completion)
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is the last Uncharted game to grace the PS3, the console it was birthed from. After numerous awards and praise, the series ended on the PS3 with another bang before continuing onto the PS Vita and eventually, the 4th game coming on the PS4. It's been revealed that they are (of course!) remastering these first three games for the PS4 and calling it the Nathan Drake Collection. I can't say if I'll get it but it's not impossible since I like all three of these games. I reviewed the original game, Drake's Fortune, at the end of 2009 on my old Yahoo blog (scored it 44/50) as the game came packed in with the PS3 I bought earlier in the year. A couple years ago I reviewed the sequel Among Thieves (scored it 47/50) which was a great game. For Drake's Deception I only did one playthrough compared to the two playthroughs I'd do with the previous two games. So instead of beating the game on "Normal" difficulty first and collect all treasures in the game so I could beat it again on "Hard", I played through this game on "Hard" only. While some parts were tough, my past experience helped and I beat the game yesterday in 11 hours and 4 minutes and all 101 treasures found. Given how much time I wasted in my previously reviewed game, Lightning Returns, I felt I needed to get this game over with and catch up. Like the previous game, this version is the "Game of the Year Edition" but the extras are mainly for the multiplayer component, which I never played.
Two years after the previous game, Nathan "Nate" Drake and Victor "Sully" Sullivan enter a pub in London to meet with a man named Talbot, who is interested in purchasing Nate's ring belonging to his ancestor Sir Francis Drake. Nate and Sully accuse Talbot of offering them counterfeit banknotes, and a fight ensues. Outside the pub, Nate and Sully are subdued by Charlie Cutter, Talbot's cohort. Talbot's client, Katherine Marlowe, appears and steals Drake's ring. Then Sully and Nate are shot. A flashback 20 years earlier finds a 15-year-old Nathan Drake exploring a museum in Cartagena, Columbia, in search of Sir Francis Drake's ring, and seeing a younger Sully, unknown to him at this point, who is working with Marlowe to retrieve the ring. Nate is caught by Marlowe and her henchmen, but Sully rescues Nate from the agents and takes the boy on as his protege. Returning to the present day, it is revealed that the meeting was an elaborate set-up by Nate and Sully to track down Marlowe, with Cutter being a friend of theirs. With the help of Chloe Frazer (from Uncharted 2), they trace Marlowe's car to an underground library, where they manage to retrieve T. E. Lawrence's notebook and a map showing Francis Drake's secret voyage to Arabia, where he was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I to search for the lost city of Ubar. Using these items, Nate works out that clues to the city's location lie in Crusader crypts in a French chateau and a Syrian citadel. Nate and Sully head to eastern France and locate the long-abandoned chateau in a dense forest. They find one half of an amulet inside the crypt, but are ambushed by Talbot, who takes the amulet. Suddenly, flesh-eating spiders appear and kill one of Talbot's men, but Nate and Sully narrowly escape them. Talbot and his men set the chateau on fire. Nate and Sully escape and quickly head to Syria, believing Chole and Cutter are in trouble.
To see the game's first couple of hours of gameplay go here or below (you'll need to turn up the volume a bit):
Click to view
Graphics/Art-10
+ Excellent graphics and animation! A lot of attention to detail just like in the previous two games. Natural surroundings and architecture have a pretty realistic flair.
+ As usual, the game features some heavy action cutscenes and situations. They're based on very over-the-top, Hollywood-inspired action flicks.
+ Level design is generally good and knowing where to go isn't too difficult. It actually feels more natural than the previous games (though at times the usual "convenient bricks and ledges are there to get you out of any predicament" still surfaces).
+ This time there is an emphasis on sand and water physics and it's pretty impressive. The textures are reflected on Drake's clothing as he moves through the elements. Lighting effects are also great too.
+ In different parts of the world, you get different looking enemies. This is better than the previous game in which you were practically fighting the same kind of enemies throughout the entire game.
Sound/Music-10
+ Excellent voice acting with returning cast members from the previous two Uncharted games.
+ Great music and sound effects. The lovely Uncharted theme returns.
Control-9
+ About the same as the previous games so navigation is relatively easy.
- Sometimes in battle, covering can get wonky and you're left open to attack. I've died quite a bit because of this.
Gameplay-9
+ The gameplay is the same as the previous two games so there isn't a learning curb unless this is your first Uncharted game. Drake has a large number of different animation sets, enabling him to react according to his surroundings. Drake is physically adept and is able to jump, sprint, climb, swim, scale narrow ledges and wall-faces to get between points, and perform other acrobatic actions.
+ Drake can now take on opponents in more ways than before: hand-to-hand combat with multiple opponents, contextual melee attacks, and new stealth options. Uncharted 3 also features expanded and diverse traversal moves with deep gunplay. Drake can be equipped with up to two firearms - one single-handed and one two-handed - and four grenades. Drake can pick up weapons, automatically replacing the existing weapon he was using, and additional ammunition from downed enemies.
+ You can direct Drake to take cover behind corners or low walls using either aimed or blind-fire to kill his enemies. You can also have Drake fire while moving. If Drake is undetected by his enemies, you can attempt to use stealth to take them out, such as by sneaking up behind them and killing them with one hit, or by dropping down onto an enemy whilst Drake is hanging from a ledge. The stealth mechanic has been simplified and improved.
+ Some areas of the game will require you to solve puzzles with the use of Drake's journal, which provides clues towards the puzzles' solutions. When enabled, a hint system provides gameplay clues, such as the direction of the next objective.
+ The Enemy AI has improved a bit. They'll now more likely to approach Drake if he stays too long in the same cover so you have to move more often before they close in on you.
- Enemies are unrealistically aggressive. They always seem to hit you no matter what and they'll shoot at you even if another enemy is in the way! So they are willing to kill their own men if they are near Drake but of course, they are rarely killed in such unfriendly fire.
- I have mixed feelings about the new melee combat system in this game. While more realistic, I miss the rhythm of the previous system.
Fun/Story/Misc-9
+ Another very Hollywood-esque type of story that plays off of adventure movies, including it's production values. It seems they keep pushing things higher than before.
+ Generally a fun game with some replay value. I heard the multiplayer is pretty good is this game too. Featurettes and artwork is included too.
+ The Brutes (largest enemies, pic above) are kind of woofy!
Total: 47/50 (Grade Level: A)
The Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception website from developer Naughty Dog is here though it is bare bones. I believe the real website has shut down because of the upcoming Uncharted 4 for PS4 plus the remastered Nathan Drake Collection have overtaken it. The Gametrailers.com video review is here and the Wikipedia article is here.
Next Game: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Xbox 360)
Currently playing: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) & Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords (Xbox)
