The original Uncharted Drakes Fortune game took me by surprise at how good it was, Uncharted 2 Among Thieves improved upon this and the third one does what the last one did but improves upon the already great formula so let me tell you why.
Once again Nate and Sully are on an adventure to find some lost treasure connected to his ancestor Sir Francis Drake and as a result find themselves caught up in all sorts of Indiana Jones mashed up with Tomb Raider high jinks which involves lots of climbing, shooting, puzzle solving and fist fighting all done to a very high standard. We even get to learn how Nate and Sully met when he was a boy!
What’s great about the Uncharted games is the way they suck you into the characters. This is done through fantastic voice acting and also little things they do whilst walking and talking. Get too near a wall and Nate will put out a hand to support himself, or swat flies away whilst walking. Characters also bicker with each other constantly and shout for help during more hectic moments. It really sells the story and makes you feel like you’re taking part in an adventure movie – so much so that my girlfriend likes watching me play the game just to find out what happens next.
Cover shooting is back but this time the enemies are more inclined to rush you which results in some good old-fashioned fistycuffs! Using a system similar to that of Assassin’s Creed and Batman but not as refined, you can punch, counter and throw your opponent and it’s context sensitive depending on where you are in the scenery. You can throw people off ledges, hit them with a gun or even pull the pin on a grenade on their belt and watch the inevitable happen. Climbing offers only set ways to go, however as things fall and crumble around you in a seamless manner it really ramps up the tension and feels like you’re taking part in a cut scene that’s much more interactive than just quicktime events.
Puzzles are also quite taxing, where you must refer to your notebook to find clues to help you solve the puzzles in whatever location you’re in. They’re just difficult enough and luckily the game does offer you a hint you can take if you get too stuck.
Uncharted 2 had a multiplayer mode and this time Naughty Dog have expanded upon this, not only with competitive multiplayer mode but also a co-op mode with different ways to play. Some offer remixed takes on the single player adventure and others offer survival-type challenges to varying degrees of success.
Whether you’re into story or action, Uncharted 3 has you covered. There’s not really anything it does wrong apart from the occasional floatyness of moving your character from A to B and weirdly some of the people you shoot in the face just refusing to die! These things make it just short of perfect so it gets a blockbusting 9 out of 10.
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Related: Uncharted Drakes Fortune, Uncharted 2 Among Thieves, Uncharted 3 Drakes Deception review on Youtube
