Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Impressions
by Josh Pankratz on November 10, 2007 at 2:54 am
The idea of an “every man” action hero who hasn’t yet realized what he’s capable of isn’t exactly a new concept. In fact, it is one that dates back to biblical references of David and Goliath.
The logic is simple — people empathize more with characters they can relate to, and this train of thought is the very foundation for developer Naughty Dog’s wildly anticipated November 19th release of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
You assume the role of Nathan Drake, coincidentally related to the world famous English explorer, Sir. Francis Drake. The sibling connection between the two will undoubtedly be fleshed out to the fullest by Legacy of Kain scribe, Amy Henning.
In the demo, you start off en route to a tropical island, seated next to your attractive companion Elena. When a sudden burst of anti-aircraft fire takes out one of the engines, the two of you are sent spiraling towards the ground, at which point you become separated from each other.
Every story needs a setting, and the lush island where Uncharted takes place is one of the most beautiful settings I’ve ever seen. The natural sunlight and shadows generated in the game are extremely believable, the graphics are crisp, and for the most part the environments as a whole look spectacular. There are a few areas where cliff faces or running water tend to look a bit plastic-like, but this isn’t a deal-breaker by any means. Surprisingly, with all the eye candy Naughty Dog managed to cram in, the game ran at a steady frame rate, and the animations looked right on target.
Knowing that a great story and groundbreaking graphics just aren’t enough, Naughty Dog made gameplay and controls a top priority, and in that regard, Uncharted shines. The buttons are lay out is intuitive, and the controls are very responsive. The reaction of the in game camera is what you would expect it to be based on your surroundings, and you are able to reset it to the start position with a simple click of the right analog.
Implementing Tomb Raider-esque platforming sequences with Gears of War style stop and pop combat, you will never have to do the same thing for very long. Variety is the key difference between a good game, and a great game,. With that in mind, the recent trend of fusing elements from platformers and shooters into one game really seems to be the way to go.
The only thing that bothered me in terms of the controls was the fact that I could not crouch at all unless I was behind an object that was low to the ground. This was especially frustrating when taking fire from multiple enemies while taking cover behind a large object, as it makes your pop out point very predictable. Even when you have the advantage of the high ground on your enemy, if there is nothing for you to hide behind you must stand up straight to shoot them, which in turn gives them a bigger target to aim at.
While the game does benefit from a well executed storyline and breathtaking environments, there are moments that make you somewhat doubt the “every man” aspect. Accuracy with weapons aside, early in the demo you receive tips that teach you how to pull off some serious Solid Snake “Close Quarters Combat” maneuvers, the type I’m pretty sure the average Joe sitting in a Starbucks wouldn’t be capable of doing.
Suspension of disbelief is something I’ve come to expect in games, it is an essential part of what makes them fun, but when Sony goes so far as to write a column in Empire magazine about how their lead character is an “every man”, I can’t help but become a tad bit skeptical. In reality, Nathan Drake is much like Bruce Willis in the Die Hard movies, a fairly good representation of what every man would want in an action hero that aims to embody them.
From what I’ve seen so far, the hype surrounding this Sony exclusive seems justified, as Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune has every chance of becoming an amazing triple-A title this holiday season, and a must buy for — “every man”.
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on November 10, 2007 2:21 pm
Great review man, way to keep it real. I played the demo and I liked it, but I did notice some of the things you mentioned. The water looks great when you are about 3 feet in, but when it meets the land they didn’t bother to change the surface texture which ends up making it look like plastic wrap.
The way Drake can pop out from behind stuff and shoot from the hip is pretty bad a$$. I couldn’t do thaht in real life but that is what we buy games for right?
Peace
on November 10, 2007 2:58 pm
You know what bothered me the most. I can live with the water and stuff, but I am not convinced that the movement away from fully rendered cinematics is a good one. Especially when the camera is 3 inches away from the characters face.
I am talking about the opening intro with them in the plane. That is a perfect example of an opportunity to use fully rendered characters. It would have drawn you in more as a gamer to see them up close and looking as real as possible with better mouth movements. Just a thought.