Forget the movies, Uncharted delivers a cinematic experience you will not want to forget!
Uncharted is a great experience and every PS3 owner must play the game. There are so many things Naughty Dog ticks off on the unofficial- official- list- of- what- makes- great- games- list.
Let's start off with the story, the key to this cinematic experience. On paper, it may sound like your ordinary summer blockbuster: A cheeky treasure hunter and his cigar chomping friend head out to get rich accompanied by the feisty damsel who grows on the lead character. Things go pear-shaped for our hero's and the hunt for riches begins. Yep, it's clichéd but the voice acting, motion capture and the whole presentation within the cut scenes make the story and characters truly come to life. They even defy normal laws of being the hero by experience a huge range of emotions such as despair, fear, anger, arrogance and (of course) epic badass-ness. Nathan Drake, our hero, also comes to life in the game itself through a number of layered animations. Duck behind cover whilst surrounded by enemies and his eyes will widen with fear; take cover as bullets fly at you and he'll flinch as they whip past him.
This leads me to mention the superb work on the graphics. The PS3 (and in deed, this generation of consoles) has never seen such a lush, green jungle environment! Leaves sway in a wind and the water reacts realistically as you wade through it. Coming out of a lake, and Nathan's jeans get soaked and gradually dry off. The characters too look fantastic with subtle details like wrinkles in clothing and patterns on jewellery being visible, even in game play.
Ah, game play. What can I say? I would be lying if I said it was not Gears of War inspired. In fact, it is nearly identical to Gears but that is not at all a bad thing. Don't fix what aint broke after all. What is really impressive though is that even with all the layered animations in running, covering and shooting when you tap a button Nate will react immediately and smoothly. That's not to say there are no problems: the melee system needs a lot of practice and is hard to immediately pick up, meaning most people are likely to stick with guns and grenades. Also, the inability to turn corners whilst covering does get very infuriating, especially when the AI is as amazing as it is with pirates preferring to flank than fire from a distance.
The soundtrack is, I have to admit, rather uninspired. That's not to say its horrific- it is by no means going to haunt your nightmares, it just…fails to capture any attention. Save for the five notes when you begin the game, no other Uncharted tune comes to mind, which is unfortunate. A great Indiana Jones style track could have really spiced up the action sequences.
I could go on and on about the game, but I wont. I'll leave you with my final thought. Naughty Dog has done the PS3 proud, showcasing its potential. Thank you Naughty Dog for not making me waste my money on numerous Blockbuster rentals and giving me a game that outshines many blockbusters!