Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is the rightful game of the year and a mind-boggling experience.
GRAPHICS === 10/10
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has the best graphics on any game released this generation for any console. The environments are all carefully designed and feature a great variety. Though the primary story takes place on a lustrous island full of lush, green wildlife that approaches photorealism, you will come across a huge number of completely different environments - caves, dungeons, ancient ruins, jungle, water, modern architecture and boats, and more. Every moment of this game is a visual sensation and will warp you right into the game world and trap you there.
The characters are also well-designed, both friendly and enemy. They feature very realistic movement: they flinch from nearby fire and grenade blasts, they gasp in pain when shot and will even crawl on the ground and struggle to get up when in severe pain - all seen in crystal-clear quality. When Drake swims through water, you might notice something that isn't seen in most games - his shirt actually gets wet! You actually see remnants of what effect your actions can have on the environment.
The cutscenes are also beautiful - you can tell without watching the extras that tons and tons of work went into creating each of these realistic sequences and they are always a pleasure to enjoy. This game has the most realistic water I've ever seen, coupled with Bioshock and Crysis, and always displays vivid colors and realistic environments with absolutely no screen-tearing or lag of any kind.
GAMEPLAY === 9.5/10
The gameplay in this game is on par with the graphics - it's the funnest game I've played in a very long time. It features a high level of interactivity with the environment, using every little ledge and crate to hoist yourself to necessary areas, putting a great arsenal of weapons and encouraging use of your environment and grenades. It is a third person shooter, and you will experience combat similar to Gears of War, but combat that I enjoyed even more so than Gears of War. Don't expect this game to be a cruise-through game either, both the Hard and Crushing levels are quite difficult, and may force you to try certain sequences several times to refine your strategy of how to take out the enemies. In these higher difficulty levels, the AI of your enemies is extremely well-done, they will try to flank you, run straight up and attack you, throw grenades right on top of you and even more - if you're not careful, they will kill you in a matter of seconds with just a few shots. Refining your techniques is part of the fun of the game and an experience you don't want to miss.
The game also offers a good deal of platforming and puzzle-solving, which is great, because many times you will want a break from the intense gun-fire and just sit back and solve a few puzzles.
SOUND === 9.5/10
In short, this game's sound is great. The sound effects of shooting, explosions, gasps of pain, wheel-turning, etc. are all excellently done and believable. However, the true greatness of the sound comes from the voice-acting. All the voices in this game fit PERFECTLY with the created characters, and is believable in every aspect. This only adds to the immersiveness of the game.
STORY 9.5/10
WOW - talk about taking a seemingly predictable and very worn story and turning it into a masterpiece. This game's story will seem very clear-cut and not important...until it twists...again...and again. This is probably one of the best stories I've ever seen in a shooting game. It may not capture you at first if you at first if you aren't into the whole treasure-hunting idea, but it will get you hooked eventually.
You play Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter searching for El Dorado, a fortune his ancestor, Sir Francis Drake had been hunting at the time of this death. You are accompanied by Sully, the archetypal gray-haired, experienced treasure-hunting extraordinaire, and Elena, who is trying to record this spectacular adventure on camera for TV. You will have to deal with the typical hardships of treasure-hunting - modern day pirates who are also searching for the same treasure and maybe even more.
The story is entrancing and will keep you wrapped up until you finish it, but something else is also achieved through it. It will bridge a unique connection between you and the characters you are so often exposed to throughout the game. This is a game you won't want to finish, but must eventually come to an end.
REPLAYABILITY === 9.3/10
Unlike many shooters, this game has no multiplayer or online mode. However, this 10 hour (approximately) game is not devoid of replayability. It features four modes of difficulty, Easy, Medium, Hard and Crushing. Crushing will prove extremely difficult if you do not quickly become acquainted with the outstanding Artificial Intelligence. On top of the four modes, there are various medals you can earn for a total of 1000 points as well as many bonuses and extras you can unlock and 61 treasures to find hidden throughout the game.
BOTTOM LINE === 9.56/10
The bottom line this game is a must-have for any gamer, is the greatest PS3 game and the true game of the year - will bring hours of countless enjoyment, hundreds of awesome headshots, an essence of strategy and a complete immersive experience that will have you cringing in your chair.