The man with the whip and hat is back... No, hold on – that’s Indiana Jones. You’ll forgive my confusion though – this game is the biggest tribute to those films one could imagine. Uncharted 3 is a rip-roaring, swash-buckling adventure like nothing I’ve seen before. It plays like watching an mega-budget adventure movie – an unashamed feel-good adventure, full of exploration, peril, history and beautifully exotic scenery.
Well, the game does open in a sleazy east London pub, but from then on the only way is up. You play as Drake, a pretty generic looking young man who claims to be a long lost heir to Francis Drake. The game explores his back story in the second chapter – showing the young Drake as a child thief, drifting his way through Colombia. The game shows the beginning of his expert historical interest, like all the best movie archaeologist-thieves and then it shows his first encounter with “Sully” Sullivan – another professional thief who becomes his friend and mentor...
I was glad of this back-story exposition, because I’m fresh to the series. I haven’t yet tried Uncharted 1 or 2. The game opens with a beautiful cut scene set in the grimy, rainy streets of the East End. We get to see Drake and Sully walk upstairs to a room above a pub – full of menacing looking characters. A shady deal is nearly done over a pool table – but then turns out to be a double cross... which turns into a group punch up. I watched this in awe at the sheer detail of the graphics, totally immersed as this brawl started – but why was my character standing still?
That’s because it wasn’t a cut scene – it had seamlessly become the game proper. That’s the best way I can describe these graphics – it is like playing a wonderfully cinematic cut scene all the way through. I’ve never seen such beautiful visuals on the PS3 – and such a dramatic, immersive effect.
So, the first level started, this deal turned out to be a double cross, our heroes are left for dead in an alleyway and the game cuts back to Drake’s childhood in Colombia as mentioned before. That’s not the end of the story though, they get up – having deceived their attackers. The next task is to travel underground, through unused old tube stations and service tunnels.
It’s interesting to play this so soon after the release of Batman: Arkham City – there are a lot of similarities. The Hollywood feel, the excellent plot, great music and drama... But most of all – there is a similar amount of climbing up and down buildings, walls and roof tops – and a similar amount of group fist fights. In each game it’s a case of button bashing – attack, attack, counter, attack... But in U3 – your hand is held a little more. The game prompts you to press the correct button in time, it shows you the right order to do things. Some games feature 'QTE's – Quick Time Events – where you have to react by button bashing the right way at the right time – it can feel a little like that.
It also reinforces and undermines the appeal of the game. On the one hand – this really is like watching an interactive blockbuster adventure movie. On the other hand – the game steers you down a narrow corridor. You can only see the things it wants you to see. It doesn’t allow for the freedom of exploration that Arkham City did.
So the game carries on like that – gradually introducing gun play in to the mix, with a few varied weapons to use. Unlike Batman, Drake has no problem killing opponents when necessary. Eventually some clues are found – pointing to a huge stash of treasure that is hidden in the Middle East – so off our heroes go...
It’s a rush, it really is. And if you’re the sort of person that only plays a game once, it’ll leave you feeling exhilarated and completely satisfied. For those of us who look a little deeper – the linear, interactive movie nature of the game does make things just a little shallow. But it’s not enough to stop anybody enjoying the game a lot.
In addition, there is a solid little co-op mission mode and a very enjoyable online multiplayer experience. There are some very original multiplayer levels to play with other people online, a good progression structure with ranks, perks etc. This will probably provide the replay value that the single player campaign possibly won’t.
But what a rush while it lasts. Don’t get me wrong – my reservations are slight and I do think this is the best PS3 exclusive game on sale at the moment, it really is like being immersed in an Indiana Jones movie (terrible 4th film excluded) – with all of the thrills and chills, heroes, villains and epic locations. It really would be a shame to miss this experience if you have a PS3.
9/10
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is out on November 3rd for PlayStation 3
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