Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Developer: Naughty Dog

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Platform: PS3

By Spencer

Well Viewer, here we are again standing at the wake of the Uncharted franchise. After playing through Drake’s Deception, I can honestly say without a shred of doubt in my video game loving soul, that this Uncharted was the best of the three. After spending essentially 3 straight days immersed in this game I have a firm grasp of the aspects that make it as solid as its predecessors in all the right ways, and what has it striving past them in previously flawed areas, while oddly loosing my grasp on the real world. 

Drake wandering the desert of vast hopelessness.

When playing an Uncharted game, I believe the game can be broken down into a few separate components that make up the legendary campaigns.

1. The Plot
2. The Architecture/Climbing/Scenery
3. The Puzzles
4. The Combat

Starting with the plot, it was the best of the three. By far. It left the other two in its pixilated dust. You may be wondering if you can believe such an outrageous statement, however I’m from the Internet, my word is law. Lets have a look.

The third game picks up the trail left off on the first, Sir Francis Drake and the treasure he never documented on his journeys around the world. The first game does a wonderful job at introducing Sir Francis Drake and the ties he shares with Nathan Drake. (Nate wanting to find the lost treasures Drake hid on his journeys.) The second game deviates away from the character Francis Drake and focuses more on Nathan Drake, and what kind of character he is. The newest installment reintroduces Francis Drake elaborating on his connections with Nathan. The plot revolves around Drake’s past. The beginning of the story actually takes place 20 years ago, Nate as a child tries to uncover the truth about his ancestor as one of his first heists. After some mishaps he ends up meeting Victor Sullivan (a name fans will recognize) while also losing the trail of Drake’s lost treasures for 20 years. The rest of the story is Nate picking up where he left off 20 years ago, and struggling with his obsession to complete his ancestor’s work without hurting the people he loves. 

Enemies refuse to evacuate a burning building in order to kill Drake, ultimately facing doom in a fiery death. How devoted.

While the plot is fantastic, it is also the only Uncharted where I find some loose ends not being answered. The main villains are of a secret agency, which reveals what their purpose or goal is or who they are working under or for as an agency. Along with some other plot points, which I believe may be addressed again in another addition to the series. Of course that’s just a guess. 

As for the games architecture and climbing sequences, I am blown away. Of course Uncharted is known for the game play involving running up buildings or crumbling bridges or runaway cars, etc. And this game certainly holds to the standard, be it an armed horse back ride through a desert fighting off a caravan of murderers, or escaping from a sinking cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, Nathan Drake is once again thrown into one catastrophic, (and horribly unlucky) situation after another. Little tip I think Nate should consider. Do not be the last person in a line. Any time he walks in a god damn line with his partners, he always gets the short end of the stick. (Crumbling rocks off a ceiling, bridges collapsing, RPG’s hitting near by.) It is just not good for him. However the game also throws some curve balls that give me feelings of awe I have not felt from a game in a long time. Brand new innovative types of scenery traveling are introduced. At one point you are a child Nate who is inexperienced and can not perform his rooftop braveries as well as his future self. Another time you are injected with hallucinogenic drugs and must run from assailants while the street literally undulates like an ocean. Though the best of all I must say is when Nate must walk through a desert, day and night in search of water. The player can do nothing but stumble through sand dunes, yet it left me breathless as I played. The level of cinematic majesty is increased several times fold. The Uncharted series is clearly marketing on the fact that the games are often referenced to as “Game Movies”, and does a brilliant job at creating this unique cinematic play style that can not be duplicated in another game. Or at least not one I have seen. 

This is unrelated. I just thought it was funny. Lol. Look at that. Silly game. You no exist.

The puzzles are brief. They are fascinating and offered enough of a brainteaser to allow the player to feel like they are solving some ancient riddle (which feels pretty cool if you haven’t ever done so) without being difficult to the point where one gets frustrated and loose time spinning their mind gears needlessly. The puzzles are of course totally unique as no one would want to play them if they were similar to the last two games, with a few new specks, such as stargazing, and message decoding. Honestly nothing too drastically different from its predecessors. Still great though. 

Lastly the battles. These are done very well. Adding more to the movie-like element of the game, in fist fights tiny cut scene like scenarios play out when you brawl. You are allowed to interact with objects and the environment around you to set off tiny cut scene finishing techniques such as smashing an enemies head in a door or being choked on a table and frantically grabbing a near by bottle and breaking it over your foes head. It is a small tweak but definitely makes it much more fun. 

MOTHER OF MERCY, GET THEM OFF OF ME!

As for gunfights, they are fairly similar to the past games. Mostly run and gun sequences where you must duck and swerve around cover thrown across the battlefield while swarms of grunts attack from different direction with weapons that have shown up in the past two games (AK-47, MP5 etc). Some changes to the environment such as battles in water or with cover that is moving add some diversity to the schematics of fights. They are fast passed for the most part, but there are frustrating times when swarms of heavily armed enemies will cause annoying deaths over and over. All in all the gunfights are good, though frustrating at times. For example the characters kept telling Nate to perform his killings quietly while he has the element of surprise but no matter how many times I replay a damn level I could not make it through one with stealth alone. The AI are too damn smart for that! If the designers at Naughty Dog program a place in the game with the possibility for there to be a gun fight, then they would force you into a gun fight no matter what. That is rather annoying.

Drake as a 'lil scamp.

All in all a great game which I can see competing for the top spot in many a players game of the year category. Playing Uncharted is a must if you like the series or even if you are a gamer at all. I hope it will leave you breathless as it did me. 

Grade: A+