Speaking of gaming and reality, I think most Playstation 3 owners agree that Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is truly the only game that successfully applied the PS 3's cell technology to mimic reality into the game so far. Developed by Naughty Dog, the company who developed Jak and Daxter series on both PS 1 and PS 2, Uncharted supports full HD resolution (1080p) and intentionally runs smoothly on 30 frames per second, which means when you spin your character's (Drake) head round side to side you won't see his surrounding perfectly sharp, as the same when you do that in real life.
The game environments and textures are highly detailed, you can see the grass swaying as you walk over them or the tree leaves sway as if there's a wind smoothly flowing through, and the water texture is the most realistic texture I've ever seen in a game. While the lightning effects will make you feel like you're watching a movie instead of playing games. It is the most beautiful game I've played on the console so far and my favorite game details is how Drake's outfit turns soaking wet when he jumps into the water, it stays wet for some times and will dried up when he goes out of the water.
Combining historical value and fiction, Uncharted storyline feels like an untold adventure of Indiana Jones mimicking the feeling of the cinematic experience of a movie while keeping the gameplay rolling at a fast pace. Once the plot gets moving it will keeps the player interested with its action adventure aspects, its romantic subplot and the mystery of the unknown. In the opening scene you’ll be treated to a cutscene of Drake opening Sir Francis Drake’s coffin that he just pulled up from the Pacific Ocean. It’s not long before modern day pirates close into Drakes location with a hail of bullets they invade the vessel causing Drake to take evasive measures. This introduces the player into the combat basics of shooting and hand to hand combat system. This is when you notice Uncharted is smooth, really smooth without a hiccup in the game engine. Naughty Dog has no problem extracting rendering power from the Playstation 3 showcasing some of the best visuals seen on the console.
The play time is quite short if you just run through all the levels, but the collectibles items and unlockables will keep you occupied longer than you thought. They will give you rewards in game. So if you're like me, wont get new game until finishing 100% of my old/current games, you'll definitely enjoy Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.
Notes:
- This review was written on February 6, 2008
