Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Review

Uncharted 2 was always going to be a hard act to follow. It set the standard for this generation of console games. Not necessarily in terms of originality or in terms of giving us something uniquely next-generation but in terms quality, in terms of a marriage between story, action, visuals and gameplay, nothing quite does it like Uncharted 2.

In essence Uncharted 3 features more of the same core gameplay that made Uncharted 2 so good: cover-shooting, platforms, puzzles and set pieces. Lots of set pieces. But there’s much more variety than ever before: new hand-to-hand combat, tweaks to the gunplay and loads of other gameplay types that keep proceedings nice and fresh.

This time Drake is out to solve the mystery that’s been hanging round his neck ever since he was a boy: Sir Francis Drake’s ring. Turns out the ring is actually a key to an old decoding device, a device that holds the information as to why old Drake was unaccounted for on a voyage for six months. Where did he go? What was he doing? And how does Lawrence of Arabia tie into it all?

This is East End gangster Cutter. If we tell you any more it'll be 'spoilers'.

So off we head on another Hollywood-inspired Boys Own adventure. The Mummy, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Last Crusade, even Romancing The Stone have influenced Uncharted 3, but it doesn’t matter, this is an unashamed non-stop popcorn blockbuster of a game.

But Uncharted 3 is far from perfect.

Everything in Uncharted 3 feels very familiar – there’s no mistaking this for anything other than an Uncharted game. This is both a good and a bad thing. Good, in that you know it’s a high-quality piece of videogame entertainment, but bad in that you kind of know what’s coming.

For example, you know those platforms or drain pipes that expectedly fall or break and swing when you least expect it? Well, those breaks and swings are not so unexpected anymore. In fact, you’re almost expecting every foothold to give way and a lot of the time it does.

The recurring theme of Drake biting off more than he can chew, well, reoccurs, as do doubts about Sully’s loyalty, Elena and Drake’s on/off relationship, the quest for a lost city... We could go on.

The worst thing about it is that Uncharted 3’s final act is pretty much a carbon copy of the last game. There’s a truck convoy chase/battle, followed by a big puzzle to open a big door, the discovery of a lost city then you fight against some really-hard-to-kill supernatural-powered beings then a run from the city as it collapses all around you.

The script is also a disappointment. There aren’t as many laughs as in Uncharted 2, which odd given that Sully has much more screen time and there’s too much exposition and not enough wise-cracking. You can tell there’s real acting going on behind the graphics but it falls flat too often.

Character-wise, the introduction of London gangster Cutter is a welcome one, as is Chloe’s return but then Elena’s re-appearance is coincidental enough to seem implausible, as is the ultimate resolution of her relationship with Drake.

Elena's break up with Drake just isn't discussed. Probably best that way.

There’s also a pretty major conflict within the story, which just grates.

Throughout Uncharted 3, the chief villain Marlowe is at pains to point out that she doesn’t want to kill Drake (although this apparent kindness is never really explained), yet she still sends out hundreds of goons to stop him. But stop him with bullets and rockets and grenades, quid pro quo Drake dies.

There’s also the question of motive. It’s never really explained what the bad guys are doing and why they’re doing it. They’re hunting a relic with ancient power but for what purpose? We assume it’s to rule the world or destroy the world or enslave the world but, again, it’s just not discussed.

Narrative in any game is important because is gives a player momentum and purpose; a reason for doing what he’s doing and in Uncharted 3 you’ll feel like there’s some vital information being withheld from you.

This is surprising for a Naughty Dog game, given how tight the script and plot was for Uncharted 2. In comparison, Uncharted 3’s script lacks wit, motive and fails to provide the necessary momentum to keep playing.

But, do you know what? We’re really picking holes here.

For 95 per cent of the time Uncharted 3 is just astonishing. It’s a gigantic success; moment after moment of breathtaking action, epic adventuring, grand vistas and superlative set pieces.

You remember the train level and the Tibetan hotel climb in Uncharted 2? Uncharted 3 is like those moments happening all the time – unrelenting you-play-the-world’s-greatest-action-movie gameplay for 10 hours solid.

It’s hard to put down.

But even more than that it’s the variety in the gameplay and the way Uncharted 3’s narrative and gameplay combine dynamically to make it the best game of its type anywhere.

One level takes place in a ship graveyard. It’s a dramatic setting: the skeletons of broken up oil tankers, tugs and cargo ships make an exciting backdrop and a great setting for gunplay and platforming. The clever twist here is that ‘the sea’ is a major gameplay element.

Drake can swim around playing cat and mouse with enemies, surfacing to take potshots and disappearing again to avoid their return fire but then also sneakily grabbing unsuspecting enemies and pulling them down to their deaths. If you’re a villain, you never have time to learn how to swim.

This being the sea, it naturally has waves, which cause the boats and the makeshift rafts and platforms to undulate. This adds a whole new dimension to the gunplay, making it more challenging to aim and fire at enemies. And then – later in the level – a storm increases the size of the waves and the amount that everything moves around... you get the idea. It keeps you on your toes and that core shooting game fresh.

This is just one example – there’s this dynamism to the level design in almost every chapter. There’s the chateaux that, once set on fire, becomes a platforming deathtrap full of collapsing ceilings and pits of flame; a capsized cruise ship level that turns 90° when the ship starts to sink; the level on a cargo plane where… well, we don’t want to ruin that moment for you.

For the sake of spoilers, we’re not even using the best examples here. In spite of the reams of coverage Uncharted 3 has received, Naughty Dog has kept Uncharted 3’s best moments secret. This is one film where the best bits are not in the trailer.

The desert sequence is a truly great moment in games.

Variety comes, like previous Uncharteds, with puzzles, on-rails action (but not literally this time), stealth, rooftop chases and platforming sequences, stay-in-the-light-or-you’re-dead-from-spiders bits and, of course, its challenging and fluid take on the cover shooter game. Gears Of War 3, comparatively, is a one-trick pony. In fact, the Uncharted 3 pony isn’t even a pony at all; it’s a blessing of unicorns, farting magic and kisses as they swoop majestically though the heavens riding rainbows of love.

But we digress.

There are so many other ways in which Uncharted 3 excels. There’s a real sense of a player-character relationship. You see and feel what Drake feels; it’s almost like genuine empathy. This is all thanks to some brilliant animation of the lead character; Drake moves according to the environment he’s in and how he’s feeling.

If he’s confident, he’ll stride around all cock-a-hoop but when he’s sneaking into an enemy airbase Drake will crouch and look around anxiously. When broken and battered after surviving a plane crash and Drake will stagger and slouch. Then, in a burning chateau, he’ll cough as he chokes on smoke and protect his face with his hands from the heat of the flames.

You get a real sense of what’s going on in Drake’s head and how he feels about his current situation. This doesn’t just change from level to level but from moment to moment. It’s almost as if the storytelling doesn’t stop just because the cut scenes have; with every stride Drake takes you’re finding out more about his character.

At this point it’s probably worth talking about what Uncharted 3 looks like. Yes, it’s a pretty game and yes that’s important because, in part, Uncharted 3 is about spectacle. The sudden and spectacular reveal of a night-time London skyline; a hustling, bustling Yemeni bazaar; an impossibly giant, ornate and ancient statue; the breath-taking recreation of an Arabian desert. Uncharted 3 takes you to places to see things that you couldn’t even imagine.

Nothing, at least on console, comes close to the art in Uncharted 3. Well, maybe Rage does, but that’s all about fidelity: Uncharted 3’s visuals combine graphical fidelity and artistic flair in a way that Rage does not.

What else? Well, there’s an exemplary soundtrack – once again – and we do like it when we get audio options for our games. Uncharted 3 gives you everything up to and including 5.1 DTS and settings for various different outputs. The 3D is good but like all 3D in games suffers from a reduction in resolution which makes the effect less effective. For a game like Uncharted 3 we’d go for bright and colourful HD quality every time.

Multiplayer is far from being a bolt-on and builds on the achievements of Uncharted 2’s very decent MP game. It’s far more chaotic than single-player – understandably – but the game modes are all good fun, with a really well-thought out perk system and player customisation.

Experience points level you up and weapons and perks unlocked at set levels or for cash. It’s nice and simple to understand. Experienced multi-players will always have the advantage but there are enough concessions here for the beginner to make playing neither daunting nor overly difficult. One perk, for example, lets you see the location of enemies in close proximity, if you die in quick succession without making any kills. In short, beginners will soon catch up.

Hey, Naughty Dog, why are all these screenshots taken at night?

There’s also a neat co-op mode that can be played either online of via split screen. Again, this builds on the very basic co-op seen in Uncharted 2 and offers several levels based on those in the main campaign.

So there you have it. Uncharted 3 is a tale of two games. One, is the story of a gold standard videogame that’s full to the brim with truly great gaming moments, of spectacular set pieces, and that takes you to places and gaming you’ve never before experienced. The other, is a game that’s a little too familiar and that relies on formula and repetition. There are more than enough surprises and delights to make Uncharted 3 more the former than the latter – and to make Uncharted 3 a must-play game – but there will need to be a bit of rethink next time if the series isn’t to become stale.