If there were ever a reason to own a Playstation 3, the Uncharted series would be one of the key franchises to back up the purchase.  I like my PS3, but I really only got it for the bluray player, and the Sony exclusives that continuously impress.  A lot of people purchase their Nintendo consoles for the exclusives, and Sony has continued to release great exclusives recently.  The Uncharted series started out in grand fashion and has continued to impress three games later.  While Uncharted 2 had the better gameplay elements and action driven story, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception still impresses with Naughty Dog’s grand vision of Nathan Drake the adventurer.

The series has always been known for its quick-witted humor and often-cheesy one-liners, but Naughty Dog takes it a step forward in Uncharted 3 like the game introduction taking place as a bar fight that highlights the overly emphasized close-quarter combat.  Series favorite Sully is at Drake’s side as you find out that a sinister old woman named Marlowe is after a ring that Drake possesses, which unlocks some kind of map to the mysterious Atlantis of the Sands hinted at in a journal by T.E. Lawrence. Nathan learns that Sir Francis Drake had been sent on a mission to this lost city, but abandoned his mission for reasons unknown.  Drake and Sully begin on their adventure, scaling walls in Paris and Syria, falling out of airplanes, and traversing a beautiful desert that really immerses you into the game.

It’s the type of story that Uncharted fans will now come to expect, filled with adventure, exciting movie like thriller experiences, and the funny banter between Sully and Nathan.  The real difference this time around is that there is a heavy focus on Nathan and his relationship with Sully, as you play through flashbacks of how the two met and how their relationship built to become the one that we see in these games (I would love to see a new Uncharted spinoff like the Young Indiana Jones chronicles).  It’s really touching, and especially in certain scenes later in the game, you’ll really come to appreciate the dynamic characterization that Naughty Dog has created in the game. 

The adventuring still feels solid and responsive as you scale various walls, caverns, and whatever else Nathan can grab his hands on.  Thankfully, considering a majority of the game focuses on that aspect alone as you make your way through the various world locations, collecting artifacts along the way.  Sadly, rather than having a little description about each artifact, they have returned to just collecting the item like in the first game.  I felt like collecting these artifacts in Uncharted 2 were fun and relevant because there was a little info attached to each one that made it interesting, however now it’s back to just pleasing the hide and seek completionists.  I still had a few problems getting the camera angle around to where I want to jump when moving quickly through certain areas and instead of jumping where I want I would jump off in the wrong direction or completely miss.  As long as you slow down a little bit while jumping from platform to platform, then that shouldn’t be a problem.

The shooting mechanics however, fail to be solid and responsive.  That sucks, because much of the grandeur experienced through the game is during the shootouts that become more troublesome and difficult than they are solely because the aiming reticules are not accurate whatsoever.  This is a third person shooter after all, and you would think that when you are aiming the center reticule right at an enemy that you would be shooting them.  That is not the case in Uncharted 3, as I would have to shoot and miss to correct myself for headshots to see where I was shooting at.  There are a lot of standard weapons like pistols, assault rifles, and sub-machine guns, but I was getting so frustrated with the accuracy in the aiming reticule that I was actually using the melee every chance that I got.  Thank goodness that Naughty Dog had a heavier emphasis on melee combat this time around, because Nathan’s fists were my go-to weapons through a lot of portions throughout the game.  You use different combos and reversals and such, but if you get surrounded by too many enemies, the controls become sloppy and hard to control and is really meant for more one on one or one on two close-quarter fights. 

There are also more puzzles included, and one in particular was driving me crazy to figure out.  Naughty Dog really utilizes the power of the PS3 to use reflections as solutions to puzzles.  There are only a few, but they don’t feel out of place and unnecessary.  As the series has progressed over last three games, the amount of puzzles has gotten a little less each time as Naughty Dog focuses on the core gameplay and adventure.

While there were scarce amount of players on the Uncharted 2 servers when I got around to multiplayer, I was excited to jump into multiplayer this time around and play in the Uncharted universe.  Cooperative play returns, however I’ve never really been into the cooperative modes of most games.  There are common modes like Deathmatch and Team Deatchmatch, but one of the more intriguing game types is the Idol (which in reality is a capture the flag variant).  When the game starts, there is one artifact idol placed on the map, and your team is trying to pick it up, and carry it back to your base and secure it in your team’s chest.  Playing this game type can get outright chaotic, especially when you’re trying to bring back the idol to your team’s chest.

Like any other shooter, you unlock weapons as you progress by getting kills and completing objectives, and you can customize your loadouts with boosters that change up what you are capable of as you play (basically perks for the Call of Duty fanbase).  You also earn medals as you play, which give you weapons and short term abilities like an RPG after a certain amount of kills in a row.  I played about 10 hours, and I really just wasn’t that good.  A lot of it has to do with my dislike for the Dualshock’s loose analog sticks, which would probably not be as big of an issue if I played more PS3 games, but I get too used to the tighter sticks on the 360 controller.  If you play the PS3 a lot and are used to the controller, it probably won’t take you long to really get into the multiplayer. 

I definitely have to give a big shout out to the maps.  They range in size and p*ssability (my way of rating how bad I am at a map), and they are overall fun to play.  One them actually puts you on a plane runway speeding up in vehicles to the plane and allowing you to jump onto the plane; all while moving down the runway at who knows what speed.  There are also some levels that have multiple parts, starting you off on two high speed trains, and then coming into an abandoned train terminal and finishing the game off there.  I really like the maps in Uncharted 3, I just wish I was better at the game. 

Graphics and Sound
 
The graphics engine in Uncharted 3 is certainly marvelous, especially when you first see the desert.  Before I bought the game I had heard multiple reviewers gushing about how beautiful it was, and rightfully so.  You can see individual grains of sand as Nathan Drake stumbles through the desert, and that kind of detail is seen throughout the rest of the game as well.  Some of the jungle locations have a little bit too much of a shiny gloss to them that was distracting, but overall Uncharted 3 is an amazing looking game.  The whole thing is a cinematic adventure that really immerses you into the game as you play, especially with a nice HDTV.

The soundtrack, mainly the theme song, goes down as one of my personal favorite theme songs spanning both movies and games.  It’s epic, haunting, and as catchy as the mega themes from Indiana Jones or Star Wars, and it comes up multiple times during the game in different variations.  That mixed in with the wonderful voice acting, and Uncharted 3 deserves all praise it gets as being a true cinematic experience. 

Overall

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception came out in November 2011, right around the time Skyrim and Modern Warfare 3 released and has certainly held its own.  It would be a shame for this series to be left alone, however as of right now Sony has no plans of releasing a new game.  If you haven’t played it yet, you really need to, especially if you’ve played either of the first two games.  If you weren’t a fan of the other two games, then you probably won’t like this one much either and you should probably pass.  I don’t quite agree with the perfect scores that it received from various game review publications, but it’s no doubt a well developed and fun game.

Recommended: Yes