Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

- Reviewed on PS3 -

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune released on November 19th, 2007.

Developed by Naughty Dog, who are responsible for many excellent, single player experiences, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is yet another great single player phenomenon that capitalizes on the treasure hunting trope.

The sheer success of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has even resulted in the Uncharted series expanding into more games and even more adventure. 

Not to mention, Uncharted getting its own movie adaptation in 2022 as well!

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

Right when you start the game, your already immersed in how grand the protagonist, Nathan Drake's adventure is going to be, with the Indiana Jones inspired title screen theme song.

The game plays in a Third Person perspective, and also involves shooting, parkour, puzzles, and an amazing story about (SPOILER) Nathan Drake trying to find the lost treasure of El Dorado before an enemy team can get their hands on it first. This team being led by the antagonist, Gabriel Roman.

You take control of Nathan Drake during Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, but are also accompanied by a great, vast number of characters, the most important of which being Nathan's mentor, Victor Sullivan, and Elena Fisher, who is a reporter / journalist. 

Nolan North (who voices Nathan Drake), Emily Rose (who voices Elena Fisher), and Richard McGonagle (who voices Victor Sullivan) all make up a great cast, who's companionship with one another feels true and believable, which helps the immersion and game overall. 

The controls for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune are understandable, but that's not to mean there perfect.

When you're walking or trying to take cover during the midst of battle, it does feel like the player (Nathan Drake) has a bit too much sway when given direction. 

The lack of being able to sprint manually also makes for gameplay that a lot of players would need to get used to when trying to save themselves. 

The puzzles aren't too difficult in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, as you also get to use Drake's newly found notebook to guide you.

These puzzles could've been more enjoyable if there were more of them, and if they were a tad bit harder, as the majority of them are just putting / pushing statues in the right direction(s).

The parkour in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune though is very exciting but can be extremely infuriating. The game design for the parkour is similar to other game's I've played where the climbable sections are more highlighted in the environment. 

Speaking of the environment, the collectibles in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune are self-explanatory... their treasures!

When playing, you'll notice small flashes of light that sparkle when looking at them, and when you approach them, you'll receive one artifact (treasure) out of the total, 60, in the game. 

They are missable, and so if you want to collect all of them, I would be very observant, as you can't go back after passing certain scenes. 

The cutscenes and graphics in general are pretty decent in the original, PS3 version, but when playing Uncharted: Drake's Fortune in today's day an age of video game development, you can see how dated it is. 

The graphics aren't game breaking or anything of that sort, but for those who are sticklers for great visuals, Naughty Dog does have a current gen remaster as a part of their Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. 

I was pleasantly surprised and happy about the constant, playable frame rates in this eight-hour (average) title.

There were no game breaking glitches, bugs, or total crashes on the PS3, and the audio was well executed with no issues at all! 

In terms of graphics, yes, they are dated, but in terms of playability, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune still holds up today!

Naughty Dog also added a lot more features to the base game compared to other single player driven experiences, by other developers. 

To start, when playing Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, you'll notice Medal Points. 

These Medal Points are accumulated by the player(s) when they obtain medals, which all have different criterions. 

Some examples of medals the player can earn by simply playing the game and doing the task(s), include...

    - Finding a certain number of Treasures
    - Performing a certain number of Combos
    - Getting a certain number of Headshots
    - Killing a certain number of enemies with Explosions at once
    - Killing a certain number of enemies without Aiming
    - Killing a certain number of enemies without Dying
    - Finishing the game on certain Difficulties
    - Entering Photo Mode
    - Killing a certain number of enemies with a specific Weapon(s)
    - Completing a certain chapter within the Time Limit(s)

These medals (tasks) again, when completed, will grant you Medal Points, in which you can redeem for in game rewards like Costumes, Cheats, Concept Art, Behind the Scenes Videos, and more!

There are 22 chapters in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and all of them present such an incredible story about Nathan and his companions venturing through the coast of Panama, Amazon rainforest, and even a mysterious "uncharted" island near South America. 

Treasures are waiting to be found, guns ready to be used, enemies readied to be punched in melee combat (if preferred), and of course places readied to be charted!

Pros: 

    - Outstanding Story
    - Great Character Development (and Cast in General)
    - Memorable Music
    - Lots of Extras to Obtain
    - Replayability (Even for such a Linear, Single Player Game)
    - Satisfying Combat / Gun Firing
    - Beautiful Graphics / Environments

Cons:

    - Not Hard Enough Puzzles
    - Missable Collectibles
    - Wonky Controls at Times

My Rating for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (on PS3):

4 / 5


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All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.



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