11/17 - 12:06pm - Up to Chapter 5 of the game
I guess I should first introduce you to Uncharted: Drakes Fortune. You play as Nathan Drake, descendant to the Englishman Sir Francis Drake, ane you begin the game searching the ocean for the coffin of said ancestor. Upon finding the coffin, instead of his body, you find his journal where he detailed every single thing he discovered (or plundered depending on your view) during his time with the English fleet, including directions to the Lost City of El Dorado. Along for the ride is a reporter named Elena (who is filming a documentary about the search) and Drakes old pal Sully.
Visually, Uncharted is unbelievable. Up to this point, Ive traveled through ancient catacombs and temples, lush jungle forests, and now a fortress/stronghold which I saved at to write this post. Each and every area is simply gorgeous. There is a fine attention to detail in the temples with intricate designs on the walls, floor, everywhere. In the wild, you walk/run through the forest as the sun shines through all of the trees and leaves leaving perfect shadows on the ground, walls, and on your characters. The characters themselves are great to watch in both the in game cut-scenes and while playing the game. Which leads me to the animation.
The animation was billed as the games selling point whenever it was previewed and I believe it lives up to expectations. The animations with the characters walk, talk, shoot, run, leap and damned near anything look awesome. Not only that, but they are ever changing as well. For example, when Drake has to leap for long jump to another platform or cliff, the way he lands will not always be the same. He could barely make the jump and hold on for dear life off the edge with one hand. He could stick the jump completely, or he could land half on half off of the platform, practically landing on his stomach. He reacts to shots fired by the many baddies youll encounter, ducking his head in hopes to avoid the whizzing bullet speeding by his noggin. Every thing the characters do in the world is completely believable and brings you into their world completely.
Gameplay is really centered around two things; gun-play and platforming (and at times, they met smack in the middle in which you must do both at the same time). Drake moves throughout each area until he (and you) have to figure out how to progress farther along when you reach a dead end. Thus far into the game, this usually involved finding rocks or boulders leading up and around whats blocking you to move on. At times, there are gigantic cliffs, rocks, rivers, and waterfalls you must navigate around. Moving Drake along these sections is easy and fun, but death is there to be found if you mess up.
The gun-play is there when some punks come in and attempt to put our plucky explorer down. Drake is able to equip two guns (thus far Ive run across smaller hand guns, a shotgun and AK-47) and grenades. Combat plays out like a mix of Gears of War/Kill.Switch, and Resident Evil 4. You move Drake up to and around cover in which hell stick to (again, with loads of different animations) which you can then blind fire or pop out, aim, and try to take the baddies down. You can roll from one spot of cover to another, or vault over your current place of hiding to find another. When aiming, the view switches to a viewpoint I think resembles RE4 more than anything with an over the shoulder view and a reticle to aim with. You can switch which shoulder to shoot over, which is a nice touch. Grenades use the SIXAXIS controller to control the arc of your throw. Pulling up means a longer/higher toss, and lower means the opposite. Its a subtle and good use of the controller.
Enemies arent completely dumb up to this point as they will jump behind cover, use different positions to fire from, and will bum-rush and flank you when they decide to do so. They all react differently to getting shot with head-shots meaning an instant kill. In addition to the gun-play, you may also enter melee combat with them performing various combos with the correct timing of your punches. Like everything else in this game, the actions Drake takes in melee combat are always different as well. He may fire off a rapid fire combo to the body, kicks, or a knee to the groin. To top it off, you can perform Brutal Combos (including a dropkick to the FACE) which reward you with more ammo dropped, and Stealth Kills in which you sneak up behind an enemy and take them out with one swift action. If you mess up the timing on the combos, the enemy will counter, leaving you open for attack.
There is no HUD to speak up besides a little gun in the top left corner displaying how much bullets are left in your gun, so in order to tell you how much damage Drake is taking throughout his fights, the flashes a little red in the corners of the screen to indicate that youre taking fire. When you start to get really hurt, the screen begins to really contrast to the point where youre killed and drop dead. To cope, you have to find cover to regenerate damage in which the screen will then return to normal. This system has really overtaken the health pack system of old as of late and I believe it works well for this game. Make no mistake, you will die in this game. Right now, Im playing on the normal difficulty, but there is also an easy and hard setting to start the game. I believe if you finish the game, it unlocks the Crushing difficulty which scares me greatly.
Up to this point, there some little graphical qualms with the game, but they are completely technical in nature as I truly cannot find any fault with the way the game looks and plays. For example, when you begin a stage, there is some jarring texture loading for a couple of seconds where the area changes from basic models to its lush and gorgeous textures. Its only for a couple of seconds, but its worth pointing out I guess. In addition there is some minor (and I mean minor) screen tearing depending on how quickly you move the camera around and the area youre in. If youre in a particularly detailed area and whip the camera around, youll get some minor tearing for a split second. Aside from that, this game is rock steady as can be and never slowdown. If youre prone to technical faults in games, these things will bother you. However, as they are so minor in this game, if you have a problem here, I hope Drake dropkicks you in your chest.
So far, I having a ball with this game. Im up to chapter five and the story is really just getting started. The combat is satisfying and fun and the exploring portions of the game is just awe-inspiring. Do you remember when Tomb Raider first came out on the PlayStation and there was nothing like it? You would take Lara and stare at the vast tombs in which you must traverse taking huge leaps of faith to progress? Thats the kind of feeling you will find here(except with MUCH better gun-play). The views and the scale of this adventure is huge.
The interaction between Drake and Elena so far is really natural (as is all of the dialog in the game) and the game really carries that sort of dry, sarcastic wit throughout. Think Indiana Jones or The Mummy (depending how old you are). At this point, Drake is probably the best new character to come around this year
or in the past few years actually. Maybe even farther back!
11/18/07 - 6:12pm - Chapter 13
Yeah, been awhile since the last update, but life tends to mess up good weekends. Anyways, Ive advanced further into the game and theres a good deal to update you on and talk about.
Progressing though the chapters, the game has thrown some new gameplay sequences at me, all of which I love to varying degrees. There is a sequence involving a speeding Jeep in an awesome chase that was just a blast to play through. This sequence was just amazing to look at it. As gorgeous as the environments look normally, its incredible that they made it look just as good as you speed through it at breakneck speeds. Ill admit, I did get pumped up playing it.
The game also introduces a jet-ski as you progress into the game and that doesnt get it quite as excited. So far, theres been two chapters involving it; one of which is straight forward while the other is a little bit more frantic. During these bout of water fun, you drive the jet-ski as Nate while Elena shoots down explosive barrels that litter your path (insert barrel joke here) and baddies that spring up trying to gun you down. This last time youre on the device was a little bit more frantic but due to the circumstances of the scene, the control of the jet-ski quickly becomes unwieldy. It reminded me of Wave Race 64, except Im not racing and Im trying to control this thing through a hail of bullets and barrels. It wasnt exactly the most fun Ive had with the game thus far.
One aspect of the game I truly feel deserves a ton of praise is the sound design. This is, bar none, the best sounding game on the market today. Coming through in DTS 5.1 surround sound, everything in the game comes to life with amazing clarity and excellent direction. Guns sounds powerful and ring out from all around you (alerting you to the possible location of the attacker), engines roar, speech is crisp. and environmental sounds envelope you completely. To top it all off, the soundtrack is outstanding with an exotic flair and a main theme that will truly define this franchise when it continues past this game. IF there were any sort of reputable Soundtrack of the Year award for games, Uncharteds would be a nominee.
Now, I realize Im heaping tons of praise on the game and thats simply because its just that good. However, I (and others) have been running into a little problem. Lock ups. Especially through these chapters, Ive been experiencing a ton of game lock ups that make progressing through the game right now a pain in the ass. The lock ups are random. Sometimes quick, sometimes youll think youre free of them until they come back and kick you in the nuts. Most people believe this is due to the latest firmware from Sony (2.00) and there is already a fix on the way. Some solutions might be found in replaying a previous chapter and making a brand new save to continue and hope that works. Either way, I hope Sony sorts this out ASAP. Anything that keeps me from this game grinds my gears.
11/19/07 - 2:35am - Chapter 20
My system was gracious enough to let me continue on to Chapter 20 before locking up again. This game just keeps delivering non-stop fun. The story is not as straight forward as you would think as it throws our characters some twists and turns along the way. While the story lays down the framework, its the characters that continue to carry it through. They grow on you with their developing friendships, one-liners, observations and more. All delivered with a tongue in cheek bravado that makes you smile.
Updating on several features, theres been a nice selection of weaponry available as the game progresses. Not satisfied with AK-47s, the baddies begin to pack some serious heat. As you beat them down, you have to pick and choose which two guns to bring into the next fight. The options are plentiful though. So if you get attached to one type of weapon, you can be sure that youll find plenty of ammo for it as you continue.
While I continue to move through the game and as the action ramps up, I still just cant help but sit back and take in the beautiful sights the game has to offer. From the big things to the little things, Naughty Dog brings you a feast for your eyes. I dont want to spoil a lot of the later environments, but Ill just say, that I believe they are the best Ive ever seen for a game of this type.
The little things also catch my eye. Drake continues to show more animations as I go through the game. For instance, the look on his face changes each time hes up against cover. He reacts to gun shots, the amount of action around him, and even what kind of cover hes behind. He even has several different ways of just jogging up and down stairs! Its not just limited to Drake either. Both Elena and Sully have a plethora of animations of their own depending on the circumstances. They are no slouch at gunplay either.
When I finish up the game, I will write up my Final Thoughts in a more structured format for easier reading. I hesitate to call it a review since I dont normally review games, but if you want to call it that, thats fine by me. I cant wait!
Don't do that again. You scared me for a while there.
