So, let us set the scene quick. It is 2007, Michael Bay debuts his first Transformers movie, the iPhone came out and changed the world forever, and Britney Spears has alopecia... oh, wait, she just shaved her head. It was a year of beginnings, and debuting that year was the first Uncharted game, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune. Now, in that year I could not play the game because I did not have a PS3, but I recently got a great deal on one and it came with the game. So let me invite you to relieve the game (or introduce you to it), as I share my experience of this great game. I will also rate the games, this is a personal rating so if you think differently, leave a comment below so I can read what you think (Sorry if you cannot comment below, I am new to this :)).
Small Cast, Big Impact! (3/5)
The first Uncharted has a small cast of six main characters that interact through various moments throughout the game. Out of those six, the main heroes are famous treasure hunter Nathan Drake, American journalist Elena Fisher and old man, I will steal your girl, Victor Sullivan. These three go on a journey to find El Dorado, an ancient treasure previously found and then hidden by famous English explorer Sir Francis Drake. Trying to thwart their plans and have the treasure for themselves are forgettable villain Gabriel Roman, main villain Atoq Navarro and hilarious pirate Eddy Raja. Now, there are other characters, but these are the generic villains that you must defeat just to progress the game... although the Spaniards... let’s not talk about them for a bit.
Although the cast is small, the game does a particularly decent job of expressing their unique personalities while offering interesting interactions between the cast. When Drake is with Scully, you can see they know each other well due to years of treasure hunting, with Elena you get hints of a romance beginning, and with Eddy Raja, you see that they have met in the past and its always funny to see them interact. The plot twist that Navarro being the main villain was something I did not expect, and in part it is because this is one of the flaws of the game. Both Roman, Navarro, and Eddy get extraordinarily little screen time, but at least Eddy's moments are memorable and funny while the others are forgetful. Sure, Roman shoots Scully at the beginning of the game, but I had to google his name because I honestly forgot what it was. "Oh, but Jonathan, you just said Navarro's plot twist"...Yes, so? It was good, but it comes at the end of the game. Throughout the story he is seen as a henchman to Roman, and he gets little to no dialogue either.
What do you think of the characters?
A Story Worth Telling and Showing! (4.5/5)
Now the best part of this game is the story and visuals. We could argue that the story might have one or two plot holes and yes, it came out in 2007 so it has that generation of graphics but hear me out. The story is written well to the point that if there are some plot holes, they are small and really do not affect the story that much, but there is someone I want to talk about...Elena. She is an American journalist, amazing. She shoots a gun well, okay that is convenient, but she might have shot a gun before. But how can she effortlessly and accurately use a GRENADE LAUNCHER ON A MOVING JETSKI GOWING UP A RIVER! I do not know if this is a plot hole or not, but this scene is absurd. If it were Drake shooting, it would make more sense, but this woman should have chosen a different career on career day because that was just ridiculous.
Now that I got that out of my system, let us talk about why this game has the rating I gave it. The game has various chapters that change after specific moments. For example, once Drake and Sully see the ship in the waterfall, you start a chapter and begin to explore the ship. I really like this, because it kept me curious on what note the current chapter might end in and what will happen on the next one. And by far, my favorite chapter is Chapter 17 when the Spaniards come out of the holes and the game completely changes its tone. I did notice that throughout the game there were hints to something supernatural going on, but I did not expect these hybrid monsters or anything similar for that matter. Sadly, in this part we lose our second favorite pirate dies, Eddy, but he will always live on in the giant treasure box in the sky.
Anyways, the visuals! On a Ps3 with HDMI, the game still holds up. Yes, there are janky parts, but I was never annoyed with them and the locations, although not as extensive as I desired want it to be, look amazing. When the camera pans out and shows you the fort that you must climb is downright impressive. Also, the change of setting to the hidden base where you fight the mutant Spaniards really had me tense up and focused to not die to them. The game did a really good job in these departments and turning the treasure they were searching for into a curse is just excellent storytelling.
Shoot And Puzzles (4/5)
Title sums everything up. You shoot and go for cover and surprisingly works well. This is a short game for you to finish, and although higher difficulties WILL be much challenging, its best that you learn how to be efficient. I played on Hard because that is how we roll here, but Crushing mode really makes you use this type of strategy. Also, in this mode, you get less bullets, so you really must 'get gud' or else you will see Drake die, a lot!
Now there are segments that give you a new view of the game. These could be anything from using Drake's notebook to solve puzzles, running sections like Crash Bandicoot and... the waterfall levels. You also must be on the lookout for the various treasures scattered around the island and yes, I did have to replay the first mission because I skipped the first treasure. However, the game also gives you brand new mechanics that you have to learn like avoiding the snipers red dot or not letting the Spaniards get close to you. Also, I liked that the game gives you a few weapons, but you have to analyze and know what weapon is best for certain scenarios. Should I bring the powerful Dessert Eagle-5 and SAS-12 shotgun or should I go with a weapon with less power and more ammo.
A Treasure of The Past
Now, I know that there are a couple of more sequels of this game which I will probably start playing soon (I am playing Arkham Asylum and having a lot of fun ngl), but overall I really recommend this game if you want to start or get back into the franchise. The bonuses you get at the end really helped get my platinum trophy faster and gave me options I did not know I could get, like playing as Pirate Raja. Timewise, it took me about 2-3 days to finish the game (both on Hard and Crushing), but I could have done them faster if I had more time. I cannot wait to see what the next Uncharted game adds to make this great game even better, probably less waterfalls too...
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What's you're experience with the game?
Played it!
Will Play it!
Prbably Pass!
Rating: 3.8/5 | Recommended | Platinum It
Review made by: Jonathan Mojica
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