Wednesday 28 December 2011

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

I’m not typically one for hyperbole – so recognizing that, realize that when I say Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is the greatest game yet released on the PS3 platform, you may take me at my word. It redefines what an action-adventure game can be, it raises the bar of current-gen graphical detail and it features a Hollywood-quality script and story with believable characters that you end up missing by the time your gaming experience is finished. It is a truly unforgettable experience and well-deserving of my first ‘Golden Bacon’ award.

Full disclosure here – prior to Uncharted 3, my favourite PS3 game was Uncharted 2, so I may be a bit biased from the outset, but that being said, everything that I loved about the second game gets ratcheted up just that much more in the third one. Knowing this, if you have played the first two, you pretty much know what to expect in this one. The story starts out with Drake and Sully in a seedy bar in downtown London and then proceeds to span the globe. You’ll get to see the origin of Drake and Sully’s relationship as well as running in to familiar characters like Chloe and Elena. Naughty Dog really seems to revel in the world they’ve built and by populating it with memorable characters, you can’t help but get caught up in the story – so when something bad happens to a character, you find yourself drawn in just that much more. The story is top-shelf, but far too often a decent script can be undercut by poor voice-acting (seriously, some of the voice-acting in Deus Ex: Human Revolution was laughable). Thankfully, that’s not the case here, as the returning cast lends weight and emotion to the more difficult moments, as well as a breeziness and brevity when things are more light-hearted. By keeping the same stable of actors, Naughty Dog has managed to not only keep a sense of continuity, but by this point in the series, all of the actors understand their characters inherently – which enables them to add just that much more depth to their performances.

The gameplay will be instantly familiar to fans of the series. New to the dance this time around is an all-new brawling mechanic (which is cleverly put to the test in the very first sequence) which seems to take a page out of Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum/City playbook (replete with counter-attacks and environment-based finishers). The best moments in the game come in the form of scripted events that Naughty Dog has to be almost famous for by this point. There are more in this game than in the first two combined, but it always feels fluid and never tacky – it really adds to the whole action-film aesthetic that the game is trying to convey. A few of these sequences simply need to be seen to be believed. About 1/3 in to the game, there’s a scene that takes place in a burning French chateau. As well, there’s a scene that takes place in a capsizing ocean liner (like remake of The Poseidon Adventure except.. well.. it doesn’t suck) and near the end of the game there’s a sequence involving an airplane that is positively jaw-dropping. As you’re playing, you know they’re scripted, but it doesn’t affect the sense of awe because you still have control of Drake, so you still feel like you're driving the action.

The level of graphical detail in this game is otherworldly. From the crisp textures and gorgeously-modeled (and colourful!) environments to the fluid motion-capture, Naughty Dog really put the PS3 through its paces and in the process, set a new high-watermark for current-gen graphical clarity. The animation, in particular, deserves an extra mention here as it’s not as jaw-droppingly awe-inspiring as the panoramas and vistas you fight your way through, but just as important in a much more subtle way. Little things such as Drake throwing his arms up to brace himself as he rounds a corner too fast, or how he will run his hand along the wall of a darkened corridor, or how he stumbles in the desert – subtle, to be sure, but again they add to the polish of the overall package and really helps you suspend disbelief.

Now, in spite of my incessant raving to this point, know that this game is not perfect. As I mentioned previously, the gun-combat mechanic still faces the same issues it has from the start of the series (floaty controls, at-times inaccurate damage modelling) and I experienced a few glitches during my playtime that were as ridiculous as they were frustrating (somehow Drake teleported through the parapet of a castle and plummeted to his doom in a grey void at one point – and in another, he fell through a piano while aboard the ocean liner, into the sea, where he ended up drowning). These are not deal-breakers by any stretch of the imagination, rather they just slightly tarnish the sheen of an otherwise impeccably-polished masterpiece. Think of these issues as the bird shit that you have to wipe off your brand new Porsche.

I haven’t even touched on the multiplayer – which boasts full co-op missions designed to flesh out the story as well as the team-based and free-for-all modes that were featured when they first added multiplayer to Uncharted 2. Truth be told, I’ve barely touched them because I’ve been too busy powering through the single-player campaign. But even their mere presence just goes to show that Naughty Dog is providing full value to the consumer here.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is more than a video game. The level-design is top-notch, the graphics are phenomenal, the voice acting is superlative and the gameplay is tried-and-true. It is a gaming experience like no other and is a game that demands to be played if you own a PS3. Naughty Dog hit this one out of the park and I sincerely cannot wait for their next at-bat.

Geek Score:

10 out of 10 bacon strips (Golden Bacon Award)


What I’m Reading: Unwritten: Volume 3 by Mike Carey & Peter Gross

What I’m Playing: Elder Scrolls vol. 5: Skyrim for 360