I had an ironic statement to post but I felt it would or could be misconstrued. By now everyone has heard that the mastermind behind the events of 9/11 has been identified, captured, killed, and buried at sea. This my friends is a good thing.
But I feel a bit... weary of the pro American chants. Patriotism is a great thing. I hope anyone affected by those events can finally feel closure or at the very least the closest thing to that. But I'm not sure some twenty year olds partying and chanting U-S-A is really warranted and in some cases seems straight up asinine.
This is no victory solely for or by the USA people. It is a victory for humanity and a small (and unfortunately small seems to big of a word. Microscopic may have been better but slightly more depressing) step towards peace. The world is a better place without these tyrants and terrorists but we the people of any country should not isolate accomplishment. We should cherish that as a whole we've begun to rid the world of despicable and useless trash. And furthermore we mustn't forget that we are all the same organism. We should embrace these events as human beings, not solely Americans. We should relish our safety and praise those many men and women that have fought and continue to fight everyday for our ability to act a fool on national television/other mediums.
But most of all, I want to sincerely say to those brave souls that made this all possible:
Thank you.
- Rossini
Follow the break for review.....
“There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.”
- Sir Francis Drake
Uncharted – like it’s many obvious influences – is a masterful piece of work. Originally released three and a half years ago, November 19th 2007, to great celebration from the press and the average gamer collecting several game of the year nominations along the way. Featuring an incredible cast of characters, voice work to bring said folks alive and of course the tightly wound writing needed to corral the entire package in a dream big cinematic experience.The game begins with our protagonist – Nathan Drake – en search for the fabled treasure of El Dorado. When the clues lead him to a large forgotten island they do so along with that of armada of fortune seeking pirates. Outgunned and vastly outnumbered Nathan Drake must ward off gun toting mercenaries as he slowly uncovers more and more of the island’s terrible secrets.
The game-play consists of the modern era of stick to cover approach found in every other third person shooter. When caught in the open, with the same button press it takes to enter said chest high cover will cause Nathan to dive/roll to reduce his target size. Unfortunately there is no way to force Mr. Drake into a crouching position when not up against a low wall.
From there most of the basics are found in today’s pop and shoot genre. Press L1 will cause Drake to emerge from cover with a reticule allowing precise accurate shots. Pressing R1 alone will force him to blindly fire his pistol/rifle/shotgun from beyond his stationary position. Initiating melee combat when in range is done so with the square button and can be done in two different combo sets one of which drops two times the ammo.
Beyond the standardized shooting mechanics we have an adventure game that is at times very light on the “adventure”. These segments generally include climbing, swinging, jumping, and the occasional puzzle. Naughty dog did a great job offering hints with each of these things through suggestive camera angles as not to cause any disruption during play. The major shortcoming here is that as accessible as the game is, these segments rarely if ever compound into anything worth mentioning. They are short, simple and sweet.
The graphical engine still runs at peak effect, offering gamers a sublime jungle with consistent movement and depth of detail. At release this was one of if not the most beautiful game to be released on any console. Today it is a footnote that still stands prestigiously with newer gaming revelations.
On a sour note, a couple hiccups arise during game-play especially as the player returns multiple times. Through my four game clearings I found jumping, shooting and graphical mishaps surface; none of which were ever game breaking but nevertheless had to be mentioned. These range from hit/touch detection to the realistic nature of physics and in the case of graphics: screen tearing.
Pros
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+ Controlling Drake is simple but very effective.
+ Gun play and melee is solid, albeit prototypical of the era
+ Characters (and their resounding dialog) are well thought out and very lifelike
+ Graphics are top notch (even in 2011)
+ Good amount of re-playability
+ Simple jumping/grabbing mechanics
+ AI is almost entirely a solid asset (ignoring some laughable approaches)
Cons
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- On rare occasions hit/touch detection both in jumping and shooting can be troublesome
- Story is neither memorable or very original (still well written)
- AI can sometimes feel cheap or incredibly stupid (friendly AI is most notable)
- Use of Six-axis is mostly pointless and can be slightly annoying with use of grenades
- Could have used a little more “adventure” and a little less of the shooting
- Minor graphical hiccups
My overall take on Uncharted: Drake’s fortune;
I’ve played through Uncharted four times; twice before trophies and twice with their introduction. I’m generally not one to replay games and if I do rarely it’ll be more then once. That alone should be indicative to how sound the Uncharted series is. The one major caveat to this statement is that the more I actually played the game the more of those minor gripes slowly popped up more and more. This is to be fully expected of anything in life and I wouldn’t suggest these mostly minor occurrences should distract anyone from experiencing Nathan Drake’s opening sequence unto the gaming world.
Drake’s fortune is as every bit a cinematic experience as it is a joy to play. To some this may sound an oxymoron but these games are as close to movies the medium has yet to see. The second game in the series further enforces this notion and with it already a couple years old and a third chapter coming this winter, now is as good of a time as any to join Nathan and crew on an adventure of a lifetime.
85/100
4 ¼ Amazon stars.
As always, if you enjoy my reviews please hit up my review on Amazon (same as this one) with a thumbs up.
Thank you.
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