UNCHARTED 3: DRAKE'S DECEPTION (PS3)
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Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Naughty Dog. Released: November 2011. Genre: Action/Adventure. Posted 8th March 2014. By Alan Passingham © 2014 |
So, just how do you top the cliffhanger opening sequence of Uncharted 2? Nathan Drake climbing up a derailed train that is otherwise starring into an abyss of doom is a pretty spectacular introduction. A bar-room brawl in an East London pub sounds quaint by comparison. However, whilst it lacks Hollywood excess, Uncharted 3’s opening credits are not lacking in quality. The subtlety of the brawl, which spirals out of control after an archaeological deal goes a little wayward, is a masterful re-introduction to our cocky, lucky and lovable protagonist and his Jedi master Sully. It draws the player in. Like seeing old friends for the first time in years and picking up from the conversation you last left off, yet deviating from an entrenched formula to a conversation that is new and interesting. This is not Uncharted 2 re-skinned. Well, to a point at least. Whilst Uncharted 3 hints at Naughty Dogs growing maturity and joyfully delivers in expanding on the further adventures of Indiana Jon… ahem, Nathan Drake, the latter portion of the game is more ‘seen it before’ than ‘Emperor’s new clothes’. Just perhaps, the franchise is running a little bit out of steam.
But is this a problem? Well, that’s a doozy of a question to answer. It’s a bit like that scene in Full Metal Jacket where Private Joker tries to explain to a wasp-chewing Colonel that wearing a peace symbol and a helmet emblazoned with ‘Born to Kill’ is about the duality of man. With Uncharted 3 my thumbs are firmly up, but my face is a confused mess of adjectives; somewhere between tranquil and (slightly) irritated. And why do you now have an image of my taking Captain Picard to warp-speed face clinging to your retinas? Because Uncharted 3 is a contradiction of barnstorming quality that, at points, rubs me right up the wrong way. Its over-familiarity breeds contempt. It’s plotting at one juncture is flipping annoying. Crushing mode is about as difficult as Luis Suarez finding the back of the net against Norwich City. But, oh my, is it marvellous fun all the same.
Not for the first time, Naughty Dog's action/adventure series really nails the 'big' scenes
Explosions, gun-fights, an evil witch and her pet monkey, punch-ups, flashbacks, puzzling, stealth, exposition, fucking spiders, archaeology, banter, Sir Francis Drake and death defying feats of insanity – woah! Coupled with varied Bond style locations, from the dingy alleyways of London to medieval castles in Syria, and some bonkers set-pieces – stella plane crash, bonkers sinking cruise liner and beating up minions in a Yemini market-place with a wet fish - Uncharted 3 really is action adventure mana from heaven. It’s close to gaming art; an absolute beauty visually. Add to this controls that are more elegant than its predecessors - to the point where controlling Nathan is an utter joy rather than total frustration (sneaking around is now a useful strategy to deploy as Nathan actually sticks to cover), one of the best voice casts ever assembled for a game and a daft story about Sir Francis Drake hiding away something awful in the depths of a desert, and you have a whip-cracking bombastic adventure which sparkles with fizz and bang.
The first half of the game really is super stuff. If the bar-room brawl is the perfect set-up then the flashback to Nathan and Sully’s first meeting and the birth of their father-and-son relationship provides Uncharted 3 with some charged emotional depth. The flashback sequence is also a great way to get back into the swing (ha ha!) of Nathan’s climbing, leaping and circus falling pratfalls. Again such antics are perfectly balanced between Tomb Raider-styled puzzles and exquisite third-person shoot ‘em up action. This variation in level design is key to making the plot and action fresh and invigorating. For instance, running gun battles in a decrepit French château, particularly when a fire spreads and the building begins falling down around your ears, is superbly designed as is the impeccably crafted free-running pursuit across the rooftops of Yemen. This would be the stand-out if it wasn’t for the derelict shipyard and the madness that ensues on a decommissioned cruise-liner as it heads out to sea. These are perhaps the best sequences in Uncharted 3. The shipyard expertly mixes gun-play and circus chicanery with new devices such as sneaking around waterways to dumbfound ones prey and the dynamic use of ledges in vertical shoot-outs (here the side of a rusty hull doubles as the ledge on a cliff face). The cruise liner, well, it’s just insanity throughout, especially once it starts to take on water.
The first half of the game really is super stuff. If the bar-room brawl is the perfect set-up then the flashback to Nathan and Sully’s first meeting and the birth of their father-and-son relationship provides Uncharted 3 with some charged emotional depth. The flashback sequence is also a great way to get back into the swing (ha ha!) of Nathan’s climbing, leaping and circus falling pratfalls. Again such antics are perfectly balanced between Tomb Raider-styled puzzles and exquisite third-person shoot ‘em up action. This variation in level design is key to making the plot and action fresh and invigorating. For instance, running gun battles in a decrepit French château, particularly when a fire spreads and the building begins falling down around your ears, is superbly designed as is the impeccably crafted free-running pursuit across the rooftops of Yemen. This would be the stand-out if it wasn’t for the derelict shipyard and the madness that ensues on a decommissioned cruise-liner as it heads out to sea. These are perhaps the best sequences in Uncharted 3. The shipyard expertly mixes gun-play and circus chicanery with new devices such as sneaking around waterways to dumbfound ones prey and the dynamic use of ledges in vertical shoot-outs (here the side of a rusty hull doubles as the ledge on a cliff face). The cruise liner, well, it’s just insanity throughout, especially once it starts to take on water.
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But this is also where that slight tug of disappointment begins to rear its butt-ugly head. It’s not until the end of the stage that you realise the whole cruise-liner event is largely pointless. An elaborate wild goose-chase that has little bearing on the plot and which smacks of Naughty Dog simply attempting to out-do the spectacle of Uncharted 2. Well it succeeds (this sequence really does need to be played by everyone) but not without jarring against the adventure up to this point. Indeed, the beauty of the magnificent train chase and tank attack in Uncharted 2 was that they were harmonious with the plot. The cruise-liner, by comparison, sticks out like Batman at a Marvel convention.
Suddenly Uncharted 3 is less cocksure; still tons of fun, but often slightly derivative. The familiarity of the end game sequence is a particular nuisance. A convoy chase sequence whilst on horseback is a great nod to Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it lacks the same inspiration as the train-run in Uncharted 2 (read as: helicopter gunship spraying you with cluster-fuck for chuckles). It’s a bit one note. It’s a little bit easy. Likewise, the sandstorm is simply Uncharted 2’s blizzard re-skinned. There is nothing new here apart from the palette change. It’s like Naughty Dog had run out of ideas come the games conclusion, especially when you further consider that the Iram of the Pillars is little different visually and game-play wise to Shambala. The beautiful old world scenery even implodes in much the same way. Perhaps the worst thing about Uncharted 3 is the final big bad battle is even worse than the sh!tty boss Nathan is confronted by at the conclusion of his second adventure. A one-on-one knife fight. That goes on forever. Even though the surroundings are being chewed up by a mega-apocalypse. Sigh.
Suddenly Uncharted 3 is less cocksure; still tons of fun, but often slightly derivative. The familiarity of the end game sequence is a particular nuisance. A convoy chase sequence whilst on horseback is a great nod to Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it lacks the same inspiration as the train-run in Uncharted 2 (read as: helicopter gunship spraying you with cluster-fuck for chuckles). It’s a bit one note. It’s a little bit easy. Likewise, the sandstorm is simply Uncharted 2’s blizzard re-skinned. There is nothing new here apart from the palette change. It’s like Naughty Dog had run out of ideas come the games conclusion, especially when you further consider that the Iram of the Pillars is little different visually and game-play wise to Shambala. The beautiful old world scenery even implodes in much the same way. Perhaps the worst thing about Uncharted 3 is the final big bad battle is even worse than the sh!tty boss Nathan is confronted by at the conclusion of his second adventure. A one-on-one knife fight. That goes on forever. Even though the surroundings are being chewed up by a mega-apocalypse. Sigh.
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And yet there are further niggles that my inner dichotomy is narked by despite the wonderful cinematics on display. Henchmen seem a little lazier in attempting to out-flank Nathan than in previous escapades (especially considering Nathan was always outflanked in Uncharted 2). Either that or I’ve just reach a zenith of ability where the difficulty level is rendered moot. Even crushing mode needs little perseverance to master. It would also have been great if the seminal plane crash hinted at in the games advertising allowed the player to have greater participation beyond, mostly, passive observer. The nod to The Living Daylights is class and leaves a big old smile on one’s face, but the combat section before the crash is short-lived and whilst the crash itself is beautifully conveyed (especially Nathan’s free-fall) it leads to the most boring part of the game. Ten minutes wandering around a desert that concludes with a tedious cliché – oh no, Nathan’s been going round in a f*cking circle! Bobbins.
The above really makes it sound like I hated Uncharted 3, which is far from the case as it does remain pitch-perfect action-adventuring. Even amongst the latter stages the level design makes for some elaborate and enjoyable shoot-outs. Both the airport and desert ruin stages are in equal measure to the more subtle components of the earlier game design and, apart from the cruise liner deviation, the plot remains largely consistent. There is certainly one great turn of events that relies on earlier machinations to bring about an “oh, my word” response. And Uncharted 3 is one of the few games where the inconsistent challenge can be forgiven. Sure it suffers from the modern device of here’s a story and we want the gamer to finish and enjoy that story, not bounce their controller against the floor in a hissy-fit of rage when they can’t complete a section owing to their own ineptitude. Hence the engaging plot and extensive polish is enough to drag you back for another go at kicking a serious amount of arse despite the reduced amount of challenge (witness my platinum trophy).
The above really makes it sound like I hated Uncharted 3, which is far from the case as it does remain pitch-perfect action-adventuring. Even amongst the latter stages the level design makes for some elaborate and enjoyable shoot-outs. Both the airport and desert ruin stages are in equal measure to the more subtle components of the earlier game design and, apart from the cruise liner deviation, the plot remains largely consistent. There is certainly one great turn of events that relies on earlier machinations to bring about an “oh, my word” response. And Uncharted 3 is one of the few games where the inconsistent challenge can be forgiven. Sure it suffers from the modern device of here’s a story and we want the gamer to finish and enjoy that story, not bounce their controller against the floor in a hissy-fit of rage when they can’t complete a section owing to their own ineptitude. Hence the engaging plot and extensive polish is enough to drag you back for another go at kicking a serious amount of arse despite the reduced amount of challenge (witness my platinum trophy).
So just what is the problem then, the itch that really needs a long drawn-out f*cking scratch? Well, Uncharted 3 is just, uhm… it’s just not quite as good as Uncharted 2! As a stand-alone PlayStation 3 title it’s highly recommended, but as the follow up to one of the best games ever released on the system you just can’t help but feel a slight twinge of disappointment as it gradually turns into the game you’ve already played before. Running out of steam? Not quite, but some new ideas and gameplay aspects certainly wouldn’t go amiss in Uncharted 4 (yes, of course there will be an Uncharted 4 – or did you miss the bit that it’s really Nathan Drake’s deception?). Either that or the wasp-chewing Colonel from Full Metal Jacket needs to remind me to get my head and arse wired together, or he will take a giant sh!t on me. Duality? T*sser.
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VERDICT
Visual: 10/10
Audio: 10/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Longevity: 7/10 OVERALL: 7/10 |