Ok, to start off the only reason why I am writing this review and not playing Uncharted is because I am at work. In short: I love this game. However, I must say that I am only on level 10. Because of this, my review will have to be updated, specifically my "presentation" section, when i am done with this game. I, however, believe I have played enough of this game to write a review that is substantive enough to warrant writing this. This review will be split into an ever familiar pattern presented by IGN: Presentation, graphics, sound, gameplay, and lasting appeal.
Presentation: 9.8
First off, I must say that without presentation a game that has the ability to be great can fail miserably. One only needs to look at Lair in order to understand where I am coming from. Fortunately, this is where Drake's Fortune not only succeeds but sets the bar for the industry. Drakes Fortune ties together a sense of attachement, emotion, and an overall movie-like atmosphere unlike anything I have ever seen in a game. From the cutscenes to the overall pace of the game one cannot help but be in awe at the production value of this game. It is simply beautiful. The only time you really catch a breath is when you peer out over the ocean as the sun sets all the while watching the shadows dance off the back of Drake. I seriously cannot remember the last time a game paced itself as well as Drake's Fortune does. Naughty Dog's age really shows here and not in a bad way.
Graphics: 9.6
One can praise and applaud graphics for doing many things: this game has great animation; that game has great textures; the color palate on that game is unrivaled. It is very rare, however, that one can say this about a single game, you can say this about Uncharted. From animations, to textures, to color palate, to art direction Uncharted: Drakes Fortune has no rival. EVERYTHING MOVES, trees, leaves, shirts, dead bodies, everything that is beautiful in this game is because it has motion. Saying this, the graphics in Uncharted are unparalled not because of its technical aspect but because of its immersive aspect. However, there are some cons: Once in a blue moon there is a slow down or slight tear (especially in the seadoo mission) but NOTHING that is impeding upon the game and NOTHING that takes away from its overall beauty. There simply is no rival on a console. Although I find the characters a little "clayish" I know that this is just art style and not necessarily a flaw in graphics.
Sound: 9.4
Walking in a living MOVING world would not be complete without the air in the trees, the sound of the ocean on the beach, or the "squashing" of your shoes as you run while soaked. The distant gunshots of pirates, the sound of the weapons, the taunting of the enemy all do exactly what sound is meant to do; immerse you.
Gameplay: 9.0
Let's start of with one of the most impressive aspects of this game: the AI. Little is talked about how vicious and how relentless this AI can be. I know, I know there are points where the A.I will rush you and you will shoot them in the open, but lets try to remember we are playing a game and if all they did was hide it wouldnt be nearly as fun. They fall back, they flank, they throw grenades relentlesly (if they think they can kill you) they duck, they slide, they change positions, they fire from both sides of cover, they roll on the ground and shoot at you. All of this leads me to believe this has some of the best if not the best AI I have seen to date. Of course there are flaws, like guys rarely get out of the way when grenades are thrown at them, but thats actually a relief because they are so relentless.
Gunplay is fun. I, however, have hit some guys 6 times before they fell with the AK47, and yes I was hitting them. I think its great that you can only carry a sidearm and a primary weapon andI love how you can only carry so much ammo. It really adds to the overall feel of the game and adds another enemy to gameplay: conservation. Platforming is fun and its perfectly balanced with gunplay. However, sometimes i try to get Drake to do something that I know he needs to do but he just doesnt do it. It is frustrating but happens only rarely. The jeep and seadoo missions are fun and something different. The key to this gameplay is the balance between it all. Nothing is overpowering, nothing is overdone. Pirates, at times, can be relentless and extremely hard, but in the end makes it rewarding.
Lasting Appeal: 9.0
I am playing my first time through on hard, I know I will play this again just to get unlockables and to enjoy the experience again and again. The presentation alone in this game will have me coming back, not only that but the funfactor ensures that I will.
Closing Comments:
This is what PS3 owners have been waiting for. Naughty Dog has delivered a beautifully balanced game that leaves your jaw on the floor throughout its entirety. Nothing gets old, nothing drags out for too long. The immersion factor in this game is second to none. The seamless transition from cutscene to gameplay will leave you loving the characters and loving the experience. This is the must have title of the year for the PS3, if you dont have Uncharted: Drakes Fortune you would be a fool not to buy it. If you dont have a PS3 yet, this game ought to have you thinking twice about grabbing one.
OVERALL SCORE: 9.5
Sony is said to be pulling back on releasing PlayStation games on PC, and this starts with Ghost of Yotei and Saros.
If true then the PC elitists will no longer be saying..."I'll wait to play it on PC where it'll play best" I'm guessing the money Sony spends porting & profiting from PC isn't worth it. Making PS first party solely exclusive again to their consoles will make their consoles more relevant to buy especially if their output of first party titles are good.
A certain spamtastic account will not be pleased if this is true.
This is another basic logic scenario. We've seen both extremes playing out right now. Would you rather be in Xbox's or Nintendo's position right now? Sony already had a working formula, stick to it.
Sony released games on PC to try to make a few extra bucks... Valve (and possibly MS, if the new Xbox ever sees the light of day) attempted to use this to allow you to play PlayStation games on other consoles, so instead of making Sony a few extra bucks, it's now costing them good money... so this only makes sense.
All those players who claim they were happy to wait an eternity for every game, will now suddenly be saying all those games are/will be crap and they were never interested.
Of course they will...lol. It looks like they'll never get to play PS exclusive games or they'll give in & buy a PS.
Sure, keep coping obscure, suddenly Jason Schrier is super unreliable too I guess? lmao.
True. Haha.
Oh! And look, the obscure dude with his zillionth sock account commented below as expected LMAO!
Replies(3)More like people were realizing what wasn't worth it was buying a PS5 to play games that eventually came to another platform. The constant excuses the entire gen to try to lessen the butt hurt y'all were feeling. Let's be for real here ladies and gents y'all were bothered by the fact most of these games were making their way to PC and judging by the replies y'all STILL butthurt. Trying to make it sound like waiting 6 months to a year was the worst thing when most people don't care cause why should they? Who's in a rush to play mostly SP games when they know they can play it on the platform they prefer? How exactly does it hurt y'all personally? Besides getting your pride hurt cause SONY making you look childish for being so loyal to a brand?
If they're pulling support it's because they know that long term they can't convince people to buy a PS if they can get their games on PC. It's that simple. You really think having an extra platform to gain more profit from somehow hurts them financially? Nah, it's cause they can't convince people to throw another 600-700 bucks at new hardware when their current console gen has barely been taken full advantage of. All the conveniences of a console are on PC now, and you aren't locked into a cycle where the hardware you buy becomes obsolete every 6 years. And the new hardware you buy receives games that are built off software made for the gen before.
Of course people rather buy these games on PC if they already own a PC, makes no sense at all to invest in a console if this continues. And it will infact continue if dev cycles keep taking most of the gen to complete development.
@Inverno
"All the conveniences of a console are on PC now."
Including piracy, hackers and cheaters? hmmm...
"Of course people rather buy these games on PC"
Yeah, digital only lol. People buy physicals on consoles, which you rarely have on PC.
You PC guys are really something. Being snobs for no reason at all lol.
I have a ps5 and play those games on it. But why are you thanking god? What relief does this give you for people getting an old game a year or so later?
Well, we have the data in front of us, don't we. Not to mention how extensive Sony's data's got to be.
They've tried.
Huge revenue wasn't generated (don't get me wrong - they did make billions, but you get it), Steam got a cut, Xbox got a cut, PS5 is trailing ~2 million units behind PS4.
The paycheck for, but also potential harm to the remaining years of PS5 and the release of PS6, just wasn't it.
It's absolutely logical if true.
And people shouldn't forget Sony'd simply return to the strategy they've been following for 4/5 of Playstation's history.
Replies(4)
"For long‑time fans, Ride 6 feels definitive - For newcomers willing to take on a steeper learning curve, it’s a rewarding gateway into the intricate world of motorcycle racing."
- Stuart Cullen, TechStomper
A huge world awaits in Crimson Desert, with plenty to do and explore starting March 19.
This gives me the feeling of Forspoken with an empty world except enemies and puzzles. Gameplay could be much better, though, which would be nice. Definitely not looking like a world you live in, just explore to grow in power.
So there it is... it uses PSSR 2 for those wondering. In addition, it also uses the Pro's High CPU mode.
Also,
Geometry Shader (GS) Oversubscription is a technique used in modern high-performance rendering (e.g., Crimson Desert on PS5) to generate, amplify, or cull a high volume of geometry on the GPU, often combined with NGG Culling to manage massive detail levels. It works by deliberately over-allocating, or "oversubscribing," the GS's output vertex capacity (up to 256+ vertices per primitive) to create, modify, or cull vast amounts of triangle data, transforming single primitives into complex, detailed, or optimized geometry directly on the GPU, thus avoiding costly CPU-to-GPU memory transfers.
Yup... I still don't know what that means lol.
Good review :)
i'll get it and wait till the new 2.01 update to play it, just to make sure i have no problems. there i found myself an excuse so i can have more time playing mario galaxy.
Very decent blog post. I agree with your points.
Very well written, I commend your language and writing skills.
I eant to play this so bad. My friends so it seriouly is so good and they have never played a game that feels like Uncharted. They were saying how the action is amazing and the story really makes you feel like Indiana Jones! So cool!
Well written review. Sounds appropriate for the game.
Unfortunately, it's al messed up since you misspelled 'perspective' in the topic.