This time two years ago, Naughty Dog delivered its sequel to the 2007 Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, a perfectly polished game of excellent visuals, gameplay and overall cinematic experience pieced together to create an instant classic that won countless game of the year awards, achieved record sales and critical acclaim. November sees the release of their third outing with loveable adventurer Nathan Drake in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.
This time around, Drake is off following the trail of his ancestor Sir Francis Drake to find Iram of the Pillars, the Atlantis of the sands. Chloe and Elena both make a return while Drake and Sully take centre stage as we explore their past links with the clandestine villain Catherine Marlowe, an eerily unsettling presence, who outwits Drake at every turn with her occult trickery.
The story follows the same pattern as Among Thieves, settling in with some globe-trotting; from London, to France, to Syria before finally making chase to the lost city. This diversity of environments makes for a refreshing mix compared to the generic grey and brown warzones of most modern games, though sometimes the locations can feel somewhat disjointed from the story as a whole.
That said, the roller-coaster ride that comes from each set-piece is exactly what video games were made for; a desperate escape from a burning building as flames rush around you, running from torrents of water through a sinking ship or streaming through the air from a nose-diving jumbo jet are all moments that leave you reeling from the sheer scale of spectacle and emersion. In between all the action the game is paced excellently, with crashing moments of last minute escapes and brushes with death being met by calmer moments allowing you to catch your pixelated breath.
All of this is helped along by the absolutely astounding visuals on display. The level of detail in cut scenes reaches such nuances of performance from the animators and motion-captured cast that any preconceptions of amateur videogame dramatics are washed away. Puzzle sequences of the game, based on perspective and optical illusions, also go to show the leaps and bounds the game has taken visually since its first iteration, with Naughty Dog bringing it into the gameplay with confidence.
The game world is brought to life at every moment: desert sand pours, fire crackles and a swelling ocean give a look so realistic that it is almost to the point of distraction from the game itself. This is a game with a height of detail so immense that you will often stop just to admire the view.
It is a sad fact that Uncharted 3 stands in the eclipsing shadow of previous edition Among Thieves, because Drake’s Deception is a game with very little to fault and so much more to offer. And with a co-op and competitive multiplayer that now includes offline split screen (a feature sadly missing from the last game) it garners longevity of play to an already astounding game making it a true joy to play.
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