By Laith Salama / Staff Writer
Already charted (Gamespress)
By Laith Salama / Staff Writer
When a game as amazing as “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” comes out, it is exceedingly difficult to make a sequel to rival it, let alone surpass it.
But with “Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception,” it became apparent that making a directly parallel sequel was also possible.
Shortly after the events of “Among Thieves,” the main character, Nathan Drake, is back in action, this time searching for the Atlantis of the sands.
The game starts players off with a bar fight that introduces a few new fighting mechanics that makes the action more controlled by the player as opposed to quick cut scenes and a couple random buttons to push just to make sure the player is still paying attention.
These mechanics work well and allow players to occasionally grab a nearby object, a bottle for instance, and bash enemies in the head with them, adding to the interactive nature of the game.
The game progresses in a similar fashion to “Among Thieves” where Drake meets up with his old pal and romantic interest Chloe and a new character, Jason Statham (it’s not actually Jason Statham, but it looks just like him).
Apparently they know this guy, though the player does not, and the game doesn’t really explain him much, keeping his somewhat mysterious throughout the story line.
After a few shoot-outs and countless scenes of peril, Chloe starts doubting Drake’s ability to survive in this kind of business.
This comes up several times in the game.
“Drake are you sure you want to go through with this?” and “Drake you’re gonna get yourself killed chasing your damn fortune and glory!”
This theme hasn’t been a problem in the previous games and it stops half way through this one, which may make players wonder why they brought it up in the first place.
The game really is great.
The visuals are stunning, the voice acting is the best and the soundtrack is gorgeous, fitting, and affective.
The gameplay is fun and satisfying and they kept the random peril sharp along with the cinematic experiences that the franchise have always prided itself on.
Naughty Dog has done good work with the previous games and didn’t slack on this one.
The way that the game is set up, to make everything awesome, as opposed to most games trying to make it the player’s choice, keeps the series original, sharp, and entertaining.
Unfortunately, “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” was so amazing, that “Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception” has to be compared to its predecessor.
The third installment is not as funny.
“Among Thieves” did a better job at scripting the light-hearted action dialogue and overall likeability of the characters.
The events of “Drake’s Deception” seem to have a similar formula to the second one making it a little less exciting.
The conclusion to both games is almost identical. And the themes and dialogue seemed to have less purpose than in “Among Thieves.”
This is not to say that the characters are unlikable, the script isn’t funny, the events aren’t exciting, the conclusion is unsatisfying, and the game has no purpose.
All it means is that “Drake’s Deception” doesn’t exceed it’s predecessor, “Among Thieves,” in any of the mentioned areas.
The second half of the game was somewhat more redeeming and there was this boat scene that was mind blowing that gamers can look forward to if they have not already played the game.
Players will find themselves on the edge of their seats when they reach that part. It trumps any other single scene in “Among Thieves.”
“Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception” does not disappoint.
Only those who are nitpicky are going to even notice half these things and even then, will genuinely love the game.
It’s only real flaw is that it’s not “Uncharted 2,” but it’s still a great perilous, action packed, funny, light-hearted, cinematic experience that Naughty Dog does so well.
