Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Hands-OnIt’s ok to let go a sly smile Sony fans: the PlayStation 3 may have had a slow start, but now the industry legend is starting to tap into its vast treasure trove of big name brands and roll out the welcome mat for its preferred studios. SingStar, Ratchet & Clank, Killzone 2, Gran Turismo, they’re all edging closer to release as the console’s software options prepare to go up a gear. Top of the list is developer Naughty Dog’s latest venture, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and we’ve had a chance to give this PS3 exclusive a walk around the park.
Ironically, Naughty Dog is heading into uncharted territory with this game, rarely veering outside their fantastic releases in the Jak & Daxter series. Gone are annoying talkative fury things and classic platform gameplay in place of memorably rendered characters and third-person shooting action. It’s an unlikely leap and we would normally be sceptical of such a vast change in genres. But given how successfully brother in arms Insomniac veered off the similarly themed Ratchet & Clank series to serve it up to alien scum in Resistance: Fall of Man, we were prepared to feel optimistic.
That optimism has quickly evolved into anticipation. Last week we played an early build of the game, an experience that revealed enough to suggest that you can teach a Naughty Dog new tricks.
But first, let’s talk story. The Drake in the title refers to a Sir Francis Drake whom history buffs and insomniac purveyors of the History Channel will know as the celebrated 16th century Englishman who sailed around the globe pissing off Spaniards… among other things. Like most people from that era, he is dead now, and it is in his coffin that modern day fortune hunter Nathan Drake (is he/is he not a relative?) – or you - discovers a clue to the whereabouts of the fabled treasure of El Dorado. Turns out it’s dust gathering on a long lost island in the Pacific and when our hero and his companions find themselves stranded on said lump of rock they must ward off nasty mercenaries while trying to unravel their new home’s secrets.
Whatever will they find on this desolate tropical island paradise during the 10-12 hour narrative? A hidden bunker with a mysterious button that needs to be constantly pressed? Brooke Shields humping her brother? A fat kid getting stoned by his mates? Monkey butlers? The mind boggles…
Prior to our hands on time with the game, we were given a little showing of the cinematic cut-scenes, character development and dialogue that Uncharted will display. It all suggested that we’ll enjoy a very memorable gaming character in the form of Nathan Drake. With more ‘tude than a thousand Avril Lavigne video clips, our hero has all the hallmarks of an Indiana Jones, an Allan Quatermain or even a Rick O’Connell and we can’t wait to play out this intriguing set-up and find ourselves a fortune.
Especially given the environment: Uncharted is all about location, location, location! Even in this early build the island’s bush is looking as inviting as Paris Hilton stepping out of a car. The aesthetic is carried across with consummate ease and recalls the wonderful world’s found in Tomb Raider: Legend, Far Cry and (with all its 400 year old ruins) even Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb. On the subject of visuals, our stud-muffin lead moves about with some 3,000 animations (including Wrinkle Mapping Facial Animations – no joke – that ensures realistic c0cking of eyeborws) and there are some pretty sweet looking water effects, too. In fact Sony are talking up not only their Wave Simulation technology, but also advanced features like Bump Mapping, High-Definition Range Lighting, Parallax Mapping, Blend Shaders, Global Illumination, Runtime Shadows and Real Time Shadows.
Now to decipher that for you, the bottom line is a paradise brought to life in your lounge-room and while it’s definitely still a little rough around the edges, the final product should be a visual orgy for your eyes.
As for the gameplay, the majority of what we experienced was frantic combat in the weed-infested vine-riddled ruins that cover the island. Our hero makes use of cover in much the same fashion as Gears of War or Rainbow Six: Vegas, leaning around corners while aiming down the barrel and picking off mercenaries as they peel out of the jungle. When close up, you can throw kicks and punches, which is pretty cool, and good timing allowed for some decent combos. In the early build the balancing was way off though, with a bloke wearing all the protection of a pair of boxer shorts and a bandana taking a clip or so of bullets to the head before going down, but we’re sure this will be addressed. Said bandana bandits did prove to be quite intelligent though, scurrying around behind cover, flanking at every opportunity and attempting to shoot at you from various angles, rather than predictably sticking their ugly mugs out right in your line-of-sight.
We also got to experience a bit of the general level navigation, which plays like a platformer – think the Tak games, or even the 3D iteration of Pitfall. We had no overt concerns with the camera as we jumped rushing bodies of water, dangled from moss covered cliffs, ran up creaking logs and hid behind dangerous looking boulders. We can only hope that the final level design can be as intricate as a God of War or a Prince of Persia while making use of the unique features of jungle - like high canopies, waterfalls, caves, tunnels and, of course, those monkey butlers. Time will tell…
Indeed, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is shaping up as a game to watch. The early code provided a solid foundation, but we’re not about to leap about and praise the gameplay just yet, work does need to be done. That said, Naughty Dog have proven themselves as a quality developer and there is a stack of hyped features – such as shooting foes off vehicles, SIXAXIS controls, zero loading times and your trusty companions – that we were unable to test. We’ll let you know as soon as we can whether Sony’s Naughty Dog deserves a belly scratch, or to have their noses rubbed in it.
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