Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Review

[Kerwan_Ratchet]

The game looks brillant. I'm going to have to buy it someday.

[DJ_Keyser]

0-1: A game whose very existence is abhorrent to all things creative and intelligent.
2-4: A just bad game.
5-6: A game that has alot of mistakes, but is atleast playable and has some enjoyable sections. Good for a rent.
7: An average game, should be played at some point
8: A good game, should buy at some point
9: A great game, day-one purchase
10: A game that goes above and beyond the generation. A 10 is the type of game that will still be relevant a decade from now.

I like your scale and agree with it whole-heartedly. You're a switched on cat, Gauss.

[Feral]

The game looks brillant. I'm going to have to buy it someday.

You definitely should mate, it's worth it and I'll get Batman lol

[Breakpoint]

I am sure I will have my jaw on the ground when playing this game. Can't wait to find time to buy and play this game!

[thirtle1705]

A great review. I played the whole game in 3D and I must say it was fantastic. Looking forward to Uncharted 4!!!

[AizawaYuuichi]

I have very mixed feelings about this game.
On the one hand, I really enjoyed playing it. The same great gameplay I expect from Uncharted, an amazing story, and well-developed characters. But on the other, the SP campaign felt a lot shorter than either of the previous games. There were multiple chapters (when the overall count was already lower) that felt like tutorial walkthroughs, where you weren't platforming or fighting anything, just moving from Point A to Point B, which really seemed to make the game/story drag. And at least for me, there was an inexcusable number of extreme frame drops and game lagging, where the video/audio desynched to the point that one or the other froze until the one that was behind caught up. This was really jarring, and it happened at least half a dozen times.
I was also extremely disappointed that they removed all in-game medals, the unlockable extras, various video modes and such. They really gave us a completely bare bones version of a game, compared to their previous two releases. Uncharted had 50 medals which were later patched to work as trophies. Uncharted 2, between the SP and MP, had well over 100 different medals at retail launch (iirc), with some equating to trophies and others simply there as something to achieve to earn in-game cash for the aforementioned unlockables as well as MP costumes and the like. With Uncharted 3, the in-game currency has been completely relegated to the MP portion of the game, which is now locked behind an online pass.
And that brings me to my biggest problem with the game. I played the MP to get those two trophies out of the way before I jumped into the campaign to enjoy the story and gameplay. I decided to play the competitive match first. After waiting almost two minutes for it to matchmake me into a session, the game somehow managed to separate the ten players into the lobby into two teams, such that every player in the lobby that was level 37 or higher was on one team, and my team consisted of one level 18 player, three players ranging from level 4-12, and myself at level 1. Needless to say, my team was completely wasted. My single game of cooperative multiplayer was much more enjoyable, as I launched into the survival arena, and between the three of us playing, we got to objective #37 before we ran out of lives. For a MP that Naughty Dog claims to have been working on since UC2 came out, the competitive mode leaves a lot to be desired.
I'd personally give Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception an 8/10.
Nice review, Gauss.

[DJ12302]

I agree with Jack that Uncharted 3 didn't surpass Uncharted 2. It was excellent, without question. But I think I enjoyed Uncharted 2 more than Uncharted 3 and I was hoping for a big step up this time around.

i agree that the STORY in uncharted was definitely better. But you have to admit that the gameplay and realism have improved. Also I liked when batman was given a 10/10 from here. But now that i played this, i think this should be higher (or atleast bump batman down lol) cause this is imo slightly better. even though it is hard to compare the two very different games

[ONUOsFan]

Awesome review, if I had one fault with game, there was no final boss like UC2 I was gearing myself up for an epic boss fight but it was just a disappointing fist fight with Talbot, but everything else about UC3 is awesome.

Really? I thought the lack of a Lazarevich-esque boss fight was one of the best things about the game, although the last fight of DF is still the best in the series.

[oscar]

well maybe not something as lazarevich-esque, but I was hopeing for something just a little more than the fist fight. But then again kicking the poo out of a old lady as a final boss battle would have been a let down also.

[Gauss]

well maybe not something as lazarevich-esque, but I was hopeing for something just a little more than the fist fight. But then again kicking the poo out of a old lady as a final boss battle would have been a let down also.

Exactly! The final boss fight fit perfectly within the story... The reason the fight at the end of UC2 was the way it was is because stylistically thats how the story needed to be finished. Laz was a big, over-bearing brute who had drank the liquid of the tree of life. The whole subtext of the boss fight was Laz's cockiness and Drake's assertion and belief that Laz had to be stopped. The point is the paths intersected in a way that implied a big confrontation.

Marlowe and her band, while not afraid of dirty work, was much more in the background and shadows... Controlling people through money, fear, etc. Don't underestimate the point of having the only confrontations between Marlowe and Drake et all being verbal. Thats how the story was meant to be told (and lets be honest a 50-60 year old woman isn't going to get physical).

Talbot was her wet-work asset. Having a boss fight with Marlowe actually would have been a major detractor of the game and felt completely forced.

I am really glad they went the direction they did, it fit very well with the story. I am also glad at the choice Drake was presented with, very brilliant idea.

[Tht-Nova7]

This game has earn its full 10 in my opinion its just so perfect never have i seen a game that looks so organic in life from the animated clothing in the wind to the titanic scene of the sinking ship and not to mention the scene of entering Atlantis of the sand at times while im playing the game i tend to for get myself in it like its a movie its the best game of this year.+10

[Jaymon]

I played this game at a friends house, and also played the heck out of Uncharted 2, but I am really upset about the multiplayer. It just doesnt have that feel that Uncharted 2 had.

[KoKeX]

Excellent review on one of the best games I've seen!

Tomorrow I'm buying it, also with Batman, hehe; so I should be able to compare them right! XD

[SirDrRoger]

I guess I might be among the few who didn't enjoy Uncharted 2 as much as Uncharted DF or Uncharted 3. I just wasn't able to get into the story of Uncharted 2. I felt it dragged on longer than I would have liked it to, but that might be just me, which was my biggest complain about Uncharted 2. I think Uncharted 3's SP campaign was just the right amount to tell the story without it dragging on. Can't say much about the MP seeing as how I never played much of UC2's MP.

I was disappointed the final fight was a QTE. Oh well I guess it's not the destination, it's the journey that matters. Anyway great review

[Krazy_Destroyer]

good review. getting this eventually....

[kianstrike]

These reviews of the review team are really my main basis when buying a game. That being said, with the awesome review, I'll buy it on my next paycheck

Keep it up guys!

[AizawaYuuichi]

I was disappointed the final fight was a QTE. Oh well I guess it's not the destination, it's the journey that matters. Anyway great review

The last fight was in no way a QTE. It used all the basic hand-to-hand combat techniques that were introduced in the game. Grappling, throws, countering, dodging and attacking. There was no preset list of actions that you have to go through, it was all responding to the dynamic fight as it played out, aside from a few scripted grabs to move the fight along. If you haven't played the Crushing difficulty at all yet, be warned. Those nice little button cues in the corner of the screen aren't gonna be there. You have to rely on the enemy tells and visual/audible cues. Makes the final fight a bit more of a test of your combat skills.

[nevetsteven2]

cant wait to play this after MW3-BF3-WNK2

great review nicely executed.

over and out Nevets

[DJ_Keyser]

I agree with your assessment wholeheartedly, Gauss. Great read. I agree with the score and your reasons for giving it. Great game, but not 10/10 great for me.

[Feral]

This game has earn its full 10 in my opinion its just so perfect never have i seen a game that looks so organic in life from the animated clothing in the wind to the titanic scene of the sinking ship and not to mention the scene of entering Atlantis of the sand at times while im playing the game i tend to for get myself in it like its a movie its the best game of this year.+10

Hell yeah mate, it's brillant.