You've seen bits of Uncharted 3. Giant, processor-stretching moments of scale like Drake being tossed about like frying scampi in a capsizing boat, or our hero clinging to an aeroplane's landing gear as it rushes vertiginously from the ground. You might have even thought that: "Wow, that's vertiginous."
But the game doesn't open with spectacle. It starts in the pub; a dusty, pleasingly authentic boozer playing host to Drake and Sully. There's a deal, suspense, London drizzle, East End heavies - but while it's not the eager-to-please attention grabber you might expect from the biggest blockbuster on PS3, it's packed with fine detail, nuanced performances, and a storytelling confidence that's just as gripping as any showy, cards-on-the-table opener you care to mention.
How is that done? Well, take the pub level. At the same time as drawing an atmospheric night scene and laying the first brick of the game's twisting plot, it also casually introduces a completely overhauled melee combat system. A cash-for-artefact handover having gone fist-shaped, Drake and Sully fight their way out of an upstairs pool room, with basic kicks and punches now joined by Batman-style counter-attacks, crowd-managing shoves and thumping, contextual takedowns which leave the room littered with snapped pool cues and broken glass.
Even before the fighting - and after, in a languidly-paced flashback mission giving us our first glimpse of young Drake - the game's quality bursts through just in the way its characters walk. Drake raises a warding hand as he brushes up against walls and obstacles, twists his hips and double-steps as he changes direction, and sometimes gives a lingering look to some object as he's turning around.
Player-controlled motion will never look entirely realistic - we'd worry for the health of anyone seen shuffling toward a ledge inch-by-inch or jumping repeatedly for non-existent hand-holds - but Uncharted 3 and its much-discussed performance capture do a fine job of making movement more natural without compromising on responsiveness.
But enough of the sexy talk. If bar-brawling and improved walking aren't on your Uncharted 3 wishlist, pretty much everything else in the game probably is. Once the foundation of the story is laid - precisely, engagingly, with barely a fired bullet - the game picks up its stride and shows you what it can do.
The spine of the single-player you've seen already, if you've been following the game's breadcrumb build-up. The burning chateaux first, Drake and Sully's first stop for clues leading to the lost city of Iram ('The Atlantis of the sands,' according to Lawrence of Arabia).
What the videos can't show is the quality of the lighting effects as you move Drake through the inferno, the flickering shadows and richness that the flames paint across the screen.
You've probably also seen the capsizing boat, which fills with water as gravity is realigned and Drake topples into the foamy depths. Hands-on, this feels like the train level seriously upgraded - not just running and fighting on a moving vehicle, but falling and climbing through dynamic water simulations as that giant vehicle rolls and rebuilds the environment in real time.
Comments
27 comments so far...
slick loose on 24 Oct '11 said:
Eurogamer gave it an 8/10, I think they have lost their heads with their new look
Squall5005 on 24 Oct '11 said:
Perfect 10's from IGN. WOWZA!
StonecoldMC on 24 Oct '11 said:
It does look a cracking game and seems to have improved upon each iteration within the Franchise.
Congrats to ND, they look to have hit another one out of the park
!
altitude2k on 24 Oct '11 said:
Cool. Uncharted's one of my most anticipated SP experiences.
Sammy_bham on 24 Oct '11 said:
"cancels battlefield pre-order, and pre-orders uncharted 3"
the comments and 5 hour campign from battlefield have put me off a little.
it can wait untl xmas.
uncharted. mw3 then skyrim = me broke and ill never see my child.
Channel4 on 24 Oct '11 said:
You wrote that PS3 hasn't seen scale like this before. I'm not sure I can believe you that this game outdoes God Of War 3 in the scale department, that game was truly unbelievable. If you aren't just spouting hyperbole U3 is going to be amazing!!!
gnokgnik on 24 Oct '11 said:
OK. First off: I will of course get this day 1. It's pre ordered at the store.
But, I thought the review was too short! And, the negatives in the review makes me real worried: the over difficult boss fights etc. which will drive me insane in crushing mode. I guess the Platinum trophy is out of reach now. (I know how insane ND can make these things.) And for the MP and mix of objective modes in coop arena; I really don't like it. That's why I got bored of the Beta quickly.
chunkysatsuma on 24 Oct '11 said:
Had always planned on getting this second hand as Gears, Skyrim and yes (ashamed) Tropico 4 have taken up my money. This review makes it hard to justify waiting though....
potnoodle1 on 24 Oct '11 said:
Had this on pre-order for a while. Looking forward to finally playing it next week!
Too much to play. With Batman already out and Uncharted and Zelda just around the corner there just isn't enough hours in the day! Why does everything always come at once?
Multiplayerking on 24 Oct '11 said:
Looks good.
ricflair on 24 Oct '11 said:
The EG review pretty much states exactly why I don't rate these games as highly as others do, but that's just down to preference I suppose.
It looks fantastic though. Didn't see in the EG or CVG review how long the campaign is.
Padua on 24 Oct '11 said:
You had me at "tossed about like frying scampi "
The only criticism of this review that I have is it reads like it is a page too short
It reminded me of the reviews I used to read in the CVG magazine in the 80's - enjoyed it a lot.
@ricflair: I know what you mean when you say Uncharted as highly as others do.
Personally, however, it is my favourate game type of all time.
For me - Uncharted is a fantastic entertainment phenomena that you experience as much as play.
voodoo341 on 24 Oct '11 said:
Naughty Gods
blagger on 24 Oct '11 said:
Looking forward to this and it's getting typical great reviews.
Eurogamer's review was slightly critical, but 8/10 is hardly bad.
Gamesradar reckoned uncharted 2 was actually the better game in terms of the single player campaign.
They also said uncharted 3 wasn't as good as batman arkham city(in their opinion of course).
So many great games out at the moment.
gearyboy on 24 Oct '11 said:
Think I must be the one of the very few who thought the second game wasn't as good as the first. Became very repetitive towards the end with a silly final boss battle. Hope this game is Brill and not just lovely set pieces ahead of actual gameplay (and, please, no more stupid puzzles where U just have to turn things to make a certain order - hardly the type to fox countless explorers through the ages).
gearyboy on 24 Oct '11 said:
Think I must be the one of the very few who thought the second game wasn't as good as the first. Became very repetitive towards the end with a silly final boss battle. Hope this game is Brill and not just lovely set pieces ahead of actual gameplay (and, please, no more stupid puzzles where U just have to turn things to make a certain order - hardly the type to fox countless explorers through the ages).
humanhand on 24 Oct '11 said:
You know maybe I'm crazy, but I didn't want to know where the game begins even. Had to stop reading. I shouldn't care that much.
Prince PS3 on 24 Oct '11 said:
Ohhhhhh yes!
I get the feeling my xbox and pc are gonna be collecting a fair bit of dust over the next few months!
Game of the year surely!
disgustingtramp on 25 Oct '11 said:
You don't have an Xbox. Stop lying.
Anyways, I liked 1 the most too and 2 felt a bit meh in the last few hours. I am really looking forward to playing this one a lot, but yeah there are many other great games out right now that I need to play before it.
sepewrath on 25 Oct '11 said:
Best of the series huh? Well we'll see, I loved UC2. Its one of those rare games, where I played it, finished it. Immediately started over.
middle finger on 25 Oct '11 said:
They should name themselves eightoutoftenner.com anyway, as most of their scores seems to be locked at 8.
craiglackenby on 25 Oct '11 said:
Naughty Dog inda house baby
JAKEevans on 25 Oct '11 said:
Thats great.....so now can people do me a favour and actually buy the game? Thankyou.....cus I find ps3 fanboys (other than myself) jizz over exclusives but never buy them!
Flamestrike on 25 Oct '11 said:
Eurogamer also scored the frankly awful Brink 8/10. I'm quite sure U3 is a far superior game than Brink.
Nothing wrong with 8/10, but Eurogamers reviews have been all over the shop for quite some time now. Reason why I don't bother with the site anymore.
Prince PS3 on 25 Oct '11 said:
Mr Kr1pling
Feel free to message me!
(Might take a few days for me to reply tho as I don't turn it on much unless the room's getting cold.)
Bought my friend's launch Premium for £30 a month or so back. I figured I'll use it for a doorstop to replace the rock I'm currently using once it gets the RROD, which it ultimately will as a launch 360...
Barca Azul on 25 Oct '11 said:
I think they are trying to be the Edge.
Plus they have never shown the PS3 much love......ever. So something being PS3 exclusive, it doesnt surprise me. I stopped using the site quite some time ago because of it. Its not even impartial.
flash501 on 25 Oct '11 said:
Why the hell are they trying to be the guitarist from U2?
At least they're not trying to be Bono!