Uh, ohh where should I start from? I should tell you something about Naughty Dog (Meet the Dogs video ). The company was founded in 1986 and later acquired by Sony in 2001. You'll probably recognize them from the other franchise they released, meaning Crash Bandicot on Playstation and Jak on Playstation 2. Naughty Dog migrated on Playstation 3 and their first release was Uncharted: Drake's Fortune… it was a hit.

The game captivates you from the very start, with a compelling story, unique characters and beautiful, stunning graphics. We have treasure hunting, a beautiful woman, one mr. know-it-all-can-do-everything and lots of pirates.

Nathan Drake, our hero, is a treasure hunter with the quest of finding the treasure of Sir Francis Drake. Alongside, documenting the treasure hunting is a young reporter named Elena and his older, wiser friend Sully. All goes well until pirates make their entrance into the story. This is how the race for the lost treasure begins. While adventuring through the jungle and old forts, you must battle pirates, lots of pirates that seem to wonder around the jungle, showing up EXACTLY where you're heading.

The game feels like a big blockbuster movie, with a lot to give. It feels this way mostly because the game is fluid in its story, and the game is played as a whole, not passing from one level to another. This is exactly why the game sucks you in, with in-game cinematics adding to the feeling. The motion capture of the characters adds realism, as they move and act like in real life. As an action-adventure game, mechanics don't disappoint with Nate having a lot of ledges to grab to, platforms to jump on and vines to climb. Uncharted is created in such a way as to keep you playing, thinking what to do next is kind of irrelevant if you go by the devise "shoot first, ask questions later".

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Speaking of weapons and combat, the usual weapons are found here. Pistols, shotguns, AK-47, Uzzi's etc. Just imagine a pirate with an Uzzi, quite an image. To add a little more "flavor" you can go toe to toe in melee combat with the enemies, where hand to hand training is a must (just kidding). If you kill a pirate with a successful combo, they will drop double the amount of ammunition, and trust me it comes in handy because of the large number of foes.

For example, I had to climb a castle wall, grabbing bricks to make my way. The bricks were unsteady so I needed to move quick, grab a vine, jump on another brick, go up and grab another vine, swing around and jump through a window. When I'm finally inside, I say "phew… finally here". Wrong, as I exit the room, guess what? Pirates! So, now you understand why the game is catchy and the gameplay is so adrenaline-pumping. They didn't forget the SIXAXIS as they implemented it into balance. When you have to pass a gulf over a log, you have to rotate the controller to the left or right to help Nate pass through. If you happen to fall, don't worry. Our hero will quickly grab on the log allowing you a second chance.

If you're a puzzle fan you will be somehow disappointed as the puzzles aren't something you`ve never seen before and are quite simple. But you can compensate by playing the game over and over again, to find all the treasures and achieve every medal. The treasures are hidden all around the place and glow so it won't be that difficult to find them, while the medals can be earned if you perform xx stealth kills, xx headshots and so on. Earned medals give points that unlock videos and artwork. This feature gives a high replayability value as there are 4 difficulty levels to toggle and the game can be beaten in about 7-8 hours.

You can't help but notice that everywhere you go, everything looks so amazing. Of course, the usual texture glitches and some slow rendering sometimes, but that won't take away the feeling you'll get when the sun rays will make their way through the trees or when you`re swimming in the gorgeously rendered water. I must admit, that this is the best looking water I've ever seen in any game. Naughty Dog has even gone that far as to wet Nate's clothes as you enter a pool only knee height or when sitting under a waterfall; the water dries up gradually.

Conclusion

I've heard many people saying that they'd buy a Playstation 3 just for this game. The point is that the game is worth every penny, but if you're willing to go as far as to buy a PS3 just for this… then that's your decision. You should really watch all the videos if you want to see how the game looks, plays and feels.

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Gameplay: 90

Uncharted has a very linear story, and your next step is always revealed not leaving much room to adventure. The characters fit perfectly in the story and their personalities grow as they advance in the game. As I said in the beginning of the review, hordes of pirates will give you a hard time, not because of their spectacular intelligence but because of sheer numbers.

Graphics: 97

We know that every game on Playstation 3 looks good, but Uncharted certainly goes up-top for the way the jungle looks alive, great lightning effects and that stunning water. We must not forget the facial animations that give personality to the characters.

Sound: 96

As Naughty Dog said, they tried to create a soundtrack never heard before. Music fits perfectly with the environment, the voice acting is really good with funny lines now and then, absorbing the player in the game's action and at the same time have fun.

Multiplayer: N/A

Hardware: N/A