It’s been a while since I’ve had both the time, and motivation to finish a game all the way through. I’ve picked up plenty of titles over the last few months that I’ve enjoyed playing; though none really hooked me.
Not until I finally picked up Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Of course the series is praised to high heavens, so naturally, I had to see what all of the fuss was about. Usually anytime a series receives a ton of praise, I tend to agree with the majority.
There are exceptions of course, many of which I’ve just given up on and have no plans to return to (though they won’t be named). But in Drake’s Fortune, I was happy to find my time well spent, and my burning passion for gaming restored.
Sure, it’s rough around the edges mechanically. What would you expect for a game that came out in 2007? Despite its overall clunkiness, there’s a fluidity to the gameplay that you begin to nail down after a while.
Which also makes it easier to giggle at some of the less polished elements that disrupt the experience, which I think will naturally be fixed in later entries. Still, what Naughty Dog managed to accomplish is pretty incredible. The environments and level design are gorgeous and ambitious.
Sure they get a bit samey after a while by todays standards, but I would’ve been blown away had I played this back when it came out. The combat is also pretty awesome. Though I do think the hand to hand combat elements could have used a little more work, even with how little you use them.
The score was surprisingly good, which makes me excited to hear what they bring to the table for the rest of the series. The voice actors were also excellent. Nolan North really sells it.
I think the enemy types was consistently refreshing. I can tell they wanted to keep players interested since there were so many combat sections in the game, and I do think they succeeded at keeping it a fun experience in that regard. The traversal was great, despite occasionally showing its age.
The survival horror element towards the end of the game was also really well done, and you can totally (and perhaps accidentally) see the makings of another game in what they were doing (Last of Us).
There’s a couple sections that I’ve seen criticized that I can’t help but overwhelmingly agree on, and that’s the River sections. The barrel aspect becomes a bit bombastic and comical in that regard, and without a doubt obnoxious. Though I will admit it never became too much of a hinderance.
The story was okay overall, but what I think they managed to get right in this first entry is the characters. They’re thinly written, but endlessly endearing. There’s a lot of potential for them to grow into truly memorable, tangible people. I just think that potentially hasn’t been unlocked yet. Though I can see that happening as I progress throughout the games.
There’s rarely ever a dull moment. The game is consistently entertaining, and chock-full of great moments that will keep you wanting to play. Even when Naughty Dog hasn’t quite found their footing with a series, they still deliver memorable experiences that you can’t help but enjoy, and I absolutely love them for that.
Not until I finally picked up Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Of course the series is praised to high heavens, so naturally, I had to see what all of the fuss was about. Usually anytime a series receives a ton of praise, I tend to agree with the majority.
There are exceptions of course, many of which I’ve just given up on and have no plans to return to (though they won’t be named). But in Drake’s Fortune, I was happy to find my time well spent, and my burning passion for gaming restored.
Sure, it’s rough around the edges mechanically. What would you expect for a game that came out in 2007? Despite its overall clunkiness, there’s a fluidity to the gameplay that you begin to nail down after a while.
Which also makes it easier to giggle at some of the less polished elements that disrupt the experience, which I think will naturally be fixed in later entries. Still, what Naughty Dog managed to accomplish is pretty incredible. The environments and level design are gorgeous and ambitious.
Sure they get a bit samey after a while by todays standards, but I would’ve been blown away had I played this back when it came out. The combat is also pretty awesome. Though I do think the hand to hand combat elements could have used a little more work, even with how little you use them.
The score was surprisingly good, which makes me excited to hear what they bring to the table for the rest of the series. The voice actors were also excellent. Nolan North really sells it.
I think the enemy types was consistently refreshing. I can tell they wanted to keep players interested since there were so many combat sections in the game, and I do think they succeeded at keeping it a fun experience in that regard. The traversal was great, despite occasionally showing its age.
The survival horror element towards the end of the game was also really well done, and you can totally (and perhaps accidentally) see the makings of another game in what they were doing (Last of Us).
There’s a couple sections that I’ve seen criticized that I can’t help but overwhelmingly agree on, and that’s the River sections. The barrel aspect becomes a bit bombastic and comical in that regard, and without a doubt obnoxious. Though I will admit it never became too much of a hinderance.
The story was okay overall, but what I think they managed to get right in this first entry is the characters. They’re thinly written, but endlessly endearing. There’s a lot of potential for them to grow into truly memorable, tangible people. I just think that potentially hasn’t been unlocked yet. Though I can see that happening as I progress throughout the games.
There’s rarely ever a dull moment. The game is consistently entertaining, and chock-full of great moments that will keep you wanting to play. Even when Naughty Dog hasn’t quite found their footing with a series, they still deliver memorable experiences that you can’t help but enjoy, and I absolutely love them for that.