Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Member Review for the PS3

Hello again, to all my friends, I'm glad you came to play. The fun and learning never ends, here's what we did today! Unfortunately, that happens to be the worst pop culture reference I've ever made during my tenure as a video store attendant. Fortunately, no other Barney-related material will appear in this review. I hope.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a well executed game, and very soul-consuming. Being afflicted by a rare condition known as sloth, I was surprised to find that I was still awake at 6 am, having stayed awake through the night just to get to the next cutscene. No, the next, no, keep going, no, after that one, and so on. For two consecutive nights, I've been awake, just to play through the game, and get a review written. Sleep deprivation is going to kick my ass at work tomorrow. I digress.

What I assume that ramble to be in aid of, is to indicate that the game puts the F. U. in fun. Hmmm, sounded a lot better before I put that in. This game is fun, and brings together two very distinct play types: shoot 'em up, and platforming. As has been said, the transition between two segments is so seamless, you only know you're platforming once the bastards have stopped shooting at you.

And if they are shooting at you, expect to be hit. A lot. The enemy AI are not mannequins, they aren't going to embrace your hail of bullets, and they are not stupid. If you hide, they will still find a way to shoot you, by flanking, or flushing you out with grenades. And they tend to be good shots. Here's a hint: any time you have to deal with laser sights, and they have a bead on you, get the hell outta dodge.

The game is also well presented. People are going to go on about the big things, like beautiful environments, and trees that sway, which is all well and good, but the true judge of a game's graphics are how the little things have been handled. If you look closely, you'll find that leaves blowing in the wind have veins branching across them, or how the water slows down when pushing past rock in a stream. That said, the character models look very nice, with accurate speech movements, and appropriate facial expressions.

The story is also one of the reasons I chose to give up sleep. The plot of the game is well structured, and never seems as though it's trying to move to fast, or catch you by surprise. That said, I had always thought El Dorado was a golden toilet seat, but then again, I don't speak anything other than English or Drunk.

So now it's the end of the review (breathe a sigh of relief), where a summary is made, and the GR staff leave with a thoughtful, or sadly ironic statement, to keep you amused while deciding whether or not to buy the game. Is Uncharted: Drake's Fortune a must-buy for the PS3, the game that will finally put the XBOX shoe on the Wii's other foot? Who knows? But it is definitely a must rent, one that may or may not deprive you of a few nights sleep. Now if I can only finish the review without the word Barney in the sentence...