Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – PS3 – Preview

As one of the first developers to provide Sony
with a long-running franchise, Naughty Dog has made their name utilizing the
potential of Sony’s systems. Whereas their first hit franchise (Crash Bandicoot)
pushed the PlayStation One’s early 3D capabilities, their second franchise (Jak
& Daxter) debuted on the PS2 and presented a more humanistic approach to their
offhand brand of platforming action.

Now for the PS3, the developer is beginning yet
another franchise with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Uncharted is a third-person
action game that draws inspiration from several sources, with some notable
comparisons to Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, and maybe a little Far Cry. The game
is shaping up quite nicely, with some great graphics and detailed environments
with no shortage of action.


Uncharted: Drake's Fortune PlayStation 3 screenshots

Story elements are a bit scant, but so far it
seems that you are a treasure hunter who looks for a fortune in an abandoned
Spanish settlement in the middle of a South American jungle. You run into some
trouble with some unexpected visitors (pirates) and must not only fight to find
the treasure before they do, but fight to stay alive.

The game will be a third-person action game, much
in the vein of the Jak and Daxter games, but with a much more realistic twist.
You’ll perform platforming puzzles much like in the Jak games as well as Tomb
Raider, and you’ll engage in gunplay against enemies that pepper the landscape.
If guns aren’t an option, then hand-to-hand combat is a means to give those
pirates a beatdown.


Uncharted: Drake's Fortune PlayStation 3 screenshots

The game uses SIXAXIS support in a very intuitive
way. While we didn’t get into all of its applications, there was a scene in the
demo where you had to cross a narrow log, tilting the SIXAXIS back in forth in
order to keep your balance.

So far, Drake is looking very impressive and is
playing great, even at this early stage. The game should be a worthy successor
to Naughty Dog’s Jak franchise and the gameplay that it represented, and should
be a title to check out this holiday season.