4/5 ★ – movie_meter's review of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Remastered.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception I apologise in advance for the really long review. I guess I had a lot to say. Plot Part 1 (Minor Spoilers): Easily the worst plot Uncharted has to offer. It is literally the exact same formula as Among Thieves, so I really hope they change it up for the fourth installment. But seriously, if you think the MCU is formulaic, check out Uncharted 3. Listen to this: bad guys want something, Drake finds out its importance, Drake realises it is dangerous, Drake needs to get to it before the bad guys do, Drake finds out that it’s in a lost city, bad guys get there first, Drake fights through an entire army to get to the ‘something’, Drake destroys the ‘something’, Drake saves the world. Now was I describing the plot for Uncharted 2 or 3? See what I mean? It’s annoying to me how similar this story is from Among Thieves. At least the villains are slightly better this time around, but they are still really shallow. Some annoying plot holes stand out like penguins in a desert. Those spiders that they found in France, Syria, and Yemen are not explained at all. I was expecting an explanation because they were not natural at all. My theory: because the spiders were found around all the clues leading to Ubar, and Ubar itself would be guarded by giant spiders and they would be the supernatural thing we get to fight at the end. But no. NO. No explanation at all. Plot Part 2 (Spoilers): In fact, the Ubar itself was underwhelming when you compare it to Shambala from Uncharted 2. Drake’s Deception’s plot doesn’t really seem to want to go anywhere. There is almost no urgency in the storyline at all (with a few exceptions). The sub-plot with the pirates was an excellent inclusion to change up the dynamic of the story. The characters this time around, were good at times and bad at times. Nate, as always, is such an awesome character, and I was so glad we got more of Sully this time because he pretty much skipped almost all of Uncharted 2. Sully is by your side for almost 100% of the game, and if he’s not, he’s always a focal point in the plot. The introduction of Charlie was good, but he didn’t get enough screen time. I hope to see more of him in Uncharted 4. Chloe’s cameo was good. But the one thing I didn’t like is how they portrayed Elena and her relationship with Nate. This time around, she was a pretty flat character. She’s not in it all that much and I don’t really know what it is, but she isn’t that good in this one. And her relationship with Nate was not as fun to watch this time. Also, something Naughty Dog did horribly was how Nathan and Elena got married. It was implied that they got married sometime in-between Uncharted 2 and 3. BUT THE THING IS, I didn’t even realise until I’d finished the game. I was thinking about a scene and I was like “OH they’re married?!?!?”. And it’s frustrating because they do not make that clear in the short time Nate and Elena spend together. 5.5/10 Graphics/Visuals: I could be wrong, but the visuals seemed very similar to Among Thieves. This game feels so much like Among Thieves it’s frustrating. I didn’t really notice much difference between the two. Again, I could be wrong. That’s not to say it doesn’t look good though. The visuals are fantastic. And the map designs are fantastic. The pirate ships, the desert, London, the French jungle lmao, all looked awesome. The colours and everything is just really good. Especially for this 2011 game (I played PS4 remastered). The cutscenes look awesome, and the character designs look very defined and personalised. Still not today’s standards, but I’m satisfied. 7.5/10 Entertainment: The combat has definitely improved in all aspects from Uncharted 2. While the various guns and the overall strategy is the same, pretty much everything about the combat is better (except for one thing which I’ll get to in a sec). The melee fighting has never been so fluid and free. No longer does it feel like a clunky, systematic way of fighting. You have so many options, including a parry which is awesome. The firearm combat is probably on par for when you compare it to Among Thieves, but the different situations you come up against makes it feel like a set up from the previous game. The ability to throw back grenades is awesome, and a simple inclusion like catching a two-hand gun after you punch someone and it flies into the air is just a little thing to contribute to your overall adrenaline levels. There are some really wild segments in this game, however, nothing can really beat the train bit from Among Thieves. The sections such as the sinking cruise ship, the crashing plane, truck hopping/horse riding, and chasing Talbot through Yemen, were all really thrilling and a lot of fun. Now here’s a negative I want to point out: I think this game was a little too hard. I never raged at all, but Uncharted is supposed to feel like a cinematic adventure, not a challenging experience, especially on your first playthrough. The AI has gotten better (which is great), but there were a few spots where I kept checking if I was playing on Hard instead of Normal. There are some sections which are challenging, and that’s fine, but there are also some really difficult sections. But after all, it’s an Uncharted game. It’s gonna be a wild ride regardless of what happens. 8.5/10 Acting/Cast: Pretty much par with the other games. Nolan North and Richard McGonagle are both excellent. The supporting cast is also really good. The chemistry is fantastic. Blah, blah, blah. Just read the acting/cast section for the first two games because everything I said compliments the third game as well. 9/10 Soundtrack: As always, this Uncharted music is very good. Feels very much like the music from the other games, yet it has its own theme/feel to it which suits the game perfectly. Greg Morrison is the composer and he did a fantastic job with the music. I’m not sure if this is true, but I’m assuming the track ‘Atlantis of the Sands’ is the main theme for this game. It’s really good and definitely captures the classic ‘Uncharted’ feel and also the desert-feel of the game. However, I don’t think the entire soundtrack is on quite the same level as the first two. Still really good though. 8/10 Should you play it? Yep! Play through the franchise, they don’t take too long. Overall: This game is definitely my least favourite out of the whole franchise. I’d like to say they tried to do something different, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. Naughty Dog couldn’t quite capture the magic from the first two games, simply because of how similar in gameplay and story Drake’s Deception is to Among Thieves. But the similarity comes with benefits. The similarity means the game is going to be a lot of fun. In Uncharted 1, there are good bits and great bits. In Uncharted 2, there are also good bits and great bits. By the time Uncharted 3 came around, I think Naughty Dog had worked out how to distinguish the difference between the good and the great. Which is why Uncharted 3 is filled up with a lot of great bits. But these ‘bits’ don’t merge well with the story. It’s almost like they came up with the plane crash, the sinking ship, the horse riding, and the desert section before they even had a story. The characters are good, but they’re not as good as the previous installments. We got a lot of Nate and Sully (which is great), but not enough of Elena, Chloe, and Charlie. But the rest of the game is still really good. To sum it up, other than the mediocre and unoriginal story, this game pretty much made par. It’s great, just not on the same level as the other two. I apologise for the really long review but I guess I had a lot to say this time. Score: 77 (Great)