Jonas Ward
“Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune” was the first of many in the beloved series. Development started in 2005 by Naughty Dog who also developed the extremely popular “Crash Bandicoot” games and “Jak and Daxtor” games. Developed under the codename “Big,” Naughty Dog was preparing to drop the most favorable action-adventure game of all time.
The story of “Drake’s Fortune” is spectacular. Nathan Drake is a self-proclaimed treasure hunter who grew up in Spain as an orphan. He is a direct descendant of Sir Francis Drake, who was a real sailor and explorer. Drake was able to obtain a family heirloom, a ring inscribed with clues, which led to a coffin that contained the journal of Sir Francis Drake.
After Drake obtained the journal of his relative, he was able to discover a treasure map that led to the location of an ancient Spanish treasure called El Dorado. Drake later traveled to an island, which was infested with pirate hunters looking for the same treasure. Drake later realizes that the treasure of El Dorado is not what everyone thought. Players have to fight their way across the island, solve many puzzles and help people along the way. The story is action-packed, suspenseful and movie-like. Players are gripped by suspense, which keeps them plowing through the story all the way to the end.
The gameplay of “Drake’s Fortune” is marvelous. The game is a third-person shooter, so players see the character you are playing as all the time. When playing as Nathan Drake, you climb, shoot, punch, drive, run and swim your way through the terrain with utmost ease.
The controls are incredibly easy to learn with basic combos that allow players to take out enemies without it being too easy, yet also entertaining. Scaling terrain is common in this game. Drake swings on chains, ropes and vines like Tarzan. Players are able to control him to climb gigantic obstacles throughout the game, which really adds to the fun factor. The controls are rewarding to use when players play through the game.
Naughty Dog is known for their amazing graphics and “Drake’s Fortune” is a great baseline to experience them. The exotic island terrain, sea, boats, cars, buildings and planes are all incredible to witness. Players see materials move in front of them exactly how they move in real life. The development team really knew how to grasp and recreate how things really look in life in “Drake’s Fortune.”
The human characters in this game look good for being a 2007 game. During this time, it was still difficult for developers to really make people in video games look real. Naughty Dog is a leader when it comes to motion capture technology. Most of the cutscenes in the game are recorded first hand with actual actors, then reformed into video game graphics. The whole process is amazing, and it truly shows in this game.
“Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune” is easily one of the best action-adventure games ever produced. Three more games in the series were later produced and were large hits for Naughty Dog. If players are looking for an incredibly entertaining adventure game that glues them to the story full of suspense, action and adventure. It is an incredibly good option. The game spawned many competitive titles down the road, but it was able to hold the line for sales. “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune” was awarded as the Playstation 3 Game of the Year by IGN. It sold incredibly well and continues to bring fans back even to this day.
