Is the new Uncharted game a great success or a poor failure?

Nov 2, 2011 14:20 GMT  ·  By

The Uncharted series is one of the best selling franchises that ever appeared on the PlayStation 3, so you can imagine that expectations ahead of Uncharted 3's release, which happened yesterday, were extremely high.

Promising to deliver yet another fast-paced cinematic adventure for protagonist Nathan Drake, while also exploring his relationship with companions like Victor Sullivan, or his love interest, Elena Fisher, Uncharted 3 is looking extremely sharp. Add in the cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes, and it's an offer most PlayStation 3 owners won't refuse.

So, is Uncharted 3 another stellar representation of the series or should it be erased from the history books? Let's have a quick look at its single-player mode.

Uncharted 3 kicks off with Nathan Drake and his longtime companion, Sully, walking into a pretty obvious shady deal, from which they need to escape from using their fists and brawling skills. This is one of the areas where Naughty Dog promised major improvements and, while it's not exactly the freeflow combat system from Batman: Arkham City, the hand to hand combat is more fleshed out, with Drake being able to punch, evade and even throw enemies or use the environment to take them down.

After some sequences I won't spoil, we're treated with some classic Uncharted chases, with Drake running away from bad guys through rooftops and different buildings. While the ones we saw in Uncharted 2 were extremely polished, Uncharted 3's first few chases don't exactly behave all that well, as it's easy to miss certain jumps or points where you need to change direction.

After this sequence and a bit of classic puzzle solving, we're introduced to actual gun fights, which behave pretty much the same as in previous titles, although aiming is a bit more tricky. As such, most of the times I found myself just running towards enemies and taking them on in hand to hand combat.

While wielding rifles, Drake can use them against enemies to perform more powerful attacks, but he can also throw them the actual weapons and kick them while they're distracted.

It's these little touches that make the whole experience that much more pleasing, even if it's not that big of a jump in terms of quality as Uncharted 2 as opposed to the original game. From the clever tricks Drake pulls in combat to a hand placed on a wall for support, everything feels very natural and quite impressive.

Expect a quick look at the cooperative mode tomorrow, and the full review of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception on Friday. Until then, check out some highlights from the game's opening sections (without any story spoilers) below.