Uncharted: Drakes Fortune Review

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune

by David McComb |
Published on

While few Empire readers can contain their excitement about the new Indiana Jones movie, the thought of a geriatric Harrison Ford cracking whips and snatching treasures still makes Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull a worrying prospect. But with stunning graphics and a rollicking action-movie atmosphere, Uncharted will take players to swashbuckling heaven while Indy hobbles back onto the big screen.

Essentially Lara Croft-style grave plundering blended with intense gunplay, what makes Uncharted remarkable is its stellar production values; the motion-captured animation is amongst the best on any console, imbuing all characters with a distinct personality, and the hero’s facial expressions – wincing when bullets whistle past too close for comfort, his brow knitted with concentration when swinging from a perilous platform – makes it easy to become attached to your roguish avatar.

Players who aren’t seduced by the game’s silky visuals will doubtless find the combat relentless and unforgiving. But with a cinematic sense of scale and dramatic pieces that hark back to the golden age of pulp-action movies, Uncharted is a thrilling ride from beginning to end.

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