Uncharted 2: Among Thieves will surely be remembered as one of gaming's great masterpieces; a title who's every aspect was truly stunning, immersive and thoroughly unprecedented. Not only was Uncharted 2 an incredible game, it was also something of a surprise. It's predecessor, Drake's Fortune was a fun, but ultimately forgettable action-adventure title. Thus, the likelihood of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception living up to its predecessor's lofty accomplishments may have been an impossibility. But Drake's Deception isn't a disappointment in that it merely fails to live up to its predecessor. That would have been understandable. In the end, Uncharted 3 falls well short of the quality of both entries that preceded it, falling into the realm of mediocrity. While the game has some obvious, even unmatched strengths (especially when it comes to production values), its flaws are numerous and glaring.
The story in Drake's Deception is one of its bigger problems. On the surface, things seem perfect for the kind of lighthearted adventure movie feel that Naughty Dog always goes for: the dialog is witty and charming, and the stage is very quickly set for a globe-trotting adventure that involves finding lost riches and battling an evil organization. But as soon as the story starts to become more involved, the plot falls flat on its face.
The main narrative thread here is the father-son relationship between Nathan Drake and his mentor Victor Sullivan. The story makes a half-assed attempt to add some weight thematic weight by hinting at the negative effects Nathan Drake's constant endangerment of his friends has on their relationship, but this ultimately never goes anywhere. Without delving into spoiler territory, it's worth noting that the plot arcs for every single character, as well as the overarching story never resolve themselves. Taken at face-value, the story here might seem charming thanks to some great motion-capture and exceptional voice-acting, but upon digging a little deeper you'll find that it's borderline-incoherent.
The gameplay suffers from the similar problem. On the surface, everything is just as it should be for an Uncharted game, but again, many aspects of the gameplay are broken beyond belief. But to start with the good, the game's platforming segments do offer the sublime thrills that they always have. Scaling huge environmental set-pieces, or engaging in a roof-top chase never fails to excite, and the frenetic fun these moments provide are this game's true highlights. Beyond platforming, however, seemingly every gameplay element is handled extremely poorly.
Uncharted 3's shooting mechanics are markedly worse than those of its predecessors. Aiming is clunky and imprecise, forcing you to fight with your controls just as much as your enemies during shootouts. On top of that, the spikes in difficulty are downright ridiculous; enemies throw grenades with laser precision and you will often find yourself completely surrounded by heavily armored enemies with extremely powerful guns. Luckily, the hand-to-hand combat is actually very fun, and it serves to be one of the only enjoyable aspects of combat in Uncharted 3. There are also many more puzzles to be solved this time out. However, they are all not only unintuitive, they just aren't fun, and feel more like stop-gaps between moments of more meaningful action.
Perhaps worst of all, the campaign's general pacing is downright terrible. The first half of the game largely eschews the epic set-pieces this series is known for in favor of focusing on the game's story and core mechanics. Not only is that a bad move because the game's story is so bad and the mechanics so poor, it also simply doesn't provide the shock-and-awe that this series thrives on. Though the core mechanics in Drake's Fortune and Among Thieves were solid, it was the well-spaced moments of edge-of-your-seat action that elevated those games to greatness. Conversely, having those kinds of moments be almost completely absent throughout the game's first half makes Drake's Deception something of a bore. Admittedly, once these set-pieces kick in again during the game's second half, the proceedings start to become much more enjoyable, but the aforementioned gameplay flaws still drag the experience down quite a bit.
Provided you can get over how bad Uncharted 3's gunplay is, there is a pretty sizable multiplayer component to check out. It features the now-standard levelling system replete with unlocks, perks (called boosters) and customization options, and there's a good selection of maps and modes to choose from. The multiplayer also introduces the concept of Power Plays, which will briefly give bonus objectives or perks to the losing so that they can do some catching-up. This idea is innovative and well-implemented, and it'd be great to see this in more games further down the road. You can also play split-screen, which is a nice (and rare) occurence for most current-gen games.
Uncharted 3 also features a sizable three-player co-op mode. There are three game types, including the now-standard Arena mode which tasks players with lasting as long as they can against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. The real highlight, however, is Adventure mode, which are fun, straight-foward co-op missions that feature silly stories that play out like an Uncharted fever dream.
Ultimately, the multiplayer modes Uncharted 3 provides are solid, and come with a bevy of modes, features and unlockables. The one big downside to it all is that you'll have to try and look past the horrid shooting mechanics to derive any fun from the whole experience.
The one thing that Uncharted 3 absolutely cannot be criticized for is its presentation. The game's many varied locales and memorable characters are made all the more believable thanks to graphics that are both incredible from a technical, and artistic standpoint. Environments are lush and richly detailed, and characters are well-animated and distinctive. When it comes to graphical quality, Uncharted 3 is almost unmatched.When it comes to audio fidelity, Uncharted 3 is surely unmatched. The score is incrredible, the voice-acting is excellent and the sound effects as well as the overall sound design are absolute perfection. While the game is otherwise riddled with problems, the production values are simply flawless.
Uncharted 3's singleplayer experience clocks in at a nice 7-10 hours, and considering its uneven pacing, it might be a bit too long for its own good. Additionally, if you really want to dive into the singleplayer, there are a ton of hidden collectible artifacts. When it comes to multiplayer, your mileage may vary as well. You certainly could put dozens of hours into Uncharted 3's multiplayer, but whether or not you'll want to is dependant on if you can grow accustomed to the uneven gameplay.
Even considering what a huge technical feat Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception represents, the game is simply falling apart in every other way. The story and pacing are awful, the shooting mechanics are clunky, dull puzzles are thrown at much more evenly than they should be, and the game largely lacks the jaw-dropping moments that its predecessors provided in abundance. It's a true shame, not only because it is a far cry from the quality previous games in the series attained, but because it effectively ruins the game's real accomplishments. The production values are unparalleled, and the multiplayer is surprisingly deep, but these achievements are easily overshadowed by Uncharted 3's many faults. It's true that there are many games out there worse than Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, but very few come close to being as disappointing.
PROs:
+Incredible graphics, art and animation
+Great sound design, music and voice-acting
+Fun platforming segments
+Frenetic hand-to-hand combat
+The multiplayer is very fleshed out
CONs:
-The pacing is abysmal
-The story is absolutely terrible
-Clunky aiming, coupled with an extreme difficulty curve makes shootouts unbearable
-Unintuitive, uninteresting puzzles
-Very few set pieces actually resonate