PS3 - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune by Sony

Drake's Fortune for the PS3 is a mostly Third Person Shooter. However, it does share a little in common with games like Tomb Raider. However, Drake's Fortune ended up a tad on the short side, but the story line and questing were very good, but not perfect.

Graphics

The PS3 can deliver quite stunning graphics. It's unfortunate, though, that even though this game is visually appealing, it just wasn't quite up to the same standards as a game like Mass Effect.

However, even though the graphics weren't as stunning as Mass Effect or Halo 3, the game still plays well.

Controls and Gameplay

This game mixes gameplay styles. In some levels you're questing in a free roaming fashion. In others, the camera angle is fixed and still others, there's the button sequence style. I'm not a fan of timed button sequence play, but this style of gaming is limited to only a few levels in Drake's Fortune. So, I can overlook this style of play.

Audio

The soundtrack worked well to move the game forward and keep the action steady. The game felt more like an extended movie than a game.

Cinematic gaming

I believe this is where game developers need to head. This allows for a more cinematic experience with a good storyline. However, this doesn't mean interlacing every other scene with a cinematic. Limit cinematics to level opens or not at all. A game is supposed to be a game, not a movie even if it plays through like a movie. In this way, Drake's Fortune really set it up as a cinematic type game, but easily keeps the gaming aspects fun and exciting. So, you aren't sitting and twiddling your thumbs waiting for a cinematic to finish.

Overall

I enjoyed the playthrough on this game. It's not a perfect game, but the little subtle touches they added to the Nathan Drake character gave the characters much more realism than most games. For example, then the characters get wet, they actually appear wet. Then, they dry slowly over time. When the characters stand still, they don't stand like statues. They are given slight realistic motions to simulate a human. When turning or jumping, the characters act in realistic ways.

So, the story and the game system combine to produce a realistic system of play. I could have done without the timed button sequence portions, but I still enjoyed the play through. However, I played this game through in about 3-4 days. Very short by most questing standards. Consider that I played Oblivion for over 3 months.

Score

• Gameplay: 8/10
• Audio: 9/10
• Graphics: 8.5/10
• Story: 7/10
• Replay Value: 2/10 (too short / nothing new to do after you play once)
• Bang for the Buck: 6/10
  
• Overall: 7/10
  

Wii -- Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles by Capcom

Several years ago, I played Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube. I really enjoyed this first person shooter. The controls worked well, the environments looked great and everything just worked well together. So, when Umbrella Chronicles was first announced, I was excited. When it was released, I was hoping and expecting a similar experience to Resident Evil 4. Unfortunately, it is not here.

Graphics

The graphics are fluid and work, but....

Gameplay

Umbrella Chronicles goes back to the old style Resident Evil gameplay which I really dislike. It uses fixed camera angles and stilted moves to get through the levels. So, instead of exploring the game, you end up fighting with the controls and your character ends up dying many times just to find the exact sequence to get through each level. Overall, I don't like sequence levels where your character dies over and over just to find the proper button sequence. If I had wanted to play Simon, I would have bought Simon.

Overall

This game was a disappointment. This really is more of an arcade style game designed to waste lots of quarters and time. It isn't a first person shooter. So, don't expect anything like it. I've heard that Resident Evil 5 may be more like 4. So, if you're wanting a first person shooter like RE4, wait until 5 and skip the Umbrella Chronicles.

Score

• Graphics: 8/10
• Sound: 8/10
• Story: 5/10
• Gameplay: 4/10
• Replay Value: 1/10
• Bang-To-Buck: 2/10
  
• Overall: 4/10

Xbox 360 & PS3 - The Darkness

The Darkness by 2K games

The Darkness is one of those games that seems like it should be a taboo subject. In reality, if you can ignore the semi-demonic aspects of the main character and what you have to do, the story is really pretty decent. However, this is a first person shooter through-and-through.

Graphics

The graphics in this game were always fluid and functional (unlike Mass Effect). The Darkness gives you everything you want to see in a first person shooter. You have a first person view, you have special powers, you can pick up weapons from just about everywhere. So, there's no lack of weapons in this game.

Sound

The sound quality of this game, while not a masterpiece, certainly fits the mood properly. The key story moments offer more compelling soundtrack themes while the background music is kept to a minimum. This leads to a good balance of music to gameplay. The music also works quite well to enhance the gameplay.

Story Line

The Darkness is effectively about an orphaned kid who was taken in by a fictitious mafioso-type family. Then, this family turns on him later and effectively wants him (your character) dead. In that light, we come to find out that this character also has the power of 'The Darkness' (when he turned 18) which is a demonic creature that gives certain powers to the inhabitant. These powers give you the ability to kill much more efficiently than with a gun alone. As you progress through the game, these Darkness powers grow and expand giving much more powerful Darkness powers.

The way the game unravels is well done. The romantic encounter is a bit stilted because there was little setup. But, it kind of worked in an awkward kind of way.

Gameplay

Overall, the character is easy to control and the darkness powers are easy to switch between. The hardest part of this game was knowing when you can and can't use the darkness powers. For example, if you're standing directly under a bright street lamp, you can't use them for long. By the same token, you can either shoot out the lamp or use a darkness power to break it. Once it's dark enough, your darkness powers regenerate and can be used. Also, so long as it remains dark, you can regenerate the powers continually.

The guns in the game are reasonably decent. Mostly small handgun varieties and a few semi-automatic and automatic weapons. They're reasonably efficient to use. But, the real benefit is in the darkness powers. This is really what the game wants you to use.

Quests

The Darkness is kind of like Grand Theft Auto (review coming soon) in that you get assigned quests by specific individuals you meet. So, you have to roam the game in order to find these people in order to complete their quests. Some of the quests are intrinsic to moving the story forward and others are side quests that you do just to get extras. The game doesn't force you to move in a linear progression specifically. If you choose to wander around and do all side quests, you can leave your main quest activity hanging until you're done. So, in this way, it is kind of like an RPG style questing system.

Multiplayer

This game does offer an Xbox Live multiplayer component. So, if you're looking to get all Challenge Points, you will have to play the multiplayer portions. Note, though, that you are required to basically set up your own server in order to host games. Most times, people aren't hosting games on Xbox Live, so you're likely the one who will have to host them.

Overall

The game was lengthy enough to be well worth the money. The Darkness powers work well to get you through the game. The 3D performance is stellar when compared to some other recent games. The 3D detail is reasonably decent, but not nearly as detailed as some more recent games.

Overall, I'd recommend this game if you like this type of genre. If you're not into the demonic aspects and the killing of the game, then you might want to skip it. Note, the replay value of this game is low because if you've done nearly everything, then going through it a second time less than thrilling as there's not much else to do (other than look for more bonus things).

Score:

• Graphics: 8/10
• Sound: 9/10
• Gameplay: 8/10
• Story: 9.5/10
• Overall: 8.5/10
• Replay Value: 4/10