THE GOOD: EXCELLENT COVER SYSTEM

THE BAD: ABSURD MOTION CONTROLS

EXCITING: SONY'S FIRST DISC BASED GAME TO SUPPORT TROPHIES

From the creators of mega-hit series Crash Bandicoot comes Uncharted:Drakes Fortune, an excellent game released on the PlayStation 3 in December 2007. The game places you as Nathan Drake, a proficient fortune hunter who claims to be a direct descendant of the legendary treasure hunter, Sir Francis Drake. Nathan Drake however, is not your typical machine-gun-toting, burly, action game hero, but instead a casual guy in a t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of ratty Chuck Taylors. His appearance makes you feel like he is just an average Joe kind of guy that is trying to catch a break, and his niche happens to be fortune hunting.

It is unique to have a character like this because during gameplay he will do things like stumble while running down decrepit caverns, or shoot blindly out of fear, just like a real person would. He also has some very witty dialogue that does wonders for his characterization.

Your objective in the game is to find this grandeur treasure using the notebook of Sir Francis Drake, but throw in a love interest, deception, and the undead, and you have got yourself a story.

Now about the gameplay, the game transitions from platforming elements to action parts seamlessly and has just the right balance. During the action segments, the cover system is amazing! It is very much akin to the cover system in Gears of War on the XBOX 360, which was flaunted as one it's major strengths. While in cover, you can pop up to take a couple of shots at the baddies, or with a button press hop over the cover to move to the next available spot. And move you will! Just about anything you can hide behind will be chipped away by enemy gun fire, thus exposing part of you and forcing you to move to another spot, or well, succumb to the effects of gunfire.

The aiming system is intelligent as well, and gives you a great perspective while firing. The only real faulty part of the game would be tossing grenades. In order to aim where to throw them, you have to tilt the SIXAXIS controller, which makes for inaccurate aiming.

Overall, however, Uncharted is a great game with excellent gameplay and few setbacks. In addition, with Sony's Trophy system (much like XBOX 360 Achievements) in place in Uncharted via an online update (free!), you've got no reason to pick this one up and try your own hand at a bit of fortune hunting. I give Uncharted: Drake's Fortune a 9 out of 10.