For those of you who do not want to read the full review - buy this game now as it is incredible.
If you want more detail, then read on...
Uncharted has become one of the biggest, most iconic games series' this generation and possibly of all time with the latest release - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - selling 3.8 million in it's first day and rightly so!
The story is just as good as the previous ones, if not better, and throws in unpredictable twists and turns that are made believable as it remains grounded in reality, no matter what happens, and the voice acting and mo-cap provided for the characters only helps to further the immersion.
Drake's Deception focuses on the father/son relationship between Drake and Sully and delves in to their backstories as to how they met and why Sully is the closest thing to family for Drake.
There is plenty of Deception as hinted by the games title but I won't spoil anything as this game needs to be played as it will totally blow you away, the story telling remains strong throughout the entirety of the game and is perfectly paced with action and set pieces being followed by slower, puzzle sections to break up the third person shooter gameplay.
As most people interested in the game will now know, Drake's ring plays a huge role in this game and it works as a key to unlock secrets by using another device which acts as a decoder.
Obviously, Drake and co. find out enough clues to go on another adventure whilst people who want the treasure for their own, selfish needs try and stop them so they can have the rewards for themselves.
I don't want to go in to the story too much because I don't want to spoil it but there are a couple of chapters which allow you to play as a younger Drake which details how he met Sully and how this adventure actually started, it's a great change of pace and something nice to experience considering how fleshed out the story and characters are and so we naturally want to know more.
The characters are, in my opinion, a shining example of how heroes can be portrayed without money, superpowers and the fight crime attitude.
They're down to Earth, realistic and highly likable and are one of the biggest factors in Uncharted's success.
Nathan Drake is still the cocky, obsessed with adventure character but in this game we get to find out his deepest fears and other things that show that underneath his cocky exterior he is quite vulnerable and has a slight reliance on Sully to keep him in line because Drake finds it difficult to see when something is going to far but others will know when things are becoming reckless, putting them all in danger.
Sully is still playing the mentor/father role for Drake, keeping him in line and protecting him on his adventure, and he stops being so hard skinned and shows how much he cares for Drake and how he's happy that they met.
He's still a dirty old man, though.
Elena and Chloe also return but they have rather small roles but otherwise are the same as they were in Uncharted 2 but both seem to realise how big the risk is by carrying on these adventures whilst Drake is determined never quit.
A great new addition who has a rather large role is Charlie Cutter but I will not go in to detail on him as it's very hard to without spoiling a great plot point but they got the stereotypical British person down to a tee, especially the accent.
The two main villains - Katherine Marlowe and Talbot - actually made me dislike them with a passion rather than just realise that they are the enemy and that they've done bad things.
I have a hate for Talbot in particular as he's devious, cruel and only cares for treasure and Marlowe but I'm sure you'll come to dislike him too after playing the story.
Marlowe on the other hand is a mixed bag because she's a villain but has a much more human side than Talbot does which is strange considering she's the main villain in the game.
The gameplay just keeps getting better with each instalment with a big focus being placed on the melee system.
New melee moves have been introduced such as 'death from above' which has you jumping on people from above and knocking them unconscious, a move where you pull the pin out from an enemies attached grenade and then kick them back so that it explodes on them and away from you, you can now hit people with your weapon like a baseball bat and you can throw a gun to them and then punch them in the face whilst they're confused with the action performed.
There are other moves but these are the stand out ones for me but melee in general got better and you can fight more enemies at once now - think Batman: Arkham Asylum/City but without the ability to jump across the room, gadgets and ridiculous strength.
The gunplay has gotten more accurate too although Naughty Dog are working on a patch to tighten it further although I'm fine with it as it is.
Everything is how you would expect it to be and the animations are similar to the previous games with most weapons being newer versions of previous guns e.g. the M4 in Uncharted 2 is now the M9 and the FAL is now the G-MAL.
The climbing and platforming is still great, especially the animations, and it's still fluid when climbing up walls, ropes, etc, or when jumping from falling platform to falling platform.
It's not overly linear but it doesn't give you much room to experiment with - you're set a path and you're made to follow it although you can branch out at certain places to look for treasures or a different way to reach your destination.
The graphics are, without a doubt, the best on home console and look terrific.
The facial animations stand out the most to me as they are able to convey emotions so easily and make you genuinely care for the characters from the first chapter (no mater what iteration!)
The animations in general are fantastic and everything is so highly detailed but the animations when climbing and swinging can be a bit stiff but apart from that it's of the highest quality it can be, the mo-cap is handled brilliantly!
Another thing that has received great attention to detail is how Drake's clothes get wet and how they dry, it looks very realistic and it's a great touch, you can really see how much pride Naughty Dog take in their work.
I love the way Drake holds on to railings, puts his hands along walls, shields his face from fire, etc, so realistically and naturally. Not enough games do this but I think it helps bring a new level of immersion as it shows vulnerability without hindering the player heavily.
There aren't enough good words to do the animations and mo-cap justice - you have to play it to see its brilliance.
The audio is also fantastic, the revised Nate's Theme tune is as great as ever (and now my ring tone!) and the audio really
compliments the action in the game as well as more emotional scenes.
The voice acting is still arguably the best in the industry with every voice actor performing above and beyond to deliver realism and personality in to the characters.
Words cannot do justice to the brilliance of Nolan North, Emily Rose and co. and I can see exactly why they're some of the most popular voice actors around right now.
The gun shots sound great but not as realistic as I've heard in Battlefield 3 but I imagine that can be whittled down to Uncharted being a third person game and not a first person game where everything is happen to you and around you rather than someone else.
Explosions are also good and satisfying, especially when you hit the grunts and yells of the enemies that have been prevented from attacking you.
I've already written a post on the beta which covers a lot of the multiplayer aspect of the game so I won't dwell on it too long but a lot of improvements have been made to the shooting and melee system, the new maps are brilliant and everything is just as good as you should expect it to be.
Co-op mode is great fun with 5 missions lasting roughly 20 minutes or so on normal (I'm going to be doing hard and crushing soon) and it features it's own, independent storyline which includes characters from Uncharted 1 and 2 and an area from uncharted 2.
The lasting appeal is huge as Uncharted 3 bears a great campaign that I've gone through twice already and I'm already itching to go through it again, the multiplayer which is some of the best I've experienced and can see myself playing for ages like with Uncharted 2 and a co-op mode which I can again see myself going through multiple times.
Finding all the treasures should keep you busy and it is a satisfying but not too difficult platinum to achieve.
Overall:
Story: 10
Characters: 10
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 10
Audio: 10
Lasting appeal: 10
Overall score: 10
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