Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Naughty Dog
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Nathan Drake, the man with the strongest fingertips in gaming, returns to close out his debut trilogy in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Developer Naughty Dog has thrown in everything save the kitchen sink: foot chases, car chases, scenes on horseback, puzzle solving, fast-paced combat sequences and lots of personal moments, all framed with gorgeous graphics and another evocative music score. It does more interesting things in 10 to 15 hours than half a dozen lesser games combined, yet somehow it also manages to be somewhat less fulfilling than its predecessor.

After all of the tomb raiding and outdoor adventuring that has gone before in this series, it’s surprising that Deception begins with a bar fight. Drake and his crusty sidekick Sully meet a dark-suited villain named Talbot, who is prepared to pay big money to buy Drake’s ring, a keepsake that ties Drake to 16th-century English seaman Sir Francis Drake. Things go pear-shaped and a classic movie-style bar brawl breaks out, after which they meet the big bad of the story, Katherine Marlowe, who will stop at nothing to acquire Drake’s ring. From here the story trots the globe, from France to Syria, Yemen and the Arabian Desert as Drake and company search for the lost treasure city of Ubar, the “Atlantis of the Sands.”

Gameplay in Deception is pretty much the same as in the previous games. You move through the world as Drake, usually accompanied by at least one NPC companion, all but one of whom you’ve met before in the series if you’ve played the other installments (newbies, have no fear; you won’t be lost if this is your first trip through Drake’s universe). Combat controls are the same as before, with the exception of the grenade mechanics. Tossing back grenades thrown at you has been made simpler, and tossing one of your own is as easy as tapping the left trigger, while holding it down generates an arc of trajectory, similar to the one found in the Gears of War games. There are also many opportunities for hand-to-hand combat, which is a combination of button-mashing and short QT events. Unlike many recent shooters, it’s possible for you to take a wrong step and plummet to your death, so you have to be careful where you walk or jump. For trophy hounds and completionists, there are 100 hidden objects to find in the world. Some you blunder into by accident, others can be identified by a slight glint of light in the background. Multiplayer includes six competitive and three co-op modes featuring up to 11 maps and as many as 10 players, and requires the now-dreaded Online Pass (a one-time-use code found inside the DVD case) for access.

Deception is the biggest, most diverse game in the series. From crawling around the dark ruins of the London underground, to chasing (and being chased by) villains through crowded streets, to chasing an armed convoy through the desert on horseback, there’s something fun to do at almost every turn. The graphics and sound are amazing once again, including the little touches that many developers overlook, such as the slow change in contrast when you move from bright daylight to shade. Difficulty-wise, the game is no cakewalk. Your shooter skills are well-tested, even at Normal difficulty level, and there are one or two devilishly tough fight scenes that should have most players frequently reloading a quicksave. Weapons and ammo drops are plentiful, yet you still could find yourself frequently going mano-a-mano with enemies (Drake fights dirty this time; lots of boots to the groin). Unlike other games such as Two Worlds 2 and Red Dead Redemption, Deception gets horseback controls right; just push the stick forward to ride. Enemy AI is very smart; villains frequently attempt to flank you and can move around in groups as well as alone, and some of them are bullet sponges, requiring you to figure out the most effective weapon to use on the various bad guys. Deception is also one of the growing number of AAA games that present an effective, involving story to go with the bloodletting, featuring well-acted and animated cutscenes that are just the right length to keep the plot moving without dragging down the pace (a la Metal Gear Solid 4). Nolan North, Richard McGonigle, Claudia Black and Emily Rose once again provide excellent voice-overs; it’s so much easier to care about these characters when they are brought to life so well. And composer Greg Edmonson has delivered yet another score that perfectly supports the action on screen.

Deception has lots of great things going for it. So why am I not totally fulfilled? Well, it could be the strangeness of some of the combat; if you’re surrounded by enemies with guns while you’re melee fighting, the guys with the firearms miss you most of the time, even from point-blank range. It could be the occasional loss of camera control at crucial times; there are several instances when you have to run towards a fixed camera without knowing what’s ahead of you. It could be the length of some of the scenes, making it tough to remember what your ultimate goal is (after a particularly lengthy sequence, Sully sits down and says, “I’m losin’ the plot here.” He wasn’t the only one). It could be the multiplayer graphics glitch that respawned my character inside solid objects, making me a sitting duck, or the lack of multiplayer matchmaking, which constantly puts newbies into the same matches with much more experienced players. And it could definitely be the very disappointing final fight scene; unfortunate that so much action and adventure ends with such an unimaginative climax.

Naughty Dog has wrapped up the Uncharted trilogy in a nice box and bow, just in time for the holidays. The story has all of the off-the-wall antics of an Indiana Jones movie, with a group of characters who make the outlandishness of the plot easy to ignore. The visual presentation is spectacular, the pace is excellent (unless you take time out to go treasure hunting, which can add quite a bit of time to your playthrough if you’re not careful), and the music is good enough that you might want to buy the soundtrack. There are some annoying little problems; there’s no such thing as a perfect game, after all, and Uncharted 2 is a more satisfying total product for my money. But even with its faults, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is still a quality game that anyone with a PS3 should hope to see under the tree this Christmas.

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