The End is Near…

Posted 12/31/07
Tags: , ,
Categories: General

End of the year that is. As I write this in the final day of 2007 I trust everyone had the bestest of your respective holidays, ate lots of food and got tons of kick ass gifts. I know I did, s’matter of fact one of my favorite gifts out of that bunch was “Uncharted: Drakes Fortune”. Now I know Bioshock has been getting tons of praise across multiple channels as the Game of the Year, but in my mind Drakes edges that one out based on the fact that if feels more like a fun time.

This is not to say that Bioshock is not a great game you will have fun with. But considering that both have great visuals, great stories, and great gameplay, then for me Bioshock loses a little because of where they took their story. Sure it was innovative to put the main character in situations where you would have to make choices that made you question the moral implications, and kudos to the team that made the game for invoking that kind of feeling through a medium that often gets written off as a “toy”, but that dark storyline isn’t exactly a “fun time”.

I think Bioshock is a very important game, a great game and probably deserves all the GOTY nominations and awards it has gotten, but I feel obligated to let everyone know that Drakes should be right there with it, and here’s why. The visuals are top notch, with all the beautiful character models, environments and lighting I finally feel like my PS3 is worth something besides a Blu-Ray player. Good mix of gameplay. This game is not a run and gun shooter, I don’t care what the commercials or game trailers make it look like, it is about 40/40 platformer, and shooting with the remaining 20% being chase or race scenes for cinematic effect. Controls are generally well handled and tight. I say generally because the shooting and cover system is good (not great) and as with any platformer there will be a jump somewhere that feels off, and there are a few here, but I can honestly say that while there were a couple areas I had to redo a few times I never once felt frustrated. The length is just right for this kind of story. I know a lot of publishers love touting the 20, 30, 40+ hours of gameplay bullet on the back of their boxes, but I would rather play a well paced 10 hour game and feel engaged the whole time, rather than trudge around with busy work to pad out the length of a game. And finally the story. In my mind an incredibly well written story, interesting characters with fun dialog delivered by great voice talent that really sells it, and pacing that makes this feel like it should have been a Spielberg/Bay summer blockbuster theater release. And that overall package provides the player with a “fun” time. The main character is not super powered. He is not a dark or moody hero who must make hard choices in a survivor horror style setting. He is a guy, a dude, an (just above) average Joe with some great rock climbing skills, a smart mouth, a lotta’ luck and a love for adventure. When you play Nathan Drake he’s not too far off that you couldn’t relate to him. When he’s presented with a tough situation you have to figure it out with his real world style surroundings, not magic, or mutagens or high tech gadgetry.

And it’s that “Indian Jones” style story that sells the good time throughout the whole game. If you own a PS3 this is easily a must purchase. If not it could easily be a system seller. As an added bonus if you are a multi system household (like myself), as well as an MS Achievement Points fiend (like myself) this game features a blatent yet well executed rip off of “Achievements” with “Reward Points” that you earn for completing certain task such as 10 headshots, find 15 pieces of treasure, etc. I know it makes me feel more compelled to replay any game that has special side achievements, but as an added incentive the game gives you extra options, bonus content, costumes and what not when you accrue a certain number of these “Reward Points.” Well, I’ve rambled on long enough about this, see you kids after the new year with a few more reviews and some news updates. Also if you like things delivered to your memory banks via audio format, I joined in on a podcast with a few gaming wiz-kids I know from the XYBA Podcast site. I’ll be the one they call “Jeff” with the super sexy voice (sorry ladies I’m taken). Keep it real kids!