SUPPLIED PHOTO Enlarge Image

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

It was 2007 when Naughty Dog introduced wisecracking adventurer/Indiana Jones-esque Nathan Drake in the first Uncharted game. Now, just four years later, Naughty Dog is already finishing off the first trilogy with Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. While the rate at which the company is churning out sequels is impressive, it also means the focus ison refinement instead of reinvention. Drake’s Deception is unbelievably gorgeous and features a handful of thrilling cinematic moments that will stick with you long after the game is done — but it also lacks the focus needed to pull off a completely satisfying narrative, and it has no real intention of pushing any of the game’s mechanics forward.
   
Every adventure like this needs a MacGuffin and here it’s a mythical city known as Ubar, the "Atlantis of the Desert." The hunt for it kicks off a fairly standard globe-trotting quest that follows the exact same formula as that of its predecessors (and nearly every other adventure serial it’s ripping off): travel to a few exotic locations looking for clues to the ancient secret and hope to find it before the villain can get their hands on it. While there are interesting detours along the way — a flashback to Nathan’s childhood, a few unexpected hallucinations, an eerie march through a vast and endless desert — it’s a little disappointing that the game hits nearly all the same beats that the last two games hit, as well.
   
That said, those cinematic moments that pull it all together are still undeniably impressive. A chase to catch an escaping cargo plane ends with you flailing through the air as it takes off with you hanging on for dear life, and a visit to a massive sinking ship is full of all the obligatory dashes through water-filling hallways you could want. These sequences are the reason you play the game and they’re the most exciting the series has offered yet.
   
It’s in between these moments that the game’s problems become more apparent — especially in regards to the actual handling of the game, which is beginning to show its age after three instalments. Drake’s Deception tries so hard to be a seamlessly cinematic experience, yet you’re constantly being taken out of the moment by clunky character movement or the sluggish feel of the aiming in the gunfights.
   
Since multiplayer removes most of the cinematic flourishes and just focuses on the gameplay, it’s a lot less satisfying than the campaign — especially since it plays out like a fairly typical third-person shooter. The Uncharted games work because they’re trying to recreate the escapism of pulp adventure in an interactive form, not because they offer decent-if-unremarkable deathmatches.
   
Uncharted 3 succeeds in its attempts at creating another fun old-fashioned adventure interwoven with some brilliantly designed set pieces, but a lack of any major change to the formula leaves it feeling a bit familiar and dated. A great series should continue to strive for greatness — not just settle for what worked in the past.

Bits & Bytes
   
The criminally underrated action-horror game Alan Wake will be getting an unusual follow-up in 2012 with a mysterious download-only game, to be released exclusively on Xbox Live Arcade.

Upcoming Releases
Nov. 22 — The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii); Rayman Origins (360, PS3).

   
Mel Stefaniuk is a writer who can tell the difference between Mario and Sonic.