Conclusion and Final Score
Even if the graphics and soundtrack fit the bill, games are really at the mercy of the control system. If the controls suck, then games become unplayable here. That's not the case with Drake's Fortune, as the whole scheme was easy to learn and use throughout the game. Granted things felt a little hairy at first, as the pirates ambush the boat quicker than you can master the basic principles of aiming, firing and throwing punches. The latter attack maneuvers felt more arcade in style, requiring the player to perform a sequence of button mashing found in many fighting games. The game even utilizes the SIXAXIS feature in many ways: pivot the controller forwards or backwards to aim a grenade; balance it left or right to keep Nathan from falling off narrow objects like fallen trees; shake it left and right to throw off a clutching mutated Spaniard. Sometimes the game will flash the L2 button on-screen, offering a puzzle hint if you opt to press the indicated button. Players can direct Nathan to duck and cover by approaching an object and hitting the "O" button. All in all, the controls were super simple, making Drake's Fortune even more of a gem in the hands of the gamer.
Drake's Fortune sometimes drifts toward too much gunplay and not enough adventure, but the game is still enormously fun and arguably the best PS3 title yet.
And quite a gem you have with this game. Outside the plethora of ledges to traverse; vines and ropes to climb; gaps to jump; jet skis to drive and puzzles to solve, gamers will surely enjoy the arsenal of weapons Drake's Fortune has to offer. Nathan is capable of carrying two guns (handguns and rifles) in addition to grenades, making it somewhat difficult when you need to use a sniper rifle to take out a goon high up in the window while other pirates are rushing towards you on the ground. Gamers should find Nathan's arsenal familiar: semi-automatic and automatic pistols; the Wess 44 revolver; assault rifles; shotguns; submachine guns; grenade launchers and more. Again, it seemed like everyone was made out of hard leather, taking longer to kill than what seemed "normal" (save for headshots... those were pretty fatal). Still, the weapons proved fun to use, especially when enemies flapped in the wind like chickens after grenades detonated under their feet.
But outside the graphics and the soundtrack and the control setup, the game just simply rocked. Albeit short in gameplay hours, Drake's Fortune proved that a goofy title does not make a goofy game. In fact, you certainly can't go wrong by picking up this title for your PlayStation 3. The whole package reads "epic" in huge proportions. The downside to all of this goodness is that the game doesn't feature any multiplayer options, and the achievements have nowhere to go other than on your TV screen. Still, it's quite possible to replay Drake's once or twice more after its initial completion if you're obsessive about unlocking everything. If not, Drake is still a good time the first go around; it's certainly a title to keep in your PlayStation 3 library. And who knows, maybe one day we'll see the sequel and it will be even longer, more epic, more explosive. Until then, there's definitely plenty to do with Drake's Fortune.
Where I Am Coming From: I've never completed a Tomb Raider game. There, I said it. Is that blasphemy, or does that say that I'm not really into the treasure-hunting-puzzle-solving type of adventure? I probably am into the genre up to a certain point, and then it all just becomes drab and dull. Perhaps it's the ADHD in me. Still, it says a lot when I say that I was sorry to see Drake's Fortune come to an end. This game made me re-think about my prejudices towards adventure games of this nature in general, and perhaps I might even pull out a few old Tomb Raider games and try them once again.
What I Compared It To: I couldn't help but think of Tomb Raider when I played this game. How can you not? Treasure hunting. Gunplay. Death-defying stunts. It seems that Lara Croft set the stage in the gaming industry, and now there's a new guy in town thanks to Naughty Dog, here to rip the spotlight away from Eidios' voluptuous heroine. Then again, we have George Lucas to thank with his Indiana Jones series. Now that I think about it, Nathan could be the modern-day Indiana, only without the whip and hat. He doesn't seem deathly afraid of snakes, though.
What I Liked: Where do I start? The whole game was awesome, from the opening sequence to the end credits. I loved the visuals and how realistic everything looked and moved. The world pulled me in by the roots of my eyes, and I even caught myself gasping for breath when Nathan would jump and almost miss the next ledge by a hair. I'd feel sorry for the man if he plummeted to his death, feeling guilty and highly responsible because I react like a drunken idiot at the controls. It says a lot about the developer when gamers actually feel empathy for the characters they create, and it says a lot about their talent and their passion. What I liked about this game is that it oozed those qualities, and the fact that I didn't want the game to end clearly shows off their mastery of the art. They're true illusionists. This is the first third-person game I've reviewed in a while where I didn't complain about the camera, and that's a treasure all in itself!
What I Didn't Like: I can't really specify what I disliked about Drake's Fortune. Despite the little goodies you uncover, there was too much emphasis on gunplay and not enough on real exploration. The chapters felt somewhat linear and you couldn't move outside the invisible, defined boundaries. The action distracted me from the overall story, but thankfully, the cutscenes become available to re-familiarize gamers when needed. Still, the game seemed too short, lasting only 12 hours or so, and the game doesn't even utilize the PlayStation Network or offer anything outside the single-player campaign and its rewards.
Value Meter: What cranks this category up - even though there are no multiplayer or network options - is the simple fact that the single-player campaign is really fun. Really fun, and you'll want to play it again as if watching your favorite movie for the 20th time. It's well worth the money.
Final Score: 9 out of 10
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