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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 21, 2007

System: Sony PlayStation 3
Publisher: Sony

Reviewer's rating: ***½

ESRB rating: Teen

Game type: Action/adventure

Kind of like: "Tomb Raider"

Best feature: It's graphically stunning, with lushly detailed jungles and realistic animations.

Worst feature: It's frustratingly difficult at times.

The bottom line: Expecting another furry, franchise-worthy critter from Naughty Dog? Prepare to be surprised. The developers who brought us Crash Bandicoot and "Jak and Daxter" go all human on us with "Uncharted," and the results are impressive even by the lofty standards of their track record.

The "Drake" in the title refers to two people: Sir Francis Drake and a modern-day explorer named Nathan Drake, who claims to be a descendant of the Elizabethan privateer. You play as the latter, whose discovery of his ancestor's diary leads you on a quest to uncover El Dorado, the fabled city of gold.

Of course, you're not alone. Greedy competitors will stand in your way.

The gameplay is a mix of "Tomb Raider"-style exploration and "Gears of War"-style combat. If you're not turned off by the game's strictly linear progression, the platformer-and-puzzle elements (remember the booby-trapped tombs in "Raiders of the Lost Ark"?) are generally clever and occasionally challenging. The gunfights, on the other hand, range from absurdly easy to damn-near-impossible. From time to time, a dozen or more enemies will descend on you from every direction, forcing you to replay the scene again and again until you get lucky.

But the audiovisual production values and cinematic scope of "Uncharted" are, well ... off the charts. It may not innovate, but it's an immersive experience nonetheless.

Rommie Johnson

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