More and more, video games are becoming a cinematic experience. They now draw players in with epic storylines, cutscenes, and impressive voice acting. One of the first to really blur the line between movie and video game was Heavenly Sword, a title that has some of the best production values to date. Following closely in its footsteps, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune sets a new benchmark in storytelling with an insane amount of attention to details such as facial expressions and dialog. Cinematic storytelling seems to be the next step in truly immersing the player into the experience, and Uncharted is a great example of how to merge gameplay with cinema while keeping the player not only interested, but truly entertained by the story unfolding before their eyes.

The story begins with Nathan Drake finding the diary for Sir Francis Drake that was buried with a coffin at sea. Nathan uses the diary to uncover the true secrets behind his descendant, not to mention to find some treasure along the way. However, Nathan isn't the only one in search of Drake's fortune. Pirates are also seeking the treasure hoard, and they are armed to the teeth. While the storyline in Uncharted is familiar territory, the execution is anything but ordinary. Nathan will often have a companion who follows him, and the nice thing about that is they never get in the way of the gameplay. They won't die or steal your kills, and combat interaction is seemingly secondary to their real purpose; to carry on a conversation with you. While this may seem almost insignificant, it is crucial in creating the movie-like experience. Having another character to bounce chatter off of from time to time really takes that line between film and video game and blurs it.

A great combination of action and platforming make for a fun experience.

As Uncharted presses on and more of the story unfolds, the game takes a twist from the fun, lighthearted adventure to a somewhat frightening experience. The last third of the game holds the biggest reveal, which should be experienced by the player, but it does change the atmosphere and add a touch of creepiness to the otherwise colorful world of action and exploration. There will be moments in the game where players won't know who to trust, which takes away from some of the predictability in a story that will more or less feel familiar to fans of Indiana Jones or Romancing the Stone.

The meat of the gameplay is third person shooting. About 70% of the game has you controlling Nathan Drake in various shootouts that bear more than a passing resemblance to Gears of War. In fact, cover is used in a similar way, and health is also handled in the same fashion - when Nathan takes damage, the screen changes color and he must find a safe place to hide for a few seconds while he regains his bearings. The rest of the game plays more like Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider, with Nathan scaling buildings, cliffs, and other points of height with monkey-like dexterity. These parts of the game are fun and fairly easy due to the forgiving nature of the engine. For example, if Nathan doesn't quite make it to a ledge, his hand will often just snatch the edge, keeping him alive.

There is also a small amount of puzzle solving that happens so infrequently that is hardly slows the pace of the game. Plus, the puzzles are all pretty easy, and will never offer anything that can stump you. In addition, there are a handful of vehicle stages. The jeep stage is quite thrilling and possibly one of the most visceral "man the turret" moments in a game. However, the jet ski stages don't fare quite as well. You are forced to both drive the jet ski and shoot, but both driving and shooting cannot be done simultaneously, so you'll have make lots of stops just to fire your weapons. This ultimately breaks what could have been a fast-paced and fun portion of the game.

While the game itself is somewhat short, clocking in at around 10 hours for the experienced gamer, there is some replay value here. With lots of smaller goals called medals, which are similar to the 360's achievements, Uncharted has legs even when it's over. However, these medals aren't just for bragging rights. They unlock a myriad of fun and interesting options and modes in the game. These can range from selecting any gun at any time to playing the game in slow motion. There are also a number of different outfits and characters that are playable if enough medals are unlocked. Furthermore, Uncharted has tucked away 60 treasures in various nooks and crannies of the game, and can usually be found off the beaten path. For completists, these can be a fun diversion, and collecting them also adds to your medals.

The graphics in Uncharted are some of the best around. In fact, they do things that no other game has done to date. For example, when Nathan walks through a creek, his pants get wet up to the point where the water touched him. If he jumps into a body of water, his clothes get soaked and they stick to him. Nathan also gets dirty depending on what he's doing. Not only that, but when he moves, his shirt actually moves and creases in a realistic fashion. It's impressive to watch, though details such as these may easily go unnoticed by someone who isn't looking for them. In fierce shootouts, cover can be chipped away, brick by brick. Animations flow from one to the next seamlessly, without the usual transitional animations that most platform-heavy games like this possess. Facial animations are also impressive, with lips so closely synched to words that you will often forget that you're playing a video game during the cutscenes. The island's foliage gives way to Nathan as he passes through it. There's just a ton of these little details throughout the experience, and they are truly a sight to be seen. Ultimately, it's safe to say that Uncharted has some of the best visuals around, and is a showcase of the power of the PlayStation 3.

This is one of the best looking PlayStation 3 games to date.

The sound and voice acting are equally superb. The entire cast delivers their dialog as if acting for a big blockbuster, and it shows. All of the cutscenes were actually acted out with the actors wearing motion capture suits, lending to realistic looking and sounding scenes between the gameplay. Other sounds are also spot on, such as the gun fire, the water, and even the noise that Nathan's feet make as they hit various surfaces. A lot of attention was paid to the audio portion of Uncharted, and it easily matches the visual side for a highly impressive and cinematic experience.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a fantastic game and is extremely fun to play. The gun battles are very satisfying, and the dialog, graphics, and cutscenes are some of the best in the business. Everything Uncharted does, it does as well as or better than its competitors. After a year of being on the market, the PlayStation 3 is finally getting some excellent exclusives, and Uncharted is one of them.