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- Available on: PS3
- More information: wikipedia
- Cover scans: mobygames - covergalaxy
- FAQ's/cheats: gamefaqs
- Press review: ign - gamespot - gamespy - gametrailers
Content review for this game:
Pertaining to content listed in the upper left corner of this site.
Blood and gore: Blood effects puff in multiple, moderately large blackish/red droplets when you shoot an enemy. However it does not splatter onto walls, floors or clothing. Though bodies do linger, the blood does not. Pretty mild and subdued overall. Also, you do see some skeletons and decomposed human bodies scattered throughout the game. They appear bloodied, and their skin seems to be slightly shredded. There is no option to turn off blood in this game. The ESRB also didn't mention that there is some mild gore.
Specific scene of blood & gore:
- One scene shows Nate (main playable character) explore a wrecked German U-boat. He soon comes upon a decomposed body lying sprawled out on its back. It has the overall appearance of a mummy, but its skin is very bloodied. After this, he enters the captain's cabin, and then pulls open the curtain leading to the bunk. It reveals the former captain's body leaning on the bed. His appearance is similar to the last body, but his skin is a bit more torn; it looks like he was ripped apart by something.
- In one area, as an enemy is running at you from the top of a hill, he passes a tree and apparently trips a hidden wire, resulting in a set of large, wooden spikes, attached to a gate by the tree, swinging into and impaling him. And although the overall effect isn't too bloody or gory, the overall idea is pretty gross. There's about a dozen more of these traps near this area, and if you set one off, the same will happen to you. A later scene involving the same traps, has Elena and Nate come across another enemy, who has been ensnared by one. He is fully impaled, and you can see some blood running down his face.
- A later scene shows Nate as he's hanging off an enemy helicopter. An enemy at ground level tries to shoot him off, but instead, he misses wildly and shoots the pilot in the head, resulting in you seeing the impact (with some blood splatter).
Language: The language is by far the game's worst offender, and the overall use is comparable to the Back to the Future trilogy (which is saying something). There are 27 uses of h**l, 15 uses of d**n, 9 uses of SoB, 2 uses of b****rd, 3 uses of a**hole, 2 uses of a**, 1 uses of sc**w, 10 uses of s**t, 9 uses of God d**n, 1 use of p**s, 13 misuse of God, 1 misuse of Christ, and 3 misuses of Jesus. Also worth mentioning is, there's a few dozen uses of the word "Crap!" Other than the main script, Elena (main female character) will say things like "D**n!", "D**n it!", and "Oh God!" during fire fights. Drake will sometimes say "S**t!", "Oh s**t!", (s**t most often when the enemy throws a grenade) "D**n!", "D**n it!", and more rarely "Now I'm p**sed!" during fire fights with the enemy. Also enemies will use words like d**n, h**l, s**t, a**, and SoB during fire fights.
Mild Suggestive themes: There's no actual major romantic tension scenes involving the main male and female character, just some moderately suggestive dialog that mostly comes from one of the main characters, Sully.
- The first scene has Nate and Elena being attacked by pirates. She asks Nate how much danger they're in, and Nate responds, "They don't take prisoners (the pirates), at least not male ones (obviously referring to Elena)."
- While Nate catches Sully up on the current situation, Sully gets impatient and tells Nate to cut to the chase. Nate then says, "(sigh) A man who's only interested in the climax. You must be a real hit with the ladies." Sully replies, "Never had any complaints."
- Later, as Nate and Elena are looking for clues in a book, Nate absent-mindedly fiddles with a ring tied around his neck. Automatically assuming it represents something from Nate's girlfriend, Elena asks "That's something special?" Which Drake replies, "Oh! Yeah. I guess you could say that." She then says, "I thought you where a girl-for-every-port kind of guy." He replies "Yeah! I wish." You then find out the ring is a family heirloom, and that he's single.
- As Nate and Sully run through the jungle, Sully slows down and says, "I'm getting too old for this!" Nate then says, "You weren't too old for that barmaid in Lima." Sully responds, "Yeah, but that was different--but just as strenuous." Later, in the same area, while you're trying to find an entrance to some ruins, Sully says in frustration, "Oh man! This is like trying to find a bride in a brothel!"
- A later scene shows Sully talking to his captors about a barmaid he once knew (probably from Lima). He says, "She worked in this little bar in the Philippines. Oh man! She had a smile that would melt your heart. I swear to God, she'd just as soon kill you as kiss you if she caught you stepping out. Just a wee bit of a thing. She couldn't have been more than 4'11". They called her 'The Spinner...'" (obviously a sexual act). But, before he can finish, his captors stop him.
Use of tobacco: Sully is seen smoking a cigar (it must be several though) throughout the entire game. He also uses the cigar in a couple of the games environmental puzzles early on. That's it, there's nothing else to report. Very mild.
Violence: Following a clue inscribed on his family ring, Nate Drake (descendant of Sir Francis Drake, the famous explorer), hires a journalist to fund his expedition, in order to find Drake's coffin. When he finds it, pulls it out of the sea and opens it, he sees just what he thought; instead of Drake's body, it's a diary written by Drake. Drake had actually faked his death (at the time) to hide himself, and the secret location of El Dorado's treasure. Now it's time for Nate to find it, but like all treasure hunting, there's always more than one person looking...
The overall feel of violence is very much like the Indiana Jones series, and is full of over-the-top action and adventure. There are plenty of explosions and chases, and though the gameplay/fire fights are intense, they're not gratuitous or brutal in the least. Enemies flail and fall in exaggerated fashion every time you shoot them, and all of the fire fights feel more like a choreographed scene (which is good in this case) than reality. The majority of your enemies are pirates and mercenaries trying to beat you to the treasure. Nate will be fighting (and killing) dozens of them, and has access to all of the weapons enemies drop, like grenades, pistols, machine guns, sniper rifles, and shotguns. You can only carry two weapons at a time (not including grenades), one pistol type and one rifle type. You also have the ability to use melee attacks in close quarters, or you can sneak up on the enemy and either choke them or snap their neck. Nate can also use many explodable barrels to assist him in dispatching enemies.
Also worth mentioning, is there are a group of enemies near the end of the game that are not quite human, and are a bit disturbing. But, it will ruin the story if I say any more. So, I'll just say that they're no worse than something you would see in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, or The Mummy. It adds a light horror element to the end of the game, where Nate is forced to traverse dark, dank, and confined spaces as he tries to restore the power to an old abandoned facility, while fighting them. You also see these creatures kill a couple of enemy side characters by pulling them off of a ledge.
Closing comment: This is an overall masterpiece of a game, with near Pixar quailty graphics, responsive controls, amazing gameplay, and with characters and a story that breathes. The only downside to this game is that it is a bit short, though it's balanced by the fact that you can play the whole thing again and unlock lots of cool extras. Content-wise, it's pretty mild (especially if you compare it to a PG-13 action/adventure movie) in every area except language, which there is a ton of. So, if language offends some parents more than others, obviously the rating would go up. But, overall, I recommend this game for ages 14+.
