On this weeks Free-2-Play Friday, we’re picking up our compass and pistol and looking for treasure in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception‘s competitive multiplayer.
Uncharted 3 came out in 2011 and was met with critical acclaim. The single-player campaign is a fantastic, thrilling action-adventure that keeps you on the edge of your seat. But if you are familiar with the Uncharted series at all, then I’m sure this doesn’t come of news to you. What might come as a bit of a surprise, even to those familiar with the Uncharted series, is that the multiplayer modes in Uncharted 3 are equally as impressive and also garnered equal amounts of critical acclaim.
Earlier this year, a level-capped version of the Uncharted 3 multiplayer was added to the PlayStation Store’s free-to-play lineup. Aside from capping your character at level 15, it has everything the stock competitive multiplayer modes offer in the full retail game. This means you can duck behind cover, jump, climb, blow up, and melee just as well as the next person! Of course, due to the level cap and DLC, there will be some things other players have access to that you don’t.
When you level up, you unlock things in a number of different categories that determine what weapons you will be bringing into battle, modify your chosen weapons, grant you special skills called Boosters, alter your appearance, and give you game-changing abilities called Medal Kickbacks. Only non-DLC gear and abilities can be unlocked in the free-to-play version of the game. Surprisingly, though, within those 15 levels you can unlock a fair amount of the content in the stock retail version of the game. By level 15, you will have access to:
Long Guns – 3 out of 6 stock Long Guns.
Pistols – 2 out of 4 stock Pistols
Booster slot 1 – 9 out of 15 Boosters
Booster slot 2 – 9 out of 15 Boosters
Medal Kickbacks – 8 out of 19
You also have access to over half of the weapon mods available for the guns you are able to unlock.
You can unlock about half of the content available in the standard retail version of the game that contributes to your combat effectiveness, and by level 15, you should have all you need to set up a competitive build for your character. If you do feel the need to have access to the rest of the content, it is readily available on the PlayStation Store. The great thing about the free-to-play version of Uncharted 3 is that if all you care about is battling it out with other players in the competitive modes, then you can have a completely free and enjoyable experience without ever feeling like you need to spend any money.
If you haven’t purchased Uncharted 3 already and are a huge fan of competitive multiplayer games, then this free-to-play experience is worth a try. The gameplay is smooth, the controls are great, and you won’t find yourself being constantly reminded that the game you are playing didn’t cost you a penny. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception does everything a free-to-play game should, plus a little extra, and is one of the best free-to-play games currently available on the PlayStation Store.
Have you played this free-to-play iteration of Uncharted 3? How do you feel it stacks up against other free-to-play titles currently available on for download? Let us know in the comments section below.
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If you missed last week’s issue of Free-2-Play Friday, check it out right here. Every Friday, we will share updates and gameplay details on a different free-to-play game on PlayStation, so stay tuned and be sure to come back for next week’s Free-2-Play Friday.