Building fiction atop established fiction, Deadfall Adventures

Looks like these two won't be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon.

“ Deadfall Adventures isn't merely a first-person approximation of the Uncharted formula.

Puzzles in action.

Ominous much?

“ The puzzles range dramatically in their brain-testing ability.

Hmm, it says here to "not die." Good plan!

While this century-plus-old hook allows developer The Farm 51 to claim some classic heritage, and mention in marketing materials that the elder Quatermain served as an inspiration for Indiana Jones, the resulting first-person shooter mostly feels like a game created in the wake of Naughty Dog's Uncharted series.But where the quest probably should have taken further cues from the PlayStation franchise is in its lead character, James Lee Quatermain, who proves utterly unlikeable in the chunk of the game that I played. And it's not that he seems intentionally drawn that way to be a classic antihero – he's just a one-note stereotype of a bitter, self-centered, and uncaring man, who spouts grating lines to Jennifer Goodwin, the U.S. agent companion that travels alongside you.Surely this isn't the hero that's been created in the image of the classic explorer that inspired Harrison Ford's iconic film performances. By strong contrast, Uncharted's Nathan Drake remains a likeable lead nearly throughout, even as he's mowing down hundreds of enemy goons and making dangerous decisions out of self-interest. We can credit Nolan North for a lot of that, thanks to his nuanced performances in both voice and motion capture, but it's clear that a lot of work went into making Drake a layered, human character (despite the ample violence) rather than a single-minded killing machine.That sort of effort isn't felt in Deadfall Adventures at this point, nor does James Lee feel like anything more than a generic, gruff lead with a classic surname attached. It's possible that the remaining bulk of the single-player campaign fleshes him out as a meaningful, memorable character, but having played the two opening missions plus a pair of later ones from the game, that doesn't seem likely. And the light narrative – which centers on a globetrotting quest across Egypt, Guatemala, and elsewhere to recover the Heart of Atlantis, all while blasting Nazi pursuers – doesn't seem to enter any thrilling territory.The puzzles, meanwhile, range dramatically in their brain-testing ability. A couple in the preview missions required some serious thought, but most others were straightforward to the point of essentially being solved for you. The notebook flips only to the correct page when opened, and will often show you exactly what to do, whether it's depicting the right icons to face forward when turning dial locks or pointing out traps in the environment. It's like they're there simply for window dressing or to break up the gunplay, rather than deliver any notable challenge.Deadfall Adventures also includes competitive multiplayer and co-op survival modes that weren't available for preview, and perhaps it's in those moments that the game strikes an interesting tone, and really puts the exploration theme to worthy use. However, coming into the game's campaign stages anticipating a fresh and intriguing spin on its influences – both stated and assumed – and finding something so routine and unremarkable has me concerned about its ability to do anything new and interesting with a very familiar premise.

Andrew Hayward is a freelance contributor to IGN and all-around nice guy. Say nice things to him on Twitter