Uncharted is the MCU of the gaming industry.
It’s tonally very similar, there’s a focus on spectacle over nuanced storytelling, your dad is probably quite fond of it, and most of all it’s formulaic. Uncharted 3 is where the formula really feels like it’s set in stone.
Now, it’s worth noting that I actually really like both Uncharted and the MCU, but in both cases I really wish they’d push their boundaries a little bit. They’re complacent, and it’s a shame to keep feeling like they could just go a little further and get so much more out of it.
For the third time now Nate and Sully have gone to a foreign land to go looking for an ancient city, only to find a power-hungry leader of a mercenary group find treasure deep within the ruined land that transforms and mutates their goons. The twist in Uncharted 3 is that Nate is only hallucinating the last part and the goons are in fact perfectly normal (although you still have to fight flaming teleporting demon mercenaries while Nate is tripping balls).
There’s almost nothing new here. The shooting is still pretty good with the only change being that the melee combat sucks less this time- but still isn’t great. The plot is the same tune with different words. The banter between Nate and Sully is still great and the characters continue to be the best part of this franchise- I was getting to like newly introduced Charlie Cutter before he broke his leg and was escorted out of the story halfway through by a returning Chloe, who I missed dearly for the remainder of the game.
Uncharted 3’s best part is the really great set of chapters consisting of Nate stowing away on a cargo plane, the plane crashing, wandering through the desert, fighting through an abandoned town and then multiple extended gunfights on horseback. The momentum of these chapters is where the game really shines because it all feels new. You’re constantly mixing things up and the game feels fresh. And then you’re kicked into an abandoned ancient city with a terrible treasure buried within its depths and waves of superpowered mooks to fight through and it’s so disappointing.
Uncharted 3 is not a bad game by any means- it’s very competently made, funny and knows exactly what it wants to be. But it never wants to be anything more.
It’s tonally very similar, there’s a focus on spectacle over nuanced storytelling, your dad is probably quite fond of it, and most of all it’s formulaic. Uncharted 3 is where the formula really feels like it’s set in stone.
Now, it’s worth noting that I actually really like both Uncharted and the MCU, but in both cases I really wish they’d push their boundaries a little bit. They’re complacent, and it’s a shame to keep feeling like they could just go a little further and get so much more out of it.
For the third time now Nate and Sully have gone to a foreign land to go looking for an ancient city, only to find a power-hungry leader of a mercenary group find treasure deep within the ruined land that transforms and mutates their goons. The twist in Uncharted 3 is that Nate is only hallucinating the last part and the goons are in fact perfectly normal (although you still have to fight flaming teleporting demon mercenaries while Nate is tripping balls).
There’s almost nothing new here. The shooting is still pretty good with the only change being that the melee combat sucks less this time- but still isn’t great. The plot is the same tune with different words. The banter between Nate and Sully is still great and the characters continue to be the best part of this franchise- I was getting to like newly introduced Charlie Cutter before he broke his leg and was escorted out of the story halfway through by a returning Chloe, who I missed dearly for the remainder of the game.
Uncharted 3’s best part is the really great set of chapters consisting of Nate stowing away on a cargo plane, the plane crashing, wandering through the desert, fighting through an abandoned town and then multiple extended gunfights on horseback. The momentum of these chapters is where the game really shines because it all feels new. You’re constantly mixing things up and the game feels fresh. And then you’re kicked into an abandoned ancient city with a terrible treasure buried within its depths and waves of superpowered mooks to fight through and it’s so disappointing.
Uncharted 3 is not a bad game by any means- it’s very competently made, funny and knows exactly what it wants to be. But it never wants to be anything more.