Overall: 8.5/10
Currently making my way through The Nathan Drake Collection. I didn't play these when I was younger so there's no nostalgia factor obscuring or painting my view. That being said, I also don't mind playing older games in general and I try to respect them for what they are and what time period they are from. After playing this installment, I can see why Uncharted went on to become a popular franchise. The first game was goofy fun but had a lot of repetitiveness and clunkiness (especially in the set piece department) and sits at a 6.5/10 for me. Among Thieves is an improvement on the first game in nearly every way. The writing and pacing are sharper. The set pieces are more exciting and actually work this time around (eg. just compare the museum break-in or train level to the jet ski level from the first one, it's a night and day difference). The puzzles are more visually unique such as the standout one inside the temple in Nepal. Good character development from Nate and Elena plus newcomer Chloe, although the main antagonists remain underdeveloped and cartoonish as they were in the first game. There are also once again some silly supernatural enemies that show up and hordes of enemies that randomly pop up in areas that are supposedly "uncharted" and haven't been seen by humans in centuries. By having random enemies pop anywhere and everywhere, it does take me out of the story at times. I wish it had more of a focus on exploration and puzzles rather than such a heavy emphasis on shooting, but at least the shooting has been upgraded significantly from the last one. In the end, I suppose one of the best signs is that I'm already loading up the next one...on to the next adventure!
Currently making my way through The Nathan Drake Collection. I didn't play these when I was younger so there's no nostalgia factor obscuring or painting my view. That being said, I also don't mind playing older games in general and I try to respect them for what they are and what time period they are from. After playing this installment, I can see why Uncharted went on to become a popular franchise. The first game was goofy fun but had a lot of repetitiveness and clunkiness (especially in the set piece department) and sits at a 6.5/10 for me. Among Thieves is an improvement on the first game in nearly every way. The writing and pacing are sharper. The set pieces are more exciting and actually work this time around (eg. just compare the museum break-in or train level to the jet ski level from the first one, it's a night and day difference). The puzzles are more visually unique such as the standout one inside the temple in Nepal. Good character development from Nate and Elena plus newcomer Chloe, although the main antagonists remain underdeveloped and cartoonish as they were in the first game. There are also once again some silly supernatural enemies that show up and hordes of enemies that randomly pop up in areas that are supposedly "uncharted" and haven't been seen by humans in centuries. By having random enemies pop anywhere and everywhere, it does take me out of the story at times. I wish it had more of a focus on exploration and puzzles rather than such a heavy emphasis on shooting, but at least the shooting has been upgraded significantly from the last one. In the end, I suppose one of the best signs is that I'm already loading up the next one...on to the next adventure!