people liked to call this one the best of the ps3 trilogy back in the day and even after returning to it with a discerning eye a decade later I can still see why.

there's a lot of small things to appreciate:
-- the shooting feels reactive with its varying reticles and seems to know that it's a function in a game where accuracy comes second to how useful the guns are to the run-and-shoot playstyle that uncharted does so well
-- the level design is crisp. stuff that you can climb and can't climb on are both very distinctive in all environments which was a major problem I had in the last game
-- drake seems to have the most character-defining moments in this game out of the original 3 games. he doesn't nessecarily have a full-fledged arc but I feel like this is the game where you get the most of the stereotypical snarky action guy wit that I have to admit is a guilty pleasure for me

if there's a low point for me its probably that the game is straight up unfair at times. you die a lot trying to figure out what the fuck to do and the stealth isnt very good. I personally dont mind that too much though. ND seemed to even embrace it at times

the derailed train scene will always be the peak of action games. I honestly can't think of any other game opening that tops it, even to this day.