alexalex
kind of a mess? the first few chapters were quite promising yet it dies off with a second act that behaves more as a franchise retread than anything. and the last third is the most frustrating - it has all the brightest ideas yet production was clearly rushed, leading to an abundance of clunky set pieces marred with some truly awful combat.
speaking of combat, the levels are constructed very poorly. as per usual with this trilogy, the core gameplay loop involves these massive settings with row after row of enemies to fight that just drag on for far too long - and even with smoother shooting controls it just doesn't quite work. the opponents are like cardboard, and the hand-to-hand combat emphasized in this installment doesn't really work. for example: it's very easy to get locked into fisticuffs when an enemy approaches you, and as such the dodge mechanics don't work in a wider setting, so you can easily get sniped. the brute enemies are really annoying as well, as was the final boss - really just a glorified qte. and for a cover-based shooter, the actual cover mechanics were awfully unreliable. little things like that or the poorly developed stealth controls make the gameplay loop rather irritating.
as far as these grand set pieces go, the absurd maximalism makes this less of an adventure movie homage than a pastiche of modern hollywood. and it's a lot of fun at times! but the ideas never synthesize well with each other - the poorly constructed story has us moving from place to place, shooting gallery to puzzle to shooting gallery to big set piece with some utterly awful chase scenes and zero cohesion. it just doesn't work. a game of this length has no reason to be so repetitive. there's a lot of dedication to the game's influences here, yet the passion and tension is lost in indulgence after a while. i can only watch so many structures collapse in one game, everyone.
the story is disappointing too, finally offering some sort of commentary on drake and his impact on those around him only to abandon that development in favour of a happy ending. very little changes for these characters, it's almost a total retread of uncharted 2 without the ingenuity that makes uncharted 2 decent. there are some cool narrative strokes though - one of the principal villains deciding that the best way to combat drake is to have him trip on some unexplained hallucinogenic is hilarious. i just did not care for a single thing that was occurring otherwise.
with all that being said, there were some things here i quite liked. the trek through the desert is quite good, as is the preceding plane sequence (although thats the one thing in the game that shouldve been longer!). there are other good environments that simply aren't developed in an interesting way, with most introduced mechanics not being enough to stop each shootout from feeling exactly like the last. i do harbour a weird nostalgia for these games as they were the first i bought for my playstation, but i'm glad to get this one out of my backlog lol. here's hoping for uncharted 4 to be an improvement when i inevitably forget my frustrations with this franchise 🙏
speaking of combat, the levels are constructed very poorly. as per usual with this trilogy, the core gameplay loop involves these massive settings with row after row of enemies to fight that just drag on for far too long - and even with smoother shooting controls it just doesn't quite work. the opponents are like cardboard, and the hand-to-hand combat emphasized in this installment doesn't really work. for example: it's very easy to get locked into fisticuffs when an enemy approaches you, and as such the dodge mechanics don't work in a wider setting, so you can easily get sniped. the brute enemies are really annoying as well, as was the final boss - really just a glorified qte. and for a cover-based shooter, the actual cover mechanics were awfully unreliable. little things like that or the poorly developed stealth controls make the gameplay loop rather irritating.
as far as these grand set pieces go, the absurd maximalism makes this less of an adventure movie homage than a pastiche of modern hollywood. and it's a lot of fun at times! but the ideas never synthesize well with each other - the poorly constructed story has us moving from place to place, shooting gallery to puzzle to shooting gallery to big set piece with some utterly awful chase scenes and zero cohesion. it just doesn't work. a game of this length has no reason to be so repetitive. there's a lot of dedication to the game's influences here, yet the passion and tension is lost in indulgence after a while. i can only watch so many structures collapse in one game, everyone.
the story is disappointing too, finally offering some sort of commentary on drake and his impact on those around him only to abandon that development in favour of a happy ending. very little changes for these characters, it's almost a total retread of uncharted 2 without the ingenuity that makes uncharted 2 decent. there are some cool narrative strokes though - one of the principal villains deciding that the best way to combat drake is to have him trip on some unexplained hallucinogenic is hilarious. i just did not care for a single thing that was occurring otherwise.
with all that being said, there were some things here i quite liked. the trek through the desert is quite good, as is the preceding plane sequence (although thats the one thing in the game that shouldve been longer!). there are other good environments that simply aren't developed in an interesting way, with most introduced mechanics not being enough to stop each shootout from feeling exactly like the last. i do harbour a weird nostalgia for these games as they were the first i bought for my playstation, but i'm glad to get this one out of my backlog lol. here's hoping for uncharted 4 to be an improvement when i inevitably forget my frustrations with this franchise 🙏
Lived up to the hype immensely.
2011
lots to love here - the story structure and premise are incredible, the themes are interesting (mostly in the ethical ramifications of altering memory and if living a delusion is as emotionally valuable as real life), and the visual style is quite nice. but it suffers from some annoying dialogue, with shoehorned in pop culture references and self-referential humour that creates an uneven tone, plus one of the big reveals is a bit much for me to believe and the way it portrays autism is a mixed bag though clearly well-intentioned. its a very poignant story weighed down by some weird and contrived elements - I found the bulk of it pretty fun to play but it kinda jumps the shark towards the end, despite a beautiful closing scene that really encapsulates everything I liked about the experience. weird story digressions aside there's a great game at the core of this, and I'd gladly check out the sequel at some point
played remastered version on PC
An utter delight. It boggles my mind how something that's so frequently about the corruption and ineptitude found within the legal system has been such a comfort to me in the weeks it's taken me to get through it. It's just so charming, filled with all sorts of memorable characters (Edgeworth my beloved), not to mention that it's quite easily the funniest game I've played. Objectively speaking, I probably wouldn't rate this so high - it seems to sacrifice a bit to appeal to a younger audience, as the tone feels ever so slightly childish despite the somewhat gory murders, plus the archaic investigation sequences are a little bit tedious every now and then. The progression can be slightly unintuitive as well, as the investigation sequences are a bit convoluted while their courtroom counterparts have an annoyingly strict method of progression that will sometimes actively punish you for figuring out the mystery out of sequence. Regardless, it's really endearing, and the mysteries/characters are genuinely quite well-constructed. Also, as I'm likely liable to forget as I progress through the franchise, might as well summarize my thoughts on the individual cases as well.
Case 1-1: 6/10
Admirably succinct and functional as a tutorial, and the mechanics instantly hooked me although the case doesn't have much meat to it.
Case 1-2: 7/10
Feels like this one sort of exists to ease the players into the general structure and characters, plus it introduces a bit of emotional substance (though it often feels bizarrely light for what the subject matter is? I suppose the gradually introduced supernatural elements do make it carry a bit less weight). With all that considered, it is a pretty simple case, but also a lot of fun in its own regard.
Case 1-3: 6.5/10
The investigation portion struck me as a bit tedious here, which is a bit weird as it kinda feels like filler. Nonetheless, it is satisfying once the details click into place, and the game's absurd sense of humour is finally given a chance to breathe.
Case 1-4: 9/10
Hands-down some of the most fun I've had playing any game. Excellent mystery, incredible character development, and it was surprisingly evocative - a bit of a surprise when contrasted with the madcap puzzles of the preceding case, but a wholly welcome one.
Case 1-5: 8/10
Took me a solid ~6 hours to get through, almost as long as the other cases combined, and I don't think the length is entirely warranted. It's extended by stupid puzzles and some over-written segments, as well as the sheer excess of evidence to keep track of. The pacing is a bit rough to start with, but it improves once the mystery really gets going - and it's spectacular once it does. The latter segments entirely compensate for the uneven quality of what precedes them, and the ending is simply lovely.
Anyways I'll stop yapping now, far from a perfect game but I love it with all my heart anyways. Can't wait to play the sequels!
An utter delight. It boggles my mind how something that's so frequently about the corruption and ineptitude found within the legal system has been such a comfort to me in the weeks it's taken me to get through it. It's just so charming, filled with all sorts of memorable characters (Edgeworth my beloved), not to mention that it's quite easily the funniest game I've played. Objectively speaking, I probably wouldn't rate this so high - it seems to sacrifice a bit to appeal to a younger audience, as the tone feels ever so slightly childish despite the somewhat gory murders, plus the archaic investigation sequences are a little bit tedious every now and then. The progression can be slightly unintuitive as well, as the investigation sequences are a bit convoluted while their courtroom counterparts have an annoyingly strict method of progression that will sometimes actively punish you for figuring out the mystery out of sequence. Regardless, it's really endearing, and the mysteries/characters are genuinely quite well-constructed. Also, as I'm likely liable to forget as I progress through the franchise, might as well summarize my thoughts on the individual cases as well.
Case 1-1: 6/10
Admirably succinct and functional as a tutorial, and the mechanics instantly hooked me although the case doesn't have much meat to it.
Case 1-2: 7/10
Feels like this one sort of exists to ease the players into the general structure and characters, plus it introduces a bit of emotional substance (though it often feels bizarrely light for what the subject matter is? I suppose the gradually introduced supernatural elements do make it carry a bit less weight). With all that considered, it is a pretty simple case, but also a lot of fun in its own regard.
Case 1-3: 6.5/10
The investigation portion struck me as a bit tedious here, which is a bit weird as it kinda feels like filler. Nonetheless, it is satisfying once the details click into place, and the game's absurd sense of humour is finally given a chance to breathe.
Case 1-4: 9/10
Hands-down some of the most fun I've had playing any game. Excellent mystery, incredible character development, and it was surprisingly evocative - a bit of a surprise when contrasted with the madcap puzzles of the preceding case, but a wholly welcome one.
Case 1-5: 8/10
Took me a solid ~6 hours to get through, almost as long as the other cases combined, and I don't think the length is entirely warranted. It's extended by stupid puzzles and some over-written segments, as well as the sheer excess of evidence to keep track of. The pacing is a bit rough to start with, but it improves once the mystery really gets going - and it's spectacular once it does. The latter segments entirely compensate for the uneven quality of what precedes them, and the ending is simply lovely.
Anyways I'll stop yapping now, far from a perfect game but I love it with all my heart anyways. Can't wait to play the sequels!