A classic example of an old dictum: trying to recapture lightning in a bottle is a fool's errand that only results in a less inspired piece of art. Fresh off the success of Uncharted 2, Naughty Dog clearly took a long look at their template for that game and came away with a series of pretty juvenile conclusions. Bigger set pieces, more exotic locales, more shooting - that was the way forward to even more triumphant success.
The problem is that they neglected a lot of the stuff that actually made the second game stand out - namely, the spot-on pacing (torpedoed here by a bloated opening act that features extended visits to not one, but two mostly extraneous locations to collect some pointless MacGuffins) and punchy banter that made it feel like you were starring in a modern-day Flash Gordon serial (still here, though less consistently; I personally could have done without the entire flashback subplot where Sully deals with Nate's daddy abandonment issues).
What results is a game whose primary sin is being eminently forgettable. It's not a gameplay issue. The act of playing this is largely similar to any other Uncharted - the bland and tiresome combat is counterbalanced with puzzles that are usually fine but are also rather repetitive. But the actual problem is that the real things that drive people play these games feel so thoroughly uninspired. There are a few exciting bits, a few wisecracks that may make provoke a chuckle or two. But there's absolutely nothing here that didn't immediately leave my brain always and forever as soon as the credits rolled. I enjoy my frivolous diversions just as much as the next person. But empty calories have rarely felt any emptier.
The problem is that they neglected a lot of the stuff that actually made the second game stand out - namely, the spot-on pacing (torpedoed here by a bloated opening act that features extended visits to not one, but two mostly extraneous locations to collect some pointless MacGuffins) and punchy banter that made it feel like you were starring in a modern-day Flash Gordon serial (still here, though less consistently; I personally could have done without the entire flashback subplot where Sully deals with Nate's daddy abandonment issues).
What results is a game whose primary sin is being eminently forgettable. It's not a gameplay issue. The act of playing this is largely similar to any other Uncharted - the bland and tiresome combat is counterbalanced with puzzles that are usually fine but are also rather repetitive. But the actual problem is that the real things that drive people play these games feel so thoroughly uninspired. There are a few exciting bits, a few wisecracks that may make provoke a chuckle or two. But there's absolutely nothing here that didn't immediately leave my brain always and forever as soon as the credits rolled. I enjoy my frivolous diversions just as much as the next person. But empty calories have rarely felt any emptier.