At best, it was a 7.0-8.0 game. It certainly wasn't awful, and I was very fond of the movement in this game. It felt like I was controlling an action person instead of a tank. I just can't see what was so great about the overall game, though.
I wrote the following on January 4, 2009 to my friend on FaceBook:
I thought Uncharted: Drake's Fortune had too much of a "me too" feel." I don't expect every game to spark a revolution, but Uncharted doesn't even attempt to do anything you haven't seen before. It's like a cross between Gears of War and Tomb Raider, gameplay-wise, and a cross between National Treasure and Indiana Jones, story-wise.
The story, at times, feels underdeveloped. The platforming sequences are way too easy. The only way you'll ever die from them is if you don't know what to jump to because you aren't sure if it's' background or not. But when you do know where to go, all you have to do is tilt the analog stick in the right direction and click the X button. The puzzles are also way too simple and often times are dead give-aways. Furthermore, it'd be nice if there was more variety in the weapons. The game also ends way too soon. It took me eight hours and fifty-nine minutes to beat. I feel like there should've been more to it.
Also, sometimes fire-fight after fire-fight can be a bit repetitive. As you know, all the platforms you have to jump to blend in too well with the environment. The industrial levels are really dull-looking in comparison to the jungle levels. On top of that, the action button sequences (Press X to not die.) come up so rarely that when they finally do come up, you are caught off guard and die. It's not a huge deal, but the game only has about five or six of them in the game, so you're never really expecting it.
But on the plus side, Nathan Drake is an original character. He isn't some bald space marine with an angry looking face. He's actually someone you can relate to. The dialogue is snappy. The transitions Nathan Drake makes when you jump from platform to platform is unheard of in most games. The graphics are superb. The storyline, while a bit too farmiliar, is engaging enough to hold your interest. The animations and attention to detail for every little thing is outstanding.
Nathan Drake's movements are also very fluid, and are much better than the heavy, tankish feel of Gears of War. Nathan Drake is controlled like an actual person. Marcus Fenix must be tied to a stack of bricks with cylinder blocks on his feet.
Back to present day time:
I pretty much agree with what Yahtzee had to say about the game. He was spot-on.
The fact that Uncharted can be held as high as LittleBigPlanet, Super Mario Galaxy, or even Left 4 Dead has me scratching my head. It's a good game, but when I miss out on Uncharted 2, I won't really care. I'm kind of surprised that this game gets so much attention. It's undeserving.
DeathScape666
This type of post would be perfect for a blog.
It's amazing how threatened everyone is by Uncharted 2. The beta is already out, they are showing off the new elements of their game (the MP component) a full 5 months early. I would say that speaks pretty highly of their confidence in the final product. They have nothing to hide, and after playing the beta, I am in full agreement.
The Uncharted 2 love will die down in a couple of weeks or months, but expect it to reach maximum velocity in October or November. Don't say you weren't warned, and I don't think you need to make this thread again in 5 months, though I suspect you will anyway.
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