I finally got around to playing through Uncharted: Drake's Fortune over the last week and I recommend that anyone who hasn't played it, correct that error as soon as you can.
Uncharted plays out like a satisfying summer action movie. The plot and characters are well written, even if neither break new ground. The visuals are stunning, some of the best I've seen in video games. The jungle environments are lush, the water effects impressive and the animations & facial expressions infuse life into the characters that draws you in and makes you care about how the narrative plays out.
As a game, its really fun to play. The Tomb Raider/Prince of Persia platform segments control well and give you a solid adventure feel as Nathan jumps from ledge to ledge, sometimes barely grabbing hold by his fingertips.
The combat and gunplay is the newly popular stop and pop variety where you take cover, wait for an enemy to expose himself and then peer over or around your cover to return fire. There is a good variety of weapons from pistols, machine guns, shotguns, grenades and sniper rifles. Enemies react based on where you shoot them, so if you shoot them in the leg, they will go down to a knee before recovering, if you shoot them in the arm, they may spin around for a second, and the always satifying headshot will knock an enemy backwards in the air before he lands in a heap. I have a minor issue with how many bullets enemies take, but that just encourages you to go for headshots for the one shot kill. There are some major firefights to tackle. You will find yourself pinned down by waves of enemies and the AI is smart. Enemies will flank you or force you to leave the cover you are clinging to by tossing a grenade at your feet if you turtle too much.
Uncharted also has enjoyable melee combat. If you get behind an enemy you can snap his neck or you can take them head-on, unleashing hand-to-hand combos that have some pretty savage and entertaining animations when completed. Taking an enemy out with one of these combos also yields the added benefit that the enemy drops double the ammo.
The puzzles are simple and they give you enough hints that you shouldn't be stuck for too long.
In fact the game isn't long at all. I finished it in about 8 and a half hours including finding all 61 treasures (using a guide), earning 520 of the game's "accomplishment" points. It is a lot of fun while it lasts though and if you have a PS3, or will be getting a PS3, make sure you pick this game up. I'll probably go back and play through it on the higher difficulty if they patch in trophies. I downloaded the 2.40 firmware patch and earned my first 12 trophies in Super Stardust HD, another game that all PS3 owners should check out. Now I have more stats to chase!
Now I have to decide what next to play among the following: Assassins Creed, Bully: Scholarship Edition, Dark Sector, Spider-Man 3, GTA: San Andreas, Jak 3, Kingdom Hearts 2, Psychonauts, Mercenaries, Okami or Sly Cooper 3. Woe is me.
Happy 4th of July! God Bless America! Enjoy the weekend!