Ever since I returned home from my weekend of adventure in Alexandria, VA this past Monday, I've been really wanting to post here again and lay out my impressions of Uncharted 3. However, this desire was eclipsed by my desire to play through the game a second time. Technically, I had to anyway because the first time I beat the game, it was on my friend's PS3. So, I beat it on Normal - playthrough #2 - and now here I am to relay my thoughts.

Since it's been so long since I last wrote anything, I was initially considering including a couple short paragraphs detailing my progress in WoW since I hopped back into Azeroth towards the end of September. I've since decided not to do so, as I'm sure not many of you really care about my exploits in WoW. Primarily, because not many of you play WoW. Good on you. Keep it that way. ;) Suffice it to say, however, that my main character has reached the new level cap and is well on his way to becoming raid ready.

And now, without further ado....

PROS:

• Incredible graphics. This is definitely another one of those cases where even watching trailers or gameplay vids online in HD do not do the visuals justice. As if Uncharted 2 wasn't detailed enough, Naughty Dog took it to a whole other level this time around. Of course, while you're actively playing the game, you may not even notice many of the small details, but they're there. Things like horse ears moving as they should, marketplaces filled with lots of individually modeled merchandise, and even a wall outlet in a bar. ND is mercilessly OCD about their research, as well as about how accurate and authentic their locales appear. It shows in spades here.
• The characters, voice acting, and script are as superb as ever. Amy Hennig, ND's Creative Director, is always mentioning how she feels like she can't take all the credit for the games' dialogue because the actors play an important role in this department as well. They collaborate frequently and often times, come up with lines improvisationally that end up in the final product ("Kitty got wet" anyone?). At this point, the actors are so in tune with their Uncharted character counterparts that the result is an even stronger performance. In a game full of poignant, harrowing, and mind-blowing moments, there was one in particular (at the end of Chapter 15, I believe) that just blew me away. These characters act and sound like real, genuine people. I can't think of any other video game I've ever played where I could say that again.
  
• Those folks who disliked the final "boss" encounters in the previous two games might enjoy DD's final event better. Without giving anything away, it would seem that ND has realized that they are first and foremost trying to bring to the masses an interactive action film-like experience to the gaming community. Action films don't have boss fights; they have tense confrontations with the antagonists every so often. This is what UC3 does; there are no boss fights. I think ND has finally realized that boss fights, as they are strictly defined, are immediately awkward and jarring in a game like Uncharted and therefore have no place within. Those looking for explicit boss fights need look elsewhere.

CONS

• Enemies are back to being damage sponges, just as they were in the first Uncharted. You shoot and you shoot and you shoot and they don't fall down. Forget about the armored guys that look like baseball umpires. I don't expect the baddies to go down as quickly as they do in a realism-charged war-inspired game like BF3 or MW3, but they should not take over a clip of bullets each. On NORMAL. God help me when I attempt Crushing next week.
  
• It is nearly impossible to break out of a melee confrontation once you're engaged. It doesn't matter if a sniper has their red laser aimed right at your head or a grenade has just been tossed at your feet. You are locked in that melee encounter until the dude you're punching goes down. I have nothing against the melee, but it's admittedly a bit ridiculous that the game becomes so rigid once you break out in fisticuffs.
• Prior to my second playthrough, I had actually jotted down two additional cons: The story could have had more to it, and the game as a whole didn't seem as polished as its predecessor. I still sort of believe in both sentiments. I never encountered any plotholes, but the whole thing just didn't feel as fleshed out as it could have been. I believe this stems from the fact that Uncharted 2 was just so unbelievable cohesive and consistently flawless in terms of pacing and the like. ND creates the epic set pieces before it finalizes the story, so in fact, they end up working the story around the set pieces they wish to keep and create for the final product. I think I read somewhere that ND itself was pleasantly surprised at how well UC2 came together, the set pieces with the final story. UC3 is by no means disjointed or terrible, but it is not quite the wonder that UC2 was because things simply didn't come together as neatly or as finely as they did the last time around.
• Damage sponge enemies! I sincerely hope ND fixes this in a future patch. While they're at it, the aiming is a bit slow, even on max sensitivity, so it'd be nice if that were adjusted, too.

OVERALL

Uncharted 2 is still "Best in Series" in my mind, but I'll be damned if Uncharted 3 wasn't at least as gorgeous to look at, at least as fun to play, and at least as deserving of the Uncharted name as its predecessor was. I still cannot believe that the same Naughty Dog that brought us the goofy and comical Crash Bandicoot and the silent, courageous duo Jak and Daxter have brought these Uncharted games into the world. I have yet to pinpoint what it is that made me fall in love with the series so quickly, but at this point, it has a very tight grip on my heart.

In the week between its release and last Friday when I finally got to play the game, I heard people on many sites tearing Uncharted 3 apart. The thing is, though, it's not a bad game. I think they're just upset the gameplay wasn't better, wasn't more improved. Hopefully, ND will continue to refine these mechanics for future Uncharted games (oh please, let there be more.). However, let us look beyond such things as gameplay and graphics. Uncharted has never really felt like a game to me. Sure, I pop in a disc, use a controller to interact with it, and earn trophies, but I've always said that the Uncharted games have felt more like experiences. More so than I felt with UC 1 and 2, I felt with UC3 like I was simply interacting with a film. I was playing through a movie. By worldly definition, the UC games are just that, games, but they certainly transcend far beyond that for me. The characters, locales, and story will suck you in all over again and after a short time, you'll completely forget you're manipulating the events on-screen with a controller in your hands.

Before I conclude this post, I wanted to include a break down for some other games I had been / will be considering buying/playing in the weeks and months to come.

• Assassin's Creed 2 - My friend, the Kaptain, convinced me last Saturday that it was worth checking out this game. I was able to pick it up pre-owned for only $13.50. I'll be tackling Venice after I finish with Uncharted 3 and after that, who knows? Maybe Brotherhood and Revelations will be in the horizon.
• Battlefield 3 - It disgusts me that some games are made these days purely for multiplayer and they include a single player campaign, almost as an afterthought. All that I've read about BF3 makes it seem like this is exactly what happened. As I am not a major participant in online multiplayer activities, BF3 has definitely been scratched off my list.
• Need for Speed: The Run - While I will continue to track it out of curiousity regarding what reviews might say, the demo did not impress me. The cars control so differently from how they did in last year's Hot Pursuit. It felt like I was driving a big boat; ordinary braking and the handbrakes were not all that effective. I may have just needed to lay off the gas a little bit, but still. Also, it pains me to admit the sentiments you may have heard that state the game is not as graphically impressive as other recent racing releases, it's true. HP and Shift 2 put this one to shame.
• Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One - I'd had this one on my Tracking List for a very long time because I enjoyed Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time very much last September. Unfortunately, this one proved with just a two-level demo that it would be very boring. I grew bored while playing the demo. Everything that's been objectively mentioned as cons of the game is actually true. It may have Ratchet and Clank in it, but it's not a Ratchet and Clank game like we've grown to know and love them. Humorous as it may be, I'm passing on this one, for sure.
• Rayman Origins - A surprising new addition to my roster. I've never played a Rayman game before in my life. I barely even knew about this game before last week. But, I read some positive things about it and saw the demo available in the PS Store, so I gave it a whirl. The demo contains 3.5 levels, and it was a total blast to play. It reminded me strongly of Earthworm Jim. It looked great. I don't know that I want to spend $60 on it, but I'll definitely be looking to pick this one up someday.