The original Uncharted is a great start to what may be one of the best series to be exclusive to the Playstation 3.
First off, this game reminds me a lot of the Nation Treasure movies. It's about this funny dude by the name of Nathan Drake, who tries to uncover the secrets and treasures of his ancestor Sir Francis Drake. The opening scene starts with the first clue to the mystery of "El Dorado" and Sir Francis Drake's fortune. Soon enough Drake and his supposedly "temporary" tag-along Elena, a journalist/reporter, are attacked by modern-day pirates.
Compared to other shooters I have played, Uncharted's controls take a little getting use to. But shooting bad guys isn't the only thing done in this adventerous game. There are plenty of platforming elements and even a little bit of puzzle solving moments. It's a well balanced experience, especially when movie-like cutscenes are thrown into the mix. The characters are likeable, especially Nathan Drake. His main companion, Sully is quite a character as well. There are some surprising appearances and plot twist throughout the story, and overall it's put together quite well. There may be a few minor flaws, but most of it goes unnoticed when playing through the game.
The shooting mechanics work out well thanks to a well crafted cover sytem, which allows Drake to be able to duck under and stick to any sort of wall or surface. Enemies will spend most of thier time poking in and out of cover, and luckily won't rush you very much, because close quarter combat can be somewhat clunky, especially when forced to make a melee take down as shooting at short range can kind of suck. Enemies have the tendency to make the right shots, and throw some pretty well aimed out grenades. But they also don't always stay behind thier cover very well at all times, which makes shooting exposed body parts easy on your part.
Graphically, Uncharted still looks rather decent despite the fact that it's been over 2 years since its release. So at the time they probably would have been considered good. However the gameplay is still just fine, and playing through it doesn't feel like it's just some sort of linear shooter. It's a bit like Resident Evil 5, with the same jumping mechanics as something like InFamous. There are 60 treasures to collect if desired, but it's reccommended as one playthrough will probably only last about 6-8 hours, depending on the difficulty and time spent hunting for treasures.
Unfortunately there aren't any other game modes to play, but the single player does offer an amazing 6-8 hours of gametime. There are trophies to unlock, including an additional difficulty level to unlock. Again 60 treasures will take some time tracking down. All that makes Uncharted worth more than 1 playthrough. If looking just for a playthrough, Uncharted is surely worth a rent, but I would say check the bargain bin for this classic adventure.