I’m hoping for Uncharted 2 (and beyond) to turn out great because I can’t believe this would even get a sequel. If you were to break down Uncharted to its concept, it’s pretty much a modern Indiana Jones adventure you get to play. Which should be enough to at least be a pretty fun action-adventure game living up to that premise. But I don’t think Drake’s Fortune was the one so far best suited to fulfilling that.
The story doesn’t really do many interesting things with its own setting, whether it be really bombastic action set-pieces or a solid hook, to become thoroughly engaging. The only crazy thing happening I guess was a fakeout character death and a really stupid twist that kinda ruined the more modernized pulpy adventurous vibe I was really digging. The characters were fine? Nathan Drake had some moments of charm here and there but like the rest fell into being too uncharismatic for me to really endear towards. They just feel too simplistic, which makes sense considering this was when Naughty Dog was trying to transition from their background in cartoonish platformers, to feel like the believable well-written characters I’ve expected going into this franchise. I like to think this is just “first game-itis” and really comes to form later down the line.
What soured my experience was how dated the game still felt even while I was playing it through the remastered PS4 collection. This has every hallmark of a definitive PS3 title and I think it was for the worse; from the annoying cover-based shooter mechanics, the unsuccessful attempts at being a blockbuster cinematic, and the obligatory out-of-nowhere-only-to-be-used-once turret section. Just when I thought it had decent moment-to-moment gameplay going on it was cut short by whenever I had to swim and realize how kinda embarrassing that felt only for that to be overthrown by the terrible boat driving segments. This combination of just really middling gameplay elements crescendo into the last hours of the game where I got frustrated by shooting the same large hordes of enemies and what might be one of the lamest final bosses I've encountered yet in a game’s climax.
I want to give credit where credit is due and say I can understand why this was big for 2007, especially with how stacked that year was for gaming. I can even respect how this helped lay the foundation for a lot of big action-adventure titles to take from and improve upon in many ways. But trying to play Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for the first time in the current year makes it very difficult to enjoy as much as I can try to respect it.
The story doesn’t really do many interesting things with its own setting, whether it be really bombastic action set-pieces or a solid hook, to become thoroughly engaging. The only crazy thing happening I guess was a fakeout character death and a really stupid twist that kinda ruined the more modernized pulpy adventurous vibe I was really digging. The characters were fine? Nathan Drake had some moments of charm here and there but like the rest fell into being too uncharismatic for me to really endear towards. They just feel too simplistic, which makes sense considering this was when Naughty Dog was trying to transition from their background in cartoonish platformers, to feel like the believable well-written characters I’ve expected going into this franchise. I like to think this is just “first game-itis” and really comes to form later down the line.
What soured my experience was how dated the game still felt even while I was playing it through the remastered PS4 collection. This has every hallmark of a definitive PS3 title and I think it was for the worse; from the annoying cover-based shooter mechanics, the unsuccessful attempts at being a blockbuster cinematic, and the obligatory out-of-nowhere-only-to-be-used-once turret section. Just when I thought it had decent moment-to-moment gameplay going on it was cut short by whenever I had to swim and realize how kinda embarrassing that felt only for that to be overthrown by the terrible boat driving segments. This combination of just really middling gameplay elements crescendo into the last hours of the game where I got frustrated by shooting the same large hordes of enemies and what might be one of the lamest final bosses I've encountered yet in a game’s climax.
I want to give credit where credit is due and say I can understand why this was big for 2007, especially with how stacked that year was for gaming. I can even respect how this helped lay the foundation for a lot of big action-adventure titles to take from and improve upon in many ways. But trying to play Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for the first time in the current year makes it very difficult to enjoy as much as I can try to respect it.