8/10 indeed.
I am so disappointed after finishing it. Disappointed because the bar that has been set with U2:AT was obviously too high, but disappointed none the less.
The core gameplay was absolutly the same to me, haven't felt a difference in aiming, traversal or anything else. The extended melee system is a welcome addition, but the fights with the big brawlers always work out in the same way.
My biggest gripes are with the pacing and, which is surprising, the story. A lot already mentioned that we are being teased with more information around the characters, but it always remains just a tease. The amount of questions left open is quite staggering. What's up with these spiders? Why does Marlowe know more about Drake than the friggin player who has known him for 4 years? Why did Sully even bother caring about Nate? And what's up with Talbot?
Looking back on U3
D I really think ND was quite sloppy this time around. Especially the last chapters, were riddled with bugs in cutscenes. Characters not being in place, sound dropping and texture/skybox glitches. Considering how short these chapters are (and how storywise, disappointing) one can't shake the feeling that the game was rushed.
Other things I disliked? Jumping from truck to truck just like in U2:AT. And just like in U2:AT ND spoiled the best setpieces in Sony Conferences (collapsing building/cargo plane/yacht) and unfortunatly.. there aren't any other setpieces as big as these. Enemys being able to throw grenades more precise and longer than NFL star quarterbacks.
Having the whole supernatural part happening in Drake's druginduced brain only ( yeah I'm one of the few who likes to see this stuff), and the quite anticlimactic Djinn scene.
U3
D is a great game held back by bad choices taken from ND in terms of story and design. The core elements, the gunplay, the melee and the puzzles, are just as solid as in U2:AT.