Uncharted Drake's Fortune was not really what I expected. I've heard so much hype for this game that I had pretty high expectations. I realize the series gets better with parts 2 and 3 but that's not to say this game still didn't get rave reviews. So lets start with the issues.
1 - The camera control. When you are in a platforming portion of the game you cannot rotate your camera at all. It is fixed even when you are standing on top of a stone pillar with nothing but open space around you. This is maddening. It is forcing you to look at a particular location on where to jump next but it is really hard to see. Thus the angles you have to make jumps at can be very award and lead you to falling off and trying it over again. Which leads into the next point.
2 - The platforming is not bad but it is kind of ridiculous in that a lot of times you get to the end of your shimmy platform and you can't really see where you're supposed to jump next. You know that you have to point Drake to the right for example because it is the only way to go. So you do, and take a leap of faith, and it ends up being OK. You grab onto a piece of rock you wouldn't have considered being a valid spot before. The other pretty bad part of platforming in this game is the size of the platforms you have to jump from occasionally. Drake needs a running start to get enough speed to make many of the jumps but some of the platforms you stand on are so small you can't get the running start you need. So you end up doing a standing jump to your death and start over. Drake also feels like he is not grounded but rather floating on air for a lot of the jumping which can lead to hasty movements and falls.
3 - There is a lot of screen tearing and graphical pop in in this game. The game is gorgeous even still today so given what Naughty Dog achieved back in 2007 when it was released makes it even more impressive. But the screen tearing always takes you out of the moment. I think they should have toned it down a bit to fix this.
4 - None of these compare to my biggest complaint though. I came in expecting an adventure with a lot of exploration and following clues and puzzle solving. What I got was a 3rd person shooter. Plain and simple. The amount of exploration and puzzle solving probably makes up 5% of the game whereas the shooting aspect is 85%. Toss in another 10% for platforming. It's too much. You encounter wave after wave of enemies shooting at you. You clear them all out, then walk up the next flight of stairs and you're thrown immediately into another massive firefight. This is how the entire game is and it never deviates. It gets very repetitive and tiresome to battle through firefight after firefight with the shortest of reprieves in platforming or puzzle solving. I can only imaging what this game would have been like on the hardest difficulty. Nooooo thank you.
5 - Weapons. For being a predominantly shooter game, there are no weapon upgrades, customization, or stealth. Stealth is a big one. I think the game might have had stealth aspects to it, but I'll be damned if it was ever mentioned. Never mind the fact it would never have been practical because you don't have a choice but to start each firefight guns blazing. It would have been nice to have a bow or a knife or a strangle option. That would have toned down the monotony of constant bullets spraying. You get a lot of different weapons, but you tend to stick with the same two that have the best range and most ammo.
6- Set pieces. Uncharted set pieces are the craziest, best thing ever! Hyped up too much. Absent in this game for the most part. Again I'm sure they are more abundant and better in the next installments but not here.
Conclusion - I've played Tomb Raider 2013 multiple times on the hardest difficulty so it is hard not to compare the two. Uncharted was the first and Tomb Raider had the benefit of improving upon the entire Uncharted series. But Tomb Raider got it right and is a much better game overall. It has a better balance of exploration and gun fighting. The gun fighting is better. It has customizable weapons and moves. It has melee moves and a large stealth aspect. It has a leveling up system. All things to keep you engaged and wanting to more. The reason I mention this is because I've heard so much praise for Uncharted and a lot of negativity for Tomb Raider. My hope is that Uncharted 2 and 3 will significantly improve which I fully expect them to. But as far as Uncharted Drake's Fortune is concerned, a beautiful game with a lot of issues people seem to overlook. Also need to make another last comparison. I heard a lot of complaints about the Tomb Raider characters. Where was all the great character in Uncharted? I'm sure they develop much more in the next two games but for the first installment, Sully isn't even around for 3/4 of it and everyone else is gun-ho about walking into the next deathly firefight.
TL;DR - Camera Control is bad during platforming sequences. Platforming is clumsy. Screen tearing and pop ins. Biggest complaint is it being a shooter through and through with no stop and minimal exploration/puzzle solving. It's relentless. No stealth, melee is bad, and no weapon customization. No big set pieces. Characters are pretty simple for the first installment of the series which people seemed to complain about in Tomb Raider. Also puzzles are as easy as any in TR and people complained about that as well. TR has better set pieces. Tomb Raider was an overall more complete and better experience.
1 - The camera control. When you are in a platforming portion of the game you cannot rotate your camera at all. It is fixed even when you are standing on top of a stone pillar with nothing but open space around you. This is maddening. It is forcing you to look at a particular location on where to jump next but it is really hard to see. Thus the angles you have to make jumps at can be very award and lead you to falling off and trying it over again. Which leads into the next point.
2 - The platforming is not bad but it is kind of ridiculous in that a lot of times you get to the end of your shimmy platform and you can't really see where you're supposed to jump next. You know that you have to point Drake to the right for example because it is the only way to go. So you do, and take a leap of faith, and it ends up being OK. You grab onto a piece of rock you wouldn't have considered being a valid spot before. The other pretty bad part of platforming in this game is the size of the platforms you have to jump from occasionally. Drake needs a running start to get enough speed to make many of the jumps but some of the platforms you stand on are so small you can't get the running start you need. So you end up doing a standing jump to your death and start over. Drake also feels like he is not grounded but rather floating on air for a lot of the jumping which can lead to hasty movements and falls.
3 - There is a lot of screen tearing and graphical pop in in this game. The game is gorgeous even still today so given what Naughty Dog achieved back in 2007 when it was released makes it even more impressive. But the screen tearing always takes you out of the moment. I think they should have toned it down a bit to fix this.
4 - None of these compare to my biggest complaint though. I came in expecting an adventure with a lot of exploration and following clues and puzzle solving. What I got was a 3rd person shooter. Plain and simple. The amount of exploration and puzzle solving probably makes up 5% of the game whereas the shooting aspect is 85%. Toss in another 10% for platforming. It's too much. You encounter wave after wave of enemies shooting at you. You clear them all out, then walk up the next flight of stairs and you're thrown immediately into another massive firefight. This is how the entire game is and it never deviates. It gets very repetitive and tiresome to battle through firefight after firefight with the shortest of reprieves in platforming or puzzle solving. I can only imaging what this game would have been like on the hardest difficulty. Nooooo thank you.
5 - Weapons. For being a predominantly shooter game, there are no weapon upgrades, customization, or stealth. Stealth is a big one. I think the game might have had stealth aspects to it, but I'll be damned if it was ever mentioned. Never mind the fact it would never have been practical because you don't have a choice but to start each firefight guns blazing. It would have been nice to have a bow or a knife or a strangle option. That would have toned down the monotony of constant bullets spraying. You get a lot of different weapons, but you tend to stick with the same two that have the best range and most ammo.
6- Set pieces. Uncharted set pieces are the craziest, best thing ever! Hyped up too much. Absent in this game for the most part. Again I'm sure they are more abundant and better in the next installments but not here.
Conclusion - I've played Tomb Raider 2013 multiple times on the hardest difficulty so it is hard not to compare the two. Uncharted was the first and Tomb Raider had the benefit of improving upon the entire Uncharted series. But Tomb Raider got it right and is a much better game overall. It has a better balance of exploration and gun fighting. The gun fighting is better. It has customizable weapons and moves. It has melee moves and a large stealth aspect. It has a leveling up system. All things to keep you engaged and wanting to more. The reason I mention this is because I've heard so much praise for Uncharted and a lot of negativity for Tomb Raider. My hope is that Uncharted 2 and 3 will significantly improve which I fully expect them to. But as far as Uncharted Drake's Fortune is concerned, a beautiful game with a lot of issues people seem to overlook. Also need to make another last comparison. I heard a lot of complaints about the Tomb Raider characters. Where was all the great character in Uncharted? I'm sure they develop much more in the next two games but for the first installment, Sully isn't even around for 3/4 of it and everyone else is gun-ho about walking into the next deathly firefight.
TL;DR - Camera Control is bad during platforming sequences. Platforming is clumsy. Screen tearing and pop ins. Biggest complaint is it being a shooter through and through with no stop and minimal exploration/puzzle solving. It's relentless. No stealth, melee is bad, and no weapon customization. No big set pieces. Characters are pretty simple for the first installment of the series which people seemed to complain about in Tomb Raider. Also puzzles are as easy as any in TR and people complained about that as well. TR has better set pieces. Tomb Raider was an overall more complete and better experience.
