Uncharted 3 is a game that has been both heavily praised and seen as a disappointment. To me it is both. Uncharted 2 was highly praised and it set a high standard, though not an unbeatable one.
The first half of Uncharted 3 was remarkable. It fleshed out the narrative, was fluidly paced and had the exploration and discovery that the series naturally excels at. It's the second half, which still has great moments, but isn't nearly up to par with the first half. If Uncharted 2 started as a military shooter and then turned into a wonderful adventure game, Uncharted 3 began as a wonderful adventure game and turned into a military shooter.
The first 5 hours are easily (aside from Unc2's train sequence) the best parts of the series.
The Second Half
The ship sequence took up about 4 chapters, and it was all for nothing. Perhaps it wanted to convey how much Drake cared for Sully, and the fact that whether it happened or not didn't matter. But it was a very lengthy segment which really had no place. It felt more like a military shooter than an Uncharted game, and in a sense, it felt like the developers wanted to pad the length of the already relatively short game.
I enjoyed the beginning of the desert section, which allowed the player to connect emotionally with Drake, but like Mass Effect 2, the developers feel the need to cater to those with attention deficit and add a generic (and poorly transitioned) shooting sequence so the player does not get bored.
The series to me always felt like an adventure game. Not that the shootouts didn't have their place, but there's a right way to do them and a wrong way. Uncharted felt like a game walking a tightrope between what it potentially could have been and strictly adhering to the standard action game formula. One small example: even though it's well possible to leave an area, you can't until all enemies are dead.
The Story
At first, the game tapped into the back-story of the protagonist and his partner, which was strongly done. It created a mystery with suspense and build up. Even the opening was very entertaining. But then, it slumps downward. It's extremely similar to the plot of the first two games, and almost exactly the same as the 2nd. Hunt for treasure -> An organization follows Drake -> Turns out to be a cursed artifact -> One of Drake's friend is held hostage -> The treasure is found and Drake stops the bad guy -> Ending with a sense of comic relief. Yes, very predictable.
Like the previous games, overall, the writing was okay, but doesn't stand out in any way. But the bond between Drake and Sully is very strongly conveyed. Even when it wasn't in the script, I often opted to watch Sully's back as he jumped or ducked for cover to make sure he was safe. Drake's relationship with Elena is not as well explained as they are extremely close one minute and are estranged the next for no reason. She, just like Chloe seemed like obligatory inclusions to give the player a sense of nostalgia.
Derivative
Perhaps the best way to put it is that Uncharted 3 is derivative. Much like Halo 4 was to the Halo series. Not at all bad. But just things we seen before. It keeps the fundamentals but hasn't really added anything (other than Batman-style hand-to-hand combat). Uncharted 1 put the IP on the map, gave it likeable characters and a great concept. Uncharted 2 added lots of fun gameplay as well as a sense of gravity to it. 3 just felt like a continuation of 2 rather than something that pushes the series forward as 2 did.
The difference between U1 and U2 is probably more sequential than anything. If U3 were hypothetically released first, U2 would have probably been the derivative one as well.
It seems like Naughty Dog was more focused on The Last of Us than it was on U3. But U3 is still a great game. Maybe not up to U2's standards, but still better than your average game.
If I had to rate them (relative to their release date)
Uncharted 1 = 8/10
Uncharted 2 = 9/10
Uncharted 3 = 8/10
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