Enjoyable story, cinematic drama, likeable characters, great relatable hero!
It's hard to not compare this game to the Tomb Raider series. But the gameplay and cinematics in this game closely compares to TR Underworld (TRU). It wins in the details however!
The environments are beautifully detailed (water flowing and splashing, wind blowing the trees, destructible objects), and how the characters interact with the environment (sound fx just walking or running in the water for example, also fewer "in wall" glitches and camera angle issues).
Nathan Drake's animations are so detailed, how he stumbles over uneven ground or going too fast down the stairs, movement feels much more lifelike than Lara Croft's! No crazy acrobatics, just a guy.
While TRU does have smoother cutscenes as far as graphics go, this game is not far behind in that detail. Better yet, Uncharted's cutscenes are seemless with the gameplay... often cutscene-like dialogue is wrapped right in to the gameplay! Very cool! Really draws you in to the story!
I've read that this game lacks in storytelling, but I disagree... this isn't a movie or a book, but feels close to that level. As far as games go that are supposed to emphasize action, this game doesn't seem to sacrifice that for a good story.
Some of the suspense, horror, violence and language is not what I would want to share with a 12 year old, but I would say this game would entertain gamers who are a little more mature, and women may also enjoy this game (so many games are aimed at young men as the target audience...).
I'm slow to start in to this Uncharted franchise, as now the second installment is already a hit... I can't wait to play it. Also curious to see if the Tomb Raider franchise can meet the challenge to raise the bar in the quality of their games.