Uncharted's promising start dwindles into a repetitive slog, but its great aesthetics and cinematics make it fair
The first few hours shine with promise. Aside from the captivating cutscenes, climbing around in the jungle and exploring a tomb or two sparks curiosity. The platforming is mostly smooth thanks to Drake's fluid movement and great animation, though not completely perfect. Similar to how one must press the "Z" button in 3D Legend of Zelda games to position the camera to line up Link's jump, you must do the same with Drake. While Link's jump looks a bit mechanical, Drake's is more lifelike, but his jumps will often be slightly off, making landing on smaller platforms a bit more tricky. Shimmying along walls and swinging from ropes and vines is pleasant, but the platforming does not escalate into any exciting territory.
From what I have seen from Uncharted 2 and the third installment in the series, with their movie-like action sequences, I thought the first would be more explorative. This is, after all, a game whose plot is centered on a treasure hunt. There are treasures to be found, which unlock concept art and behind-the-scene videos chronicling the making of Drake's Fortune, but this game has virtually no explorative qualities. As linear as a straight line, the tidbits of tomb-conquering quickly turns into a sequence of firefights.
Gun-wielding pirates are the only enemies for quite some time. These foes come in gangs, and they can shoot an airborne penny from a hundred yards away and throw grenades like world champion corn-hole players. Luckily, these gun showdowns take place in areas with lots of projectiles utilizable for cover. A good duck and cover system allows Drake to hide and shoot around corners. The controls for this system are fine, and without it some battles would be impossible to win.
However, you are put in more than a few damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situations where if you emerge from cover, you are shot and killed, or if you stay in that position, enemies will flank you from an unexpected direction and slay you where you are. In these scenarios, the only thing to do is run around like a trigger-happy psycho and hope you kill them before they kill you. Kinda sloppy design. The firefights are fun for a while, however, but for some hours in the middle of the game, these sequences happen far too often, making the majority of Drake's Fortune a repetitive, predictable, frustrating slog. There are a few set-pieces such as a water-ski getaway sequence, but that particular piece is hampered by annoying control and, of course, relentless baddies that are crack-shots regardless of their shooting distance.
There is little else to keep Drake's Fortune fresh and interesting. A plot twist of sorts causes the game to pick up its pace near the end, but by that time fatigue has set in, making the ending desirable. The first Uncharted still looks great, though it is a six year old game. The animations are smooth, environments illustrious, and the musical score induces an Indiana Jones feel. All of the positives can be savored for a fine experience, but the repetitive bulk of the game with its frustrating firefights hardly make this a treasure worth playing.