I finally decided to play something other than a RPG for these reviews! I went with almost the opposite of a standard RPG; a cover-based shooter! Granted, Uncharted is a story-heavy shooter, but hey… still not a RPG.

I have played Uncharted before. But it was back in 2007 at release. I remember almost nothing about this game. I remembered liking Nathan Drake (the protagonist), but that was about it. Turns out… There was good reason I did not remember the game. But I’ll get to that shortly.

First, I want to just take a quick look at the plot. Uncharted follows Nathan Drake on his search for his ancestor, Sir Francis Drake’s treasure. He instead finds Sir Francis Drake’s coffin. Upon opening the coffin, he actually finds a map to the legendary El Dorado, the city of Gold (or so he thinks). That is the opening sequence of the game basically. It sets a wonderful tone of adventure and sets up a beautiful story. But that’s sort of where it stops. The game sort of just goes through the punches after that. There is a setup for a crazy twist near the beginning of the game, but it sort of disappears before it begins. Essentially Nathan just rinse and repeats chasing some bad guys that are also looking for the treasure. He gets close, only to have to abandon plans and have to run away from a gun fight. Then he gets close again, only to have some other reason stop him. It’s basically the same cycle over and over again for 80% of the game. At the very end, however, the game (which has seemed fairly realistic to this point) takes a hard turn and introduces mutated humans that crawl on all fours as enemies. I actually really like this. It adds to the legend that the game feels like it should have. The enemies are cool and the reason they exist in the game world are even cooler. At the end, it actually does have a twist, which sets up a sentimental ending.

That’s what my main problem with Uncharted is; the first 10% sets up an amazing game, but sits around for 80% of the game until it gives you a payoff. At first, I was disappointed that they introduced the mutated humans, but after all is said and done, I’m upset they introduced them so late. The first 10% and the last 10% are AMAZING, however. That small chunk of the game was exactly what I wanted from Uncharted. Unfortunately, that is not the majority of the game. The majority is uninspired gun fight after uninspired gun fight. As you slog through forgettable landscapes and almost inconsequential story. I am happy that it ends so strong, but I just wish that it mattered a little more in the middle.

With all that said, however, the gun-play and cover system are really great, albeit basic. There are probably a dozen different guns to play with and a couple different enemy types. It’s fun enough that it doesn’t get stale. Which is good because you’ll be doing it a ton throughout the game. But, if the game were any longer, I could see these gun fights getting really old. They were starting to become mindless right around the time the mutated humans were introduced. Which added some much-needed diversity to the enemies.

And that’s honestly it for Uncharted. The reason I didn’t remember a lot of it from 13 years ago is because there is not a lot to remember. The majority of this game is simply forgettable. In fact, you could probably play the first three and the last three chapters of the game and have a near identical experience to the full game. It is a good game, however, just not as amazing as most Naughty Dog games are. I hear amazing things about the sequel (which I have never played) and I look forward to it. But for the original, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune gets a 2 out of 4.

I think this game was more of a setup for the rest of the series. On its own, it sort of just falls flat. I like the characters and the ideas, but none of it is really capitalized on. This game has a lot of filler-content and just goes through the motions at times. Which is fine, but not for 80% of the game. The story is interesting and totally sticks the landing. But, again, it just does not do anything for most of the game. I look forward to the sequel and the other Naughty Dog games. But Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune feels like a game that one time through is enough.