The Best and Worst of Uncharted [PERSONAL INQUIRY]

[JoaLoft]

After having played the main Uncharted games so many times, and getting most of the trophies in each game (including Lost Legacy, and excluding Golden Abyss), I got to thinking about which aspects shine the most in each game and I figured it'd be nice to reminisce. I'll only be focusing on the main entries, although everyone is welcome to put down their experiences based off any of the games they've played.

 

I put it in this subforum, considering that the trilogy is getting some extra exposure this month on Plus. But if the mods think this belongs somewhere else, feel free to move it.

 

And this probably goes without saying, but ...

 

Spoilers.

 

Best set pieces

 

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

 

The entire franchise is known for its awe-inducing set pieces, but Uncharted 2 is the one that has always stuck with me the most. The two train chapters alone are famous among gamers, not to mention the dangling train car, the helicopter battle in Nepal, the tank chase, the entrance to Shambhala, the collapsing bridge ... There are so many memorable sequences in that game. More memorable than most of them, even though Uncharted 3 - and 4 in particular - also have some really cool parts.

 

Best puzzles

 

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

 

The latest main entry got to make use of all the technological horsepower underneath that PS4 hood, and it shows. Uncharted 4's puzzles made the most sense, thematically; and were a lot of fun to solve. The other Uncharted games all had cool puzzles as well, such as the treasure vault in Uncharted 1, the giant statue in Uncharted 2 or the symbols puzzle at the chateau in Uncharted 3. So this is one of the few categories where all main entries are pretty close within arm's length of each other.

 

Best pacing

 

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

 

Uncharted 2 gripped you from the very beginning, out of all the games. All four main entries start with an action sequence to grab your attention. But Uncharted 2 was the only one that did it without any violence, and in the most perilous manner. Hanging on a train car dangling off a cliff in the Himalayas, while bleeding out due to a bullet wound? I don't think this one is easily topped. The speed at which this game kept going made Uncharted 2 a damn rollercoaster from start to finish. The other games had a bit more downtime, which doesn't make them worse. Their pacing is just not completely on point as this one was, although Uncharted 4 had a very solid build-up. It just didn't grab you by the throat initially like Uncharted 2 did.

 

One small caveat: Uncharted 3's pacing would have been better if not for the entire pirate detour. Rameses is introduced and killed off in just a handful of chapters, making him a laughably bad antagonist, and there is no real purpose to these modern pirate levels. It's useless filling. If you take out these four chapters, the story would've still remained the same. Instead, they could've easily knocked Nate out for several days and you'd have gotten the same outcome. I chose not to put a category opposed to "best pacing", but if there is a game with the worst pacing: it's Uncharted 3.

 

In fact, I'm convinced those modern pirate chapters are a key factor why it didn't surpass Uncharted 2.

 

Best writing

 

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.

 

Maybe it's because of the most credible character development, or the different approach to the franchise (no supernatural elements for one, and focusing more on character relationships), but Uncharted 4 gave a lot more depth to the characters featured in the Uncharted franchise. Uncharted 3 dipped its toe in that water as well, by touching on Nate's obsession with fame and fortune, but Uncharted 4 tackled the subject head-on and put the dilemma at the center of Nathan Drake's story arc conclusion. It's the only one where I also related to the main character the most.

 

Best villain

 

Zoran Lazarević (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves).

 

(Not including Asav (Lost Legacy), despite him receiving a third place on my personal list because he was actually brought to life really well, and came across as one of the more menacing bad guys thanks to his psychopathic nature and advanced hand-to-hand combat skills.)

 

Out of all four main villains, Lazarević had the biggest baddie vibe about him. We don't know that much about him, but he definitely exudes fear and maliciousness. His scars and ruthless demeanor show he is not a man to be trifled with, mercilessy shooting men such as Jeff the cameraman and one of his own at the entrance of Shambhala without so much as a second thought. If given the chance, he would have also killed Elena and Nathan on the spot. Plus, he has the best demise out of all the villains, although Rafe and Asav also have pretty gruesome deaths.

 

I'd give Rafe Adler the silver medal (despite Nathan giving him all the gold at the end), because of his shared history with the Drakes, although he lets a deeply rooted grudge and jealousy get the best of him. Jealousy is never an attractive trait, and especially not for a villain. Even an Uncharted one. Depending on which perspective you approach, his jealousy could be considered a positive trait, because it injects a much-needed dose of humanity into the main villain. Still, it's a minor flaw if you consider it to be one, because he's well-acted, acts methodically, his motivation is properly fleshed out and he's charismatic. And he actually has the balls to go all-in in a re-enacting sword fight to the death.

 

Katherine Marlowe did not have much going on, if I'm being honest. Despite her history with Sullivan and Drake, she barely contributed anything. Talbot stole her spotlight more than once, as a matter of fact. As the head of a 400-year-old secret order, I expected a little more from her than slapping a kid and lighting some gasoline on fire.

 

And as for Atoq Navarro, well ...

 

Worst villain

 

Atoq Navarro (Uncharted 1: Drake's Fortune).

 

Random one-dimensional henchman who has no link to any of the main characters shows up very rarely, says a few lines of dialogue, takes control at the very end and only thinks about the money he can make off the pathogen, not factoring in any of the ramifications of his actions. Such as potentially exposing himself to the virus if a rogue faction gets hold of it and would release it globally. Fat lot of good all your money will be then.

 

Need I say more?

 

Best (supernatural) enemy faction

 

The Shambhala Guardians (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves).

 

I know, I know: Uncharted 4 doesn't feature any supernatural enemies and doesn't get a fair chance in this category. But I did want to include this category for the original trilogy. The Shambhala Guardians have the most gravitas, I reckon. They have a functional use in the story, are progressively revealed and contribute to the game's climax pretty well.

 

The Descendants (Uncharted: Drake's Fortune) deserve an honorable mention as well, they were one of the best elements in the entire first game. The spirits of the Djinn from Uncharted 3 felt very underwhelming, but this could be attributed to their ambiguous existence. We never see them, after all. Are they fabrications of the mind, or do they really exist in that brass vessel at the bottom of the underground spring? Food for thought. But in terms of presentation and threat (in Nate's hallucinations), they did not impress me much at all.

 

Most unforgiving/frustrating

 

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

 

Uncharted games are challenging on Crushing difficulty. Most sections are really doable. But some games have more unforgiving sections than others. Uncharted 1 has the jet ski sections. Uncharted 2 has the monastery towers. Uncharted 4 has the ship graveyard (my God, do not get me started on that one). But in my opinion, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is the most frustrating out of all of them. At least, that's how I experienced it. Certain battles have enemies popping up in an "arena" behind you a few times, with no clear indication, usually ending in cheap deaths. Meaning that you have to learn their spawn points through mere trial & error to stay alive. On top of that, the pirate chapters demand that you stay on your toes at all times to the point of frustration (i.e. the ship graveyard and the ballroom on the cruise ship) and the encounters with the Djinn spirits are more annoying than haunting.

 

The Brutal difficulty has been one of the most frustrating things I've had to deal with in a game, on top of that. You can clearly see that the first three games were not designed for the Brutal difficulty setting at all. Chase sequences and on-rail sections are supposed to give you a bit of an error margin, and in Uncharted 3 in particular, you often start such a chase sequence in the open, surrounded by enemies who take you out with one or two bullets. Rage-inducing, to say the least, after restarting over and over after less than five seconds. Uncharted 1 & 2 also suffer from this same problem, but Uncharted 3 was the worst.

 

Best overall game

 

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.

 

I kept going back and forth on this one between Uncharted 4 & 2, they're both so great in their own respective ways that it's incredibly difficult to decide which one is better. For every aspect that one game nails a bit more, the other manages to outshine it in a different way. I'm inclined to give Uncharted 4 a slight advantage because it managed to end Nathan Drake's story arc in a satisfying way on top of everything else, including deepening the characters, their relationships and personalities (on top of the usual great set pieces, puzzles, etc). But Uncharted 2 definitely deserves to be mentioned here as well, for how it set a new standard in action/adventure games back in the day. It was that great, and still is.

 

Worst overall game

 

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

 

You can tell they were treading uncharted (haha) territory at this point with Naughty Dog. This was their first real action/adventure game, after having focused previously on platformers. Since their first Uncharted game, they've progressed and learned a lot. The term "worst" is relative here by the way, because Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is still a very decent game, even to this date, despite the fact it is showing signs of wear and tear.

 

Out of all the games, this is the only one that shows a really repetitive design pattern. Everything took place in the jungle, there were very few puzzles so the only alteration in the game consisted of combat and platforming. Certain parts of the environments were recycled even (the church in particular comes to mind). Not to mention the sequels introduced more gameplay mechanics which give the player more legroom. So: still worth playing if only to get to know the characters if you're playing the franchise for the first time, but not really worth going back to.

 

Personal order of quality/excellence, ranging from best to worst

 

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (very close runner-up, I might add)

3. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

4. Uncharted 1: Drake's Fortune

 

 

Honorable mention to Lost Legacy for being such a great addition to Uncharted 4, it has a lot of excellent elements which places it even above Uncharted 3 in my book. On top of that, it features one of the best final chapters in any of the games. I'm interested to hear what everyone else thinks!

 

 

TLDR: Uncharted games. They have great qualities, except Uncharted 1 which is only a decent game. Would love to see more Uncharted. They should make another one. Kthxbye

Edited January 15, 2020 by JoaLoft

[damon8r351]

Obviously the best Uncharted game is Uncharted: Fight For Fortune.

[nombre_en_uso867]

You know buddy, I agree on everything you stated. The problems you had with U3 crushing are the same I had with U1 lol. I found U2 crushing more playable than the first. I still don't start the crushing playthrough in U3 so yeah, not gonna discuss about that.

Uncharted surely is a memorable franchise. I've posted a thread sharing my thoughts, rants and random stuff but your thread is more objective and elaborate. Good job, There needs to be more of these threads in these forums.

I might add that the music REALLY is awesome. Few days ago I was listening to this. The ost is something worth mentiong.

 

[madbuk]

18 minutes ago, damon8r351 said:

Obviously the best Uncharted game is Uncharted: Fight For Fortune.

I'd say 4 and Golden Abyss are better, but FFF is absolutely top 3.

 

4 = GA > FFF > 1 > 3 > Lost Legacy > 2 I'd say. I couldn't stand 2.

[RevengeancePrime]

I agree with a lot of what you said, although I'd say Rafe was the best villain easily. He almost acted like a foil to Nathan Drake. Somebody who had the fortune and the resources handed to him yet accomplished nothing. Drake on the other hand came from nothing and doesn't have much in the way of resources or monetary wealth, yet he manages to make some incredible discoveries. Sure Rafe is jealous, but it's because Drake has accomplished what Rafe's only dreamt of doing and I think that's handled well throughout the game. As for Lazarevic, he's just a menacing guy that wanted to take over the world, I think - honestly I can't remember what his master plan was because he wasn't all too memorable. 

 

I'd also place Uncharted 1 above 3 because 3 was just horrible, one of the worst games I've ever played. It felt like a complete step back from Uncharted 2 in every way. Uncharted 1 was the first in the series and it at least improved by the second half in my opinion. 

[JoaLoft]

7 minutes ago, ObliviousSenpai said:

I agree with a lot of what you said, although I'd say Rafe was the best villain easily. He almost acted like a foil to Nathan Drake. Somebody who had the fortune and the resources handed to him yet accomplished nothing. Drake on the other hand came from nothing and doesn't have much in the way of resources or monetary wealth, yet he manages to make some incredible discoveries. Sure Rafe is jealous, but it's because Drake has accomplished what Rafe's only dreamt of doing and I think that's handled well throughout the game. As for Lazarevic, he's just a menacing guy that wanted to take over the world, I think - honestly I can't remember what his master plan was because he wasn't all too memorable. 

 

I'd also place Uncharted 1 above 3 because 3 was just horrible, one of the worst games I've ever played. It felt like a complete step back from Uncharted 2 in every way. Uncharted 1 was the first in the series and it at least improved by the second half in my opinion. 

 

I think they are both great in their own way. Uncharted 2 feels more like a traditional action movie, whereas Uncharted 4 focuses more on character development. Hence the reason I noted that you can take the flawed persona of Rafe and add that as a positive. Lazarević was a stereotypical bad guy, sure. He was pretty one-dimensional too. But he's the best kind of one-dimensional villain. They both fit the mold of the bigger scope. I think I put Lazarević a bit higher because I was slightly more impressed by him than I was by Rafe. But then again, it's like comparing apples to oranges.

 

15 minutes ago, madbuk said:

I'd say 4 and Golden Abyss are better, but FFF is absolutely top 3.

 

4 = GA > FFF > 1 > 3 > Lost Legacy > 2 I'd say. I couldn't stand 2.

 

Never played Golden Abyss and Fight For Fortune, so I can't comment on those.

 

Big surprise you couldn't stand Uncharted 2, most people would regard that one as their favorite.

[NxtDoc]

I absolutely hated that they shoe horned a brother in Uncharted 4.  While the story telling was very good.  It took away many great possible moments in U4.  And for that, U4 is my least favorite Uncharted.  

 

It was almost like they wanted some way to get Troy Baker and Nolan North together because of their rapport. So they were like, surprise!  Nate has a brother!  Without any fricken mention of it in any prior Uncharted game. It was just poor writing.  I hate it.

 

EDIT:  I don't hate U4, it was a good game.  I hate they added a brother.  It was unnecessary, and took away great storylines that could have played out between Elena, and Sully.  Ya know characters we cared about.

 

U2 is the best in my opinion.  U4 is my least favorite despite still being very good 

Edited January 16, 2020 by NxtDutch
Correction

[Beyondthegrave07]

10 minutes ago, NxtDutch said:

I absolutely hated that they shoe horned a brother in Uncharted 4.  While the story telling was very good.  It took away many great possible moments in U4.  And for that, U4 is my least favorite Uncharted.  

 

It was almost like they wanted some way to get Troy Baker and Nolan North together because of their rapport. So they were like, surprise!  Nate has a brother!  Without any fricken mention of it in any prior Uncharted game. It was just poor writing.  I hate it.

I agree. I felt like his brother was just inserted in to the story and really didn't make much sense. I feel like he'd been mentioned at least once in a previous game!

 

Personally, I liked 3 the best. I felt like it was a more polished version of 2. I'd go...

 

3 > 2 > 4 > LL > 1. 

 

And I enjoyed all of them so it wasn't easy.

[nombre_en_uso867]

 

13 minutes ago, Beyondthegrave07 said:

I agree. I felt like his brother was just inserted in to the story and really didn't make much sense. I feel like he'd been mentioned at least once in a previous game!

 

Personally, I liked 3 the best. I felt like it was a more polished version of 2. I'd go...

 

3 > 2 > 4 > LL > 1. 

 

And I enjoyed all of them so it wasn't easy.

 

The only thing they hinted in U3 is that Drake wasn't Nathan's real surname

[Sparkilou-s]

2 & 4 (like picking between Godfather 1&2)

3

golden abyss 

1

[snakebit10]

Very good thoughts on a franchise I love. I agree with a lot of what you have posted and disagree with some also. 

 

First thing I disagree on is UC3 being the hardest on crushing. Personally of the first 3 games I thought it was the easiest and the first was the hardest.

 

My personal order for the series including Lost Legacy would be 2,1,LL,4,3.

 

Yes I place LL before 4. LL felt more like an Uncharted game than 4 did. Obviously you can tell the Naughty Dog implemented some of The Last of Us into 4 with the gameplay. Because of that I didn't like 4 as much. I also thought 4 just drug on for to long. Lost Legacy pace was perfect. 

 

Don't get me wrong I like all the Uncharted games a lot and would recommend them to anyone.

[Vytautas20]

After playing them once (only 1,2,3,Golden Abyss), I'd rank them so:

1) Golden Abyss 

2) Uncharted 3

3) Uncharted 2

4) Uncharted 1

Edited January 18, 2020 by Vytautas20