Just like with any other art form, I think the greatest videogames have to be groundbreaking. In my opinion, this is generally either done through innovation (see: Pablo Picasso's Cubism movement or Mario 64's reinvention of 3D gameplay) or by reaching a scope that is so magnificent that it is impossible not to appreciate (see: Michelangelo's work on the Sistine Chapel or Bethesda's epic world in Skyrim). The Uncharted series aspires to do none of these things. In comparison, it forgoes creativity in favor of refined Michael Bay-esque blockbuster action. Can that formula make for some fun and entertaining gameplay? Absolutely. Do these characteristics qualify these games as all-time greats? Highly unlikely.

 

Don't get me wrong, the Uncharted series has a lot going for it, but the fact is that these games play it safe and are derivative. In this article, I will showcase how the series is not at all groundbreaking and doesn’t deserve to be considered one of the greats.

 

 

SOMETHING BORROWED

The Premise (Tomb Raider + Indiana Jones)

The old George Lucas-written Indiana Jones films kind of set the premise for all would-be modern-day adventurers. Developer Core Design drew inspiration from that universe and put their own feminine twist on it when they developed the first Tomb Raider game back in 1996, more than a decade before the first Uncharted (2007).  

Nathan Drake and Lara Croft both shop at Jungles-R-Us

The Tomb Raider franchise became so popular in the 90s that LucasArts later went on to develop their own 3D Indiana Jones shooter/platformer in Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (1999). So from just the similar premise alone, Uncharted is nothing original.

Is it me or does Nathan really look, sound, and act like Nathan?

The Shooting Mechanics (Gears of War)

While the original 2006 release of Gears of War was not the first third-person shooter to incorporate a cover system, it has revolutionized and popularized the mechanic. Afterwards, a slew of third-person shooters attempted to mimic Epic Games' pop and cover combat system (Army of Two, Kane and Lynch), including the likes of Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, which was released a year later. Oddly enough, both Naughty Dog and Epic Games have recently released the third iteration in their franchises and most would say Gears of War 3's shooting mechanics feel tighter. The sentiment was equivocal when you compared the first Uncharted against the first Gears.  

Marcus Phoenix and Nathan Drake both like to play hide-and-go-seek. 

The Platforming (Prince of Persia)

While Uncharted 3 is almost universally heralded for its platforming mechanics, 2003's Prince of Persia was graciously scaling rooftops in a very similar manner nearly a decade ago.

The Prince and Drake hanging around.

And while the platforming in the Uncharted series is definitely solid, in many ways, the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is still a better platformer. Coupled with the Prince's superior acrobatic abilities (Yes, Nathan Drake is quite the man's man, but the Prince can run across walls), players will often have to use his other fantastical gifts such as his ability to manipulate time to and solving many cleverly-designed traps. The platforming in the Uncharted games, in comparison, feels extremely easy and often serves just to vary the game's pacing.

Quick-Time Events (Shenmue)

The Uncharted series is full of scripted action-packed moments. These sequences often apply quick-time events (QTE) to engage players which is yet another unoriginal concept. As a matter of fact, the gameplay mechanic was pioneered over a decade ago with Sega's Shenmue (1999).

Shenmue's Ryo Hazuki and Nathan Drake both out for an early morning QTE run.

The Hand-to-Hand Combat (Shenmue...again)

While hand-to-hand combat isn't new to the Uncharted series, it didn't really become practical for players until Uncharted 3. Again, we see this style of real-time hand-to-hand combat infused with a slight dose of QTE in earlier games like Shenmue (it seems like Naughty Dog owes Sega more patronage than most would realize). However, the combat in Shenmue is less repetitive and much more robust. As Ryo Hazuki, players can learn new moves and expand their skills as the narrative progresses. In Uncharted, players are simply relegated to the old one-two, but can you really expect Naughty Dog's simple brawling system to compete against the developers behind the highly-acclaimed Virtua Fighter series?

Drake learned his moves from Ryo, but he still isn't as good.
 

The Uncharted series needs to dream bigger

Borrowed gameplay mechanics aside, arguably Uncharted's biggest oversight pertains to its simplistic scope. Games like Call of Duty have been criticized by gamers for being nothing more than a glorified rollercoaster, or a cleverly-designed linear corridor shooter (try going backwards and you'll see what I mean). While Uncharted certainly succumbs to this same problem, for whatever reason, it hasn't garnered nearly the same criticism.

Now, I'm not trying to make this a discussion that non-linear games are superior to there linear counterparts. Old greats like Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Mario 64 are very much linear games, they just have a much more grandiose scope to them. The difference between the aforementioned titles and the Uncharted series is that their worlds feel much more organic and tangible. You can take your time to explore and smell the trees, swim in the lake if you please. Who knows, you might find a lush cave hidden behind a water fall. You know where you're ultimately heading, but it's up to you how fast you want to get there. This is not the case with Uncharted which only has one direction: forward. More often than not, Uncharted feels like an interactive movie as opposed to a fully fleshed out videogame. 

Now that's a world I can believe in!

While the gorgeous backdrops of Uncharted may be some of the most breathtaking visuals you will ever see on a console today, they are much like the desert mirages that Nathan Drake encounters: they're fake and non-interactive.

Uninspired Puzzles

Perhaps intersecting the topic of simple scope and unoriginal design lays Uncharted's uninspired puzzles. When you play a puzzle-filled adventure developed by Valve (Portal) or Nintendo (Zelda), you can feel the amount of meticulous attention to detail and sophistication that goes into some of their level designs. Valve's Portal 2, released earlier this year, slowly eased players into more devilish puzzles as the game progressed by giving them new tools and contraptions to play with. Similarly, Nintendo has created some of the biggest multilayered puzzle-labyrinths the gaming world has ever seen (See: Ocarina of Time's Water Temple). In comparison, the 30 second hold-your-hand puzzles in the Uncharted series feel tacked on merely to change up the pace. How it is so convenient for Drake to have the solution to every forthcoming puzzle in his journal, I will never understand.  

The Water Temple this is not.
 

Even though the Uncharted series plays it safe and is quite derivative. To say that I dislike the games would be untrue. There's an adage that goes, "the best artists steal;" perhaps this statement has never been more befitting for a videogame than with Naughty Dog's Uncharted series. While the package is quite unoriginal, games like Uncharted 3 just sometimes show that things are sometimes more than the sum of their parts.

While other series may outdo Uncharted in certain gameplay mechanics, for the most part, everything that Uncharted attempts to do, it does very well. Furthermore, as a result of its wide breadth of endeavors, the game feels masterfully paced. It's nearly impossible to be bored as players will at one minute be swinging from an exploding building then be whisked away to a sinking ocean liner. The fact that this is all achieved through an entertaining story with some of the most lovable characters ever seen in a videogame just oozes cohesiveness.   

Steve Urkel voice: "Did I do that?"

On that note, the level of presentational polish is often unparalleled. While the gorgeous backdrops might be nothing more than a visual trick, oh, what a trick they are! As I was playing through Uncharted 3 for this article, I truly felt that I was traveling through the villages of Brazil, the deserts of the middle east, and so on.

By playing games like BioShock and Half-Life in recent years, I've concluded that the most immersive videogame narratives do not rely on third-person cutscenes as they tend to take gamers out of the experience. However, hanging on for dear life from a plane hanger in Uncharted 3 shredded all thought of that as I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I hate using this turn-a-phrase, but it was a "high-octane fun-filled ride." Does that hyperbole warrant it access into the greatest-games-of-all-time library? Perhaps we should forego such questions at times and simply kickback, relax, and have fun.