It's a complicated thing! Well said yourself, also. Tbh, tension and release is a defining quality of all great art, from any time-spanning medium; music, film, games, drama. Uncharted is generally great at tension and release.

How so? It's definitely a narrative-driven game, there's no player autonomy in terms of the story, and the narrative weaves through a story. It's basically all story, I can't think of any bit of the game that doesn't add to the story; even in the gameplay Drake et al. are always talking, building the story. If…

Awwww. Tone of Voice-ometer fails again. Sincerest apologies, Hyperion.

"Why do the surrounding game sections make the moment refreshing, though?"

I thought the fistfighting in Uncharted 3 solved all the issues the other two had. Every guy takes a good few hits, and can fight back effectively. If you do it right, you can even have an intense, awesome fight with a guy while still in a huge gunfight and bullets are whizzing over your head, and beat him down before…

Uncharted is an action adventure game unlike those other two that are shooters.

Pretty damn spot-on, man, without getting too bogged down in the detail. I'd add a lot, like how I think Uncharted 2 is nearly a perfect game, and how the fistfighting in 3 is possibly the best and most thrilling fistfighting in any game- but what you said nails it.

Hint: the first proper level of Uncharted 2 (the stealth one in the Istanbul museum) is probably the biggest pacing gaff in the whole series. Get past that, and into the Borneo level, and it picks up.

That's all fair criticism: but I'd give the 3rd game a shot.

SPOILERS

True, they've never seen to have gotten gun balance right. Hand-to-hand fighting, however, has only improved (except for the slightly repetitive big guys in 3). Really strong.

Popular because it's probably the most refined tactile storytelling in all of the games industry?

Huh, now that you say this I do recall hearing something about that.

Is it just me, or did anyone get a more 'Thiefey' vibe off this? Much more so than Bioshock. I wasn't too bothered about the game but if it captures part of the dark tone that Thief had, I'm considering it in new light.

See comment at lemming.

See comment at lemming

Goddamnit. I scanned the article (don't have time to read in full) and Ctrl+F'd to confirm if they mentioned him (looking for 'CJ' not 'C.J.'), and utterly failed.

Excellent points.

I work in a really, really chilled out callcentre.

CJ.