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Vera Cruz Review
It’s time for a retro western. Well I guess you don’t even need to call it retro because they don’t really make westerns anymore hehe. This was not one of the better ones. The villains get away with way too much the whole time and you re left shaking your head. At best I can say that the ending was decent although one character comes across as looking like a bit of a sucker. He lets things go on for too long just for the sake of his personal pride/honor.
The film starts off by introducing us to two big shot gunmen. The first is Joe, who is one of those guys who believes in might makes right. He will do whatever he wants in order to succeed even if that means constantly betraying folks. He even tells Ben that nobody can be trusted in this world. Then you have Ben who has much more of a strict honor code. He is a lone gun right now thanks to tragic circumstances from his past but doesn’t want to lose himself. Naturally there is a whole lot of tension between the two of them. They are both recruited by a group of fighters who oppose the Mexican government. These guys have actually taken control of a great deal of the country and have the upper hand. Is their money worth choosing the wrong side in this civil war?
While the Mexican civil war is the backdrop for the whole film, I wouldn’t say that it is super important. The film seems to show the Mexican government as being the good guys here and so ideally that is the case but I’m not familiar with the two factions. Within the context of this movie the fighter group definitely appeared to be crooked with all of their underhanded tricks though. The government constantly took the high road even if it backfired several times with hostages being taken.
At one point they had the main characters cornered but unfortunately a bunch of kids ran in and got held hostage. The government should have fired as soon as the villains approached the kids. Hesitating like that is likely why they lost the country in the first place. Throughout the film we are shown the contrast of how Ben is not nearly as ruthless as Joe. I would just say that it’s a bit hollow considering that he is still working with the guy. I don’t give you a whole lot of points for standing by while other villains are doing their thing. That’s just not how this all works.
Ben was also just too passive in general. At one point a girl shows up and pickpockets him. He takes forever to notice and by the time he asks for it back, she has already spent all of the money. Ben ultimately doesn’t mind and falls for her anyway but it makes him look like a real soft touch. Joe really criticizes him for this and it’s the only time that the guy is right. Ben was putting everyone in danger for not being able to control his feelings. Then it all climaxes at the end where he is faced off with an unrepentant villain and still can’t take the shot because he wants them both to be on even playing field. Just not a smart decision.
I can’t say that Joe was much better though. I did think that the way he was constantly grinning throughout the movie was interesting though. It made him look particularly unhinged which I think was the overall point. So that was handled really well. That being said, it will always be hard to root for a villain. Especially one like Joe who is still obsessed with both women and gold. It’s not like he is fighting for some kind of grand cause or anything like that. The guy just wants all of life’s pleasures with no real responsibility.
As I mentioned before, the villains just get away with way too much throughout the film. The way you could have saved Ben’s character would have been to bump a few of them off early on. The two villains ride with a band of thugs who end up getting to the main heroine at one point for a while before the main two break it up. It’s always going to be too late when the main characters get their after contact and just makes them complicit the whole time. The film really could have used a good sheriff character who would show up to take care of these guys. That would have really made a big difference.
I don’t think a film like this was ever going to be great but removing a scene like that would still do a lot of good. The heroine wasn’t even a solid character as she had to use a lot of tricks in order to complete her mission. It’s always an annoying subplot to have to resort to that instead of just taking everyone down with a gun. That’s the most direct way to claiming victory and you always wonder why it doesn’t happen more often. The wild west will always give you plenty of opportunities to pick people off.
Overall, Vera Cruz was definitely not a good wild west title and is one that you will want to stay way from. It takes most of the worst elements of the genre like the general lawlessness of it all and doesn’t add in a lot of strengths to offset the whole thing. As a result the film itself never ends up being all that fun. The old style script is the only thing you can really give the film and that’s not much. I dare say that a film covering the actual civil war would have been much better and more entertaining. That would have ensured more big battles and definitely a more likable set of main characters. If you are ever in a situation where you have the upper hand against a villain, don’t give him time to go for his gun.
Overall 2/10
The Last House Review
This is one of those films that just kept on getting worse and worse the more it went on. The film just didn’t know how to wrap things up and so the situation had to drag out a whole lot. It also made some key mistakes including adding a dog to the picture. That was never going to go over well and sure enough it ended up dooming this adventure. I’d definitely recommend staying far away from this title.
The film starts off with Jason going fishing. He doesn’t do very well but enjoys the sport for how relaxing it can be. A storm is brewing so he heads on home to be with his family. Unfortunately he quickly realizes that there is no way out. Everyone across the planet has now been locked inside of their houses and anyone who was outside is now dead. He has a lot of food at home so he and the rest of the family can last a few months but then it will all be game over. Who is doing this and how can the heroes manage to survive? The odds are not in his favor.
The movie starts off very cryptically but gradually we see what is going on here. It turns out that aliens have shown up. I go with aliens personally but it’s also implied that they came from the ocean. Unfortunately their goals and powers don’t make a whole lot of sense. It’s hard to get too much into the issues without spoilers so I’ll stick to broad strokes. They were able to shut off the gas and electricity right away but still let the heroes access running water and TV for a long time? Somehow people were still running around outside for days/weeks after the genocide so did the aliens get sloppy or are they just sadistic and wanted to let people stay alive longer?
Clearly they have a whole lot of hatred in their hearts for the humans and yet the ending undercuts their stubbornness in a big way. The ending just wasn’t earned and it goes for the wrong moral here as the humans needed to do all they could to crush these things. It’s hard to say exactly how durable they are but you have to give it your best effort. It was the only thing that one of the kids did right in his attempts to escape. I don’t see why you would just allow yourself to be a prisoner forever, that’s no life.
The main characters get a whole lot of plot armor the whole time though as the creatures should have finished them off early on. The only reason they did not is because these were the main characters so it really doesn’t count for much. Most of the characters look bad by the end. The only one who really stayed strong was Jason and even then he has a lot of moments for self doubt. I just give him more credit because he did keep his family alive.
Without him the others would have died early on. He is the one who kept the fight alive and never stopped struggling. His wife was very supportive for a while but gave up at different points in the film. She also joined the two kids in talking about how distant Jason was. Look, I’m not saying Jason was perfect by any means but as a father/husband his number one priority was figuring out a way to stop the creatures. He succeeded and that just came at the expense of his emotions for a while there.
I just find it hard to sympathize with the other characters. The son in particular is annoying with how he makes fun of Jason’s efforts to fix a car which took several years. He could have been gracious about the whole thing instead of immediately throwing cold water on the effort. It was just a really bad look for him. As for the daughter, she is younger for a lot of the film and not really able to do much. By the end of the film she starts acting like the creatures may not be that bad. Clearly she doesn’t remember how they brutally destroyed the jogger outside and have sealed everyone within their homes. It just comes across as dangerously naive to look at the aliens as anything other than mass murderers.
All of that said, what really crushed the film was the subplot about their sick dog. The dog needs medicine or he starts to have a heart attack and unfortunately there is no way to buy more pills as the film goes on. This inevitably leads to some rough scenes and this should not have been in the film. The movie also has the characters get awfully pragmatic about the lack of food coming up and so things get even darker. That was enough to sink the whole film. There is just no getting past that and the film didn’t have to get this grim dark. We also have a lot of animal hunting scenes and one even getting its neck broken just to underscore how dark the whole thing is. Nothing about the film is subtle.
I dare say you have to try all other avenues to the point of death first. I was unconvinced about the attempts to escape the house. Yes the water would block it but you have to keep trying to plug holes in there over and over. It’s a case where you have to assume it would have failed or someone around the world would have tried that but I would have liked to have seen more attempts. Then you also have the later parts of the film where the creature wanders into the house once in a while. That’s when you obviously have to attack and push your way past him.
When we found out that Jason had a gun I was expecting something like that by the end but it ended up all being a red herring. The film feels like a red herring at times with some interesting ideas but nothing comes of them. I wanted to learn what the monsters were doing and where was the government? Surely there were a good amount of people who fought back from outside the houses when the whole situation started. This is a film that desperately needed world building. It was almost 2 hours too so there was plenty of time to do that instead of having constant time skips. The film should have cut quite a few of those out because it also gets less scary when the characters have been surviving just fine for years. That undermines the villains all the way.
A film about everyone being stuck at home is really interesting but you have to think about the premise all the way around so it isn’t easy to stick a bunch of holes in it. The idea is so much better than the execution and it isn’t even close. Maybe Netflix will get it right next time but I have my doubts. If a remake was announced I would still be interested in checking it out though.
Overall, The Last House is definitely a film that will fade in your memory over time. It did not make any of the right decisions and that really limited its potential. In the way you always need to find a way to surpass the odds and deliver a scary product that is still fun. That didn’t happen here and so you can do much better. You won’t want to invest 2 hours into this title that doesn’t even give you a great payoff in the end.
Overall 1/10
Armored Core Review
After all these years I’ve gotten to play the original Armored Core now. The series has been known as the most difficult mech series for a long time now. If Madden is a football simulation, this would be known as a robotic simulation series. You actually have to craft your mech and add in the new parts that you want to use. At the same time there are strict weight requirements for each part that you have to keep in mind. Unlike most games you cannot just equip whatever you want. That’s not how this works and each part has around 10-12 stats as well. You better start studying!
The story follows a group named Raven that are basically terrorists for hire. The main character is a new recruit to the gang and so he just follows orders. The orders come from two competing companies that are always trying to one up the other and destroy the opposition. In a way that means you are destroying each corporation a little bit at a time. Throughout all of this you have people saying cryptic stuff and trying to get the lead to leave Raven. Raven might actually be the mastermind behind all of this.
I have to say that the main character isn’t very heroic either way. He willingly says yes to missions like murdering squatters and resisters all the time without batting an eye. So even if he starts to get wary once the threat comes close to home, it’s a bit late for that. This guy is completely complicit and it’s definitely interesting to be playing a full villain like this. It’s not like it is the only time that it has happened but it is still rare overall.
The gameplay is a little more complicated than usual just like the rest of the game. You shouldn’t expect to just run in and start blasting. For starters there isn’t a traditional lock on so you have to try and face the opponent. This is difficult because they are always boosting around you so you have to boost, strafe, and fire at the same time. You must keep an eye on your engine throughout this process as well or you will overheat.
It is really tough to keep all of this in mind at all times and the enemies are frankly super fast. It’s incredibly difficult to get a bead on them for long so you should expect to be on the back foot most of the time here. You do have a close combat sword that you can use but it has a long startup time and will leave you vulnerable if you miss. To make up for that it does have devastating attack power so sometimes it is worth the risk.
Without the PS5 built in rewind system this would have been even more difficult. It’s definitely not the kind of game that you can just walk in and conquer at any time. The levels are also high stakes because there is no way to go backwards. If you lose a level then you pay a fine and there is no way to go backwards. So now you have lost money which means you have less time to buy an upgrade and get prepared before the final boss. Lost enough levels and you will be in a really difficult spot. Some levels are quick but others are really long so this will keep you unbalanced the whole time.
I also could never figure out which weapons and engines to buy. Ultimately I had to run through a ton of different setups before I could beat the final boss. That one was incredibly tough even with rewind. Yeah this game is definitely not for the faint of heart at all and the difficulty lives up to the hype. There isn’t really much replay value when you beat the game but it does unlock the ability to play levels that you may have skipped earlier. There won’t be a lot of them but there are a few that you don’t get to play based on the levels that you do select.
I am looking forward to the more story based games in the future though. Games like this where you can absorb the lore from the background are fun too of course but it’s still not quite the same as actually getting out there and just being able to enjoy the cutscenes. They just need to have a good lore reason for why you can get to the garage and begin your repairs after each round but you can always just say that the main character has a secret cave for when things get dodgy.
Overall, Armored Core is not one of the greatest games out there. It is a good title but doesn’t really have the simplicity that makes a lot of other titles good. It will never be on Gundam’s level for example but I totally get the need for at least one really realistic mecha series. For people who really love customization then this will really hit home. I definitely intend to play the other Armored Core titles at some point, perhaps sooner than you may expect. In the meantime you can pick this one up for $10 from PSN so I’d definitely recommend doing so. It’s hard to go wrong for that price and you want to experience an armored core at least once so you can see just how intense it is.
Overall 6/10
Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter Review
This review is of the TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative
It’s time for another vampire film and this one is made by Horror. Needless to say, this was doomed from the start. Both of those things are usually connected to the absolute worst films around and when you mix them together then that’s a recipe for disaster. Ultimately this film was not able to rise above my first impressions there and at best you can give it credit for some original decisions.
The film introduces us to Captain Kronos who is a powerful fighter. He has been slaying vampires for a long time along with his partner Professor Grost. This time he is tasked with finding a potential vampire in a small village. This will not be an easy task as Kronos will need to lay out some traps and gradually begin getting suspects. In the meantime this vampire will keep on picking more and more people off. Kronos also runs into a lady named Carla who was about to be executed. After saving her, she decides to become his girlfriend but is there any time for this?
Okay lets blast through all of the issues first. Right away one of the big ones is naturally going to be the usual vampire violence. I’m not big on the blood sucking at all and that is always a main part of this genre. It’s a bit different than some others since the vampire is more interested in stealing vitality but equals out to the same thing. The vampire also uses the usual hypnosis to force the victims into accepting their fate rather than running off to live another day.
We’ve also got the very shallow kind of romance at the ready here. Yes, Kronos saved Carla’s life so you can see why she would be grateful but this doesn’t immediately have to turn into a relationship. She jumps right into the one night stand kind of situation without batting an eye. I feel like the Hammer films like to use any excuse for a bit of fanservice. It’s not as crazy as in some of their other titles but still comes across as unnatural.
The characters also aren’t all that interesting. Professor Grost is easily rage baited by the villains to the point where he doesn’t realize that they were being paid off to instigate a fight. Both Kronos and Carla seemed to figure that out right away so why didn’t the professor? He is a good ally to have around and helps out a lot with the weapons and everything but you feel like he could have done a whole lot better.
As for Kronos, well I suppose he’s your classic hero. I don’t get the feeling that he is the most dependable guy in a relationship with how fast he was moving here but maybe he wouldn’t rebound later on. His fighting skills are pretty good though and surpass the film’s budget. He essentially vanishes mid combat to show off how fast he is. I appreciate that from a power level sense but then his final plan is terrible. He sends Carla into the vampire’s lair as bait and then takes his sweet time to get there. He takes the time to look at a skull in the upper floors and this distracts him while Carla is attacked.
If not for a significant degree of plot armor, she would have been dead. Prior to Carla, all of the other victims were destroyed right away. A good example of this was earlier in the same film. The heroes all staked out the location where the vampire would be striking and a girl was walking on by. Well, they lost sight of her and so she was destroyed before she could even get close. Not a good look at all. It’s why you feel like Kronos should have done a lot more before the ending.
As for the vampire, well the identity of the final boss is a twist of course. Still, I wouldn’t say that the villain was very impressive or imposing. This long term plan had a ton of risks with it and I would say that the character even got lucky. It’s not like vampires ever tend to be all that interesting but this was still pretty egregious even for that. You also had a pair of siblings who are around for lore but don’t do much of anything. It was a little funny to see them standing so still in the background during the big battle.
The final battle is essentially fencing so it wasn’t terribly interesting but I give the film some credit there. Still, there is just nothing really to enjoy about the film. If you heavily lean into the action angle then it is possible to make a vampire film that is actually decent but it is incredibly difficult and not something that just any title can do.
There isn’t much to talk about regarding the setting as it looks like basically any old town. The writing is okay I suppose but just about everyone in town seems to be evil. There aren’t many characters that Kronos can count on. The doctor who invited him there had to be bumped off naturally and it wasn’t the most painless way to go out either. The other humans at the bar didn’t even need to be mind controlled because they were already content to murder the main characters for a little money. With humanity being so corrupt in this town, it’s no wonder that a vampire was able to get so far.
Overall, This film was definitely a mess and is not going to end up being known as a solid title. It does at least try to have the usual twists and turns but ultimately comes down to just being another slasher title. It takes forever for Kronos to stop the vampire from murdering everyone and so the victory feels hollow. It doesn’t even make all that much sense on why Kronos left without Carla. She totally could have kept going on the journey and instead it seems like he’ll probably just be rebounding before now. Perhaps this could have become a really cool movie series some day but that day isn’t today.
Overall 1/10
Mega Man Legends 2 Review
Mega Man Legends 2 is the longest of the 3 titles in this sub series so I was expecting things to end off with a bang. It is definitely a fun title and one that I recommend checking out. It still feels surreal to finally be checking out these games from way back in the day. Hopefully one day w will get the elusive Legends 3, but I suppose that would probably be far in the future.
The title kicks off with Mega Man and Roll attending a conference when a group of villains show up. They are seemingly led by Roll’s mother and they will be reawakening a powerful threat that may end the world. This seems to tie into Mega Man’s past which was hinted at in the first game but now things are personal. Mega Man will have to take these opponents down while trying to find out why Roll’s mother would join the dark side like this. Tron still tries to get Mega Man to notice her but perhaps they are doomed to always be on opposing sides.
Right away there are a few improvements you can see compared to the first game. The general gameplay is smoother, particularly with turning. The dungeons are also bigger as the very first one was about as big as the final dungeon from the first game. This does mean that some dungeons are going to have gimmicks though. For example I did not care for the underwater dungeon as Mega Man moved way too slowly for me. It was not nearly as fun as any of the others. The final dungeon also had these weird leech things that felt a bit overpowered. When they touch you, you are unable to move for a decently long period of time while they drain your energy. Falling into any lava will deal massive damage as well.
So the stage hazards in general got a big buff here. There is also an ice dungeon where everything is very slippery. I get the feeling that the game was just trying to show off all the cool stuff it can do since none of that was in the first game. This one is really bigger in every way and has so many power ups to buy. Earning money is not that hard in this game which I appreciated. If you want to buy anything then you just need to save up for it.
The ole strafe and blast strategy still works really well on almost every boss. The game did manage to make a few exceptions to that at least so you aren’t totally mowing down every challenge in the game. You will occasionally need to jump and use some strategy. That said, the game feels a bit easier than the first because I was able to make it through the whole game with my mega buster. I just never got the blueprints for the missiles or any of the other sub weapons. Without those you can’t unlock any sub weapons which makes that process much more involved than the first game.
They are likely in the optional dungeons. The game has quite a few of those, I only did the first optional dungeon personally. We can chalk this up to more replay value though. The most important thing is having the 3 buster part upgrades. With that your mega buster is absolutely busted anyway and deals a ton of damage. Almost any opponent will go down in a few shots to that thing. So for bosses it was really busted as well.
There are a lot of upgrades to buy in the game so I recommend focusing on the health potion and making it as big as possible. It is often cheaper than buffing up your actual health bar and has the same real effect anyway. Of course buy as much as you can effort but if money is tight, go for the potion. With that you can just keep healing as needed. The last boss required me to heal 4-5 different times to the point where my bottle had run out. It really came down to the wire there.
Since this is a PS3, PSN game there is no rewind either. So that’s something to really keep in mind here. You will have to complete this game the old fashioned way but that’s how you will get more satisfaction in there. The graphics are really good as you’d expect. The PS1 artstyle works well and all of the energy blasts look good. The combat is good as well and I enjoyed all of the cinematics. The soundtrack is a bit more on the forgettable side, nothing you’ll really be putting on the ole Youtube playlist.
Then we have the story which was a lot more interesting than the first one. The first story was good too but this one is going a lot more into the cosmology of the verse. We learn a lot of twists about the humans, the robots, and he motivations of everyone involved. It all gets a bit convoluted but in a fun way. It’s the kind of series where you can probably have a lot of fun watching lore videos on Youtube. There are still questions left for the next game as well although I would say that the ending here is still mainly conclusive enough. We also get one last look at the eternal rivalry between Tron and Roll.
Overall, This was definitely a really fun game. There are a few ways where the game’s age starts to show itself but on the whole it goes really smoothly. This is basically what I pictured a 3D Mega Man title would be like. I still can’t believe that they haven’t done more since then. Capcom really has let Mega Man fans down ove the years. I would say that it does beat the original Legends as well as the spinoff. There is just a whole lot to enjoy here so if you haven’t bought the game yet, you should hurry and do so! The PS3 version of PSN won’t be up forever and once that goes down, there won’t be an official way to play the game anymore.
Overall 8/10
Ape Escape Review
It’s time for another classic title from back in the days. While Ape Escape may not really be around nowadays, it had a good run. It’s a really unique game all the way. I guess it reminds me a bit of Billy Hatcher if I had to compare it to something but the game is ultimately still very different. It’s definitely not one of the longer titles but you’ll be having fun all the way through.
The title starts out with a monkey escaping from the zoo and gaining super intelligence thanks to some sci-fi tech. He decides to liberate all of the other monkeys and travels all the way back in time. The main character is tasked with bringing him back to justice. To this end he will need to master a number of different tools that all have different abilities. You have the classic net which is how you capture the monkeys. You will be using this more than any of your other tools. Each level will ask you to capture several of the monkeys and that will automatically trigger the completion of the level.
You may wonder, what about the monkeys that you don’t grab? Well, there is a level select that you unlock after you complete the first level and that lets you go back. I would recommend not backtracking until you have completed the game though because some monkeys will require tools that you don’t get until the end of the game. So going back may just end up wasting some of your time otherwise. There is also one final weapon that you obtain after the game has been fully completed, which is the super punch.
The levels are pretty generous in that you get to skip a whole lot of the monkeys. This way you can enjoy the levels without stressing out about having to find each one. You have a radar tool which points you in the right direction of where the monkeys can be. It can be a bit of a misleading tool to be honest but can still work at least a little bit. Then you have the wings which is easily the most useful tool in the game. It gives you an extra jump and lets you hover around for a long while. With that at the ready you can breeze through most obstacles. It’s almost hard to go back to your normal jump while you have that.
You can equip 4 items at a time though so that helps with the balancing. You will be required to use every item at some point or another so they all get their time to shine. While the game isn’t particularly difficult, I will say that the monkeys can be really hard to catch. They run quickly and will counter attack if you get too close. This means that you are constantly going to be on the back foot and have to time your moves carefully. Without the rewind I would have gotten hit a bunch of times and just catching them would take longer. So length is something that would go more in the game’s favor without the rewind.
I’d say the most impressive thing about the game may be the technical elements. The graphics are really good. The art style is bright and expressive the whole time which fits the game series well and then you also have a really fun soundtrack. The main themes are all super good and will stay with you. There is just something really nice and catchy about them. The game doesn’t have a large variety but what you do have there is really good.
There is a decent amount of replay value in the game since they actually added trophies to it. This means that you will be able to go back to each of the levels and get the extra monkeys. You can then grab a nice Platinum at the end. This platinum trophy is also super generous because you don’t need to get anywhere near all of the monkeys or coins. I know for some that will feel like a cheap Platinum since you should need 100% in order to obtain it but that’s just not how it went this time.
I’d also end things off by giving the game credit for a lot of quality of life features. I’m not even counting the PS5 ones but the features built into the game. You can enter and exit levels at any time, you can switch gadgets really quickly, and everything is explained very well. Even the fact that you can hold 4 gadgets at once is really nice because otherwise you’d have to pause the game too much. It’s something that would have really helped the Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages game that I played recently. Mix that in with the fact that the main character moves pretty quickly and you have a winning formula. The levels are also just pretty fun to run around in. They’re large without overdoing it and each one is very distinct.
Overall, Ape Escape is definitely a game that I would recommend. It’s one of those titles that took advantage of the classic PS1 days. It has an absolutely bonkers plot but takes itself very seriously. The voice acting is definitely fun as well and feels really authentic. I suppose in a way the game feels like a passion project and not quite as corporate as you might see in a title that comes out nowadays. So long as you like good platforming then you will enjoy this game. It is well rounded all the way through.
Overall 7/10
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Review
I have returned to the world of Uncharted with this spinoff adventure. Chloe and Nadine get to serve as the leads this time so Nathan is getting himself a break. It’s a fun adventure although you can definitely see how it is a lot shorter than the main titles. Typically Uncharted adventures have over 20 chapters while this one has 9. Still, the 9 that we do have are very good so I had a great time here. There is a whole lot to enjoy.
The adventure starts off with Chloe trying to get aboard a truck. She manages to slip through the enemy defenses and we find out that she is working with the mercenary, Nadine. Together they are going to try and grab another ancient relic but there appears to be more to this mission that Chloe is keeping secret. The two will try their best to work together while staying professional but this doesn’t do wonders for their very tenuous bond.
At first I actually thought the opening level was a flashback because it’s rare to see Chloe panicking or unsure of herself. I guess that’s what happens when you go from the big rival character to the main lead. She ends up needing a little help from a kid in order to get past the initial guards. I would have preferred Chloe to be her usual sarcastic self right from the start and just beat everyone up. Instead she acts a bit more like Nathan this time around and panics a whole lot.
Still, Chloe is a fun lead overall. Once she begins her team up with Nadine then she goes for more of the usual quips we know her for. Nadine ends up being less likable by the end as she tends to blow up at Chloe a whole lot. She also goes out of her way to mess up their plans on different occasions because she couldn’t contain her emotions. It was a very difficult situation at different points so I understand that, but Nadine is supposed to be a professional.
She does get hit with the main character nerf as well though. In the last game she was defeating Nathan and his brother Sam at the same time. Here she and Chloe are losing when going 2 v 1 against the new villain. Times have really changed. That villain end up looking pretty impressive as a result though. He’s certainly not my kind of villain but I do have to respect his abilities.
The story is fairly straight forward here though. The two heroines have to get to the treasure before the villains do. In the process of this we get a ton of action scenes and have to blast through the equivalent of a mini army. From a gameplay perspective you get a lot of the usual parkour and gun combat. They are both handled very well and in some ways the parkour can be a little more difficult than the main titles. This game assumes that you have played those so there is no kind of tutorial at all. I was a bit rusty at first but quickly got with it.
By contrast the gun combat was a lot easier than the main Uncharted games. One reason for this is the amount of checkpoints in them. Usually if you lose a gunfight then you have to restart it. In this game some of the enemies will stay dead when you die so it inevitably gets easier as you keep on fighting. As long as you use some good tactics and hide as necessary then you should be fine.
There is a decent amount of replay value to be had here. There are a whole lot of collectibles to grab after all and there is a proper level select here which allows you to nab them. Completing the game will only get you a few trophies as well so you will need to replay the game a lot to get the rest. Only the slow motion walk scenes may get a bit annoying but the rest is really easy to replay. Sony games are known for being cinematic and while some use that as an insult, I always find it to be very impressive.
You feel like you’re in a movie here. The graphics are really strong and there is a ton of attention to detail. The gameplay is very well polished as well. I suppose I would have liked to have had a map that was always active instead of having to constantly pause to see it. That’s a bit more of a nitpick though. I was starting to get lost when driving around in the car but was gradually able to figure it out.
It was cool to have a car in general. That’s something you don’t see every day. There isn’t much of a soundtrack here but they squeezed in a song for the end credits. Those credits were extremely long though, one of the longest ones I’ve seen in a long time. I looked it up and apparently they are close to 11 minutes in length. That’s pretty insane, they needed to speed that up or let you skip them. It’s extremely rare for a game in 2026 to not let you skip the credits.
Overall, I would definitely recommend checking out this Uncharted title. It is a full fledged game even if it is shorter than the others. I got this one for $10 so if you get a deal like that then I’d say you should really jump on it. As far as I’m concerned that is an absolute steal! Even if you have to shell out a little more for this one, you should do it. Hopefully one day we get another Uncharted game. This is the kind of series that could easily have many more adventures because there are an infinite amount of treasures out there. I feel like the recent James Bond game was essentially a kind of Uncharted title so they need to follow that blueprint.
Overall 8/10
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