I still need to finish 2 and 3 :P

I agree that 3 had too many melee sections which is one of its weakness, it had the no depth but visually it was entertaining :P

Also while 2 didn't force them on you during normal gameplay you could stumble upon them anytime an enemy gets too close to you and then it becomes really boring so I liked 3's approach better.

I thought that the Lazarevic fight was really anti-climactic, in fact 2 became anti-climactic from the moment *SPOILERS* you get to know that the yeti were humans who ate some kind of resin that gave you power. That was pretty terrible. Lazarevic fight just consists of you running around and shooting the resins when he is close to them. It was neither fun nor deep and neither was it epic in scale. It just had nothing to it.

As I said in the OP I think the Chopper battle on Nepal rooftops is the only good boss fight in these two games. So 3's final boss fight is no better, but not much worse. I did like the Demon thing in 3 more than the shambala's protectors in 2, much more cool.

I thought 2's story was entirely predictable. Both 2 and 3's story is almost 1:1 with typical movie isotopes but 3 had a similar plot to a movie I actually enjoyed watching and it had a few nice plot twists and set pieces so I like it more.

I'm still of the opinion, what? All of the Uncharted storylines are somewhat cliched but...

1 had a generic plot that you'd normally find in a cheap made-for TV Sy-Fy channel film. The characters were just developed enough to keep them fun but lacked any real depth.

2 had much deeper character development and a story that flowed appropriately from one section to the next. The budget and time spent was much greater and it showed. 

3 had numerous levels and areas that had no real purpose in plot terms and had weak character development with the exception of Nate and Sully.   

4 had the most mature handling of plot, character development and story of all the games. The story actually explores character motivations and relationships in ways the previous games only really touched upon. 

I played through the trilogy around 2011 and I genuinely did not understand the hype behind Uncharted 2. I didn't enjoy the gunplay, the pacing felt bad and the graphics weren't as impressive at that point.

Uncharted 3 just felt better to me for story and tighter gameplay. I didn't feel like I was forcing myself to play it like its predecessors.

Agreed.  I was feeling some series fatigue after the third chapter, this after I waited 5 months to play U3 after finishing U2.  I couldn't keep playing after that as the atmosphere was very generic and by the numbers by that point.

This thread has been illuminating for me. I've long wondered how a game like Uncharted wins over fans from two disparate camps - those who care little about story and graphics and those who care deeply about story, presentation, graphics, and scale. I think I finally have an answer.

It seems like Uncharted sits on the edge of a knife. On one side is arcade action and on the other is cinematic action. So some people can like the games for their tactical gun fights and cover mechanics and others can like the games for their gorgeous graphics, cinematic set pieces, and plot lines.

For me, Uncharted 2 straddled that line perfectly. Uncharted 3, however, slipped too far into cinematic action, and suffered as a result.

4 has the weakest story?! Have you EVEN played it yet? How can 1 have the best story, when we know NOTHING about the characters at all and, Nathan is just running around in circles on a SINGLE island the WHOLE TIME. Plus that jet ski? Fuck that piece of crap.

To be fair, and while I'm not commenting on U4 as I haven't played it, Uncharted 1 story is pretty, pretty good. It introduces us to Nathan, Sullivan and Elena, it makes up the Indiana Jones plot of Drake finding El Dorado and dying to protect it from ever getting out (while you're first tricked about Drake merely being killed without achieving nothing, on which Nate feels like he's been wasting his time throughout the adventure), there's basically an out-of-nowhere villain swap that I'm pretty sure no one expected (regardless of your opinion of Navarro, that's it). It also introduced a proper supernatural event, something Uncharted 2 was capable of follow-up but the third game certainly threw away like nothing, it shows the caring side of Nathan with Elena and how friendly and amicable Sullivan really is despite the game also tricking about him betraying the duo.

Sure, the story itself ain't anything excessively complex, like, I dunno, Metal Gear Solid 4, but it certainly do wonders, and has probably the least plot holes of all the games - not counting U4, which I haven't played -.

That's why I appreciate the first Uncharted despite loving more the stories of 2, 3 and 4. First time playing it, my biggest question was if this Sullivan character was to be trusted. I always had this sneaking suspicion that he was going to betray Drake and Elena. Maybe I'm too biased, but Uncharted 3's story, while not as masterful as 2, still works even while not following the sucessor's guide on how to make a good story. It works being its own story with its own pacing.

2 had much deeper character development? I can't say I agree with that... I think both Drake and Elena went through major changes in U1 as they grew accustomed to the violence... What character development did 2 have? For example the "wounded cameraman" scene would be a great opportunity for some major character development, but it seemed wasted... and I can't think of anything else in that...

We agree about 3 it seems...

EARLY GAME UNCHARTED 4 SPOILERS!!!

And about 4... really? It does explore character motivations... a bit, but it's the most clichéd thing ever... how many times have we seen an ex-crook really wanting to do good, but brought back into action because of family problems... I guess Rafe's motivation was somewhat original, I admit. But by this point, I think the series was beyond its prime and it couldn't make me stay invested very much. Also, that final chapter... with the you-know-who... Jeez...