@MikeB, I won't go into a very long reply. I'll just touch on a couple of things.
-I personally feel like Gears of War's story was pretty refreshing--about a guy being forced into a position of leadership and putting together a team of reliable comrades after some of his team was killed. Gears 2's story kicked it up to another level (because they hired some major comic book writers to build on Gears 1 and improve the pacing) but the universe was expanded upon, mysteries were revealed, and some surprise twists were thrown into them mix. Why was the Locust queen human? Who created the Sires? Why were the Locusts warring among themselves? What is Marcus Fenix's father's role in all of this? Add to that little subplots about the Carmine family, Dominic and his wife, experimentations on humans, and the fall of mankinds last safe haven and for me, it was pretty compelling stuff. I found myself wondering what was going to happen next through the whole thing.
Uncharted 1 & 2 took a very predictable story but told it in a very compelling way. I wasn't ever really surprised but the way its story was told was very satisfying. The good guy characters were likeable and relateable and had very good chemistry. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I wasn't smiling through the whole experience. I guess, personally, I just liked the unfamiliar story of Gears and the feeling that I was always in over my head a bit more.
--As for Gears feeling a bit bulkier, I can agree. But then again, you're controlling very big men carrying very big guns while wearing very big armor. I guess it's supposed to feel a little hefty. But when those bullets start flying, giant enemies are trying to flank you, flying enemies are dropping down on you, and the intensity ramps up, it's not so bad. As for move sets, I guess Drake's repetoirre fits the kind of game he's in (an exploration game with a lot of gunplay) better just like Fenix's array of moves fits the kind of game he's in (a gritty war game with gritty gunplay). You'd be surprised how much variety there is in GeoW2, though. Every few minutes there was something new being thrown at you. It never really had time to get stale.
--And as far a presentation is concerned, I believe what I wrote. When I bought Uncharted 1, it was because I had just bought a PS3 and I wanted a game that blew away what I'd seen on the 360. U1 did that. That 2007 game looked better than my beloved 2006 game. My purchase was justified. Then I got Gears of War 2. That 2008 game looked better than my 2007 game. Next, I got Uncharted 2. That 2009 game looked better than my 2008 game. This year, we have a 2011 game vs a 2011 game--for the first time, ever.
Thing is, Leo-J made a thread a while back saying U1 looked better than any Xbox 360 game ever released. He posted screen shots of U1 that looked better than U1 did running on my TV. I had fond memories of Uncharted but I didn't believe it was as good as he led me to believe. I wound up playing Uncharted again and my memories of that great game was destroyed. It was easier for me to find flaws in that previously "flawless" game because, like Gears of War, the rest of the industry had caught up with the standard it had set. 2D plants and fire, janky animation, and weak textures suddenly stood out like a sore thumb. Same thing when I went back and tried Uncharted 2 after I finished Mass Effect 2 last week. It still looked good but I wasn't blown away by it anymore. The story wasn't a big draw anymore because I knew how it played out. The graphics weren't amazing because I had just finished God of War 3 (best looking console game on the market!). I played until I got to the enemy camp and I turned the game off. It just didn't have the power it had the year before.
Let's say that Uncharted 2 sets the standard and scores a 9 across the board. There are games that score a 10 in character models but score a 7 in lighting. There's games that score a 10 in lighting but score an 8 in animation. They may not have the total package like Uncharted 2 did but after seeing certain games with better lighting, better animation, better environments, and such, going back and seeing poor textures in U2's character models or the environments take away from U2's awe factor. Another example: In 1994, Donkey Kong Country was the hands down best looking game on the market. Looking back at it now, we're harder to impress. It just looks like another 16-bit game, now. It looks better than Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but not THAT much better. I play so many games that I'm not as easily impressed anymore. A game released in 2009, no matter how good, looks like a game released in 2009 to me.
--I keep playing Gears for the co-op. I haven't played online in it since 2008. I've NEVER tried Uncharted's online. With Gears 3's promise of 4 player onlince co-op as well as split screen (I'm talking campaigns, here), a storyline told from multiple perspectives, Epic's statement that the game is DONE and they're just polishing it until release, and their history of providing totally unique (until somebody copies them) online vs modes, I'm more excited for GeoW3. I'll definitely be buying Uncharted 3 and I can't wait to see the fire, sand, and flooding water stages running on my HDTV. I just like the GeoW series in the past more than I've liked the Uncharted series and I'm more invested in the characters and the struggle of their world more than the struggle of Nathan Drake and his women.
All my opinion, of course.
