The developers of Uncharted were very clear that they wanted this to be a cover shooter with a bit of platforming thrown in, it seems.  Following the story, Drake has worked out where the treasure is buried, and we've descended down through mausoleums and libraries, using doorways that nobody else has known about.  You'd think this was the perfect opportunity for platform exploration, but no - somehow the enemy have got into these areas as well and continue their work to make Drake die.  It just feels really tenuous.

Something else I notice - when describing this game, I often call the main character "Drake", rather than projecting myself into him.  It's clear that Drake worked out the location of the treasure, since I had no part in it.  Wherever there are puzzles, Drake is the one who finds the correct page in the notebook which give the answer in an obvious way.  When there's a new weapon, Drake is the one who quips about it being a great find.  I'm not - I don't find guns exciting at all.

So when I misjudge a jump, it's Drake who falls to his death, not me.  I feel pretty disconnected, all in all, and as a result I notice inconsistencies in the game world more than I should.  For example, Drake can jump across 30-foot gaps with ease, but struggles to reach ledges a few inches above his head - indeed, he even seems to crouch when he's jumping just so they're out of reach.  When running around the roof of a church, falling off the narrow planks results in instant death, but a similarly large fall elsewhere is fine as long as you hang from the platform.

I'm up to chapter 16 now, of a total of 22.  Given this, I'll push through to the end, but I'm disappointed there's been nothing really new in the last few chapters.  The only difference is with the story and the introduction of two new enemies - a sniper with a laser sight (who drops a pistol, not a sniper rifle), and enemies with bigger machine guns.  I did find a sniper rifle on a crate, but it had only five bullets which makes it massively limited.  The highlight of last night's gaming, in fact, was a chapter where I had to guide a jet-ski upriver, over rapids and avoiding exploding barrels (and, of course, people shooting).

Many people have complained that the recent Tomb Raider game is too combat-oriented, which is very true when you compare it to the older games in the series.  But if you compare it to Uncharted, Lara is a veritable peace-loving hippy.  Exploration seems to take second fiddle to hiding in cover and shooting enemies, then picking up their ammunition before going through the next door and taking cover again.  There have been a few puzzles, but nothing more complex than finding a key to open a door or pulling a couple of levels to flood a room.  The platforming is probably the best part of the game, having to work out how to get to high-up ledges, and it's a shame there's not more of it - and it's annoying the controls are quite so imprecise.  A lack of lock-on to enemies from cover doesn't help.

Still, it's a fun game with some spectacular setpieces, even if the best parts of these are generally non-interactive.  I've just finished a section where I was speeding through canals on a jetski - well, I say speeding, but it was easier and more efficient to inch forwards, stopping every few seconds to shoot the explosive barrels and enemies in my path.

Oh dear, it doesn't sound like I'm having much fun, does it?  Oddly, I'm looking forward to continuing - as long as this doesn't outstay its welcome.  I think the problem this game has is that Tomb Raider has since done it so much better, and this suffers from being played second.

Er, of course I did play this before Tomb Raider - I got my first two trophies on 15 April 2011 - but I was expecting a purely platforming exploration game and the constant gunfights put me off.  I cleared the first three chapters, I think - up until the submarine in the jungle.  I continued from there, which meant a good few minutes of trying to work out which button did what, causing at least one hilarious death where I threw a grenade at my own feet.  Let's not mention that.