Uncharted 3 provides no choices to make, no characters to level up. Some people dismiss the games for being little more than interactive movies, but that's exactly what they're trying to be; developer Naughty Dog is the best in the business when it comes to delivering a tight, engaging story filled with clever puzzles and stunning action scenes. This is the Indiana Jones video game you always wanted, where the characters and their relationships are just as important as the mystical object everyone is racing to discover.

Playing Uncharted 3 is a bit like visiting your favorite restaurant to eat your favorite meal. Sure, you know how the food will taste before you even enter the dining room, but you're still so happy to be there. I had a few small issue with the game's story and eventual ending, but these were misgivings I had only after the game was over. While playing, I was too thrilled to do anything except smile and move on to the next section of the game.

Greatness from small beginnings

The Uncharted series follows the dashing Nathan Drake, an adventurer and treasure hunter, along with an older mentor named Sully and two women who have differing amounts of patience for Drake's lifestyle. The game takes place in a third-person view, and it's just as famous for its witty banter as it is for its gunning and climbing sections. Drake uses his brain just as much as his body and, like Spider-Man, he's quick with the wit while in life-threatening situations—which, naturally, he finds himself in rather often.

The game begins as you might expect: our heroes are in a hopeless situation and they have to fight their way out. From the moment it begins, the game never lets up. The Uncharted games are praised for many things, but the expert pacing is often overlooked. The series always does a good job of keeping the player's interest by sprinkling puzzles, combat, and massive set pieces throughout the game. This is all wrapped around story revelations that almost beg you to continue playing so that you can see what happens next. It's rare to feel bored when playing, and there never seems to be a "safe" place to save your game and end for the night.

The actual gameplay doesn't always match up with how well the game is paced. The game often relies on quick-time events to have your character interact with the environment, and these quick button presses are also integrated into the hand-to-hand fighting mechanics.

Timing is important when the battles go hand-to-hand, and it's hard not to notice how imprecise the fighting can be when you're up against a series of enemies—though this may be due to the fact I played the incomparable Arkham City right before reviewing Uncharted 3. Batman now offers the gold standard for cinematic fisticuffs in games, and anything else is going to suffer by comparison.

But Uncharted 3 is filled with little touches that make it easy to forgive the small issues with the fighting, such as quick animations that show Drake shaking his hand after a particularly hard punch, as if he hurt his own hand. The game is saturated with moments like these, light touches that make you feel like you're controlling a person and not just a cartoon action hero. This is particularly important because Drake often does things that only a cartoon character could survive; Naughty Dog is able to juggle the human aspect of the character with the over-the-top action.

The game's interactivity sometimes sits in tension with the its cinematic presentation style. Check out the game's many chase scenes: the way the game draws your eye to where you need to move next is brilliant. From the camera movement to the lighting and the color of objects, the game makes it possible to do everything correctly the first time.

Of course, while it may be possible, it's also unlikely. The fact that failure means you're simply sent back to the latest checkpoint turns what should be an exciting and visually compelling sequence into a game of trial and error. It's hard to get a sense of flow during the chase sequences when you're only playing the game in ten-second chunks between failures. I'd love to see the chases uninterrupted to get a feel for the rhythm and nuance of the scene, something that's impossible when you're playing them.

Certain areas look like they were designed to be viewed in 3D, such as a scene where you're sniping at enemies who are firing rockets at you. It's impressive enough on a standard television, so I imagine it's beautiful with an extra sense of depth. A character's claustrophobia is also used to great effect, proving that tight, closed spaces can be just as interesting as larger, wide-open areas. We've spoken with Naughty Dog before about how much work went into the 3D aspect of the game—and the short amount of content we've seen in 3D proves how effective the work has been—so those with 3D televisions will be well served.

As for the graphics themselves... the game looks great. A few of the scenes caused those watching me play to gasp audibly, and the art direction and design of the settings and characters matches the power of the engine. No game installation is required, which is common in high-quality first-party games but depressingly rare in third-party titles. Whatever Naughty Dog is doing with the PS3, we can only hope Sony is encouraging them to share it with everyone else.

The puzzles

The game features plenty of puzzles, and they're all very clever. It's hard to get frustrated, since the game does a wonderful job of helping you along with hints provided by the other characters and by your notebook, but you still get a sense of satisfaction when you figure something out. Each scene with a puzzle is delightful, with an eye for the visually pleasing as well as for the mentally taxing. One room uses a screen to simulate a primitive form of animation. Another has you moving a light source to create a certain shadow on the wall. These aren't just about the act of figuring out what you have to do, but about the celebration of engineering and beauty.

It's thrilling to watch the characters puzzle out what they have to do next. This is handled via in-game animations just as much as spoken clues, as the characters rub their hands along dusty walls, test pressure plates with their feet, or peer into dark holes. No one in the game waits for you to do the work for them, and as you explore each room to find out how to get ahead, they'll work with you. It feels like you're with a group of relatively smart people, all of you working on the same puzzle.

The way the puzzles are integrated with the game and the behavior of the other characters in your crew is all but perfect. Pay attention to how effectively the quieter moments with the game's puzzles are offset by the loud and explosive action sequences and the character-driven moments of the game's cut scenes. Every aspect of the game works together to create the overall experience, and nothing feels out of place...

...except for some of narrative choices.