followup: so i have played a few games so far.
uncharted 3 was good, but i didn't think it stood up as well to other games in that genre. in particular, a newer game (Tomb Raider) just blows it out of the water. tacking on Chloe at the beginning and Elena at the end highlighted how much worse the plot was as compared to Uncharted 2, and the game kind of devolved into a run-and-gun by the end. not to mention charlie was brought in as this great bro character but then he disappears for literally the entire last half of the game. i didn't feel it held up well as a shooter compared to the other games, but maybe that's just favorable memories. either way it was still an entertaining and exciting game - just not the showstopper that U2 was.
valkyria chronicles is an interesting take on strategy. i really got a bad vibe at first, which didn't make a ton of sense given the tight feel and frankly beautifully animated battle areas, and i think it's because i want it to be FFT HD and not something else. they aren't even close enough to compare so i'm not sure why i get that. i don't like the inefficiency of the running (i waste a lot of ap) and the drawn-out cutscenes or bad actors (WELKIN), but a successful strategy feels good. i don't know if i'll finish it though honestly.
i'm playing The Last of Us right now. i generally don't like survival horror games, but this one compares favorably to Enslaved (one of my favorite games this generation) and the voice acting is stunning. controls aren't too tight which is a downer, and i don't like freaky games normally (i almost put down the original uncharted when the shotgun sequences started in the last third of the game), but the quality on this one is so evident i want to keep playing it.