pro
Unearthed comes off as a game with a vision, and I do appreciate the authenticity of the story due in large part to the fact that the game is developed in Saudi-Arabia. Whether it's actually rooted in something real, I don't know, but it feels like it. The music is fine at best and the game is subtitled in 21 languages which is a nice gesture.
con
Episode 1 is a complete technical mess and borderline unplayable. Every single action be it walking, jumping, fighting or shooting, is an experience comprised of lag or even no reaction at all. You will often find yourself gliding across surfaces, falling down shafts because the jump button simply won't work and inexplicably twitch out of cover only to be shot to death. Picking up items only works 1 out of 10 times, the cover mechanic will have you shoot into the wall you're hiding behind even though you're leaning out, and it's all poorly animated. Cut scenes are stale, lacking in animation and often a bit awkward due to the rather poor voice acting.
con
The first episode is 1 hour long and manages to cram in most of the mechanics you've seen in various games over the last decade, and not one of them is executed properly. I've already mentioned the cover mechanic which is broken, but there's more. During the hour you will shoot, climb ledges, roll, solve a puzzle, control an RC car, sit on the back of an ATV while you shoot bad guys, fight enemies hand to hand like in Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat, walk'n talk, and perhaps the most infuriating part: drive around town in a car that is completely uncontrollable while being chased by the cops. Not only do you have to suffer through three fights, but the driving part got me pretty close to just sit down and cry.
con
Unearthed doesn't only lend a page from the Uncharted book, it rips them all out and goes to town like it's 1995. The logo resembles Uncharted's, there's a spinning medallion during the loading screen, and even the voice of Faris tries to resemble Nolan North. Cut scenes include bits like the camera panning across a table covered in books, daggers and maps. Do I sound harsh? I think I have a right to. For $9.99 you get to play 1 hour of Uncharted if it was made on PS1, and I'm probably giving Unearthed too much credit already. I get it, you got to start somewhere, but a little bit of QA never hurt anyone.