drakesfortune

User Score
10

Presentation - 10
Gameplay - 10
Value - 10

Uncharted 2 is a dream to play.  It's got everything you'd want in a game, and everything it does it excels at.  It's got one of the best stories put into a video game, and is better than many movies being made today.  Both this and the first game had a story better than the latest Indiana Jones Movie, Crystal Skulls.

I honestly can't think of anything bad to say about this game.  The single player campaign is the best I've experienced, and I don't say that lightly.  It's a fine tuned campaign, with the story cleverly weaved into the gameplay.  It's got a great cover system, excellent shooting mechanics, and the guns all feel like they should.  The voice acting is the best there is and as good as any animated movie.

Graphically Uncharted 2 is a masterpiece.  I mean, there may be a few games like Crysis on PC that are technically more proficient, but there is not a game anywhere, on any platform, that is as artfully done, as beautiful, and impressive as Uncharted 2's.  The snow effects of walking through deep snow will blow your mind.  The massive vistas in this game are crystal clear, detailed, and the frame rate is smooth.  Best of all, they fixed the biggest complaint I had with the first game by eliminating screen tearing entirely.  Honestly, I'd love to see them redo Uncharted 1 with this upgraded engine.  I'd pay full price for that.

So Uncharted 2 takes all that was great about the first game and improves it substantially.  The only thing that was slightly better in the first game, and I mean slightly, is the maybe the premise.  The story is told better in the second game though.  It takes the negatives from the first game, the screen tearing, the abrupt twist at the end that many complained about, and fixes them.

Finally Uncharted 2 offers up one of the finest, if not the finest multiplayer experiences available on the PS3, or anywhere.  The Co-Op is super fun, even for someone like me who doesn't like to play with strangers, I had a great time playing Co-Op with strangers.  It is a blast.  The other modes are also great, some innovative, some just refined. 

So why is the multiplayer so fun in Uncharted 2 compared to other games?  I have to give it to the depth that platforming brings to the maps.  Being able to climb tall buildings and carve out your spot on the maps is genius, and fun.  If you get into the multiplayer, and you should, you'll get countless hours of value out of this game.

One last point, this game gets more fun each time you play the game and up the difficulty.  Playing through this game, and the original, on crushing after playing on hard is exhilarating.  It requires you to use all of your skills, is very difficult, but it's also incredibly satisfying.  This coming from someone who normally hates replaying single player games, and also hates playing games on their toughest difficulty.  Uncharted 2 is so finely balanced that playing on crushing after you've mastered all of the mechanics is a pure joy.

If you own a PS3, have a soul, or even just remotely enjoy life, then you simply must buy Uncharted 2.  If you don't have a PS3, buy one with Uncharted 2, and pick up the first game while you're at it.