Kantor

User Score
9.8

Presentation - 10
Gameplay - 9.5
Value - 9.5

The original Uncharted was a great game, to be sure. It launched at a time where there was quite a dearth of quality games (particularly exclusives) on PS3, and it was arguably the best game available on the console at the time. It was also pretty heavily flawed. The sales were very good- it's managed 2.5 million lifetime on a 100k first week.

Uncharted 2 blows that game out of the water. It is such a massive improvement in every single aspect, you'll never want to play Uncharted: Drake's Fortune again. And this is one of the rare sequels in which you can't really complain about any of the changes.

Uncharted 2, once again, puts you in control of Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter and all-American everyman who can inexplicably wield a gun and jump across ledges three metres apart...at the same time. In this sense, it's not a particularly realistic game, but then realism rarely serves to do anything other than kill anything resembling fun.

In the year or so since his last adventure, Drake has learned to slide into cover, stealth attack enemies effectively, and throw a grenade more easily, while losing his somewhat odd ability to kill anybody in three punches (the melee is a lot more balanced this time around. You won't run around meleeing everybody on anything above Easy. On Crushing, you're not going to melee at all, because it's exceptionally weak. Rather than pressing Square, Triangle, Square to kill an enemy in three seconds, you have to punch until your enemy counters, and THEN press triangle, before finishing him (they're always male) off with a final hit. You'll actually want to shoot some people this time around.

Which is convenient, because the shooting mechanics have been greatly improved. You can look down the barrel of a rifle for a slightly more accurate shot, and there is a blindfire reticule when you are running or taking cover, and shooting (but not hanging, for some reason, which can be annoying). There are also more weapons. A few of the pistols seem to do the exact same thing, but then there's the Pistole (a sort of handheld shotgun) and the Desert-5 (which, of course, needs no introduction- replace 5 with "eagle"). Then you have the AK-47, a basic rifle; the FAL, a long-range assault rifle; the M4, an extremely powerful carbine; and then of course the sniper. On the special weapon side, there are two shotguns, a grenade launcher, a rocket launcher and a portable heavy machine gun. Also, riot shields.

[img]http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/988/988998/uncharted-2-among-thieves-20090601042459814.jpg[/img]

So, you'll actually want to use different weapons in this game, because the AK no longer has the range and accuracy of a sniper with the power of a shotgun. And the pistols aren't all powerful any more.

There are a few new stealth segments in the game, which are pretty basic. Walk behind enemy, press square to kill enemy. The enemy stealth AI is laughably bad on lower difficulties, but it can become a bit of a challenge on Hard/Crushing. You can also pull enemies off ledges and attack them from cover. Barring a few points in the game, you can completely ignore stealth and go in, guns blazing. Theoretically. On the higher difficulties, at quite a few points, you'll suicide if you fail a stealth segment, because the enemies will tear you apart.

Platforming is largely the same as before. Drake still has superhuman strength. He can jump across a 3 metre gap while hanging and holding a pistol. He can reload said pistol while hanging on with one hand. Elena's become surprisingly good at platforming, too.

Elena is, of course, one of your many companions. Unlike the original, in Uncharted 2 you are seldom alone. There are a wide range of supporting characters (five, I think), of different genders and nationalities. They help you out in difficult gunfights, and for some reason Uncharted 2 has a lot of raised/broken ladders, so you're giving each other boosts every ten minutes or so. The characters also provide some nice banter, or in one case, incoherent Tibetan mumblings. The dialogue between characters feels natural, not forced, largely due to the fact that the crew performed the mo-cap actions and recorded their voices at the same time.

[img]http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/102/1026373/uncharted-2-among-thieves-20090918014148837_640w.jpg[/img]

The story, again, revolves around Nathan Drake and his very best friends trying to find an ancient mythical treasure. However, while Uncharted: Drake's Fortune put you on a ship, in a random jungle, and then left you on an island for 7/8 of the game, Uncharted 2 takes you across an enormous range of different environments: jungles, tundras, ancient villages, even large cities. My main complaint with Uncharted 2 would be the apparent open world (particularly in the city), while you're only allowed to take one preset path. Ledges which look perfectly grabbable...aren't. On the other hand, ledges which look like part of the scenery are the only way forwards. This was a problem with the first game, one of the few which haven't been fixed.

The graphics and sound are fantastic. It looks even better than the original, and is almost undoubtedly the best looking console game to date. This, without any lag, and no install. Take notes, developers. The voice acting is delivered passionately, and music plays at just the right times. The physics, as well...wow. Without giving too much away, environments are always changing...while you play. Most cutscenes are in game, but a few switch to in-engine non-in-game rendering. On replays, you can tell the difference because in non-in-game cutscenes, Drake ditches whatever ridiculous costume you've chosen for him.

And that's just the single player.

I originally thought the multiplayer would be lame and tacked-on. It most certainly is not. It's a full fledged multiplayer segment which rivals the best I have played, complete with different competitive game modes, and even co-op, which is absurdly difficult. Matchmaking can take a while, with some game modes, but once you're in the game, it's great fun. Like all online games, you'll suck at first and hate it, but for some reason, you'll keep playing, and see how great it is. There's a nice, but not very unique, unlock system, with perks, costumes, and taunts (which nobody uses). Each kill/win/score/etc. gives you money, and you use this to buy things.

The game is patches quite regularly to improve stability (which was great from launch, to be sure) and add content. A few decisions have been controversial (such as the fine of $40,000 for leaving a game), but overall the changes are positive.

Co-op (online only, of course. No offline multiplayer) involves Drake and two friends going through a level, killing enemies and doing other Unchartedy things. It can be difficult if your teammates suck, but you get a nice reward even if you fail to complete the missions (if all of you die three times). If badly injured, you lie on the ground, and can be revived. If not, you die and respawn at the next checkpoint. If all three of you die, that counts as a fail, and you have two more chances. Enemies can also grab you from behind, and have to be killed, or they kill you.

The co-op is great fun, as is the competitive, but the single player experience is the star of the show. And what an experience it is...I can't even put it into words. Buy this game. Buy a PS3 for this game. Buy an HDTV and surround sound system for this game. It's worth it.