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Author Topic: Why Don't Any of you People Have Uncharted 2?  (Read 1766 times)

Turtlekid1

  • Tortuga
« on: April 03, 2010, 11:12:38 AM »
Yeah, no.  This isn't just a parody thread; this is actually a review I've been meaning to write for a while now.  I'll be going into a bit of depth with each aspect of the game, as well as listing some of the pros (lots) and cons (if I can find any).

Overview

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the second game in the... you guessed it, Uncharted series by Naughty Dog (their previous franchises, Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter, are best-sellers in their own right and definitely worth whatever price you may pay for them at eBay/Amazon/GameStop).  First thing I'm going to say is that I may be a bit biased regarding "The Dogs"; Crash Bandicoot was my first real game, so I may be viewing the company through nostalgia-colored glasses.  That said, however, I've never known Naughty Dog to skimp on quality, and Uncharted 2 is no exception.  Why?  Read on.

Graphics

The graphics of the game are probably the first thing you'll notice about Uncharted 2 (well, maybe the music for the main menu, but more on that later).  It drives one crazy just thinking about the amount of time that went into each character model and environment.  Well, it certainly paid off; this game has the best looking characters and scenery I've ever seen in a game.  Also notable about the graphics is the fact that they don't submit to the current-gen "real is brown" color scheme (there's even a render mode called "Next-Gen Filter that parodies this by giving everything a brown tint).  As with the first game, the colors are quite vibrant, which makes for even better environments, in this reviewer's opinion.  Now, about the character designs: Naughty Dog was really meticulous with 'em.  They went back after Drake's Fortune, added more polygons, made sure the actions were as fluid and believable as they could be, and put exceptional time and effort, even into the facial expressions and lip-synching (the final boss fight has a scene with some great lip-synching).  The environments are gorgeous, as per usual with ND.  Also, there weren't as many chances in Among Thieves to put in their incredibly realistic-looking water as there were in the first game (thank God there are no jet-ski sequences, though), but Naughty Dog didn't miss a single chance to include it if it was even remotely plausible.  So yeah.  Good graphics for everything, and some of the best animation you'll see on the system.

Music

I believe I mentioned the music that plays on the main menu?  Otherwise known as "Nate's Theme 2.0," this track is excellent - I even have it on my mp3 player.  All of the music, as I understand it, is fully orchestrated.  Anyway, the soundtrack is all very well-done for what it is; the first Uncharted game's soundtrack had an exotic jungle-island feel, and this one has an exotic Himalayan feel.  It's no Super Mario Galaxy, but it is catchy.  If you do nothing else, you may want to give the aforementioned track a listen.

Story

The story centers on our hero, Nathan Drake (a fortune hunter and a bit of a scoundrel, who believes himself to be a direct descendant of Sir Francis Drake), as he races a psychotic war-criminal to find Shangri-La.  There are, of course, lots of other characters; Elena Fisher, the "plucky" reporter from the first game, and Victor Sullivan, the cigar-munching dirty old man, return; Harry Flynn, an old rival of Drake's, and Chloe Frazer, the "edgy" alternative to Elena are introduced; there are also Lazarevich, the aforementioned war-criminal and main antagonist, Tenzin, a Tibetan fellow who helps Nate against Lazarevich's mercenaries, Jeff, Elena's cameraman, and Karl Schafer, an old German officer who knows something about the secret of Shangri-La.  The plot starts off a bit slowly compared to the first game, but don't worry - it soon picks up.  The story has its share of twists and backstabbings along the way, just like the first game.  Also like the first game, there is a supernatural element introduced relatively late that smashes the plausibility of the historical element to bits, but makes for a fine game nonetheless.  The character interactions are excellent, and Naughty Dog didn't make a single wrong choice in their voice actors or motion capture performers (more often than not, they were one and the same).  Nolan North, in particular, did a great job as the lead character; you may well laugh out loud when you hear some of his ad-libbed combat banter (try Googling "kitty got wet").  The other actors were no slouches, either.  In short, a compelling story and cast make for yet another reason to buy the game; even for $60, you're getting your money's worth.

Gameplay

The gameplay is essentially the same as in Drake's Fortune, albeit with a few tweaks to the gunplay.  There are numerous cleverly-designed platforming segments, made all the more clever by the fact that Drake's jumping and climbing ability is probably the most realistic you've ever seen; there are a few physically-impossible jumps here and there, but for the most part, Drake can't jump any farther or higher than a mildly athletic person could in real life.  The puzzles are well-designed; they take a bit of thought, but they're pretty easy for the most part so as to not slow down the game.  The combat is where this game really shines.  There are over a dozen guns to use, from the basic 92FS 9mm pistol to a full-fledged RPG-7.  The gunplay is simple, but fun; hide behind any available cover and... pump your enemies full of lead, as it were.  Head shots are instant kills if the guy isn't wearing a helmet, but there are increasing amounts of well-armored enemies as the game goes on.  As in the last game, Drake can carry a few grenades.  What's different from the last game is that the grenades don't rely on gimmicky and unreliable motion sensing to aim them; once you figure out the new and better aiming system, grenades are your best friends for enemies that stubbornly refuse to come out from their cover.  One important note about the gunplay in the second game: it never feels static.  Possibly the only bad thing you'll hear me say about Drake's Fortune is that there were several gunfights in which you felt pinned down constantly, awaiting your doom - not so in Among Thieves.  The gunfights here are constantly in motion (sometimes literally; there are two chapters devoted to Nate boarding a train and making his way through an onslaught of goons).  However, the gunplay isn't the only opportunity for violence here; there is a stealth kill system in place.  It's not terribly in-depth, but it is solid, and unlike some games that just aren't built for stealth gameplay, Uncharted 2 gets away with it.  You'll feel quite vindictive when pulling enemies off rooftops or snapping their necks from behind.  Also worth mentioning is the hand-to-hand combat; it's a bit different from the first game's.  In the first game, you pretty much just had to smack your enemy up before they could smack you up; in Among Thieves, you enter a duel-style engagement in which you must dish out blows and dodge the ones that are dished out at you.  It makes for a rather better system, on the rare occasion that you'll want to risk coming out in the open to fight with your fists.  Apart from combat, there are also quite a few treasures that you can pick up along the way.  Most of them are hidden rather sadistically, so expect to spend a lot of time treasure-hunting.  Oh!  I forgot to mention that pulling off certain actions in combat and finding enough treasure will earn you medals (many of which are also trophies on the PSN), which in turn will earn you in-game cash to spend on skins, render modes, behind-the-scenes videos, art galleries, and cheats.  As for diificulty: there are several difficulty levels, from Very Easy to the unlockable and very aptly-named Crushing mode.  Basically, the harder the setting you're playing on, the fewer hits the player can take, and the more hits enemies can (Very Easy mode also has an aim-assist in effect).  Summary of the gameplay: puzzles, platforming, and some truly lovely gunfights meshed seamlessly into one package, with several difficulties to accommodate lots of different skill levels.  Gameplay is definitely the biggest reason to buy this game, and that's saying a lot.

Multiplayer

Take everything I said about the gunfights above, and add players who are smarter than the average NPC AI, and you've got yourself a nice multiplayer.  The gameplay mechanics are about the same; some of the guns behave differently and have different characteristics (rate of fire, ammo capacity, etc.) than in Single-Player, but it's pretty much the same thing.  There are several different competitive modes to play: the standard Deathmatch (first team to a certain amount of kills wins), Plunder (basically Capture the Flag), Elimination (take the other team out before they can take you out), and so on.  There are also different Boosters, Taunts, and Skins that you can buy with in-game money earned from competitive kills (not to be confused with the in-game money from Single-Player).  There are also a couple of cooperative modes that let you either run through one of a limited selection of maps from Single-Player and mow down NPCs to reach objectives, or survive against waves of progressively stronger enemies in one of the standard multiplayer maps.  Personally, I don't care much for the co-op mode, because it's rather difficult to coordinate and strategize with your team mates unless you have a headset (which I don't), and even then most of my co-op games have been alongside incompetent newbies who are only playing that mode to get the trophy for completing one game of co-op.  The competitive mode is better in that regard; the game at least makes some attempt to balance teams.  However, I've noticed it tends to compile teams based on the players' levels, which are not skill-dependent and can be increased simply by playing for long periods of time; instead of something like kill-to-death ratio or other statistic more directly related to skill.  This can make for some extremely one-sided matches.  Still, the multiplayer is very fun, and definitely adds a potentially infinite number of hours to the time you'll spend playing.

Time for the Cliffs Notes, if you will.

Stuff I liked about Uncharted 2:

-Top-notch graphics and animation
-Excellent acting, referring to both the voice acting and motion capture
-Good soundtrack
-Compelling story and characters
-Fast-paced, dynamic gameplay
-Simple but addictive multiplayer

Stuff I didn't like about Uncharted 2:

-The plot is a bit slow-paced in the beginning
-The computer's method of choosing the teams in competitive multiplayer tends to break the game
-Crushing mode can be controller-snappingly frustrating for some
-Like all PS3 titles, it's a little pricy

Conclusion (or, The Obligatory Part Where I Jump on the Parody Bandwagon)

It's sixty dollars in store.  It's beautiful.  It's fun.  It's violent.  It's got twenty-six chapters.  It has good music.  It has no waggle.  It has a button dedicated to squeezing the trigger of your firearm.  It may or may not be the PS3 game you've all been whining for, but

none of you have it.

It's the best PS3 game of 2009.  Followed by inFAMOUS.

Go buy it.
"It'll say life is sacred and so is death
but death is life and so we move on"

« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2010, 11:32:27 AM »
C-C-Combo Breaker!

But seriously, it is an awesome game. Multiplayer sucks, but the single-player experience cannot be missed. Oh, I like playing as fat Drake.
Luigison: Question everything!
Me: Why?

ShadowBrain

  • Ridiculously relevant
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2010, 02:00:47 PM »
I have it, but I've yet to play it.
"Mario is your oyster." ~The Chef

« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2010, 01:08:30 AM »
It's the best PS3 game of 2009.
Flower

Turtlekid1

  • Tortuga
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2010, 06:12:44 AM »
I forgot to mention that Uncharted 2 also completely does away with quicktime events, a small number of which were present in the first one.
"It'll say life is sacred and so is death
but death is life and so we move on"

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