REVIEW: Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves

Many reviews hail this game as "one of the greatest games of all-time" and they're quite wrong (in reality it's Super Metroid, but I digress). However, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is quite possibly one of the best single player game on the PS3 (and maybe this console generation, until something else comes along.) Needless it say, U2 deserves a lot of praise and it truly shows that video games are slowly blurring the line between itself and movies.

In my mini impressions (written Wednesday) I said the review would be up no later than the weekend, well things come up and today is the perfect time to post the review. Before things start, there will be no spoilers (i.e. the final boss, plot twists, how to beat bosses, etc.) Number 2, so far I'm 1-2 in my keys to victory. Phillies up 2-1 on the Dodgers and I think the Yankees may sweep the Angels. Both teams play today at 4 ET/3CT on TBS (NLCS) and 8ET/7CT on Fox (ALCS).



Mr. K., will I have to play the original Uncharted to understand the story in the sequel? It's optional to play the original, but for continuity sake, you should. Plus as an added bonus, you get $100,000 (in game of course) to help buy items from the Uncharted store.

Story

Uncharted 2's main character is Nathan Drake. He's a mixture of Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, and anybody who delivers one-liners. In the original, his cast of characters included Victor Sullivan, Elena Fisher, and Eddy Raja just to name a few. The sequel has some likable characters and some who are the scum of the earth. Because of integrity, I won't reveal the story, but I will say that from the moment the game is in the PS3, you won't put the controller down. For the most part the story is down right awesome and if you love action movies, you'll probably like this game. Story: 10/10.

Gameplay

A complaint of many people (myself included) was about gunplay and hand-to-hand combat. Enemies would soak up bullets, melee was decent, and blind-fire didn't 'work' how it should have. Naughty Dog has fixed a ton of these complaints and added some new things that 'help' the flow of the game. For instance, you can aim while blind-firing. Enemies are a little easier to kill. A new reversal system. Grenades can be throw and not equipped. Some things are subtle whereas others are dramatic (stealth kills FTW!!!). Overall, the tweaks make U2 an even polished product.

One issue that wasn't fixed was the cover system. It wasn't broken, it just didn't work the way that I expected it to. Rolling from pillar to pillar was fine as well as leaving cover. It's when there multiple places to cover, one next to each other, where the cover is slightly flawed. It's not a gamebreaker, but I can see people getting angry at this.

On a positive note, once the game begins there is no loading whatsoever. The original Uncharted had that as well. Two sidebars, on chapter 25, there's a section where the game freezes, but that's nothing a quick reboot can't fix. U2 has some clipping (i.e. things that go through other things), but it doesn't affect gameplay at all. If you're trying to find some clipping you can find it, but it's not worth it.

Finally, Nathan climbs as a human being. Last game he made Superman-type leaps that were a bit too unrealistic. Some of the leaps are a bit superhuman, but for the most part he reacts and moves like a human being. Kudos to the animators at Naughty Dog. Another kudos goes to the camera guy. The camera doesn't leave you in a blind spot (expect for this one time and that's all my fault.) Also the way it transitions makes U2 look and feel like an action film. Gameplay: 9.5/10 .

Visuals

I won't spend much time on this issue. The game is beautiful. Below is a video of how nice the game looks. BTW, in 1080i it's stunning. Can't say anything about anything lower than that, haven't tried anything lower 1080i.

More Uncharted 2: Among Thieves News & Previews

Visuals: 10/10

Replay Value/Fun Factor

To be honest, there's 100 treasures that you can find as a sidequest. Gun challenges that require you to kill a certain number of enemies with a specific weapon. The game keeps track of these things, so you won't have a brain cramping trying to remember if you've got kills or not. There's a ton of replay value, and I haven't mention the multiplayer (which from the beta was good). Puzzles are little weak (this is coming from a guy who plays Prince of Persia: Sands of Time once a year for nostalgia), but they aren't mind-numbing. Some platforming can be a little confusing, as the game's surfaces tend to blend. This wasn't too much of a problem for me because Sands of Time taught me how to spot the not so obvious. U2 is relatively straight-forward and that's a good thing (unless you're after treasures). Firefights are intense and will be in your mind for a good while. Replay Value/ Fun Factor: 10/10

Overall Judgment:

This game is not a perfect, but it is a masterpiece. When I finished U2 on Wednesday, initially I gave it 10s all over the board (and that would be too fanboyish). Instead, I took a long look at the product overall and determined a few things:

1. If you own a PS3, buy this game (as well as the original)
2. This game will be at least PS3 game of the year (it will for me)
3. Naughty Dog fit the entire game on a single layer Blu-Ray disc and I applaud them for that.

Overall Grade: 39.5/40. A must buy for any self-respecting "video gamer" and maybe you can fool some people just like the commercial. Final note: Doughnut Drake FTW!!!


I'll probably start my clean-up run sometime during the week. The treasures are going to be the hardest, but I have a guide and can mark off those I already have and I shutter to think about Crushing!!!

Kennedy out and remember, "There's a guy above you. There's a guy above you. There's a guy below you. There's a guy below you."