Chart It
If for some reason you have yet to pick up Uncharted 2, turn off your computer and buy it right away. Naughty Dog's newest creation has "Game of the Year Contender" written all over it. The single player is an epic journey that benefits from many improvements over the original, but this time, the battle doesn't end when the credits roll. A fun and well rounded multiplayer suite backs up the 8-10 hour campaign, making for a superb game that can be played for many, many hours.
The original Uncharted was one of the best games during the PS3's early years. It was one of the first games to really nail the feeling of starring in a big budget summer movie. The story and characters were interesting and the graphics were eye-popping. There were, however, a number of faults with the game, such as somewhat sluggish gun play and a lack of replay value. Uncharted 2 makes its first priority fixing all of the flaws found in the original game, and it succeeds greatly. The shooting feels great this time around, making head shots feel very intuitive to pull off. The gun selection, which was somewhat lacking in the original, has been expanded to include RPGs and FAL rifles, to name a few. The cover system has also been improved. It is now easier to move between sticky cover than it was in the original. Melee combat still plays a large role in Uncharted 2, but it too has been expanded. Whereas in the original game, an onscreen prompt would tell players which buttons to press during melee combat, in the sequel, Square attacks and Triangle counterattacks. This makes the fisticuffs feel less like a canned sequence and more like an organic extension of combat. Stealth attacks make their debut in Uncharted 2, and while sometimes the AI can seem a bit oblivious, the stealth maneuvers feel really satisfying when pulled off correctly. It's not Metal Gear, but it works extremely well in context.
Platforming and puzzle solving were important components of Uncharted, and this carries over to the sequel as well. The platforming has been tightened up a bit, although it can still be difficult to discern the correct path ahead sometimes. Players will not be entirely defenseless when platforming, though. It is possible to toss grenades and fire pistols while hanging from a ledge, and players can even pull unsuspecting enemies to their deaths if they get too close to the edge. This is a welcome feature that many similar games lack. The puzzles, some of which are truly massive, are a welcome change of pace when the game starts to get too intense. They won't really force you to stop and think, but they are just tricky enough to be entertaining without becoming a hindrance to the pacing.
Speaking of pacing, this is where Uncharted 2 really excels. You'll never find yourself tiring of shooting, sneaking, puzzling or platforming because they are all interwoven so skillfully. Huge set piece battles, some of which have to be seen to be believed, lead into some great puzzle, story and character moments. Simply put, this game has the best "water cooler" moments of any game in recent memory. For a week after I played Uncharted 2, I was talking my friends' ears off about all of the amazing moments in the campaign. It really is rare to find a game that can evoke such a response, at least in my experience.
All of the game play is backed by an intriguing plot and lovable characters. While the story could have been fleshed out a bit more, it was enough to keep the characters going, and that's what really matters in Uncharted 2. This game is truly carried by its cast of characters and the mind blowing quality of the graphics and animations. Drake and his friends don't just look realistic; they move and speak realistically as well. Combined with snappy dialogue and beautiful environments, this creates the feeling that players are stepping into the shoes of a treasure hunter every time they boot up their PS3.
Uncharted 2 wouldn't be half as immersive as it is without such wonderful graphics and audio. Characters animate with such finesse, due largely to extensive motion capture work, that they almost seem real sometimes. The environments are vibrant and colorful, and they all appear relatively organic, unlike the first game, which occasionally felt a little too scripted. The music shines just as brightly as the graphics. An epic score carries the game and makes every scene feel just right. This is one game soundtrack that I would actually buy.
Even after the single player is done, there are a few incentives to go back through. Trophies for beating the game on Hard and Crushing difficulty are tempting, and a number of new skins can be unlocked for all of the characters. There are a huge number of these skins for Drake, ranging from skeletons to enemy characters, and a few that are pretty funny but I won't spoil. With the addition of stealth game play, it is also possible to play a different way during the second play through. Although stealth is often the most beneficial approach, it is never necessary.
A fully featured multiplayer suite complements Uncharted 2's campaign nicely with a nice range of competitive and co-operative modes. Competitive modes include the usual team deathmatch, capture the flag (or relic, in this case,) territory control, and more. These play out on a series of well-designed maps that will put your skills to the test. One thing I've noticed is that several of the maps don't place as much of an emphasis on cover as the single player game does, making online a faster experience overall. The co-operative modes include a Horde-like Arena mode, in which players must survive round after round of increasingly powerful enemies, and a sort of side story mode in which players kill enemies and hunt for treasure. Both modes are a ton of fun and quite addictive. Both the competitive and co-operative modes feature separate perks that can be unlocked by leveling up via experience, much like Call of Duty. What really separates Uncharted 2's multiplayer from the pack is its emphasis on platforming. In a sense, this is the first online platforming shooter. Climbing up a building or cliff side to find a nice sniper point is challenging and rewarding, and it feels like a natural extension of the shooter elements. The one glaring problem I've had in my Uncharted 2 experience, however, has been with the multiplayer. There is some sort of glitch which a few people, myself among them, have been experiencing that causes a player's character to freeze mid-match. This makes it impossible to return fire or take cover, so it's basically a guaranteed death. This issue could easily be fixed with a patch, though, so after that it should be smooth sailing. Uncharted 2's multiplayer is addictive as can be, just like the single player.
Uncharted 2 really does offer the full package. Its campaign is memorable and very re-playable. The moment I beat the game on Normal, I restarted on Hard. The characters and plot are more than good enough to carry you through multiple playthroughs. Even after single player is done, the fully featured multiplayer suite makes for an excellent time, as long as it doesn't glitch up. Simply put, Uncharted 2 features some of the best graphics, audio, game play and characters that I've had the pleasure of experiencing this year.
