There's honor amongt thieves...right? Okay, real funny. Whre's my 's'...and my 'e'?! Giv m bak!
Written: Oct 20 '09 (Updated Oct 20 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: One guy. Two gals. Hubba, hubba!
Cons: Cons? What cons?! I've already pointed out two females! What else could one want?
The Bottom Line: How different is U2 from the first? Not much. This is why you may feel a little disappointed in the outcome. But, don't worry too much...it's still a great time.
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| ChromeKiller's Full Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for PS3 |
Okay, so maybe the PlayStation 3 launch wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Sure Resistance: Fall of Man gave initial owners something to clamor about. But from then on the early adopters had to wait out the months for more. The $599 price tag for the system was hard for the consumer mass to swallow. This system was technology at its finest, and instead the populous beckoned a cheaper, defective model. Then again, history does have a way of repeating itself. If you recall the PlayStation 2 launch, it too had an array of poor software from the start. The cost of the platform didn‘t make you reach deep into your wallet, though. In time great releases started flowing in like fine wine. PlayStation 2 owners were drowning in awesomeness through the first year. For PlayStation 3 owners, that same incident had arrived, but with fewer hallmarks to shine on through. There was some fine games, but fewer than the amount that the PlayStation 2 had in its launch year. Still, during the fall of 2007 one game struck the chord of Sony's revolutionary advertising campaign. This innovative action-adventure that Naughty Dog Software had been working to deliver as the PlayStation 3's premiere game landed right around the system's first major price drop. It had players everywhere talking. It had many loving Naughty Dog's new direction: combining a Tomb Raider-esque platform-based adventure with that of Gears of War's cover system-shooting frenzy. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to this day remains as one of the PlayStation 3's major landmarks. If you've been waiting for more, well now you've got it!
Last time Nathan Drake, the likeable glory (and riches)-hunting adventurer, went searching for his long-deceased relative by the name of Sir Francis Drake. What he found instead was trouble. Nathan isn't a bad man. He's your typical Indiana Jones. At least, he's more Indiana Jones than he is one of the numbered armies of bad people who exactly the same as last round are after the very fortune that now draws Nate's attention. And to prove that much, this time it was a man by the name of Harry Flynn (an old partner of Drake's) that lures Nathan back into the game to locate Marco Polo's ancient findings that have been written about but have yet to be discovered. Also coming along for the ride, Harry's seductive partner Chloe Frazier (and an old flame of Nate’s) accompanies the two men straight into a turn of events that will reveal the true ugly side of one of these new faces. You'll play the part of Nathan once again, who races to uncover the mystery behind Marco Polo's long-lost discovery before trouble does. Anyone game?
Marco? Polo! Marco? POLO! Calling out for a video game's functionality can at times be like a poolside game of "hide and seek." It's not always there in front of you, and perhaps you won't ever get a grasp on it. Even if you do, you'll have to do so in the dark. Thankfully, Uncharted 2 players won't feel the chill of frostbite, as those who've already experienced the first journey will almost immediately regain consciousness for how to activate Nathan Drake. If you're unfamiliar with the franchise then worry not, because just like in the original, an on-screen tutorial will guide you through its melee combat sequences (square), its aiming (L1) and its weapon-blasting mode (R1), and you'll be able to apply cover (circle), jump (X), and reload (R2) like a pro. Uncharted 2 is a very adaptable game that plays much like the best kind of movie that you've seen, or in this case have played all year long.
If you've been following the game all of this time, you must know by now that the game's full title is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. There's honor amongst thieves, but there's also betrayal, there's also epic escapes and a hail of gun fire surrounding competing sides. There's the return of Nathan Drake as the playable rugged smart aleck, giving the bad guys their just dessert and perhaps smacking some lips and snatching some riches. As Nathan Drake, you'll control the game from its usual third-person perspective, up through staircases, down sewer system tunnels and past ancient booby traps. You'll jump off of rooftops and duck behind walls, pillars, vehicles, returning shots and from point to point sneaking up silently dispatching guards before you take control of the whole gunning and grenade-tossing Rambo frame of mind. In his missions, you'll uncover some of what you've experienced in the last game, only the way that this game is prepared is obviously peppered with raw materials. In one instance Nathan must help someone who's been shot walk away from peril that is shooting and slamming through walls around every turn while taking aim himself. Stealthily picking off guards in a secure location elsewhere, you'll need to undo the alarms and knock out the whistleblowers with hand-to-hand maneuvers elsewhere. Combating waves of distinguishable gunmen from multiple directions to going vertical and scaling up and down crumbling passageways to monkey your way to the next location, Uncharted 2 should keep players on their toes all the while keeping them engrossed in the plot.
Were one complaint to be lodged against Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, it's that the game doesn't stray too far off from its predecessor. Mixing puzzles with platform and shooting elements once again, Uncharted 2 will feel very familiar to those who have romped through the jungles in the previous entry. Such enigmas as when you're to mirror light around a room so to gain access deeper into the chamber and other points of entry where you're to match up the correct symbol placements might tie up your brain in knots for a bit, yet aren't of the impossible garden variety. Positioned elsewhere from behind a desk, while clinging to a billboard, or hopping from cart to cart during an explosive train ride you'll encounter gunmen while bearing blindfiring tactics from behind cover, which leads into the platforming and secret treasure-tracking elements. By spotting a glistening sparkle throughout any level, whether it be stuffed in a corner, underneath the outdoor ledge, or hanging on the ceiling, you'll have yourself in the thick of wishing to scan each and every inch of a room or some other locale in hopes of snagging these collectible trinkets. Those who do will be rewarded with money, which in turn nets players such things as bonus footage from the making of the game to unlockable weapons and interchangeable character skins for multiplayer usage. Proving your worth in online games will pay to play into this system as well, which in total is worth the effort so much as you care about this kind of stuff. As with the first Uncharted though, the second puts you in the shoes of Drake who can hunch over and spring up from behind just about any object as would be suitable in an environment blasting shotguns, machineguns, uzis, pistol weapons, sniper rifles and even RPGs if a heavily armored foe comes parading toward him - which there are. Some foes are lightly padded, while others this time stomp around with iron-plated riot shields and others are draped in extreme armor. Disposing of these brutes head on (or in this case "hands on") is problematic with their impenetrable close-range defense system - so you'll have to think of ways to remove their plating. In turn this makes the game very interesting given the dynamic of its evolving battleground. Players can pick up a riot shield and use it for protection or manually toss and manually trigger a combustible propane tank toward enemy groups if you'd feel the need to do either. These additions aside, you might feel as though none of it is as a great a leap into thinking forward as you would want out of a sequel.
Moving on, Uncharted 2 isn't intended for the single-players alone this time around. For once in their life Naughty Dog has incorporated an online multiplayer function with a big budget addition to one of their popular franchises (versus small potatoes like Jak X: Combat Racing). While it's okay to think that such a tool isn't needed for a game that already has a strong storyline, it couldn't hurt to have it there just in case the developer wants to cater to one of today's gamers who prefers unlimited access to one-time passes. The only thing that would put a cramp in your spark here is that the range of multiplayer games being used here won't exactly soar to the top of your 'charting mountain. Uncharted 2 has a typical set of games, each stylized to meet the franchise's own spin. Deathmatch, which in reality is 'Team Deathmatch,' pits your team against the competition's. Elimination gives you the chance to kill everyone on the opposing team, only each team member has but one life to live (without respawns). There are team-based objective rounds, like Plunder, which plays much like Capture the Flag, only with tracking and returning treasure chests to either team's designated area. There's also some cooperative methods of play, where unlike the multiplayer, which houses up to ten players a match, these enable three people and pit players against AI instead of actual persons. Whether you're downing enemies, reviving allies, and retrieving the treasure chest as a small team effort or pairing up in order to complete story-like missions that are based around those found in single-player, these matches can actually be a bit more entertaining than the others. This thought is given when coupling the heightened state of need to work together instead of spread apart from one another in one of the other gaming types that you've played already in several other multiplayer-enabled video games. Originality isn't Uncharted 2's greatest feat though, even in multiplayer. Much like the Call of Duty series before it, there's also RPG-like ranks that will increase as players do better throughout their actions here, and there's up to two boosters (and the ability to buy weapon upgrades) that you can pick up through the multiplayer store and grow your profile status for improved shooting, extra ammunition, and the ability to spot enemies through walls that you can climb and duck behind just like in the single-player campaign. To give you the lowdown: Uncharted 2's multiplayer addition won't suck you in entirely, but it won't spit you out very easily.
Each year gamers are pleased with visuals that suffice. Each year comes one game or more that blows those dingy ships aside. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a stellar, action-packed graphic wh*re-lover's wet dream. In this game, just like the first, you're stepping into one of the premiere examples of high-definition visual phenomena. Environments are the cake of it all. Nathan's brought back to the jungle with swamp-like vines, richly rendered logs and moldy rocks to climb over and upon. The waterfalls, the plant-filled backdrops, and the clear and shimmering ankle-high water to splash through gives way to the remainder of the game, which this time you're brought to far off places from what you once knew. One building will crumble beneath your footing in Borneo as the helicopter outside of the window shatters the window panes and has Nathan and company leaping over to the adjacent structure. Through Nepal, the Chinese-oriented building blocks make for slanted roofing to hop along, and for snowy mountainous regions to give the kind of spectacles that you'll remember for some time. As a blood-soaked Nathan plows his wrecked body through a snow bank, the whiteness sticks to his worn jeans and filthy shirt. The illuminating glow of a fire in the distance is a huge draw that centers the brightness in the background and paints the dimmer foreground into a picturesque portrait that you don't want to leave just yet. Not yet. Neveeeeeer.... okay, let's go. Seriously, with the vibrant and accurate definition that makes up everything, from the lively depiction of characters from scuffed up padding on enemy soldiers to Nathan's blackened hair blowing in the wind on his beaten face, to the fluid animations as sign posts and other footing drops just as Nathan grasshoppers along them, this game is absolutely gorgeous.
Say you, say me, say Uncharted 2's voice-actors aren't crazy to want to return to the height of their career points. The relatively unknown cast from last time returns in fresh form to once again deliver more of that goodness you had and you've been waiting for. Nathan's Nolan North is a sly guy with a bright, sort of roughened good-guy portrayal that contains all of the right qualities that'll make you fall in love with him - from passionate moods in desperate times to quippy lines that will have you laughing. Sully's Richard McGonagle is in the flesh to design this old treasure hound with an aged New Yorker kind of flair. Newcomers staff the welcomed expansion all the same, from the Austrailian and sex-me-up Chloe Frazer's Claudia Black to Zoran Lazarevic's Graham McTavish giving audiences a Russian-insky type of tone to make this giant figure threatening and totally believable. Shotguns pump out bursting blasts, footsteps tap along pavement, and there's definitely squawking and the flapping of wings as Nathan latches onto a squeaking sign post and the bird that was resting on it flaps into the distance. Hi, I'm Mr. Audio, and throughout Uncharted 2: Among Thieves I make things happen! Another excellent ingredient emanates from the music, which is not just orchestrated, but it never stays put. You'll find yourself in the moment of danger with violins strumming hard and various other instrumental pieces worked into the song. But as time moves on and you're clinging to buildings, rushing from impending jeopardy, or taking a simple stroll to trek for treasure, the music composes very eclectic mixes that capture the ethnical aura throughout each surrounding, and the same track isn't always the same - which is nice.
Wonder no more! Wonder what? Wondering where the next Uncharted series would take you, or what it would do for you? Well, it's right here, and it's 'wonder'-full. Full of more from what you've enjoyed from the first spectacular game to a little more and a little extra on the social networking front, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is one of the year's best games if not the best already. The only bad part about it.... "Bad?! Wait, I thought that 'bad' wasn't in Uncharted's vocabulary!" Oh, it's not - at least not so much. The only bad part about the game is that being set around equal terms with the first game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has almost no identity for itself. You want the game to explode you into the next realm of innovation, don't you? Instead, Naughty Dog focuses more on sticking with what works, and it does do a splendid job. Only, if you've played the first one, the second one won't feel so much like another trip to Disney World. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is more like heading off to Disney Land right afterward - similar, not terrible, but not so different from the last ride around.
Recommended:
Yes
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ChromeKiller
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Member: Christopher
Location: Soon-to-be Whitening my Chronicles!
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