Archive for December, 2009
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
It’s been a while since I’ve used this Blog, but hey, I’ve got some spare time so why not use it? Next game up: Uncharted 2, fuck yeah!
Anyone who owns a PS3 has probably played the first Uncharted and most likely loved it. I know I did. It had great graphics, awesome characters, and a good combination of platforming/shooting. So what happens when Naughty Dog releases Uncharted 2? You get everything previously stated, only on a WHOLE NOTHA LEVAL.
Ok, lets get started. If you haven’t played the first Uncharted, don’t worry about story continuation or anything. Uncharted 2 has it’s own standalone story and the only thing “story wise” taken from Uncharted 1 are the main 3 characters. So really, if you haven’t played the first Uncharted, just start off with Uncharted 2, seriously.
Warning! This may contain some small “spoilers”, so be wary!
Story: You’ve probably seen the commercials. Action. Betrayal. Vengeance. All this and more makes up Uncharted 2’s story. First off, the story for Uncharted 2 isn’t unique by any means. It has your typical power hungry military man seeking immortality while you drudge through each level fighting against the “man”. Your main goal (at the beginning of the game) is to find Marco Polo’s lost fleet and his mad loots. Eventually, you find out there are much larger things at stake (like the immortality thing I mentioned) and your goal changes to saving the world! Yay!
Graphics: Awesome. Superb. Most Excellent. This game has the best graphics of any console game out there, hands down. All the textures, landscapes, lighting, shadows, ev-everything is perfect.
Gameplay: This is where Uncharted 2 really shines. In the first game, you basically moved from shooting guys to doing platforming stuff. They changed that up this game. You’ll be trying to jump from rooftop to rooftop avoiding bullets and rockets from a helicopter, while trying to KILL the helicopter at the same time. Action sequences blend in with cut-scenes perfectly, and action-scenes are the most exciting things to do in the game.
They did some minor tweaks with controls. One great thing they changed was the grenade throwing. No more bullshit six axis targeting, its just point and throw now… a greatly appreciated change. The cover system didn’t really change, but it still works well. Melee attacks and sneak/kills are fluid when you do it right (if you start punching at air, you’re pretty vulnerable for a few seconds), and stealth kills are fun throughout the entire game.
The platforming this time is much more exciting, that’s for sure. For the most part it’s “easy”, but there are LOTS of times where you misjudge a ledge or jump distance and fall to your death. There’s no penalty for deaths though, so it’s not that bad. Simply put, you’ll have a blast playing each and every level, you’ll constantly be yelling “OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT!!!”, and you’ll have a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside you whenever you kill a tank or helicopter.
Multiplayer: I only played multiplayer a little bit (CoD4:2 stole me away from U2’s multiplayer), but I did enjoy it also. It is much like CoD where you level up from getting ‘money’ (experience), and can unlock new perks, guns, costumes and more. The three player co-op modes are fun, but can be VERY hard, sometimes to the point where you need three people. There are many different modes like any multiplayer shooter… capture the idol, deathmatch, team deathmatch, horde mode, etc. All in all, it’s fun to play multiplayer on U2, but there are more entertaining games for online multiplayer.
Overall: If you own a PS3, you MUST buy/play this game. Uncharted 2 is game of the year for me, and many others because it is that good. This game isn’t a pure shooter, or pure platformer, it is a near perfect blend of the two and due to this, can cater to a much greater crowd of gamers. If you have any doubts whatsoever about this game, dispel them immediately. I might go as far to say you should buy a PS3, just for this game.