Yep, it’s finally arrived. I was surprised to find that my copy managed to sneak through the postal strike yesterday. Mwahahahahaha!
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – PS3.
Rating – 16+, T.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was one of, if not the best game on the PlayStation 3 when it was released back in 2007. It had some of the most immersive gameplay ever seen, a compelling story and absolutely magnificent graphics. It’s hard to believe that Naughty Dog, the creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, were able to pull it off. I only wish that I had started writing reviews back then, but I guess it’s too late for that now.
Anyway, sequel time! Two years after Drake’s Fortune, we have Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Not only is it bigger and better than the first, but it also has online multiplayer and co-operative play. And they’re so good they could quite easily be classed as an entirely separate game.
You are Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who’s trying to find Marco Polo’s lost fleet. The game’s genre is the same as the last, a third-person action/adventure/platforming/shooting mashup. Naughty Dog did a great job at combining all of these aspects together, and they did it even better in Among Thieves. Every aspect has been fine-tuned to improve on the first game and everything works perfectly.
The gameplay in Uncharted 2 is basically the same as Uncharted 1, but with a few added extras. It’s still the same mixture of third-person shooting, hand-to-hand combat, puzzle solving and platforming, but some of them have been combined to create even more gameplay elements. E.g. You can now shoot at enemies while hanging from something, enemies will not try and counterattack your punches, etc. Also the puzzles are of a much larger scale and far more intricate. The shooting works well and each gun acts like it should, complete with recoil and satisfying reload sounds.
Graphics-wise, Uncharted 2 isn’t a video game. It’s a movie. Just like the first, the graphics are so good that your jaw will literally drop. And if you thought the first game looked good, Uncharted 2 looks even better. The number of polygons on the character models has been increased and new technology has been introduced to provide things like particle effects for dust and snow. Naughty Dog have done a great job at making this game look as good as it does, and also managed to seamlessly merge from a cut-scene to gameplay so you never feel as though you ever lose control over Nate.
Finally, sound. Again, like the first, the sound is fantastic. Every from weapons and explosions to the voice acting and the soundtrack – A lot of work has been put into it.
Naughty Dog are using the PS3 cell chip in a way that no other developer can even dream of. Uncharted 2 is quite possibly the best looking game ever made. It’s better looking than anything on the Xbox 360 and rivals a PC game. Naughty Dog have completely outdone themselves and other developers should learn a thing or two from them.
If you missed the first Uncharted then you are a fool and deserve to be beaten to a pulp with an aluminium baseball bat.
The Good.
- Absolutely gorgeous graphics and wonderful soundtrack, almost as if you’re watching a movie.
- A great mix of gameplay elements, creating one of the most interesting experiences ever seen in a video game.
- Did I mention the gorgeous graphics? At one point in the game I was being chased by some armed henchmen down the side of a cliff and I just couldn’t help but stop to admire the view for a few moments.
- A rich/deep/better than the first storyline with great new characters and some old ones too.
- 100 hidden treasures and multiplayer/co-operative play that will keep you wanting more for quite some time.
The Bad.
- The screen tearing from the first game is gone, but the low-res textures are not. There aren’t that many of them, but when you see one it’s not exactly hard to miss. They don’t affect the experience though.
- A few glitches here and there. I was using a riot shield and a grenade blew up and sent me flying through a nearby wall. I had to throw another grenade at my feet and kill myself in order to get out. Which was fun…
- The final boss fight is excruciatingly frustrating. I’m not sure it’s down to poor level design or just the sheer amount of difficulty, or maybe I just suck.
- There were a few times when I thought Nate might be distantly related to Lara Croft as he can sometimes be a little clumsy when it comes to platforming.
My Score.
9.5/10.
