Easily the best game on PS3, Uncharted 2 is an unparalleled interactive experience that shouldn't be missed
Two years later Naughty Dog is back with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and this time they have gotten it right. This second entry looks, plays, and sounds better than virtually any other game on the market for any system. Thrilling from beginning to end, Uncharted 2 is simply a masterpiece, finally bridging the gap between movie and game with unparalleled set piece sequences that drive the action and story and never let up. Every time the player starts getting bored with a given situation, Naughty Dog will change things up, offering some sort of epic, amazing, and unique scene that will blow the player's mind and make him realize just how far gaming has come since the days of Pong.
Uncharted 2's furiously paced story starts with Nate dangling from a cliff in a crashed train. Immediately Naughty Dog shows the player what an experience he is in for. The incredible looking level simply contains the most cinematic gameplay ever conceived. Unlike other games where quick time events would allow the player to "interact" with the game as Nate climbs his way to safety, in Uncharted 2 you are in complete control as the train falls apart. This opening level is a precursor to other epic moments in the game that define the action movie experience. Battling through a moving train, jumping from car to car in a chase scene, dodging tank and helicopter fire while fleeing through a war torn mountain village; these are just some of the mind boggling moments that set Uncharted 2 apart from any other game on the market. In all of these scenes you, the player, are in full control. Hideo Kojima take note, this is how to make an interactive movie.
The majority of the game takes the form of flashbacks that Nate has as he passes in and out of consciousness at the train wreck. The first of these introduces players to Zoe, an old flame, who convinces Drake to work with her and their mutual friend, Harry Flynn, to steal a rare artifact from a museum. Of course things don't go as planned, and Nate is forced to travel the world in pursuit of a mad war criminal in search of ultimate power.
And right there one of my main issues with the first game is addressed. Unlike the endless jungles of its forbearer, Uncharted 2 features a good half dozen locations, each more amazing than the last. From snowy mountaintops, to crumbling cities, to places even more exotic than the unexplored island of the first game, Uncharted 2 never stops impressing with its amazingly well conceived locales.
And in each of these areas Nate will once again take on mercenaries and pirates with all manner of modern day weaponry in Gears of War style stop-and-pop gameplay. The difference here is simply the situations Drake is put in. No more are the endless jungle arenas. Battling pirates from the side of a moving train, or while dangling with one hand from a massive building keeps things from ever becoming boring. It seems like every moment of Uncharted is a set piece encounter. Nothing feels formula, nothing is routine. So while you will still be shooting mostly the same weapons at mostly the same enemies the second time around, the mere fact that each of these shootouts takes place in a sequence ripped straight from a summer blockbuster sells the experience and makes the player feel like a true badass.
The player isn't always taking out enemies with firearms either. While the first Uncharted featured stealth takedowns and melee combat, there were no situations where these mechanics could be effectively used. In Uncharted 2 this all changes. Now players will often come upon an area in which the enemies are not aware of their presence. Nate can then sneak around the level and take out as many enemies as possible before being spotted. These segments are all entirely optional (you can still go in guns blazing) but taking out a bunch of enemies before entering into a firefight can greatly decrease the player's chances of failure. Stealth takedowns are incredibly easy to perform. Nate will automatically move stealthily and crouched if no enemies have seen him. A single button press takes down an enemy, after which Nate can slink away to safety. One of the few complaints I have with the game stems from the stealth segments. Nate is often accompanied by an ally, and while these allies are usually great at doing what you want, there are times where they can and will blow your cover. While not game breaking, there were certain specific areas where taking the stealthy route would have been much more advisable but my allies just charged headfirst into combat.
Like the stealth, the melee combat has gotten an overhaul. In one of the main gameplay changes in this entry, combat is now counter based similar to Assassin's Creed or the recent Batman game. A single button controls punches, but Nate must counter at the correct time to block an enemy and deal massive damage. It isn't the deepest system, but it's fun, looks great, and feels incredible.
The player will also feel incredible when he is performing some of the great looking and controlling acrobatics that populate the game's platforming segments. Again, these instances benefit not from better controls or more varied gameplay, but simply from the situations they take place in. Platforming is far more interesting when the building you are climbing is collapsing around you, or when a helicopter is blasting you from the distance, or when a single misstep will find you flying off a fast moving train. Like the combat, the platforming is full of edge of your seat intensity in which every moment seems to hold the key to life and death and where every movement can send you falling to your hideous demise.
In addition to the platforming and gunplay, there are some more easy puzzles. Here too, the actual mechanics here haven't changed, but the scope of the puzzles have become much larger and better integrate Nate's acrobatic abilities. While there are no vehicle sections in this game per say, many segments have you riding on a moving vehicle, like the aforementioned train, just in complete control of your character. I simply can't extol greatly enough about how amazingly Naughty Dog has taken simple gameplay concepts and put them in situations that other games relegate to cutscenes.
Speaking of other game's cutscenes, Uncharted 2 has graphics that easily eclipse the pre-rendered cinemas of other games. The animation deserves special note. There are literally hundreds of unique animations for Drake and his friends. I would go out on a limb and say that just the animations alone couldn't have fit on a DVD. It is simply outstanding to watch the detail at work here. Nate climbs stairs differently than he walks down them, which is in turn different than his normal walking animation. And once more it's the small stuff that makes Uncharted 2 the best looking game ever made. Snow reacts realistically to characters walking through it, water rises as rain falls on it, and oh how that rain looks. It's taken three years but finally the amazing rain level in Gears of War has been eclipsed. Simply put, never before has a thunderstorm looked or sounded so great in a game. The level of interactivity is also worthy of mention. Everything seems to be constantly moving, collapsing, or in some other way shifting from its static location. While these sequences are all highly scripted, it still helps define the action movie experience. When a helicopter blasts rockets at a building and it starts crumbling under you, you'll realize that the PS3 has finally filled its promise to provide games that other consoles can only dream of having.
The audio is equally as impressive. Even on my normal TV speakers the game sounds incredible. The pea-shooter sounding guns from the original are gone and have been replaced with meatier samples that sound like actual weapons. The score is once again one of the best in the business, and the voice acting is simply the absolute greatest ever seen in a game. Those great set piece moments also really benefit from stellar sound design. Everything just sounds right. Not since Dead Rising have I felt that the sound design of a game so greatly impacted the experience in a positive way.
Uncharted 2 is a masterpiece on virtually every level. From graphics, to audio, to gameplay, everything has been fine tuned and improved. Yes the cover system can occasionally cause some problems, and yes, once in a while an ally will bust your cover, but every other facet of this game's execution is so far and away above what other developers are putting out that it truly astounds. Easily the best game of the year and the best on PS3, Uncharted 2 is also one of the best interactive journeys of all time, and finally proves that games can hang out with the big boys. An unparalleled experience.