Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Solid"

If I had to pick one of the most overhyped but also one of my anticipated games of 2009, Uncharted 2 fits the title nicely as it gotten a lot of phraise that I really didn't understand why and it was a sequel to one of my favourite games on the PS3.

The Story starts off strangely and rather unpleasent to see Nathan Drake (the protagonist from the first game) nearly dying while trying to escape a train which was about to fall off a cliff in a snowy blizzard. As he tends to pass out while trying to escape the falling train, we are given flashbacks on how he ended up, after meeting up up his old friend at a tropical bar, Harry Flynn as well as Nate's old flame Chloe offers him a task to find the Cintamani Stone which famous explorer Marco Polo was searching for, he willingly takes up the task and then goes into action. That's all I can say about the story, it's nothing original but played out very nicely as it feels similar to the original game, a fictional story based on a famous explorer. What also adds to the story is a dialogue, it's well constructive and also witty at times, just like the first game. So why change a good formular?

Before I start getting into the gameplay, let's talk about the presentation. The Graphics in the game are a huge step up from the first game, while the first game was a very nice looking game at the time, but this however improves on that dramatically with improve level detail and design as well as the characters skin looks strikingly realistic but my gripe with the graphics is the eyes, I may be nitpicking but I don't recall eyes glowing like diamonds. There's also a lot of great effects put into the game with great lighting and explosions to really enjoy. The ragdoll psychics are implemented realistically and the weather effects really treat the game into a different leven as the snow and water can react to your footsteps realistically. Even though, I don't like realism in my Video games but if it's something as small as this, it's a great addition.

Now getting into the sound and it's probably a highlight of the games, the Voice acting in the game is without a doubt some of the best ever, they all convey their dialogue effectively and with a bit of character to it and I think having Nolan North back to voice as Nate is perfect (WAY better than his role in the New age Prince of Persia, I thought his voice didn't fit in that game). The Music of the game is another highlight as it captures the adventure feel of the game as well as the scenery of each worlds you'll visit in. The sound effects aren't much to brag about but they get the job done, fair and square.

Now getting into the gameplay, it's pretty much the same as the first one, for those who haven't played the first one, it's basically Tomb Raider meets Gears of War but with it's own style. The sequel made a few tweaks to make it a bit easier but also a little more cheap at the same time and I'll explain why by starting off with the good points. For starters, they got rid of the SIXAXIS motion controls for balancing and throwing grenades as I think they were the most tacked on feature in the first game, so you can throw grenades at your desire by holding down the L2 button. There's a stealth aspect in the game that is rather useful but you have to be careful on how you do that, the ally AI is very helpful when attacking enemies (although when travelling with them, they tend to go in circles for some reason) and there's also a hint feature where you get lost in one section, a message will show up indicating you to press UP on the D-pad and it'll show you where to go next (but don't expect it to show up often in puzzles though) other than the aspects I've said about, the game plays pretty much the same so it's not something to go over twice if you played the first game, it's responsive and handles pretty well as well as the areas are well mapped, there are plenty of checkpoints, so you don't have to start all over again and puzzles are a decent addition to challenge your brain but can be rather frustrating though.

Now for the bad aspects is that you'll encounter a few glitches here and there but they're very small, the enemy AI is a little bad here and there as you can sometimes go in front of them at a few meters away and they won't notice you. Jumping can be a pain as Nate sometimes won't go where you wanted him to (this was also a bit of a flaw from the first game), the challenge (depending which difficulty) can be a bit frustrating to get by but after a few tries figuring out what to do, you'll get past them nicely without a scratch (depending what skill level you are, of course), there's no sense of direction sometimes, some camera issues here and there but not a big deal breaker, some of the boss battles are a bit cheap but that can be looked past as you can try again and the stealth aspect at the first part of the game was really annoying since you didn't know exactly where to go, but at least you don't have to the stealth tatics through the entire game unless you don't want a firefight too early.

Now I forgot to mention the multiplayer mode in this game but since I haven't tried it out, I can't tell you if it's any good or not. Also, I'd like to add one small nitpicky gripe I have with the game, maybe it's just me but I think the game is a bit short as it took me at least 7 1/2 - 9 hours to complete the game and I think the first one was longer than that but I could be wrong as it's been a while since I have played the first one.

So overall, I think Uncharted 2 is a little bit overhyped to be stated as Game of the Year (which a lot of people are thinking that right now and I don't know why) but other than that, it's a solid sequel to a great PS3 exclusive that should not be missed out. I would recommened playing the first game before this one to get the main gist of the game as well as follow the storyline properly as the sequel brings back a thing or two from the first game. If you have played the first game though, then I can't recommend enough of this game. While it isn't the Game of the Year title that it's claimed to be but that still didn't prevent me from getting this game.

Final Score: 9/10 (Buy it now!)