Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review PS3

Uncharted 2 is poised to be game of the year for 2009, but is it really as perfect as all these review websites claim? I beg to differ. Uncharted 2 is an excellent game in the single player campaign, but the multiplayer is obviously flawed, yet no review sites even commented on the flaws that were apparent in the demo and still existed even after the first official patch released last week. The single player campaign is better than the first in terms of visuals and plot, which continues from the events of the first game.

Graphic and sound:

Uncharted 2 looks amazing, the content utilizes the complete 25GB available in the Blu-Ray disc to its full potential. Screen Based Ambient Occlusion is used in Uncharted 2, which is a real-time technique for rendering ambient occlusion. Few games such as Crysis and Gears of War 2 use this technique. Environments are based on real world locations and appear to be photo-realistic in some cases. Levels are expansive and require no visible load times or game data installation. Running water such as rivers and waterfalls look great, splashes from character and bullet impacts occur, although some objects do not have splash effects. Characters clothes show effects from the environment such as snow or wetness from water immersion. Character models look strikingly similar to their real life voice actor counterparts. Uncharted 2 is one of the most visually beautiful games ever created.

Background music in Uncharted 2 is almost non-existent, which is a good thing since the game has a semi-tactical feel to it and require the player to be aware of the surroundings. Voiceovers in Uncharted 2 are movie quality caliber with Nolan North and Emily Rose reprising their roles as Nathan Drake and Elena respectively. In addition, Claudia Black provides the voice for Chloe. Unlike most video game scripts filled with ridiculous one-liners that do not fit into the game world, Uncharted 2 provides dialogue that would be normally used in real life. Everything the actors say and emote is believable.

Gameplay and controls:

Uncharted 2 has a single player campaign similar to the first game and has added a multiplayer element in this installment. The single player campaign consists of 26 levels of action packed gameplay through various exotic locations such as Nepal, Borneo, Turkey, and others. The single player campaign has 5 difficulty levels ranging from very easy to crushing. Once the game is completed, the player can unlock artwork, behind the scenes videos, all of the game’s cutscenes, player skins, weapons, render modes, and tweaks. Any tweaks, render modes, and weapons unlocked can only be used in the highest difficulty level that was completed or lower. The multiplayer is the crux of Uncharted 2 though. Games consist of ranked or unranked matches of traditional deathmatch, elimination, plunder (similar to capture the flag), king of the hill, co-op, and co-op arena. Level cap is 60 and money is earned to purchase boosters, which add perks such as carrying an extra grenade or earning more money per kill. Money is not only used to purchase items, but also as experience for gaining levels.

For all the work that was put into Uncharted 2 multiplayer, the game is not without its flaws. Spawn points in Uncharted 2 are horrendous. The spawn points are random, meaning that at anytime, an enemy can spawn right behind you and get a cheap kill. This is not a rare event, this happens constantly, so be aware that you will be killed by the crap spawn point, not cheap players. No other game review site has reported this since they get advertising dollars from the same game companies they review. It is a broken system, which as of the most recent game update, has not been fixed and no plans are in effect to fix it. Ranking is pointless since anyone who can run-and-gun around the map will encounter random spawns and achieve cheap kills. The other issue is the grab effect that Drake automatically institutes when encountering a ledge. The auto-grab is essential for the single-player game, but honestly in the multiplayer it becomes more of a hindrance when a player is trying to jump down to the ground level and the character auto-grabs the ledge, thus leaving the player open to hostile fire.

Uncharted 2 also has the ability to automatically record video of multiplayer matches that can then be uploaded to Naughty Dog’s servers for viewing by other players. In addition, a player can link a Twitter account to Uncharted 2 and have it automatically post achievements/milestones in gameplay.

Overall thoughts:

The single player campaign is one of the most engrossing games I have ever played in terms of action and script. Anyone who is a fan of the Tomb Raider series should grab this and let the old relic of Lara Croft finally die away into gaming history. Between the visuals and the gameplay, this is game of the year for 2009. Multiplayer on the other hand is a different matter. Casual gamers will love the run-and-gun atmosphere of the game since it requires no tactical thought or strategy to rack up wins. Hardcore gamers will hate the arcade feel of the game and the horrendous random spawn points. Hopefully, Naughty Dog will listen to the complaints all over the player forums and patch the spawn points and the auto-grab issue. This is a definite must have game for the PS3 collectors out there. For the truly exclusive collectors, there is a Fortune Hunter Edition of the game that was available in limited quantities (only 200) given away through various contests and going on EBay for about $2,000. Fortunately, we don’t care for paying such an exorbitant price unless it’s a life-size Big Daddy from Bioshock.