It doesn’t get better than this

by John Evans

Fun factor: Fun

Worth to: Buy

Uncharted 2 puts current generation hardware to the test and sets the bar high for successors -- a fun game with hardly a flaw on its resume.

Until recently, videogames have only been able to dabble in effective storytelling due to technologic limitations. We’ve come to an age in gaming where nearly anything you can imagine is possible to render. I don’t propose that better technology automatically translates into better entertainment. Underneath all the window dressing, the heart of any great adventure is the struggle of characters you care about. While I wouldn’t say that Uncharted 2 is extremely “emotional”, the sum of its parts equal one unforgettable gaming experience.

Gameplay

Uncharted 2 employs a similar control scheme to the first game in the series. Drakes Fortune was a hallmark game for the PS3 a couple of years ago thanks to its successful integration of pop-and-drop gunplay, head-scratching puzzles and forgiving, yet dramatic platforming. This trio of mechanics is back in full force in the sequel.



Ducking behind cover and popping out to fire on your foes is the thrust behind the encounters in Uncharted 2. Firefights can break out at any moment and luckily there are plenty of obstacles to shield you from gunfire. You will also find a wider library of weapons at your disposal this time around. Pistols, machine guns, snipers, assault rifles, grenade launchers, rockets, shotguns and even crossbows help to keep the action fresh in Nathan Drake’s capable hands. Aiming takes some getting used to without the aid of a magnetic lock-on targeting system as you see in a lot of shooters. But Uncharted 2 is not a dedicated shooter by trade. This is a well-paced third-person adventure game that jumps between segments of gun battles, puzzles and navigating the environment.

Puzzles may be the hardest part of Uncharted 2. While they are not overly difficult to solve, most of them offer a high level of experimentation and challenge. Solving some of the game’s bigger puzzles can feel just as satisfying as laying down a platoon of enemies is with your sidearm -- if not more so. Accomplishment will depend on you using your brain and consulting Drake’s trusty hint-filled pocketbook. These segments are a nice way to break up the seemingly never ending barrage of bad guys constantly putting you under fire.

Much has to be said about the pacing of Uncharted 2. The development team at Naughty Dog clearly thought everything through. The result is a story filled with well drawn out characters, witty and sometimes funny banter, incredible set pieces and very tight gameplay.

Platforming is another big component to the game. Much like the original, Uncharted 2 basically follows a single pre-determined path with only a few small branches. The levels themselves are a lot bigger and more diverse than the first game allowing more ways than one to take down the enemy. Jumping and climbing is a lot of fun. Drake’s impossible feats of grappling and leaping put Spider-Man to shame. There are countless points in the game that seem impossible to navigate, but like any over-the-top action hero, Drake defies the impossible. It’s moments like these that make you hold your breath and pray that you reach the other side. Sneaking and stealth are a bigger part of the sequel. Sometimes you’ll find it easier to play smart and silent that to run in guns blazing.

The game also does a great job with the camera angles for the most part. Despite complex and sometimes frantic platforming from one area to another, the camera maintains excellent perspective most of the time. There are issues in a few tight spaces where it can be difficult to see where you want to go because the camera is locked or blocked, but I only noticed this a few times out of the 10+ hours in the main campaign.



Uncharted 2 also has a healthy dose of online multiplayer action. This does not feel like a tacked on mode at all. The gameplay is just as smooth and flawless online as it is offline. There are a number of modes to choose from, be it competitive or cooperative. While the multiplayer does give Uncharted 2 some serious legs beyond the campaign, it doesn’t really offer up anything unique beyond what you experience in other games. It just does everything you’d expect very, very well. The combination of shooting and platforming is well translated and the level design keeps a nice verticality that a lot of shooters do not.

Graphics & Presentation

Drake’s second adventure plays out like the best of the best in Hollywood action films. Uncharted 2 exhibits the same globetrotting excitement of the greatest James Bond and Indiana Jones movies. You’ll visit the splendor of Istanbul’s cathedrals, the lush jungle of Borneo, the frozen iceland of Nepal and many more exotic locales. The game’s hyper-realistic art design is a sight to behold. This is arguably the best looking video game to date. Virtually every conceivable inch of the game has been designed and developed with painstaking attention to detail. For this reason Uncharted 2’s linear limitations are completely forgivable. An open sandbox approach would not work for a game like Uncharted 2 because it would compromise the strong narrative, gratuitous beauty of the environment and momentum of the plot.

Character design is excellent. Drake and all of his companions have been given distinct and lifelike characteristics, culminating in very sincere personalities. Everything from the clothing, movement and facial animations is astounding. Character faces clearly express the gambit of human emotion with the subtle raise of a curious eyebrow to the grimace of pain. One complaint however is the repetition and generic design applied to the legions of henchmen you will face. It feels like the main villain picked his followers like apples from a tree. A bit more variety would be nice.

Player interaction within the world of Uncharted 2 looks incredibly authentic. Walking, running, jumping, climbing, swimming, falling, shooting and fighting is only the beginning. There are plenty of other unique animations that give characters a real presence on screen. Seeing how Drake behaves on a thin ledge, swinging on a rope or lending a helping hand to a fallen comrade is amazing.



Perhaps the game’s best visual strength is the environments. As stated earlier there a many of them. Effects like rain, wind, smoke, light, shadows, explosions and depth of field are absolutely phenomenal. Words cannot describe the polish and detail put into the places you visit. They have to be seen to be believed. The sheer scale of most locations is epic. Draw distances are extremely generous and tiny accents like smoke billowing from a far off chimney or wispy of clouds moving across the sky are breathtaking. Uncharted 2 goes that extra mile to do things never seen before.

One of the biggest action sequences in the game involves a train ride though what begins as a jungle setting, and gradually transforms into a colder snowy mountainous environment as the level progresses. This not only looks amazing, but serves to evolve the game’s plot. It’s these subtle yet unmistakable elements in Uncharted 2 that make this game the graphic and narrative masterpiece that it is.

Multiplayer maps take many of the environments from the story mode and turn them into arenas for online deathmatches and cooperative game modes. They look great, but lack that same level of interaction and unexpectedness that you can only get from the progression in the main campaign.

The solo player campaign is the clear winner in the Uncharted 2 package. For those players with the capability for online play, this game delivers a wide array of multiplayer game modes. The execution is undeniably strong -- even if we’ve seen these online game types in other shooters. Still, few games have this level of polish to them and multiple run-throughs of the story mode are worthwhile. Uncharted 2 should be a mainstay in PS3 consoles for some time.

Sound

From top to bottom the voice acting in Uncharted 2 is superb. Characters have been brought to life by great writing and even better vocal performances. Voice actors effectively use subtle inflections in their dialogue that really help express the emotion of a scene. The result is a story that has realistic personality. This game comes as close to sounding like a Hollywood summer blockbuster as it gets.

The music is equally as compelling. The orchestral score mirrors the visuals perfectly -- dramatic when it needs to be and subtle when appropriate. There are segments of haunting sound effects in creepy caves and dashing heroic cues for others. The Uncharted “theme” returns from the first game and its inclusion is a nice way to tie the sequel to its predecessor as you would expect for any big Hollywood series.



The sound effects are also well done. Many of them go un-noticed because you aren’t really paying much attention, but like any great sound design -- it isn’t about overwhelming your audience, it is about complimenting the visuals. This is exactly what Naughty Dog has accomplished. The echo of voices in a cave, the increasing volume of an approaching helicopter and the shushing of deep snow around your boots are all prime examples of where the game excels at immersing you in a given situation.

There is one moment, which I won’t spoil, where the visuals -- and especially sound -- will make you nearly fall out of your seat with fright. It’s an unforgettable moment in the game that highlights an excellent sound design. Crank up the surround sound speakers and feel yourself being put right in the middle of these extraordinary circumstances.

Summary

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a must buy for any PS3 owner. The main campaign is so good that you’ll most likely want to revisit it more than once at a higher difficulty setting -- if only just to re-experience it again. I can’t think of any single player adventure with better pacing, bigger set pieces and an almost microscopic attention to detail. This game really puts current generation hardware to the test and sets the bar high for successors.

Multiplayer is fun and has a lot of variety, but it loses a step when following the single player experience. Playing the co-op survival mode with friends is reminiscent of the Gear of War 2 horde mode, if only a little less menacing and thrilling.

Bottom line, this is a fun game with hardly a flaw on its resume. Naughty Dog clearly has left the door open for more Nathan Drake. In the future it would be great to be able to play the main campaign cooperatively. That being said, Uncharted 2 is one of the best games of the year and of this generation of gaming.