Uncharted 2 Review

Uncharted 2 - Player of Game Review
Innovation: 8/10
Mastery: 9.5/10
Overall: 9/10

If you've been following the hype and reviews of Uncharted 2 in the news, it should come as no surprise to you that Uncharted 2 is one well-executed game. For those that don't, Uncharted 2 is a behind-the-shoulder shooter/adventure hybrid that succeeds in almost everything that it does. From its well-written and genuinely funny story to its cutting-edge technical graphics and its streamlined, cohesive gameplay, Uncharted 2 ultimately delivers an excellent, well-polished experience.

I first played Uncharted 2 during the tail end of the free multiplayer demo and was blown away by the tight controls, effective utilization of cover, and variety of game types and maps available in the game. To be precise, most of the game modes that you will find in the game are similar to other multiplayer offerings in the shooter genre, but with subtle tweaks that make Uncharted 2 feel fully distinct, especially once its cover and climbing mechanics are accounted for. In several levels, there are portions only accessible by climbing or jumping, and moreso than other shooters, knowing jumping or climbing shortcuts allow you to move around much quicker.

Although I knew I would continue to enjoy the multiplayer aspect of the game, the quality of the singleplayer campaign was a pleasant surprise. Composed of both adventuring and shooter segments, the campaign is paced brilliantly and features an outstanding story based on Marco Polo's legendary expedition to China. The adventuring segments are probably the weakest aspect of Uncharted 2's singleplayer offering, due to their highly linear nature. This, in my opinion, is generally due to the fact that while some paths are obvious, other paths are forced onto the player. Multiple times during the game, I repeatedly attempted a very makeable jump simply to find that Nate would not grab onto the ledge or grip the wall because it was not how I was intended to proceed. Nevertheless, the adventuring segments do break up the action effectively, allowing you to destress yourself between Uncharted 2's intense shooter sections.

The shooting segments of the game, like the adventure segments, are usually on rails. As in Halo (another favorite game of mine, notice a trend?), the linear style of the shooting sequences allow the developers to more tightly script the action sequences, making the second-to-second play much more enjoyable in these segments. With that said, there are often several ways to move through the action sequences. Although you'll rarely notice it, there are oftentimes many different ways to tackle an encounter, and when I died, I often attempted to tackle the encounter another way. For example, in one sequence you approach a city center from one direction, and are trying to work your way around to the other section. You can stay where you are, and try and fight at a distance, move clockwise around the circle and attempt to take out a gun emplacement before the enemies swarm you, attempt to move counter-clockwise around the circle so as to avoid the stationary gun's fire, or charge right into the middle of it all and stay behind cover while shooting the enemies up with your close ranged weaponry. Oftentimes, your tactics will be dictated by the weapons you happen to be holding at a time.

Stealth is another way to tackle some of the game's shooter segments, and at times Naughty Dog forcefully pushes you towards it while at other times you are left to decide what is the best way to proceed. There are many times in the game where enemies will walk by a ledge you are hanging off of, allowing you to throw them down a cliff. Each of these clips comes with a snarky line courtesy of Drake, which definitely reinforces and rewards this behavior. While it is rare that you will be able to complete most of the encounters in the game using stealth, there are definitely several points in the campaign where you can accrue ten or fifteen consecutive stealth kills if you are careful and patient enough.

The plot of Uncharted 2's campaign is also worth applauding, as it is another of Uncharted 2's high points. Without spoiling too much, the plot revolves around Marco Polo's return from his expedition to China, and ties into the legend of the Cintamani stone. While this basic plot serves primarily as a vehicle to move from exotic locale to exotic locale, the finer details of the campaign are very well put together. First and foremost is characterization, which is easily the best in any game I've ever played. Drake is a very funny and lovable character, and his unique personality really makes the game's plot shine, even outside of cutscenes. His co-stars are also done well, each has their own priorities and system of beliefs, and are usually relateable in their own unique ways, although the game's main villain could have been developed a bit more. One of the biggest complements that can be paid towards a game's story is that it would make a great movie, but in this case, I would go one step further and actually see it in theatres (and I never see movies in theatres). It is just that good.

Like Uncharted 2's singleplayer, Uncharted 2's multiplayer is also a complete and satisfying package. There are several game modes including an impressive twist on capture the flag, king of the hill, a king of the hill variant in which only one hill is up for grabs at a time and teams must capture all five in order to win, deathmatch, team deathmatch, elimination, and two different cooperative modes. In the first cooperative mode, players attempt to bring a treasure back to their base as many times as possible, with the caveat that each successful attempt makes the next attempt harder. The second is basically a cooperative version of the best segments in the Uncharted 2 campaign. Each of these modes also contributes to a participation-based levelling progression system similar to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's skill system, along with unlockable multiplayer character models, giving players added incentive to lengthen their play sessions.

These modes are supported by a well-balanced weapon system and Uncharted 2's terrific cover system. The weapons all feel fairly powerful and are all useful for different occasions, although I personally feel that grenades are a little too powerful, and should be made weaker but more plentiful.

Overall, Uncharted 2 is a platform-defining game. Although I only purchased my PS3 in September, Uncharted 2 is the first game I have played that validated my purchase, comparing favorably to Metal Gear Solid 4 and Valkyria Chronicles, two of the PS3's staple games. The singleplayer game is gripping and genuinely funny; the multiplayer is well-paced, refreshing and balanced. Anyone who owns a PS3 needs to play this game. Uncharted 2 is the very definition of a killer app.

-Jon