Okay Geek Farm
PS3 Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Alex Tretrop
Definitely one of the most hyped games this year, Uncharted 2 was being marketed as an “amazing graphical experience on the PS3 with intense shooter gameplay and a story with much more varied locations and more memorable characters then the original. It's no secret that it indeed followed through on all its promises and became the one true solid PS3 experience everyone was waiting for - but what exactly was it that made it become this year's potential Game of the Year winner?
Story
Uncharted 2 is set about 2 years after the first one. This time Nathan Drake is on a quest to find the treasures of the mythical Shangri-La and to discover why, after Marco Polo left Shangri-La, that he only had 6 ships when he originally left China with a fleet of around 600. From then on its a race between two teams, with a bit of deception thrown in, to find the secret of the fabled city, "Shambhala" before the other. Think National Treasure type stuff - where nearly all plot twists can be guessed before they happen. The story sounds like a fairly generic hunt for treasure, because to be honest, it is.
Gameplay
The gameplay is phenomenal at setting up amazing set pieces for you to shoot your way out of. The shooting controls work fine but could be a bit better as it feels a little sluggish and slow to respond at times - that's compared to how fast the game moves. Still, after playing this game for a while you get used to them, and while they are far from broken they never fully come to the level of excellence that games like on the 360 have had.
The environment is what really sticks out in my mind as being the best feature in the game; and yes, I know that sounds a bit weird, but all of these set pieces are always so well made that it hides practically all of the games flaws as you're doing these amazing feats that the game throws at you. In particular, a train sequence near the middle of the game was what made this such a crazy experience - with you having to adjust your shots as a the train turns in a particular direction, and having to get to the front cart while a helicopter chases you was, to put it simply, mindblowing.
And one other noticeable point of the game, like Dragon Age: Origins, are its characters. They are all voiced extremely well, with no one falling noticeably under the standard that the first Uncharted built. All of them have distinct personalities that you come to love after every cut scene, with memorable one liners and dialogue that will always bring a smile to your face.
Visuals/ Audio
Graphically speaking, every thing about this game is gorgeous. This is the best looking game on the PS3 bar none, and Uncharted 2 definitely knows this and opens us up to what the system can really do in almost every way. The frame rate is rock solid and there are no graphical hitches or texture popins at all. One big stand out is "the Train" sequence, where if you just stop to admire the view (which you will undoubtedly do multiple times in this game), you will never see the same thing twice as the train speeds along the track. Considering this game has some intense gameplay moments that would probably break another game's visuals, as well as many locations with some heavily detailed structures and environments, the game is able to keep pace with all of it and give you a consistent experience - a testament to how well the game was made.
The character models also look very detailed, and combined with the top notch mo-cap and voice acting, everything just looks stunning when put together. It definitely sets the bar for other games. The only problem I had with the graphics is that the enemy models are reused quite a bit, and some of the character's eyes look unlife-like. Considering I'm criticizing how bad characters' eyes look, while everything else is essentially flawless, you know that I'm really digging hard to find something wrong in terms of graphics.
The audio, though, is like many of the games this year, extremely well done. Characters feel real, with some genuinely funny jokes and excellent expressions. The voice acting cast really has lots of talent, with none of the characters ever feeling dull or boring to hear. During gameplay, everything has the excellent sound quality that you'd expect from this game; from the way a gun shoots, to the more subtle things like animals in a jungle or the "dings" of a railroad sign flying passed you. This one, personally, ranks up with Batman Arkham Asylum for top notch voice acting for this year.
Who is this game for?
Have you ever wanted to be Indiana Jones in a videogame (minus the whip)? That's essentially who you feel like in this game with intense and amazingly cinematic setpieces, along with excellent dialogue and climbing sections. This is probably the closest thing you're going to get to a cinematic experience when you play a videogame - without it being completely taken over by the cinematics (MGS4, we're looking at you).
If you're interested in getting into the genre of action adventure or third person shooters, then Uncharted 2 is a great place to start with excellent production values that will keep gamers, casual and hardcore, new and old, coming back again and again.
Final Thoughts
Uncharted 2 has some of, if not the, best graphics on the PS3, an amazing cast of characters, a great story, top quality audio, and phenomenal gameplay moments. It's also extremely good at covering it's extremely few amount of flaws; like its repetitive enemy types, by creating an experience that is so immersive and fun that you won't find any problem playing this game over and over again.
If you have a PS3 there is no reason at all that you shouldn't have this game in your collection. If you were thinking of buying a PS3, then this game definitely makes Sony's console look a lot more attractive. If you like video games, there's a pretty good chance you'll like Uncharted 2.
