I am not a religious person by nature, but it cannot be a coincidence that fall break would occur the same week that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the Playstation 3 was released. This game has been on my mind for quite some time, and even as I sat at my desk, knowing full well this game was sitting on a store shelf somewhere, calling to me, I was helpless to resist its temptation. I worked like mad, churning out assignment after assignment, all the time my thoughts only on this game. I played through the first game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, hoping it would momentarily satisfy my thirst for a new adventure. It did not. This isn’t the first game to have that sort of effect on me, but it’s a symptom I know all too well. I had a few games I was ready to unload, ensuring I would pay no more than thirty dollars for the title. When times like these come along, there is only one cure. You must buy this game.
This game has had a fair amount of press already, especially after the impressive demonstration at this year’s E3. Going into this game, I knew there were plenty of high expectations that I try to dispel before playing it. Despite what other reviews said, I didn’t expect Naughty Dog to really blow me away with anything I hadn’t already seen in the first game. I’ll also admit that I never really took developer Naughty Dog for much of a developer until the first Uncharted. To me, they were the guys that made Crash Bandicoot, the plucky forgettable mascot with games that all played out more or less the same until they sold the series off to other developers. Frankly, I’m glad to be mistaken, as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, for me, establishes Naughty Dog as a force to be reckoned with in the industry. Like Rare was to Nintendo, Naughty Dog is to Sony. They would be wise not to let this developer get away.
For those who haven’t played the first game in the series, the game plays as any third-person action adventure game, just better. You play as Nathan Drake, a wisecracking, tomb-raiding, gun-toting adventurer with a knack for going after historical artifacts that also happen to be the subject of interest among very powerful men who invest their money in private militias. Not my personal hobby of choice, but hey, whatever pays the rent, right?
Drake will often have to shoot his way through a small army worth of bad guys to get to the clues that will lead him to an ancient cursed artifact. No, I’m not spoiling the game here, for if the artifact wasn’t cursed, and in fact, was simply a big giant diamond worth millions, you’d assume Drake would have retired long ago to some private beach where monkey butlers serve him cold drinks with tiny umbrellas in them all day. Then again, Drake’s not that kind of guy. While as the game’s protagonist, he does demonstrate his commitment to the moral values of right and wrong, he does this while killing more people than the entire population of a very small country. Drake’s obsession with finding these lost, forgotten relics plays into the Indiana Jones mythos, where he’s a supposed archeological expert who is prone to fist fights and gun battles, all in the name of science. Only we don’t get that “in the name of science” mentality with Drake, as he never really states why he wants this great, ancient object anyway, aside from preventing someone else from getting it first. Instead, I assume he’s simply grabbing the artifact to get rich, as is implied early on in the game, when Drake and his friend sneak into a museum like cat-burglars, taking out guards and slipping past traps, only to smash open 500 year old artifacts because he has a hunch that a clue to an even greater treasure lies inside. It is called “Among Thieves” after all.
The game takes a few liberties with the athletic prowess of our protagonists, for one, Drake doesn’t have bulging biceps or a nimble physique, yet he takes more punishment than any one man could handle. Throughout the game, he’ll leap across building, fall from cliffs, be thrown, shot, punched, shoved, blown up, beat down and still manage to top it all off with a witty one liner. I suppose you can dismiss it by saying it’s simply a videogame, but when you have graphics that look this good, you can’t help but take notice.
Perhaps I’m being overly analytical here, for at its core, this is an awesome action game that’s improving upon another awesome action game. Once you can excuse some of the more remarkably unlikely feats Drake can perform, you eventually learn to just accept it.
The gameplay itself improves upon the formula from the first game. While there is plenty of running and shooting to be done, taking cover behind objects feels so much fresher when you have a massive virtual world around you to use at your disposal. Not only can Drake find numerous sources of cover to pick off enemies from, but he can now blindly reach his weapon out, and shoot in the vicinity of an enemy. While this isn’t as accurate as taking the time to aim and shoot, it’s surprisingly more effective than you might initially think. He can also shift quickly from one source of cover to another, as well as grab enemies, and take them down with a stealth takeout, while maintaining his cover. You’ll come across this a few times while handing from the ledges of buildings, surprising unsuspecting guards who, for all we know, are simply taking a moment to admire the view out the window.
Weapons and ammunition are scattered from the bodies of slain enemies, but you’ll always find yourself rationing them, quickly deciding which weapon is best suited for the job. Do you grab the machine gun to take out a pack of enemies? Or perhaps the sniper rifle, to take out that enemy from afar? You can only carry two weapons as a time, making it a constant war of attrition. Another notable improvement is grenades. In the previous game, you had to arch the sixaxis controller to determine the projector of your grenades, this has been simplified to a simple tap of the L2 button, for a quick and easy throw, or if you wish to be more precise, holding down the L2 button will bring up your projectile path, without having to fuss around with those pesky motion controls.
As with the first game, the Uncharted series is known for it’s fantastic environments. From a speeding train to the snowy peaks of Nepal, Naughty Dog has crafted a world that feels open, immersive and rarely feels linear. In the same way that Call of Duty can impress you with visions of war you could never see through pictures or documentaries, Uncharted 2 really takes you to these places, and immersing you as if you were really there.
Continuing the trend of improvements over the first game, the story here follows the rules of a Hollywood action movie. It jumps around more than the first game, where as instead of being limited to one giant jungle, you’ll go to different exotic locations as the story jumps from scene to scene. It starts with Drake waking up in a destroyed train, dangling off a cliff, with a bullet in his side and a vague memory of the events leading up to this point. You’ll start off playing those events until the story catches up with itself. Along the way, you’ll run into familiar faces from the previous game, along with a few new ones as well. The story itself is rife with action and intrigue, rarely taking itself too seriously, which of course, is a good thing.
While the single player campaign alone more than warrants the full price of the game itself, the introduction of multiplayer proves a welcome addition. In the online modes, you have your traditional team based death match modes that pit five players on either side against one another, as well as a co-op mode that brings friends into the single campaign with you, on its own set story mission. These co-op scenes still have dialogue and story moments that really feel like you’re participating in a single player campaign, and not just a dry, “kill twenty bad guys in ten minutes” scenario.
Once the battle is over, if you are looking for some tips to brush up on your game, or just want to find out where the bastard that shot you in the backside was hiding, you can actually go back and review the recorded battle, and follow it from different camera angles. This is perfect for finding out how some of the best players of the game are able to get around you, while racking up the high scores.
For the hardcore collector type, there are plenty of challenges to keep you playing for a long time. The numerous treasures you collect are very well hidden. After my first run through the game, I found I’d only achieved 30 out of the 100 hidden treasures located through the game. These treasures weren’t always located where I’d expect. Some of them were found in rather unreasonable places, such as attached to a sign post I’d been hanging from. Earning treasures, as well as achievements can net you in-game currency, which goes towards unlocking cheat codes, character skins, and bonus movies.
With a game packed to the brim with extra content, multiplayer, and a robust single player campaign, Uncharted 2 really raises the bar as far as action games go. There is plenty more that can be said here, but really what really matters here is that if you are a Playstation 3 owner, this is a game that belongs in your collection.
(images provided by Gamespot)
