Back in the good old Playstation one days, I remember watching the prerendered cg cut scenes for certain games and thinking "man, wouldn't it be fucking amazing, if one day, games actually looked this good while you were actively playing them, like playing a movie?". Obviously, with the advancement of video game technology, this has been achieved by a fair amount of games at this point. The main difference between those games and Uncharted 2, however, is that many of those games only allow the player to pull of those amazing movie-like action scenes through some sort of trick, where the player, while technically controlling the game, is really only following a pattern of pre-set button prompts that appear on the screen (otherwise known as "quick time events"). Somehow, Uncharted 2 found a way to deliver that same level of blockbuster movie style action almost perfectly, all while allowing the player full control.
Yeah, see that there, that's actual game play...actual. fucking. game play.
Uncharted 2 is, without a doubt, the most cinematic video game I have ever played. Aside from the epic gameplay and blockbuster set pieces scattered throughout the game, the voice acting, plot, pacing, characters and overall aesthetic are nearly pitch perfect. I'm actually quite convinced that Hollywood hasn't put out an Indiana Jones style adventure film quite this good in, at least, the last decade (hell, let's go ahead and just call it "since the last decent Indiana Jones movie"). Over the course of my 10 hour playthrough of Among Thieves, I was consistently in a state of awe. From the opening sequence of scaling a train that is half hanging off of a mountain cliff, to taking out enemies while inside of a collapsing building, to what is probably the best (only?) yeti battle in a video game, Uncharted 2 just never lets up and never fails to surprise.
Okay, well, he does dangle a lot, that's no surprise...but goddamn can he dangle...
A major problem I had with the first Uncharted (and the reason that I actually didn't finish it before I played the second one) was that, while it also had fantastic graphics, killer plot, great voice acting, etc., I just felt that the game play became rather repetitive and routine. About halfway through, Drake's Fortune started to feel like nothing but "run -> jump -> dangle -> long, frustrating, firefight (that you will spend 80% of behind cover) -> cut scene -> repeat". What is so impressive about developer Naughty Dog, is that they took all those concerns about the first game and actually remedied every damned last one of them. After about the halfway point of Uncharted 2, when the firefights started to become a bit more frequent, I began to worry that the game was going to fall back into the same old tricks. My worries were quickly abated when, not only were these firefights broken up well by a fair amount of exploration, but the firefights themselves were so much more dynamic; enemy AI reacts far more realistically and the player can actually exit cover for more than 2 seconds without fear of immediately dying. Drake is a bit of a screw up sure, but he also certainly is no bitch, not one to go down after a couple of lousy gunshots...
Certainly much less of a bitch than his upcoming movie characterization, which will be played by Mark Wahlberg.
I could continue to gush and rant and rave about how amazing this game is, but I won't waste your time. This is simply one of the finest games I have ever played (and if I were counting it as a movie, one of the best films of the year as well). It is a MUST OWN for anyone who owns a PS3 and is just about to receive my very first perfect review score ever...
Some of the best actual gameplay moments from Uncharted 2, set to Daft Punk's Derezzed and is about to blow your mind out the back of your goddamn skull...
Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Replayability: 10/10
The Whole Shebang: 10/10
One last note: While I am not much of an online gamer, I did spend a couple hours with Uncharted 2's multiplayer and, while I don't have much to compare it to, will certainly say that I became quickly addicted. The gameplay is fluid and there are a pretty fair amount of different gameplay modes to choose from. So...if online gaming is your cup of tea, Uncharted 2 will not disappoint. Now on to M...
M's Watchability Rating: 10/10
Uncharted 2 was everything I wanted from the first 'Uncharted'. The gameplay was fluid, the archeology was intriguing and the fire-fights were manageable. I hated how (in the first game) I would have to watch my boyfriend light up about 50 enemies only to have him progress to the next screen to do it all again. But 'Uncharted 2' removed any annoyances or grievances I had towards its predecessor. Not only did the game look AMAZING but this is the closest I've ever gotten to watching someone play a movie. It seriously was almost a "Choose You Own Adventure" video/film/game experience. From the opening scene where Drake had to climb his way up a set of box-cars hanging over the side of a cliff to the unexpected ending I was constantly enthralled by this video-game. I really hope this is the future of gaming because if so, maybe people will realize you can watch a friend play a video-game and be just as involved in the story as the player.
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