Breathless, cinematic, unpredictable and polished; Uncharted 2 is PS3’s reason for existence, about freakin’ time.
The first Uncharted was truly excellent but ultimately fell marginally short of justifying it’s host’s place in this generation.
Naughty Dog seem to have broken Uncharted down, isolated everything great about it and extrapolated their findings until the final result is something much bigger and meaner.
That proceedings can leap in scale so dramatically yet remain so focused is something to applaud the developers for, as this is one of the tightest narratives to ever grace a videogame.
The only gameplay criticism I can really level at Uncharted 2 is that there is nothing new here. Shooting, climbing, exploring, puzzle solving and more shooting is the order of the day. Let me make it clear that I appreciate the numerous unique set pieces but these do not amount to original gameplay mechanics.
Visually the game is mostly stunning, frequently breathtaking and truly otherworldly at times in it’s beauty; staggering through a snow storm with a train’s flaming fuel tank lighting the way; exotic, steaming jungle vista’s and the most convincingly human performances from a virtual cast I’ve ever seen are just a small taste of what’s in store.
All this visual loveliness does however come with one caveat; when it’s not perfect, you will notice.
Drake MUST complete his animations. As you leap from ledge to ledge you will often watch him hover in front of the ledge while he finishes up his animation, it’s frustrating and is something you’ll see a lot.
Drake also has a tendency to “snap” between animations at times, shattering the player’s immersion.
There are also small environmental deficiencies like snow passing through solid roofs and a lack of interactive continuity in Drake’s ledge grabbing exploits (objects that were grab-able elsewhere may not always be so if the game doesn’t want you going somewhere, while drops of survivable height kill you randomly for the same reason).
Very minor niggles aside, Naughty Dog have deftly crafted the most cinematic gaming experience I have ever indulged in, the few very minor visual quirks and slightly derivative gameplay on display ultimately don’t even come close to removing this one from classic status.
Tags: Among Thieves, Playstation 3, PS3, Uncharted, Uncharted 2, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
