Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

[PrayforMojo]

I've finished it. Blown away by how good it was. Absolutely thrilling stuff. I'll play through it again sometime on a harder difficulty, but it saddens me to think I will never experience it again for the first time. Naughty Dog have greatly improved on the first game, which was something pretty special in itself. I love how you can approach the combat in different ways. Mix things up with a bit of gunplay, chuck a grenade or two, reduce their numbers by creeping up on lone dudes and snapping their necks, or kick ass and take names with a bit of hand-to-hand combat which rewards you with a variety of sweetly satisfying animations. You can basically play the game flying by the seat of your pants, just like Indiana Jones, and it's a hell of a lot of fun to do so.

The stealth aspect isn't perfect, though. The first time I came across it early in the game it frustrated the hell out of me. There are some inconsistencies with it, like how a bad guy can sometimes position himself in a place where it's impossible to take him out without being seen, or how you're never quite 100% sure if you're in a position where you are safely in cover. Other times you can be spotted but the AI doesn't respond to your presence. But I'm just nitpicking, really. And while I'm picking fault, the characters eyes bug me. They bugged me in the first game and they bugged me here too. The character designs mostly have a real natural feel to them, the way they move and interact in their surroundings is very human-like, and the voice acting is beyond terrific, except their eyes are like the eyes of a doll and it is the stuff of nightmares.

But it's to Naughty Dogs credit that it's so hard to find things to complain about. They've hit, for me, just the right balance between platforming, puzzles and shooty stuff. And it was so good to see Drake, Elena and Sully back. It felt like being reunited with old friends.

[rmoxon]

There's a video feature on machinima.com.


There are quite a few out at the moment which give you an idea of what can be done but it'll really come to life when people like the ones who do the Red vs Blue videos start producing stuff.

I dont really understand, Ive tried the machinima mode but its not really anything like how they describe it in the video.

There dosnet seem to be a way to edit videos, you can just watch them with different camera angles, I fail to see the point of all the different visual tweaks if the game dosnet let you actualy save the video while youre using them.

[hush]

Am only on chapter 5 so far but i am enjoying every second of it but the only problem i am having is the i keep just standing there looking at everything but that is no fault of the game that is just me

[spagmasterswift]

Other than being stuck in a wall and rolling through another to my doom very early on I have to say that this game is PREFECT!

[Goemon]

I'm going throw a spanner in the works...
Well not a complete spanner but I'm love doesn't reach nearly as far for some.

Having played this game I can say it's much better than the original but there are still things that irk me and stop it being one of the best...

For one, I just can't abid the gunplay.

I can't put my finger on it; but I don't enjoy it. I don't think it's one specific thing I just think its a collection of little things. The pixel perfect grenades from enemies (haven't had a grenade land more than inches from me). The way enemies swarm you, which forces me to just run away to a new vantage point (it just doesn't feel natural, or cool). The way I have to pump an enemy full of bullets to put them down. The way I move forward and enemies start coming in from behind me.

The gunplay for me feels unbalanced and it really annoys me (it actually stopped me playing the first game). I don't mind it is small doses but the sections of wave after wave is too much

I also find the character a bit floaty and sometimes his running, jumping etc just isn't weighted right.

I'm not going to be a complete sour puss tho. the game is very polished and some of the scripted events are truely jaw dropping

Overall the game is an excellent experience but the irks I have stop it being an all time great in my eyes.

[rmoxon]

I'm going throw a spanner in the works...
Well not a complete spanner but I'm love doesn't reach nearly as far for some.

Having played this game I can say it's much better than the original but there are still things that irk me and stop it being one of the best...

For one, I just can't abid the gunplay.

I can't put my finger on it; but I don't enjoy it. I don't think it's one specific thing I just think its a collection of little things. The pixel perfect grenades from enemies (haven't had a grenade land more than inches from me). The way enemies swarm you, which forces me to just run away to a new vantage point (it just doesn't feel natural, or cool). The way I have to pump an enemy full of bullets to put them down. The way I move forward and enemies start coming in from behind me.

The gunplay for me feels unbalanced and it really annoys me (it actually stopped me playing the first game). I don't mind it is small doses but the sections of wave after wave is too much

I also find the character a bit floaty and sometimes his running, jumping etc just isn't weighted right.

I'm not going to be a complete sour puss tho. the game is very polished and some of the scripted events are truely jaw dropping

Overall the game is an excellent experience but the irks I have stop it being an all time great in my eyes.

To me you just sound terrible at the game.

The gunplay requires quite alot of tactical thought, the level design is great, if you take advatange of it, it can lead to some fantastic moments where youre waving your fists in the air in celebration, proud at what youve pulled off. Ive never really had any moments where I had to run away, it sounds like youre charging in and letting the enemies flank you, instead of finding a good vantage point yourself.

I love how open the battlefields are in this, there are so many possiblities to the combat.

[cutmymilk]

Agree with that. I've died during combat and been respawned in a completely different location, giving me a completely new experience.

[spagmasterswift]

The gunplay requires quite alot of tactical thought, the level design is great, if you take advatange of it, it can lead to some fantastic moments where youre waving your fists in the air in celebration, proud at what youve pulled off.

Its really good, the only enemies that rush you and can handle you filling them full of lead are the suited up guys (though a couple of well placed

->Open Spoiler<-

headshots

soon drop them). There is a bit

->Open Spoiler<-

where you drop down into a river and you have a bunch of these guys storming you

which was a real holy **** moment, working my way through that was so aces, and I had to laugh

->Open Spoiler<-

when I finally made it to the end and discovered a sniper rifle

. Top fun!

[MatWoods]

Just a quickie - what is the meaing of the blue balaclava icon that sometimes appears when picking up some weapons after stealth kills etc???

[Largo]

I think if you stealth kill enemies it rewards you with more ammo from their picked up weapon and the blue icon indicates that the fallen weapon will be one of these

[teddymeow]

I think if you stealth kill enemies it rewards you with more ammo from their picked up weapon and the blue icon indicates that the fallen weapon will be one of these

Yeah, certainly with grenades. It means that if you'd put that enemy down normally you'd have got nothing but by killing them stealthily you get ammo as a reward.

[Welrain]

started again on hard and enjoying it even more!

[Lebowski]

Loveing this but there have been a few silly moments that have had me in stitches. I can understand that you need to make the bad guys tougher in the latter levels but what give with that bloke

->Open Spoiler<-

in the vest and beri. I unloaded ten clips into him then he gets taken out with one shot from the npc.

Yeah this is a game but up till that point if they wanted to make an enemy harder he was covered in armour, Come on follow your own rules naughty dog really took me out of story

[Welrain]

Its true to its reference material (i.e every popcorn action flick every made)

[ETC]

in the middle of doing it in one session cant stop playing its amazing. to me feels like the best of the first with what they wanted res 5 to be mixed in. game of the year for me