Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

[Eight Rooks]

Yeah, there's always a way to put someone down fast. You're (nearly, possibly always, I haven't kept track) always given the opportunity to approach battlefields in a different way, to take out certain enemies first, to hoard a particular weapon just in case. And headshots do work on just about everyone but the heaviest of the heavies. It's not quite Halo or Killzone level of strategy and AI, but it's a lot closer than people give it credit for. If they're not dropping fast enough, you're really just not playing well enough. (Like me. Most of the time. )

[MrMarbles]

Just finished this now and my love for the game never diminished - it's definitely my favourite game of this year so far and right up there amongst the best I've ever played. I can't wait to give it another hammering.

The visuals are simply stunning - without a shadow of a doubt, the finest-looking game I've ever laid eyes on in terms of art style, animation, art direction, detail...

The story's predictably great - really well delivered by every single character, with Chloe and Flynn being very good additions to the cast. I wished for

->Open Spoiler<-

more Sully

but at least I had the journal to flick through when the pangs became too much...

The action is often jaw-dropping - Naughty Dog's decision to focus on a physics engine that supports the ability to climb and perform all moves on moving objects was inspired and has given this game so many unique set-pieces that just won't be bettered any time soon.

I'm going to hang on to so many slack-jawed memories:

->Open Spoiler<-

running through a train as it's sliding off a ledge, shooting soldiers whilst hiding from a helicopter as a building collapses around me (man, the way the furniture was moving around in that building was simply amazing), jumping from vehicle to vehicle in real-time as they sped through lush vegetation, running and leaping along a collapsing stone bridge spanning the absolutely stunning Shangri-la...

I am going to envy every single person who gets to experience all of these moments for the first time.

But it's the little things I'll remember too:

->Open Spoiler<-

the frankly beautiful scenery (the view from the top of the hotel, the huge ice cavern, Shambhala, walking through the Nepalese village with Tenzin), Drake's desperate movements as he clings on to every ledge, as he puts his body through ridiculously stressful situations and when the scenery around him crumbles...

And this bit, I don't know if it was intentional or if it was just me being utterly unobservant, but

->Open Spoiler<-

when you're climbing up the ladder in the ice cavern and you're focusing on Drake, then all of a sudden the *double-spoilers* "thing" that was looming large in the foreground moves off-screen. My peripheral vision must've just presumed it was part of the scenery - a statue or something.

If that was actually an intentional exploitation of the player's peripheral vision rather than me just being blind, then that is some frankly brilliant, smile-inducing design right there.

All of this gushing isn't to say there weren't bits I didn't particularly get on with - there were two that spring to mind. I thought that the whole

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Monastery section had perhaps a couple of firefights too much, and I was very disappointed by the final confrontation against Lazarevic - compared to the invention and brilliance of the rest of it, that battle was pretty generic and the fun was lacking. I thought the first game's final confrontation was much better and far more satisfying.

Still, having said that, I can't begrudge either of those two points too much, as the combat is utterly fantastic, brilliantly fluid with some terrific AI, and the checkpointing was very much improved this time around and rarely felt unfair. And as the second point was followed up by

->Open Spoiler<-

that brilliant collapsing bridge sequence

, I was left with a huge, satisfied grin on my face.

But now... now I feel empty and sad. I want more, damn it. I want to see where Naughty Dog takes Drake next; Jesus, as much as I loved the Jak and Daxter games, I'd be unconsolable if Naughty Dog's next game wasn't Uncharted 3.

[Eight Rooks]

The bit where

->Open Spoiler<-

the monster in the ice field first appears

is really just the kind of depth of field trick films have been doing for years, and that videogames should have picked up on long ago.

...still made me jump, though. Beautifully done.

[NeilMcRae]

ARRRGGG I have to wait until christmas to play this!

[MrMarbles]

Glad it wasn't just me that twitched slightly in my seat

But yeah, I've seen that kind of trickery aplenty in more subtle ways (backgrounds, shadows, reflections, etc.), but never like that when it's filled practically half the screen and I've still not noticed

It was just the perfect place to put it - exploiting the fact that the player's attention is bound to be diminished mid-ladder.

[Eight Rooks]

Aaand they had to put in a ****ty final boss. >_<

Presumably to spare us from too much awesome, right?

That was the reason?

I mean, obviously it's still an amazing game, but seriously, ND? This is the best you could do? Pretty much guarantees I'm not even going to bother attempting the game on the harder difficulty levels, because if this was a lesser game I'd be on the point of giving up right now. Yes, seriously.

Sigh.

[NekoFever]

I finished this earlier today. Loved it all the way through, and although it had low points the overall standard was much higher than the first one in pretty much every respect. I don't usually like bosses, especially not

->Open Spoiler<-

superhuman

ones, but this one had a much better finale than the disappointment of Uncharted.

The definite frontrunner for my GOTY, though. I can't see anything on the horizon that's likely to top it, either.

[dvdmike]

It's killzone all over again ! Why can't Sony sell a game ? One of the best games ever made also

[Eight Rooks]

Yeah, the final boss really is pathetic. I envy all of you who obviously just breezed past him, because I've been killed at least twenty times through the game sticking me to the wrong surface, to his grenades bouncing further than ought to be possible, to him climbing the wrong way, to me pausing just a second too long... this is the sort of reason why Halo did away with a superhuman terminator at the end, because after everything I've already struggled through this doesn't feel like an epic battle to me, it just feels like a kick in the teeth. I mean, no checkpoints? Or at least, no checkpoints in the bit I'm failing every time I lose concentration for a second? Jesus. This has definitely knocked the campaign off a perfect ten.

[MrMarbles]

Aaand they had to put in a ****ty final boss. >_<

Presumably to spare us from too much awesome, right?

That was the reason?

I mean, obviously it's still an amazing game, but seriously, ND? This is the best you could do? Pretty much guarantees I'm not even going to bother attempting the game on the harder difficulty levels, because if this was a lesser game I'd be on the point of giving up right now. Yes, seriously.

Sigh.

It's pretty straightforward when you get into the swing of things - I can't see it being particularly hard on Crushing. Just choose your route 'round the outside, 'round the outside, and stick to it, turn and shoot, repeat. If you keep to the same route, you'll have no issues running into walls and stuff as you'll learn the terrain in a couple of circuits.

Indeed, it's the prospect of taking on those

->Open Spoiler<-

doped-up "protectors" in Yeti outfits

that's putting me off playing on the harder difficulties - I still don't know if I was going about them in the right way because they made me **** a brick every time they appeared.

[Eight Rooks]

Okay, the ending redeems it, but... they really need to learn how to do bosses. I had to finish that with the music and speech turned off because I simply couldn't take hearing those bloody unskippable lines and having my pulse jacked up to the point it was costing me more retries any more. A very high nine, but too many tiny nitpicks and a terrible final boss means no way would I give it the full ten. It's simply not much fun

->Open Spoiler<-

twiddling my thumbs and running away for ten, fifteen seconds every time over and over and over before turning round and firing off a few rounds in the hope that I might get a hit,

and getting killed because the game stuck me to a surface I didn't want to jump to is simply not on.

Eh, it's still a fantastic game, and a monumental achievement in so many respects, and I haven't even started multiplayer. Still, it's a little frustrating they drop the ball like that right near the end.

[teddymeow]

It's killzone all over again ! Why can't Sony sell a game ? One of the best games ever made also

I know! I said that I was worried it wouldn't sell as we hoped a while ago and it hurts that people are still picking up Need for Speed and Wet whilst overlooking this!

I had a guy in Saturday looking to buy a PS3 and he described the kind of games he liked (shooting and exploring) and I told him he pretty much described Uncharted 2. He took one look at the box and said "nah mate, that looks nonce" and bought FIFA and Call of Juarez!! Seriously, no amount of over-excited arm waving and "best game ever" comments would make him change his mind!

I mean, when people who like the genre aren't buying it surely it's time to start asking questions.

Are Naughty Dog owned by Sony? Because it's this kind of under-selling of exclusives that would cause a developer to re-evaluate whether multiformat is the way to go.

[MisterBubbles]

Why does everybody just use single figures? Percentages please so by that Demon's Souls is a 9/10? Is Demon 's Souls as good as Uncharted 2, not IMO, uncharted 2 is 96 odds and Demon 's Souls 90, that way there no ambiguities about the better game, Rooks.
p.s Demon 's Souls is still a fantastic game just not as good as Uncharted 2.

[Eight Rooks]

I'm pretty sure Naughty Dog are third-party, they just seem to like their arrangement with Sony. For... some reason.

I mean, I still love Wet, but Christ, the

->Open Spoiler<-

truck chase

in U2 simply flattens AMD's attempt. I know you couldn't do Wet's level fully interactive, but still, Naughty Dog come closer than I ever dreamed. This is one of the jewels in Sony's crown right now and they ought to be pushing it to anyone who'll pay attention - do people hate this kind of game all of a sudden or something? Has Tomb Raider underperforming soured the mainstream on running around ancient ruins?

[Family Fry]

Are Naughty Dog owned by Sony? Because it's this kind of under-selling of exclusives that would cause a developer to re-evaluate whether multiformat is the way to go.

Yeah apparently since 2001.