Uncharted 2: Afterthoughts

(Right off the bat, since the title of the post says Afterthoughts, I'd like to warn you that there are minor spoilers for U2AT in the text of this post. I promise not to give away any story details, but location and weapon details are inevitable. Therefore, SPOILER ALERT. You've been warned.)

Sorry for not updating the blog during the whole week, I was busy with school, girls, and work, in that order. Horrible timing, as a lot of the time I really wish I was home playing the games I bought this week: NBA 2K10, Brutal Legend, and the holiday season big daddy itself, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

You can all guess which one got the most playing time around here. *smirk*

My brother actually totally stopped playing NBA 2K10, which almost never happens, just to fight through to the end of Nathan Drake's latest adventure. As for me, I bought Brutal Legend, took it home, popped it in the PS3, saw that there was a mandatory 250 MB (!) download right off the fucking bat, rolled my eyes and went right back to playing Uncharted 2. I logged on to PSN two days after it became available in the Philippines and almost my entire friends list was playing it, I've never seen anything like it at all. It's a like a freaking Naughty Dog epidemic!

I mean, obviously U2AT kicks ass, but it's even better than I hoped. They've improved it in every way I thought possible, and then some.

Visuals

The first 5 minutes you spend playing this game, I gurantee you will utter the words "Oh mah gah! Dah ghafics ah ahmazin!" You'll have a little trouble enunciating correctly because as you say that your jaw will be on the motherfucking floor. The lighting is really well done, the animation is extremely fluid, the gameworld is incredibly detailed (Tanzin's village is a standout), and the art direction/camera work is absolutely outstanding. Just watch the camera pull back for dramatic effect as Drake comes across yet another awe-inspiring vista and you'll know that U2AT director Amy Hennig (Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver series) is operating at the very top of her game.

Platforming/Exploration

The platforming elements are much improved this time around; the jumping puzzles are much more complex than U1, and are often accompanied by some really spectacular indoor and outdoor eye candy to look at (the temple room in which you climb the blade of the ornamental sword, for instance, is a huge standout, as is the grinding gear segment in Tibet).

Combat

This was also heavily improved upon. The action set pieces are still very impressive and fun gameplay wise, with the cover system upgraded considerably. However, what I really love the most is what they did with the stealth mechanic -- it is for the most part entirely optional, but it is extremely fun to try and take out as many dopes as you can with your ninja-like Tactical Espionage Action before they figure out you're there and the lead starts flying. It allows you to take a more intelligent, tactical approach to each situation without forcing it on you if you don't want to. (Sadly, they still haven't fixed the overpowered hand to hand combat, although they managed to tone it down a bit. Oh well, can't have everything.)

Multiplayer

This was totally absent in Uncharted 1, and it's a welcome addition as the trophies are as easy to get as ever. Helps the game have replay value after you've got the Platinum, and I must say, it's a doozy. The match finding is currently still slow as shit, but once you do get into a game it's very stable (on PLDT at least. Some SMART Bro using friends report that their games can lag quite a bit.) I recently played co-op with a couple of Americans, and we were all on voice chat playing the tower level from Tibet. That was really, REALLY fun, swearing at each other (in good fun), helping each other out and laughing a lot the whole time. Best. Co-op. Mode. Ever. The competitive multi is also quite good, next time I play I'm going to start playing ranked games and flex some skills. Can't wait!

Storyline

As usual, the dialogue is really awesome, with more one-liners than an Evil Dead movie marathon. Also as per usual, the plot failed to keep up, starting off very strong but veering dangerously close to Indiana Jones 4 territory by the end. Still, it's very competent overall and holds your attention enough to keep you wondering what's next.


All in all, that was a truly fantastic game, and would have won GotY in most years; it will probably dominate the 2009 year-end awards. With the only remaining possible challengers being Modern Warfare 2 (the front-runner) and Borderlands (the dark horse), it's looking good for Naughty Dog.

Now.... how about some next generation Jak & Daxter? C'mon ND, let's go! :-)