Review by Matthew Dykstra & Anthony Bacchus
With Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Naughty Dog exceeded expectations by revitalizing the action-adventure genre with a fresh and exciting story and memorable characters. To say that Uncharted 2: Among Theives dwarfs every aspect of the original is quite possibly the understatement of the year. Among Thieves is a landmark for action games and the masterpiece Playstation 3 owners have been waiting for.
The story opens on a cliffhanger (literally) that picks up a few years after Drake’s Fortune with the charismatic treasure-hunter, Nathan Drake facing another last minute escape from a train wreck. From there you will flash back several months to learn how, in the words of Elena Fischer, Drake started “competing with a psychopathic war criminal for a mythological gemstone.” Seriously, the story is a first-class thrill ride that rivals the best Hollywood action films. The story is made more impressive by an all-star cast of voice actors bringing the characters to life. Nolan North, of Assassins Creed and Prince of Persia fame, makes his return to the franchise to portray Drake and never ceases to impress. While Emily Rose and Richard McGonagle return to voice franchise favorites Elena and Sully, it’s Claudia Black that steals the show with her sexy and snarky portrayal of newcomer Chloe Frazer.
-Graphics-
Accompanying the story and characters is the game’s blockbuster set pieces, beautiful scenery and amazing visuals. Naughty Dog has clearly outdone themselves and created a far better looking title than the original. The animations are smooth and unparalleled; the amount of detail is absolutely ridiculous (in a good way) and in most areas, boasts near photo-realistic environments. Your mouth will drop during the opening sequence and currently to date are the best graphics you will find on a console video game. The game is an enormous leap above Drake’s Fortune’s one-trick pony tropics.
-Sound-
We can talk endlessly about the visuals and how great they are, but Uncharted 2 also offers a truly incredible audio experience. This sounds just as good as any action blockbuster summer film on a surround sound setup. Just like the first game, the music and score is amazing and adds a certain quality that enhances the game. As mentioned above, the cast is phenomenal and is the best voice acting to be heard in a video game yet. There really isn’t much to be said except that when you get to Chapter 13, it will finally click for you. Forget throwing on Transformers 2 to show your buddies your new home theater set up, put in Uncharted 2!
-Gameplay-
The gameplay works marvelously, especially on stages where Naughty Dog pushes the PS3 to its full potential. Three whole chapters of the game take place on a moving train and the action is rendered beautifully in real time. One stage where Nate has to blow apart multiple mercenaries inside of a collapsing building under helicopter fire never stutters, even when the windows blow out and office furniture flies across the room. One of the best things about Uncharted 2’s gameplay is that everything that made the first game great has been refined here to near perfection. There are no major qualms to be had about Uncharted 2.
Our minor gripe comes in the form of Drake’s maneuverability which also plagued the first game. Occasionally, Drake will cover on the wrong side of a wall or won’t make a jump that you know he’s capable of. While it’s annoying, it’s never a deal-breaker. Just like the first Uncharted, many people may complain about the length of the game. The game can be completed in 9-12 hours, depending on the gamer. Thankfully, there is a lot to do once you’re done with the singleplayer. There are 101 treasures to be found and unlike the first game, the majority of these are actually difficult to find and acquire. The game also rewards the gamers for completing certain tasks like getting 100 headshots or killing 5 enemies with a single grenade – five times! You are awarded medals and usually some money that can be spent to purchase new skins for the characters or weapons. You can also unlock options like infinite ammo, flipping the game world, etc. All of this content is great but Naughty Dog has also thrown in a little extra component to the game as well.
-Multiplayer-
That’s right, Multiplayer does indeed exist in Uncharted 2 and it is awesome. There are 10 game modes and 7 maps for online fanatics to blow each other apart in. Naughty Dog wanted to create an easy multiplayer set up and they achieved it. Simply click on Multiplayer from the main menu, choose a game type and after a brief wait, you’ll be placed in the nearest game. Everything that applies to the single player applies to multiplayer: You can scale buildings, hang from ledges, throw propane tanks and even engage in hand-to-hand combat and it all feels great. With Modern Warfare 2 hitting stores in just a few weeks, it will be interesting to see how the multiplayer holds up. If people are growing tired of the FPS multiplayer genre, why not give the Uncharted multiplayer a spin. You won’t be disappointed.
-Final Thoughts-
Uncharted 2 is a monumental step forward for a video game’s ability to entrap its audience in the story and characters, normally a second to gameplay. This is an example of the future of action video games and is the game that every soon-to-be-released action game will be judged upon. Believe the hype because Uncharted 2 really is bigger, better and more engaging than its predecessor in every way possible. If you still haven’t picked up this game then immediately stop reading this review, RUN (don’t walk) to your nearest store and enjoy quite possibly, the years’ best game.
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