Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Naughty Dog

Platform:  PS3

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Shooter

Players: 10

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: October 13, 2009


Intro:
You awaken on a train which, unexpectedly begins to plummet, with you in it.  With no idea what is going on, the player is immediately thrust into gameplay, moving Drake to safety.  This is a tremendous introduction to gameplay that will require the player to think and to keep their wits about them in a constantly and rapidly changing game. 

Getting Going:
Players get going from the opening scene in this fantastic game.  They have no choice.  As players grab for terra firma, it suddenly gives way without warning.  There are often no other choices for directions to take, and often the feel of something giving way is actually confirmation that you've gone in the right direction.  In fact, as the game progresses, it will punish you rather quickly for taking the wrong route.

Fun:
Uncharted 2 is a fairly linear game, and yet, it doesn't seem so.  Players are given the illusion of choice, although bad choices either immediately result in death or become evident rather quickly.  It rewards player decision-making with unexpected twists and turns while keeping the player guessing.  There are no maps and no sense that you've been here before. The humor is light, while creating some very good, quotable, dialogue. It's a fun, immersive, game.

Visuals:
The team at Naughty Dog has done an outstanding job at creating environments that are believable and well-textured.  Beyond the technical, the environments are simply stunning and there is much to look at.  Many useful climbing items are highlighted with dimensional effects and colored paint, while nothing stands out as being stark or out-of-place.  Unlike other games, there is nothing in this game that seems put in place solely to block the player's movement.  Every environmental asset has a reason to be there.  One of the most innovative thing about Uncharted 2 is the animations.  Naughty Dog has gone further than almost any developer to create realistic mannerisms and facial expressions.  What the game lacks in realistic movement for naturals and blowing hair, as seen in Oblivion, is more than made up for in characters that express themselves physically in movement and face. 

Sound:
Uncharted 2 has a dynamic sound range which is very well done.  Guides in the distance sound distant and can be hard to understand.  Voiced hints are clear and easy to understand.  Ambient sounds, music, and the sound of gunfire never muffle the sounds Drake needs to hear, while ambient sounds do give clues as to how close or distant an object might be.  In addition, there is a dynamic range of sound for weapon fire from guns to tanks and for sounds one would expect to hear.  The only jarring sounds a player should hear in this game is the sound of a mortar hitting the wall next to them.

Intelligence:
There were times in this game in which I was standing in the open looking right at an enemy who didn't seem to notice me.  For the most part, however, enemies notice you rather quickly and often before you notice them.  Occasionally, NPC's follow too closely behind, forcing you to move them if you backtrack, to the point that Drake sometimes seems rude.  If you stand too close to a fire escape as it drops, Drake reacts, jumping out of the way, and uttering a surprised response.  In short, the game successfully implements the AI most of the time, assisting the immersive feeling of the game.

Immersion:
Uncharted 2 uses dynamic sound, a range of weapons, helpful NPC's, a total lack of maps, light humor and amazing, character-specific animations and facial expressions to create a new level of immersive play.  Pacing, assisted by NPC's and created by an ever-changing interactive environment, keeps the player moving forward in the game at a pretty steady rate, giving them little time to think about exploration, while keeping the player from ever feeling lost.  Impressively, Naughty Dog controls play seamlessly, so that the player feels more immersed in the action without time to realize that their choices have been limited.  My only complaint is the usual trophy one: trophy pop-ups remind the player that they are playing a game.

Cameras:
This is one area in the game that wasn't seamless.  When you're hanging from a wall because leaping to it was your only choice, it would be nice to have the range of motion your own head has to look for the next opening.  Occasionally, it seemed as if the only choice might be to drop down, only to find Drake dropping to his demise.  While Drake's blood-curdling death scream is impressive and death is a relatively minor event in the game, avoiding death is usually the ultimate goal.  Limited camera angles are occasionally frustrating.  In one scene, as Drake runs to avoid death, the camera angle changes so that Drake seems to be running toward the camera.  This definitely makes that scene more challenging!

Controls:
In the beginning, I found the controls rather unimpressive.  In fact, my first thought was surprise that Naughty Dog created such a stunningly graphic game with amazing story and failed in smooth controls.  As it turns out, the controls are limited to mimic Drake's injurious movements, which is actually very impressive and well-thought out.  There are times when the controls are touchy and Drake doesn't move in the way you'd like him to.  This is, however, an ongoing problem with any game design and something that will, no doubt, become more cutting edge as game technology progresses.

Ideas:
I wished that Drake could find a treasure map.  In an age when developers lament "cheaters" who go online to find items, completionists have an overwhelming need to find everything and trophy-hunters wish to earn more trophies.  I believe that adding this ability into the game in some way, such as in Drake's journal, perhaps in the form of hints, would keep the player in-game and not online.  On the other hand, I enjoyed the feel of being guided through an area none of us had explored before.  There was an immersive feel to not quite knowing what was going on finding things together.  Meanwhile, NPC dialogue fit the story while guiding the player which still empowered Drake, and by proxy, the player, without removing decision-making and intuitiveness.

Memory:
I played though Uncharted 2 in 5 days.  Some want more hours of play for their money, but as an RPG fan, a quicker-paced action game is a nice reprieve.  I have not been so immersed in a game since Bioshock.  The pacing kept me playing.  Automatic saves made the game seamless, while the game transitioned easily into boss battles that were an expected part of the story instead of being set apart as a "boss battle".  I would highly recommend this game for any action game fan, especially those, like me, who enjoy a great game for it's story, as much as for it's gameplay.