User Review : Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Despite a few obvious flaws, a masterpiece.

I know I might be a bit late to the bandwagon, but here's my review for what was one of the biggest games of 2009, Uncharted 2.

First, let me just say that the graphics are simply AMAZING. The water looks kick ass, in-game models look just like the ones in the cut scenes(which is impressive) and environments are packed with detail. However, being the sad owner of an HD tv with no Hi-def cables, Uncharted 2 looks a bit underwhelming in standard def. You can quickly see the obvious differences. While its not totally dissapointing, you won't really get the looks you saw on those online image galleries. Far away objects are blurry, colors don't pop out as much, and there are really rough lines poking out on the edges of some objects and models, both in gameplay and , sadly, the cut scenes. However, if you look past those obvious issues, this game is beautiful. However, I believe there could've been much more action and activity going on to accompany those visuals. Sure, there are some pretty intense moments, but its nothing compared to other good looking games like gears of war 2 and god of war 3. A couple sprinkled enemies and 5 exploding boxes won't cut it for me.

The sound quality is pretty good, too. There are some nice scores for you to listen to, voice acting is top notch (though a bit cheesy), and every bullet whizzing past your head, explosion, and yell is dynamic, with sounds coming from the direction they're supposed to be coming from. However, IMO, almost all of the weapons (except for the desert-5 and a few other exceptions) sound like they had their penis cut off. the AK-47 still sounds weird to me.

As for the single player itself, its pretty epic and will last you about a day and a half to finish it on the easiest difficulty. However, you can then challenge yourself on harder difficulties, unlock new skins, weapon cheats, and tweaks (like no gravity and slo-mo), find all 100 treasures, or just relive those epic moments. That's a lot of bang for your buck, not including 6 art galleries and a couple of behind the scenes vids you could unlock. Then there's the multiplayer.

HOLY SHIT, the multiplayer. It has been improved somewhat over the past few months with patch updates, and as for the fun itself, its all good. There are a good amount of multi player trophies, along with unlockable skins, co-op weapon upgrades, taunts, and lots of unlockable boosters (or perks, for you mw2 fans), along with clan tags and a ranking system. This being their first foray into multiplayer for the uncharted series, I was impressed. There are plentiful match types you could choose, you can party up easily with your friends,there's a co-op mode for you and your buddy to duke it out in with special objectives, and they've just released their new map packs. thanks to the new updates, connecting to a game is fast and easy. However, if you leave a game while you're in it, you'll lose some of your money, which you earn to level up. Its pretty weird, but I never leave a match, so whatever. There are some things I want to complain about, however. It still lacks the depth of other top multiplayer series (like call of duty and battlefield) and there's one REALLY, REALLY, REALLY annoying thing that could happen to you while your playing. Sometimes, out of nowhere, your character just freezes in place. Scary, huh? This is what I don't understand. Barely anything ever goes on in a match besides a couple people shooting each other, and it has this freezing issue. WTF? Even though MW2 has serious connection issues, during gameplay, I never lag, despite a plethora of explosions and unbalanced killstreaks. But almost nothing happens at all in uncharted 2's multiplayer, and yet I freeze in place COINCIDENTALLY right before I kill somebody. Its really annoying. You start shooting a guy...BOOP!... you freeze in place and stop shooting. Two assholes in front of you, you have a shotgun, easy kill...BOOP!...You freeze in place and they rape you on the spot. It was so frustrating one time, I flung myself down and almost cried. However, it doesn't happen constantly, and to tell you the truth, the condition improves as you play more matches. Hope Naughty Dog patches this up. Also, there's one nice thing that UC2 has that mw2 doesn't; a mute all button. Ever hated those douche baggish 12 year olds that are constantly racist and annoying? One touch of a button and BAM, no more "You suck faggot!". It's SO heavenly to use. :)

Overall, this was a magnificent game. Its worth your 60 bucks. If this gets turned into a greatest hit (which it will obviously become), then you have no other reason not to buy this game. You get an epic single player already full of re-playability, and a multiplayer that will keep you hooked even longer. GO GET IT. You won't be disappointed (despite those obvious flaws). :)

BTW, I wanted to give it a 9.5, but they won't let me. N4G, better work on that now!