Uncharted 2 simply put, is one of the best, if not the best PS3 exclusive to this date. Arguably the best visually appeasing game out on the market, Naughty Dog really hit the jackpot here. A game with a top notch story mode, an addicting multiplayer + co-op mode and full trophy support will provide countless hours to spend on this game.





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[coverattach=1]For the first time ever, Naughty Dog has brought multiplayer to Uncharted, and they did so with great success. Housing more than 5 different game modes and maps from all the different places in single player, Naughty Dog delivers a truly immersible experience. Ontop of that, feel free to kick back and enjoy all your previous online games with the all new Cinema Mode. This allows you to watch all your online games and see everything going on around you. Imagine showing off all your great headshots or stealth kills to your friends. Talk about bragging rights.

Successor in the footsteps of the first game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, you return as Nathan Drake as he embarks on his quest to locate Marco Polo’s lost fleet. Returning characters from the first game include: the reporter, Elena Fisher and Victor Sullivan. As well some new characters are introduced… Chloe Frazier an adventurous girl who is also the love interest for Drake and Harry Flynn, a man with an unmistakable a Australian accent. And we can’t forget the villain of the game, none other than Zoran Lazarevic, who constantly is on your tail as you embark your quest for Marco Polo’s lost fleet.



The game starts off with a perfect scene as you are inches from death while hanging onto the end of a train about to fall into the abyss below. Naughty Dog mixes in a tutorial here for a quick get to know of the controls. The controls themselves are very well done and put together, from the shooting gameplay to the acrobatic gameplay, everything moulds together perfectly. Often times you’ll find yourself moving from cover to cover to get a closer shot at your enemies, or jumping from one ledge to another as you try to get around for a sneak attack on your target. Speaking of sneak attacks, Uncharted 2 brings an improved hand to hand combat system this time around. You've got two options with hand to hand combat; one is to take your enemy head on, or two, you can sneak around behind without them noticing and knock them out. Be careful though, when going for someone head on, make sure there isn’t other enemies in the area as they have easy shots at you when you’re fighting one on one. On the subject of stealth, Naughty Dog does a good job of introducing this to the player with a mission very near the start where the only way you can get to the end is with stealth. Though you may have heard some complaints about this part, this portion of the game is well structured and should improve your ninja like skills for the bigger and badder fights later in the game.



Blended in with the action packed gameplay is almost a movie like experience with more than 2 hours of cutscenes, the story of Uncharted 2 is really propelled and solidified by the solid voice acting and motion capture. Transitions between gameplay and cutscene are smooth and nearly unnoticeable that it feels just like you’re watching your favorite movie from the comfort of your own couch.

You’ll be hooked from start to finish with this game. Character development is stunning as you’ll never expect what’ll happen next as each character is nearly unpredictable. You’ll feel the emotions as if you were Drake himself and you’ll be compelled to play the story through.

The last aspect of the gameplay is a necessity for Uncharted 2, it simply wouldn't be an Uncharted game with out it: the puzzles. Here’s where you can bring your creative and investigative skills to the game as you try to find your way around to the next objective by rotating objects, moving objects, or trying to match a picture you’ve seen before. Naughty Dog also lends a helping hand if you appear to be taking quite a long time, they give you the option of having a hint which points you in the general direction.

On the downside, Uncharted 2 is a very linear game. As exciting and immersing it is, the game has a set path from start to end of each mission and they don’t provide you with many different options of getting there. As there are developer benefits to this so they can make the one path the best experience, from the standpoint of the gamer, this doesn’t provide variety.



Now that we’ve talked about gameplay, we must not forget about the dazzling graphics that accompany this game. Some of the scenes and locations you’ll go through are just jaw dropping. For example, when you stand at the top of the hotel in the Nepal mission, you get to look out on all the buildings below, and in the distance are the snow covered mountain tops, it’s just beautiful. Or as you’re fighting your way from one end of a train to another as it rushes by port villages and foliages of trees. These are just some of the amazing experiences you venture through while playing this game. As we all know how CG cutscenes usually look better than the actual gameplay, Uncharted 2 may actually disagree with that statement. While playing you’ll notice that there is hardly a difference, if not none at all between the visual quality of the cutscenes compared to the gameplay itself.

But that’s not all, Uncharted 2 is more than just a spectacular single player experience with graphics that can better what you’re seeing right now. Naughty Dog this time around brought an all new co-op adventure to the hands of the gamer.

Remember Nazi Zombies from Call of Duty? Well if you want a twist on Treyarch’s iteration, check out Naughty Dog’s survival mode as you and your friends can take to a map and fight off wave after wave of enemies who are instead, living this time. Each consecutive level brings something new and more challenging.



In addition to Naught Dog’s Nazi zombies, you can also play the regular co-op mode which isn’t exactly the single player game over again. You’re allowed to pick and choose from a selection of missions where you can fight against whatever enemies lie around the next corner.

Alongside the cooperative mode is the competitive multiplayer mode. This allows for a maximum of 10 players, 5 on 5 with a number of different game modes, ranging from straight forward deathmatches to domination style game modes to capture the flag game modes and that’s not all. You have access to all the guns from single player, you can sit back and snipe your foes or you can run in and try to outdo them in a hand to hand combat. The cover system still works as well as the jumping and hanging from ledges, so there’s just about anywhere you can attack or be attacked from. To understand the full experience, you’d have to buy the game, there’s more to it than I can even talk about here.

In addition to the multiplayer, if you're an avid twitter user, don't hesitate to link your twitter account to your Uncharted 2 game. Every achievement and reward you receive will be posted up on your twitter the moment you achieve it. Although sometimes it's a little overdone when you've got 5 tweets in a row that you've leveled up.

One final thing that can be talked about which Naughty Dog included in their game is a reward system. The reward system is connected between both multiplayer and single player. Awards can be achieved by getting a certain number of kills or executing a difficult maneuver. Associated with each one of these awards is an amount of money, which becomes yours for the using. Money is also earned in multiplayer through each successive kill you get. Money earned in multiplayer also is linked to your leveling up, the more money you get, the more you level up.

Now, with this money, you have access to the "Store". The store is different for both single player and multiplayer but your stash of money is connected. For single player you have access to game tweaks including: no gravity, one hit kills and more. For the multiplayer store you have access to co-op gun upgrades, new player skins, new taunts, and perks for your character.

All in all, Uncharted 2 is a near perfect game, the story from start to finish is unquestionably one of the best there is so far. Graphical standards have been brought to a new level as well as gameplay aspects. No game on the market is like Uncharted 2. Uncharted 2 provides a unique experience that can only be played on the PS3. If you’re an owner of a Playstation, you’d be a fool not to get this game.

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