Uncharted 2

[Funkmasterr]

Ok... So I knew I was going to buy this game no matter what. The first game was one of my favorite games of all time, and certainly my favorite of it's genre, no contest (Tomb Raider isn't even in the same league). I was however going to wait, as I'm currently making the push to 80 in WoW, and trying to get some solid time in with Demon's Souls before Borderlands comes out next week.

Then I read the Game Informer Review. Now I generally find that I agree with the Game Informer reviewers more often than not. I feel like usually they don't hold the same unfair standards for games, and their reviews don't seem to be "bought" by companies.

So when I read this review and saw that they gave it a 10, even after the second opinion, I got even more excited. I am pretty confident I've never seen a perfect 10 in both the main review and second opinion on Game Informer, so that's saying quite a bit about this game. I'm picking it up at lunch, I'll figure out how I'm gonna make time for everything later!

Second Opinion text from review:

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a stunning, gorgeous adventure that will likely stand as the defining game of the PlayStation 3. Nearly every flaw of the original game has been corrected. The spotty gunplay is polished to a military shine, with accurate and smooth targeting. Platforming is more fluid, but at the same time more challenging due to the more complex level designs. But the real impact of this game comes from the story and characters. The gripping plot, snappy dialogue, and fantastic voice acting serve to create the most cinematic experience in gaming history. It’s like playing a brilliant summer action movie, right down to the most memorable explosive set pieces you may ever see. I was also pleasantly surprised by the excellent multiplayer, which offers unique spins on both co-op and competitive online play. From beginning to end, Uncharted 2 is a masterpiece, and a new standard in the action genre.

[Animalor]

I'd love to pick it up now but funds being what they are, I'm going to hold off.

Copies of this are going to be plentiful on shelves for years to come whereas Demon's Souls was a rarity now.

Who knows, this might be a great suggestion for a x-mas gift. =)

[Funkmasterr]

Guess the review helped sales a bit, went to Gamestop for lunch and I got the last copy they had for non-pre orders. Dude said they had about 120 copies for non pre orders when they opened.

[Funkmasterr]

It's got a overall rating of 97 on Metacritic, of all the reviews the first 25 are 100/100 and the lowest is a 90.. This seriously might be the highest score I can recall seeing in a lot of years (could very well be forgetting something).

Sooooo excited to play this, fucking work!

[Funkmasterr]

Ok, this game rocks!

The opening sequence is hands down the best ever in any genre of video game, there were points in it where I was just sitting there cause it's hard to tell when cut scenes end and the game play begins again.

The audio is awesome, both sound effects and the soundtrack. If you played the first game you know what to expect here, there really wasn't much room for improvement the first time around.

Graphics are great too. Even on my shitty tv that's on it's way out I can see a lot of the awesomeness that is going on in this game. The lighting is great, even the water and swimming in it is great. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen a game until this one where a person swimming actually looked natural and neither their actions nor the water itself didn't look off.

Game play is awesome, the shooting hit detection and aiming, and how the weapons control has all been very refined.

The platforming is better too, more varied, and sometimes finding what to do isn't so obvious as it was in the first game.

I haven't played any multiplayer yet, but if some of you bitches or any of my friends pick it up I'd be more inclined to do so.

Voice acting is great, lots of witty comments like in the first game - a lot of which won't make sense if you didn't play through the first game (if you have a PS3 and haven't played Uncharted yet, you need to drop what you are doing and go get it right now).

Slight spoiler, doesn't need a tag but I'll do it anyhow:

[Show]

when you come to the first swimming pool, on a rooftop in the first urban area you go to, make sure and swim in the pool before the action starts... I got a laugh out of it.

This game is definitely worth of the perfect reviews it's getting, this is indeed the best game out on the PS3 without contest.

[Aslanna]

Eh. I might be in the minority but ... I'm on chapter 5 or 6 now (the train) and so far I think I liked the first Uncharted better. I don't find the aiming refined at all. You can adjust the sensitivity but I can't get it where I want. It's either too slow, then I move it up a notch, then it's too fast. Mouse and keyboard controls would sure fit the bill here. The cover system is still annoying as shit sometimes when you're trying to get off it and there's other cover nearby. And as for having where to go being not "so obvious"? Sorry, that's just frustrating half the time. And if there are mutants or aliens or some other stupid shit in this game I will be even more disappointed.

Anyway, that's just my initial assessment. Maybe it will grow on me as I progress. For me I found the pace of the first game more to my liking.

[Dakanaf]

You are not the only one, Aslanna. For the most part I think Uncharted 2 is the better game but I sure enjoyed number one a lot more. I thought the gun play in 1 was better as well as the setting and atmosphere it created. That being said, so far, including modern warfare 2, uncharted 2 is game of the year imo. But I have yet to play Dragon Age!

[Aslanna]

Yeah I'm not saying the second one is a bad game. It has high production values and it's pretty to look at. I just find the actual gameplay not as interesting as the first one overall. And some things that frustrated me are back in the second along will all new things to annoy me.

[Animalor]

Just finished Uncharted 2. While the game was fantastic, acting was stellar and production was top notch, they lost me a bit when they "Michael Bay'ed" it up. Sure the set pieces are all grander than grand and they explosions are more explosive but they lost some of the magic of the first one in the process. Also way too much gunplay and not enough puzzle solving for my tastes in U2. Overall though a phenomenal game.

[Fairweather Pure]

This is my next PS3 game. How long did it take you to finish it?

[Aslanna]

This is my next PS3 game. How long did it take you to finish it?

My save file says 14 hours. But to collect all the treasures and playthrough it again for Platinum it comes out to around 20 hours. However it does have online multiplayer if one is into that so that should add a few more hours.

[Animalor]

Somewhere in the 12-14 hour range.

[Fairweather Pure]

I was about 2 hours into it when the first one arrived in the mail, so I played that one instead. Sounds like this one is longer than the first, but not too much longer. I appreciate the responses. Knowing how long a game is going to take to play through is a big deal to me and helps me with planning my next gaming goal!

[Aslanna]

It's fairly short overall I guess as far as the single-player goes. That's why I'd give it a Rental recommendation if one doesn't care about online multiplayer. No sense spending $60 for 15-20 hours of play