Uncharted 2

Apparently I've played 6 hours and I'm already at chapter 22. So much for it being longer.

Took me 11 hours 30 minutes according to my save. That was on hard, and I was searching for treasures a lot (and still managed to miss over 40 of them). Perfect length imo, shooters out stay their welcome quicker than other games.

People should stop complaining about game lengths tbh. It is just fact that the average action game is about 6-10 hours long nowadays, regardless of what the developers say. Same old argument with bands claiming that an album goes 'back to roots'; it is merely a lie to shift copies. I'm all for shorter games though, usually can't muster up the time for 20-30 hours.

01casey wrote:People should stop complaining about game lengths tbh.

IMO, y'mean.

It is just fact that the average action game is about 6-10 hours long nowadays

Yeah, but I don't know where the idea that games were any longer in the past comes from. I certainly didn't spend longer than 10 hours completing the likes of Castlevania, Metroid, Sonic, Mega Man etc.

I was fine with the first one's length, because I wasn't enjoying it that much. But I don't want this one to end!

Hands up if you havn't played either of them...

These are your jaw-dropping exclusives, Ipso!

I get the feeling everyone else is like "WOW, IT'S LIKE BEING IN A MOVIE!" and I'm all "Ugh, it's like movie".

I'm not a movie person, never have been. This is like, perfect to ease me in.

I don't see how the game is like a movie tbh, not in a bad way like MGS anyway. The game has excellent presentation and cool camera angles now and then, yeah, not sure how that can be seen as a negative.

Uncharted 2 is all about the gameplay for me though...

*spoilaz*



Like the jeep scene, so awesome. Jumping from car to car in real time, any other game that shit is automated or done via QTE. Train scene - also awesome - makes the train parts in Gears of War and Killzone 2 look like they just stepped out of 1996. Love the nods to Crash Bandicoot as well, those run toward the screen levels were always my favourite.

As I was playing the jeep scene, I was just thinking, WET, this is how it is done.

They really did a great job with that bit. Nearly finished hard now, not really struggled too much but there's a slight difference.

gdf wrote:I get the feeling everyone else is like "WOW, IT'S LIKE BEING IN A MOVIE!" and I'm all "Ugh, it's like movie".

Yeah, Grim Fandango is the shittest game I ever played, fuck games that are like movies!

Seany C wrote:

gdf wrote:I get the feeling everyone else is like "WOW, IT'S LIKE BEING IN A MOVIE!" and I'm all "Ugh, it's like movie".

Yeah, Grim Fandango is the shittest game I ever played, fuck games that are like movies!

I dont think you should say that, even in jest. It might break some kinda space time continum.

Completed earlier. Naughty Dog failed at making the latter quarter interesting again. I don't want god damn monsters

Had a go on a mates copy today....still as meh as the first.

Guess i have lergys to 3rd person games.

'Having a go' will be meh, you need the full experience. The gameplay alone isn't good enough to be amazing.

Just finished it. Was very good for the most part, but I agree that it both outstays its welcome and the last half descends into repetitive (and often frustrating) shootouts.

And it's so like a movie. Use of the camera = fantastic when you can actually interact. It's not nearly as immersion breaking as Killzone 2 or MGS4, but there were plenty of occasions it should have been braver and let the player control it while keeping everything in a consistent framework. Escorting Jeff through the streets or shooting the monster on Chloe whilst on the moving platform in the final chapter were examples, but they sat in very limited company.

It goes for the COD4 thing, but doesn't pull it off nearly as well. That game used interactivity to its advantage, and it bugs me when Uncharted comes so close to genius then cacks its pants and collapses in a flailing heap in typical videogame style. Funnily enough this occurred during some of my favourite moments. When Nathan got shot and couldn't walk properly I was happy, because they were doing something interesting. Then he absorbed a thousand fucking bullets and I just sighed. It's still close to greatness, but I don't think it's nearly ambitious or forward thinking enough to warrant 9s and 10s. This should be the last cutscene driven action film game - it takes that form to its limit. Storytelling should be a part of the interactivity, and Uncharted had the means to exploit that more, but they failed to push the envelope. "Excellent within a very limited" scope is what I think I'm trying to say.

That's not to say the core game is perfect either. Routes should blend well with the scenery, but not so that it's horribly inconsistent. There were many times I assumed Drake would grab a ledge, but he fell to his death instead. Action is also frustratingly close to something special. Too often are gunfights horribly linear affairs with no depth whatsoever. Failing and then watching guards go through the exact same routines also annoyed me - a bit more dynamism, please. The first game was probably better in that respect. Also, how many fucking times can Nathan miraculously survive or grab a ledge with one hand after a long fall. Repetitive as fuck to the point of ludicrousness, there's artistic license, then there's overdone shit, and Uncharted has always fallen on the wrong side of that, but this game takes it to the extreme.

All of that said, for the most part it plays pretty smoothly, with the mechanics of shooting and platforming improved greatly. It's, like the first, way more than the sum of its parts, and an immensely enjoyable ride if you ignore all of the bullshit.

Oh, and the art direction blew my fucking mind. It's a stunningly beautiful game, and not just in a technical sense.

I think I'll write a proper review at some point. As for score, I'm stuck between 7 and 8. Would give a 7.5 if I could.

Agreed with the outstaying its welcome. Up until about chapter 22 or 23 it was amazing. THAT was the stage where I didn't want it to end.
It became more apparent towards the end that Naughty Dog still have no originality, such that it got to the stage that they just pulled the same trick as in the first game, having bled dry all their other brainstorms.
And you're right, Fraser, about all the ledge hanging. That and arses were a recurrent theme throughout the whole game.

Oh, and vital pieces of scenery holding just long enough for Drake to jump on.

The dumb AI pissed me off in the stealth sections.

"Huh, who's there? I think I saw something!"

This after they've just seen Drake clearly grab their mate over a wall and punch him to pieces, leaving footprints in the snow that lead to nowhere.

And then other times, they'd detect you across the other side of the fucking level.

Inconsistency is to Uncharted what the colour brown is to Gears of War.

Finished. 7 or 8 out of 10. God dammit this is Killzone 2 all over again, at least this game is better.

The fanboy reaction is almost as priceless, but Killzone is far inferior to this game.