Spying on Uncharted 2

The other day a buddy of mine was playing through Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, committing an 8-hour marathon of Nathan Drake and the Uncharted cast of characters, new and old.  Before I get into the gist of what I witnessed, this is my disclaimer that I did not play Uncharted 2, but merely watched!

Let me just say that Uncharted 2 looks great.  The improved graphical content from the first is a welcome addition to the game.  The sound isn’t half bad either; the slightly greater assortment of firearms blast with much stronger affect to believability.  The voice-work is top-notch, following in the footsteps of the first Uncharted, which is readily heard from the increased number of cast members in the game that receive some considerable screen-time.  The story, however, is a bit more farfetched than the game’s predecessor, but that is a minor miff at an otherwise grand and energetic tale of adventure; some of the most engaging storytelling I’ve ever seen, in fact.

My biggest concern with the game is, just as in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, the horrific difficulty present throughout the levels.  The friend of mine that was gaming was cussing-up a storm, after pounding dozens of rounds into hoards of baddies that, even on the “easy” difficulty, still managed to give a tough fight.  The skill curve, especially on the last boss, is uncalled for; my plea to the developer, Naughty Dog, is to please balance out your titles!

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is by no means a bad game; heck, it’s not even a good game, but a great game.  Tight controls in a visually stunning world with some quite witty characters to tell a grand action adventure make the game one fun enough to watch, let alone play.  My only word of caution would be to handle the difficulty with extreme caution!

Now, on current events, I’ve been gaming up on Deus Ex: Human Revolution in my spare time this winter vacation.  I’m unsure when that will be completed, but it is quite a blast to play so far.  Expect a write-up before then on Uncharted 3 (since I’m watching this one be played now).  Take care, and please comment if you have any thoughts!

• + Visual improvement with better sound.
• + Keeping the wittiness of the first title, even with a larger cast.
• + Tight controls.
• + Fun adventure story.
• - Hoards of cannon-fodder villains.
• A fix: Invest in more memorable opponents (e.g. Halo elites, Half Life headcrabs).
• - Forgot to correct the shameful difficulty curve first seen in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
• A fix: Some quality time with quality assurance may be in order to balance this one out.