E.G. Review: Uncharted 2
I think it might be unfair for me to judge AAA, big budget titles on a higher scale of expectation. However, I feel that, if you have the budget and resources, you should be able to churn out a higher quality product.
What am I expecting? Interestingly enough, it’s not what I see or even hear. Visual and auditory aesthetics are not what is important. A AAA title should feel like one. It should deliver an experience unlike and unavailable elsewhere. It should leave a lasting impression on me for years to come. It should be memorable and, dare I say, monumental.
Uncharted 2 (U2) delivers a very good experience. Notice that I didn’t say, “fantastic,” “fabulous,” or even the rarely used but sometimes apt, “fantabulous.” Although I’m not singing it’s praises like the rest of the world, I will tell you that I really enjoyed the experience despite feeling like everything was a little too familiar.
Uncharted 2 stars an intrepid, wise-cracking adventure/thief named Nathan Drake. Knowing this, you could correctly assume that the experience would be action-packed, full of guns blazing, high jumping antics, dangerous climbing, and lots, lots, lots of running. You could also correctly assume that treasure hunting would entail some puzzle solving. Bingo. I will say that the puzzles were accessible. However, some were a little cumbersome and one was downright pointless.
These puzzles are just a small example of the slight imperfections found in this otherwise brilliant masterpiece. What makes it a masterpiece? It’s the execution. From the visuals to the controls, everything is masterfully done.
The visuals are quite breath taking. Literally. When you stop playing the game just to admire the beauty, you definitely know you have some delicious eye candy. There was a sequence in the game that was completely action packed, leaving very little room or time to admire the scenery. I actually would have preferred a nice scenic walk instead of a hectic gun fight. Yeah, it was that good. Oddly enough, U2 doesn’t support 1080p; however, this doesn’t stop it from being completely gorgeous. Add in the most impressive and realistic mocap to date and you truly have a treat for the eyes.
The audio is just as impressive. I’m not even talking about the soundtrack or music. The true star here is the voice acting. All the characters portray a realistic tone. Aside from the psychopathic villain, all the rest of the characters have a relaxed style of talking that truly mimics normal conversation. Add some witting and clever writing and you have incredibly entertaining dialogue worth listening too.
Another high point for U2 is the pacing. Simply put, there were really no dull moments. Everything is fast paced and difficulty curved nicely. I never experienced a moment of incredible annoyance at any point of the game and nothing seemed too easy that would cause extreme boredom. Bottom line is that the game was thrilling and thoroughly entertaining. Is there a problem then? Yes.
The experience was very much deja vu. It was apparent that Naughty Dog took inspiration from Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, and of course, Gears of War. The wall scaling, high jumping, pop and stop gun play, etc. all felt very familiar, yet masterfully done. U2 doesn’t do anything new but does it all well. Normally, this isn’t a bad thing but I expected more.
Am I wrong? Are my high expectations for novelty and creativity unreasonable? Being a AAA, I expected U2 to set new standards and new watermarks. To be fair, it had done so on a technology stand point. However, gameplay wise, U2 fell short in innovation. With such a high budget, I was expecting Naughty Dog to create something not played or experienced before. On the other hand, with so much invested already, I can see why they would be conservative on innovation; cater to as many people as possible to sell as many copies as possible.
U2 didn’t blow me away. However, it did give a ride worth talking about. Almost every second was entertaining and that is quite hard to do nowadays. Although not all being innovative, every piece of this work comes together nicely to give you an experiece akin to a thrilling, interactive, summer blockbuster. Add in some very entertaing and stable multiplayer and unlockable game tweaks such as skin changing and mirror mode and you have a value package for sure.
Every PS3 owner needs play this game. Despite my criticism, U2 is certainly above average and worth trying at least once. There are very few PS3 exclusive titles worth mentioning and U2 is among those few in number. If you can get past the familiarity unlike myself, you will have a blast with U2.
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