Well here you go, an essay rebuttal. Instead of just saying "It's my opinion".
Graphics - Uncharted 2. I agree with you.
Story - Unchated 2. Actually, I watch Indiana Jones for the story. That's so cool to me: discovering these ancient artifacts that house some sort of mystical power. I love that. Plus, the character arcs in Uncharted 2 were fantastic and conflicted. It wasn't the most original thing in the world, but it felt real. With fantastic acting from everyone, a central antagonist that was menacing on screen, and segments that pulled emotion out of players like "Keep Moving" it was all amazing! I liked the personality of the characters, such as when Chloe and Drake joke with each other. Little things like "There's a guy above you. There's a guy below you" made me chuckle. Halo's extended story is pretty good. I love the books. But Reach was one huge disappointment. Repetitive level design and bland characters that became a contest of "who's going to die next" instead of actual characters. It was boring to me, and was one of the biggest disappointments in gaming this year.
Gameplay - Um. Uncharted. I'll take a third person cover based system with heavy emphasis on platforming over generic FPS anyday. I love the Halo franchise, but it's shooting mechanics have always been mediocre compared to other games long before it. Uncharted 2 did a fantastic job spicing things up and varying the gameplay. Such as the fight sequence where you hang off a street sign and shoot incoming enemies. Unique little touches pushed that forward. Plus, there were enough spots in the single player campaign alone, such as jumping out of a falling building into another one, that were just too awesome and memorable. And honestly, Halo has always been a linear franchise I don't understand what you mean. The path is just large, but there's still always a single destination. It doesn't really let you choose what to do, just what you're going to shoot people with. Not saying Uncharted 2 isn't linear, but saying Halo isn't is a false claim. But the choices you get to make in Halo (like what weapons to take along, which spot to take cover) exist in Uncharted 2. There are very large segments in that game where you can go about killing everyone the way you want to.
Music - Actually, this does need explanation. My vote goes to Uncharted 2. Halo's music has been unrivaled for a very long time and without a doubt, Martin O' Donnell is an excellent composer. However, most of Reach's music is recycled from previous games, and doesn't do too much in the ways of variation. It's either sweaping orchestra pieces or a techno/rock beat, all of which we've heard before. The few new tracks found in Reach are boring and seemingly very uninspired pieces of work. Not only that, but there are glaring ommitions from best Halo titles that are never quite met in Reach. There's never a song in Reach that quite hits the sheer intensity or vibe that "Behold a Pale Horse" did for Halo 3. Where O' Donnell made new music for ODST that fit the mood perfectly, he faulters in Reach with songs that sound very much like "Halo Lite" and never actually hit the player with a sense of epicness. Conversely, Greg Edmonson, teamed with Skywalker Studios, put forth a varied and fun sound for Uncharted 2. There are several songs that define the action of the game, others that define the wonder of finding an ancient relic and discovering something new, even vibes that would seemlessly fit into Firefly (Which Edmonson also composed) that are just fun to listen to. The album ranges in musical styles, and Edmonson changed typical Orchestra songs for more foreign unique sounds, bringing in several instruments not commonly heard for more of the mellow tracks. Very talented musicians the both of them, but I would like to see O' Donnell tackle something other than Halo so we can see what else he's capable of. His Reach OST sounded very much like Stephen Rippy's boring and uninspired Halo Wars Soundtrack.
Content - Yeah Halo Reach is pretty much untouchable in that department when it comes to console gaming. Bungie truly loves there fans, and you can tell with the amount of content they crammed into Reach. It's going to be sad to see them depart from the franchise, but like O' Donnell with the music, it will be exciting to see what they can do next considering Halo has been their only franchise for the last 10 years. Although it is worth mentioning, Uncharted 2 does offer a good amount of content. Such as unlockable skins, various gameplay modes (such as zero gravity), and the choice to use whatever weapon you want throughout the duration of the game.
Overall - Uncharted 2
Really though, they're both great games. I don't see why we need to compare the two when they're completely different. Considering Bungie and Naughty Dog get along and have helped each other, I see little reason why the fans need to start things like this.
Picture is relevant
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