First off, I'd like to wish a happy belated Fourth of July to all of my fellow Americans. I hope that you scarfed down many apple pies, hot dogs, and other things that we claim to have been ours originally. Seriously, Germany has had hot dogs for like aeons, we just put them in a bun. But, that's not why I'm here, I'm here to tell you all about...

The Uncharted franchise has taken the gaming world by storm. When the first Uncharted game came out in 2007, it got solid reviews and was well recieved by every day gamers, but no one was expecting it to turn into a worldwide phenomenon. Then Uncharted 2 came out and everything changed. Now Nathan Drake is the posterboy of PlayStation and Sony fanatics (such as myself) are foaming at the mouth for the release of Uncharted 3. Well we got our first taste of it with the multiplayer beta, which (unsurprisingly) has taken over PlayStation Network. Now, I'm not really an online multiplayer junkie like most people, but I think that it's always an interesting addition to a game. So how does the online multiplayer for one of the most hyped games of 2011 add up?

The Good

• I'll admit that I didn't play the Uncharted 2 multiplayer, but even though I hadn't, I got used to the mechanics and gameplay very quickly and easily. So even for someone like me who hasn't played Uncharted in a long time or has never played it, it's very easy to get into the swing of things.
• The first thing that really pops out at you are the graphics. Uncharted 2 was one of the most visually impressive games of all time, and they managed to top it with their new installment.
• Unlike other online multiplayer games like Call of Duty where you can succeed by just running around aimlessly, in Uncharted 3 you really have to work with your team in order to do well. Which makes the experience all the more realistic.
• The game manages to bring over the standard Uncharted humor into the multiplayer with things like Taunts and high fives. You can high five a teammate after achieving something like collecting treasure or taking down an enemy. Taunts are little victory moves that you can do after getting a kill.
• It feels almost as much like a story mode mission as a multiplayer match, which is a good thing! The action is just as intense and over the top as the previous Uncharted story modes, right down to the insane parkour jumps and instant neck snappings.
• Getting a kill through melee is both fun and satisfying.
• The Co-Op Arena is a great way to practice, as well as a lot of fun.
• The two maps are creative and well designed.

The Bad

• Perks, boosts, and weapon modsdon't feel like they have much of an impact on your performance.
• In order to attack through melee, you practically have to be leaning on an enemy in order to make contact, and of course by that time, they've already seen you, making the melee unfortunately pointless.
• Snipers areuseless because seeing as this is an Uncharted game, everyone is constantly moving.
• Anyone armed with an RPG is unstoppable.
• In the Co-Op Arena, you're given 10 lives, but after one death, it will give a random number between one and ten, and that's how many lives you're stuck with.

The Ugly

• The second to last thing that I filed under "The Good" was how enjoyable the Co-Op Arena is. Well guess what, THEY REPLACED IT WITH THE STUPIDEST GAME MODE I'VE EVER PLAYED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! It's called Co-Op Hunter Arena, in which you're competing against both NPC's and acutal online players. What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Why don't the NPC's die when they're shot? Why does it reset the character that you've designed? NONE OF THESE QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED, YOU'RE JUST SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH IT! Why on earth would they get rid of the best game mode that they had to offer, and replace it with this confusing pile of garbage?

So, yeah, the Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta is worth downloading overall. It's a lot of fun, and really makes you think about what's going to be in the final product. Just ignore the Co-Op Hunter Arena and you'll be happy with it.

P.S. I'm also going away for a few days this weekend to spend time with my family at a resort in the mountains, so I won't be on GameSpot or PSN at all this weekend.

PLEASE COMMENT!

.............................................................................................................................................

Song of the Day:
Jim James & Calexico - Goin' To Acapulco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl3vss2bgv4

Picture of the Day: