If you own a PS3 and you like GOOD GAMES you should probably play this.
* Almost all the characters are interesting in someway or another.
* Shooting feels solid and bad guys don't take a bazillion bullets to go down this time.
* Improved melee combat
* Though almost always optional, stealth is actually useful and enjoyable to make use of.
* Simple, unobtrusive puzzles.
* Good platforming.
* Awesome action sequences.
* Fun and varied multi player modes.
* Aurally and visually fantastic.
Cons
* Cover system can be a little fidgety in tight areas.
* Villain is a bit generic, considering how interesting all the other characters are this is just a tad disappointing.
The original Uncharted for all it's flaws was a fantastic action-adventure game and up until this point has been my favorite PS3 game. It has been dethroned by it's sequel, which takes the first games foundation and improves upon it in pretty much every conceivable way.
You once again take the role of wisecracking treasure hunter Nathan Drake as he gets roped into following in Marco Polo's footsteps and eventually finding Shambhala in order to stop generic villain guy from getting immortality.
Along the way there will be a lot of puzzle solving, shooting and platforming.
All of which are a great deal of fun.
The action takes it's queues from Gears of War, placing an emphasis on taking cover.
Drakes a tad more maneuverable then Marcus and his lot though, so you can make attempts to scale the environment and flank the enemy or just to get to higher ground.
The guns all feel pretty solid and unlike the previous game bad guys don't soak a ridiculous amount of damage before going down.
And use of grenades no longer require the use of motion controls, thankfully.
Melee combat has also been reworked and is simpler and more enjoyable to use.
Get in close and you can throw punches and counter when you're grabbed and it all flows really well, looking really cool.
Silent weapons are few and far between so when you opt for stealth you'll be sneaking up on guys and choking them out, pushing them from ledges or slamming them into walls.
There seems to be a decent variety of animations for melee and stealth attacks, so it never really gets old
Later in the game combat can get pretty tough, but it never gets so tough that the game feels unfair. Often all you'll need do is slightly switch up your tactics and before long you'll prevail.
It's challenging but never TOO challenging, which is great!
Puzzles are pretty simple. Usually involving pressing this or turning that in the right order and sometimes Drakes journal will offer up clues as to what you're meant to be doing so the chances of you needing to refer to an online guide to solve these are quite minimal.
Platforming is pretty standard.
Theres stuff to grab onto, climb over and swing from and there are very few situations in which the path to proceed is not immediately clear. All the clambering about is well animated, which helps make the platforming sections extremely enjoyable.
In fact the whole game moves really well.
It's got a cinematic quality to it, making good use of lighting and camera angles and generally awesome visuals and it's epic soundtrack.
The game also has a bunch of set pieces.
For example at one point you'll be making your way along the top of a moving train, needing to dangle off the edge occasionally to avoid signals and eventually a helicopter is thrown into the mix forcing you to get your ass moving. No amount of text can really do these action sequences justice. Honestly a lot of them look like things that in other games would've been designated as quick time events, but in Uncharted 2 you get to PLAY these over the top sequences.
Now I actually don't mind QTE but the way Uncharted 2 handles things is far and beyond more awesome.
In addition to the campaign there is also a decent variety of multi player modes.
I have to say I was skeptical when I heard they were adding in multi player.
It feels like a lot of devs add it to their game just to check a box off a list and the end result is often something that feels shoehorned in.
Uncharted 2's multi player isn't like that.
It feels like it was meant to be there and provides plenty of reason to keep Uncharted 2 in your PS3's disk drive for a long while after the games excellent campaign reaches its conclusion.
I don't know what else to say.
The game is fantastic.
If you own a PS3 I honestly feel you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't play this game.
It's one of the best single player experiences you'll ever have and the multi player is no slouch either. Play it!