Topic: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Official Best Single-Player Game Ever Thread

[D_Average]

Bullet sponges are those dudes in Un 1 that take 30 hits wearing just a wife beater.  It hought the new armor was a nice touch for stategy.

[mac<censored>]

Finished Uncharted 2 a few days ago, and ... man, what a stupid ending.

Most of the game is impressive and fun tho.

(spoilers)
Not only was it way too easy (on normal difficulty), but just seemed ... abrupt, underwhelming, and almost offensive -- they destroyed freakin' Shangri-La (with a single bullet?!) as if it were a random alien base in a random xbox FPS!  And afterwards, the characters don't even seem to have noticed, it's just a few (very lame) jokes and fini; it was like the ending to an episode of Scooby-Doo, only more distasteful.

It seems kinda clear they ran out of time and just tacked on the ending.

[D_Average]

Finished Uncharted 2 a few days ago, and ... man, what a stupid ending.

Most of the game is impressive and fun tho.

(spoilers)
Not only was it way too easy (on normal difficulty), but just seemed ... abrupt, underwhelming, and almost offensive -- they destroyed freakin' Shangri-La (with a single bullet?!) as if it were a random alien base in a random xbox FPS!  And afterwards, the characters don't even seem to have noticed, it's just a few (very lame) jokes and fini; it was like the ending to an episode of Scooby-Doo, only more distasteful.

It seems kinda clear they ran out of time and just tacked on the ending.

I can see that, but considering   (spoilers)  the whole game from the very beginning, was about beating Blizarobitz to the stone and then destroying everything, I thought it made sense. Certainly more sense than the ending to the first game with zombies crawling out of nowhere.  And it definately was a long strange trip to get to the stone once we arrived at the entrance, so I was satisfied once it was over.  Also, the final fight with him was creative.

What I did think was an achievement was I actually wanted Elena not to die at the end and was revealed to see her walk out, even though I knew it was coming.  Not a perfect story by any means, but still a major step forward in meshing gaming and stories.

I agree on the difficulty, which is why I just started a new game on hard right after.  But for casuals, normal will kick their a##, which is probably why hard is available from the beginning.

Unrelated, if you guys were Drake, who would you take, Elena or Chloe?  I'd go Elena.  Sweeter and hawt in her own way.  Plus Chloes has a muscley butt.

[mac<censored>]

Unrelated, if you guys were Drake, who would you take, Elena or Chloe?

Elena every time -- sweetly sarcastic and smart, pretty, and strong in a way that says "determined and capable" rather than "I've got a metal rod up my ass."  Every once in a while, a little vulnerable and girly, but never so much as to be annoying.

Elena is clearly channelling Helen Hunt if you ask me... (and this has got to be intentional -- voice, mannerisms, and appearance are a dead ringer; it was quite disconcerting seeing the making-of videos, since the actress looks nothing like HH, but sounds exactly like her)

Now that I think about it, Elena's character is amazingly well written and acted for a video game, given the usual tendency towards walking stereotypes.  The other main characters in Uncharted are not so bad (better than most games), but she seems by far the most real person in the whole game.

[Halbred]

Well, I'm about to beat Uncharted 2 (I think). Generally, I love this game. However, there have been some real thorn-in-my-side moments that keep me from giving it the kind of marks it's been getting in the gaming media.

First off, there are MORE firefights here than there were in the first game, and they're more annoying because the enemies are much more powerful and numerous. Oh look! THREE armored dudes with shotguns! There have also been some phenomenally frustrating sections of the game, like the tank chase and middle sections of the train. If I'm not getting knocked off by dudes with shotguns, I'm literally getting knocked off by randomly-placed barriers.

I stoped playing last night after getting to yet another setpiece firefight in Shambalah because I got sick of shooting dudes. However, I think I am toward the end of the game.

[D_Average]

Are you playing on hard?  I thought the armored guys were a solid addition. They reminded me of giant enemy crabs.  Fun to blow back with the right gun. 

[broodwars]

Well, I'm about to beat Uncharted 2 (I think). Generally, I love this game. However, there have been some real thorn-in-my-side moments that keep me from giving it the kind of marks it's been getting in the gaming media.

First off, there are MORE firefights here than there were in the first game, and they're more annoying because the enemies are much more powerful and numerous. Oh look! THREE armored dudes with shotguns! There have also been some phenomenally frustrating sections of the game, like the tank chase and middle sections of the train. If I'm not getting knocked off by dudes with shotguns, I'm literally getting knocked off by randomly-placed barriers.

I stoped playing last night after getting to yet another setpiece firefight in Shambalah because I got sick of shooting dudes. However, I think I am toward the end of the game.

Huh, I found the shoot-outs a great deal more manageable in Uncharted 2 than in its predecessor, mainly because I liked to flank enemies and snap their necks (or avoid the massive shoot-outs altogether by just stealth-killing everyone in a given room).  There are some incredibly frustrating sections of some stages (the entirety of Chapter 15, large portions of the train levels, and various goon arenas in the last 1/3 of the game), but for the most part you have a lot of flexibility in how you deal with them.  As for the armored shotgun troops, I usually just chuck a few grenades at them.  The key to dealing with the shootouts is isolation and constantly moving to prevent getting flanked.

[Halbred]

They're more managable, sure, but there are so freaking many shootouts it just gets old.

I think it's my own problem: I keep expecting Tomb Raider: Underworld instead of Gears of War.

[broodwars]

They're more managable, sure, but there are so freaking many shootouts it just gets old.

I think it's my own problem: I keep expecting Tomb Raider: Underworld instead of Gears of War.

I think this problem was actually far worse in the first Uncharted, where you couldn't take 5 steps without a massive arena shootout.  I knew from playing the first Uncharted that this series will never go full-on Tomb Raider/Prince of Persia-style exploration/platforming (no matter how much the series teases it), so I wasn't the least bit surprised when the sequel didn't do it either.  I personally think the series would be far better if there was less gunplay and more exploration; platforming; and puzzles (for pacing's sake at least), but it's clear that Naughty Dog has found their formula and they're not leaving it.

[mac<censored>]

One thing I found kind of funny was one of the shootouts near the end, where you're with both the female partners (in some sort of indoor "arena" like area with a sort of big statue thing in the middlee).  I was in a good safe position on top of the entry staircase, but ... I ran out of ammo (that's the problem with shooting from a safe location, it's often hard to stay stocked up)!

My two partners kept shooting like crazy (I guess they never run out), but they never, ever, seemed to kill anybody, and the bad guys just kept pouring in... do shots from your partners actually have any effect?  Or, do they wound but not kill?  I seriously waited like 30 minutes (used the bathroom, cooked a snack, ...) while my partners were just pumping endless shots into the mass of bad guys (only some of who were armored), and as far as I could tell, not a single one died.  [This is very different than Uncharted 1, where often you could just hide and let your partner kill everybody!]

[I eventually gave up and started running down into the mass of baddies to grab ammo (and then back to the hidey-hole), but it took me forever to clear that area...]

[NWR_Lindy]

I'm pretty sure they kill.  Rarely, but they do.  I think you may have to shoot the enemy first, which allows them to finish it off.

Finished it tonight.  Great game, one of the best I've ever played for sure.  Storytelling is top-notch, the characters are great (it was actually good to see very little of Sully, I always thought he was kind of a weak character), and there were a lot of CRAZY set pieces in there.

Like a good action movie, I had grown so attached to the characters by the end that I was sad to see the story come to a close.  I can't wait for Uncharted 3.

I would have liked to have seen some more background on Lazaravich, though.  I felt like he was kind of a token bad guy, like he was just plucked out of the air to be "the final boss".  His character had no depth whatsoever.

My run through on Normal only netted me 65 treasures, and I know I missed one.  I spent a ton of time looking for them all, so where the hell are the rest?  Do they only show up on Hard/Crushing or something?

[broodwars]

I'm pretty sure they kill.  Rarely, but they do.  I think you may have to shoot the enemy first, which allows them to finish it off.

My run through on Normal only netted me 65 treasures, and I know I missed one.  I spent a ton of time looking for them all, so where the hell are the rest?  Do they only show up on Hard/Crushing or something?

I've seen the side characters kill enemies, but you must have to hit them at least once before they can because I've never seen a side character take one out on their own.

As for the treasures, look up.  Most of the ones I missed my first time through were hanging on objects above your line of sight.  Like in Resident Evil 4, you have to shoot them to make them fall down to where you can grab them.  Others are just plain well-hidden.

And yes, Lazarovitch was token at best, though at least not as badly as the boss of the first Uncharted (which literally comes out of nowhere).

[NWR_Lindy]

Yeah, the boss of the first Uncharted is a guy you see once, period.  I think you maybe see him once through the course of the game, if that.

Also, if anybody's wondering, the longest that any cutscene is in U2 is 5 minutes.  There's maybe 2 or 3 of that length, and the rest are all 4 minutes or less.  Very briskly-paced game, and like Nick I felt that it was pretty much the perfect length.  Just as the gun battles were starting to drag, it wrapped up.

[D_Average]

Yeah, Lazarovitch didn't have much depth, but definitely more of an intimating presence then the first bad guy.

[Traveller]

I know this was discussed on RFN some time ago. But, do you guys think its better to play Uncharted 1 first? I ask, because I will be picking up a PS3 soon, and the current deal comes with 5 games, one of those being Uncharted 2. Should I pick up the first one aswell, or dont bother?

[Dasmos]

The first one is good, and is often unfairly overlooked in favour to Among Theives. It's still one of the best games on the PS3, but it's not as great as Uncharted 2. Put it this way, I wouldn't recommend playing it as strongly after Uncharted 2.

[Halbred]

It's okay, and it has some beautiful set-pieces, but knowing what I know now, I'd skip Uncharted 1 and go right to 2. Aside from Elena's presence, you don't really need to know ANYTHING about the first game going into the second one. These are like the Indiana Jones movies--you can watch them in any order and still enjoy them.

[blackfootsteps]

The first one is good, and is often unfairly overlooked in favour to Among Theives. It's still one of the best games on the PS3, but it's not as great as Uncharted 2. Put it this way, I wouldn't recommend playing it as strongly after Uncharted 2.

I agree with this. I really enjoyed the jungle heavy environments of the first game. It should be really cheap, too.

[mac<censored>]

The first one is good, and is often unfairly overlooked in favour to Among Theives. It's still one of the best games on the PS3, but it's not as great as Uncharted 2. Put it this way, I wouldn't recommend playing it as strongly after Uncharted 2.

It's a hard decision -- they were both absolutely awesome games.

I think on balance, I maybe actually preferred the first uncharted though.  Hmm... possible reasons:

(1) I really, really, liked the half-submerged huge ruined jungle-city environment of U1.  The environments in U2 were gorgeous and often interesting, but somehow didn't seem as compelling.  Maybe that's because U2 kept shuttling you around between widely separated locations so much, meaning there was much less sense of being in one enormous place, and less sense of "exploring" (U1, while it actually forced you along a pretty linear path, did a great job of giving the impression of exploring the ruins).   [Shangri-la in U2 was wonderful, but way underused -- I wish they would have simply set the whole game there! -- and I was actually pretty pissed that they simply blew it up in the end... followed by a lame wisecrack!]

(2) The baddies at the end of U1 were awesomely creepy and scary, there was nothing really like them in U2 (it was all "waves of canon fodder").

But of course, those are quibbles -- U2 was a crazy cool game too.