Uncharted 2: Impressions

Nothing can prepare a gamer for playing Uncharted 2 for the first time. Even having played the original Uncharted: Drake's Fortune through twice, and closely following the development and release of Uncharted 2, I had no idea that the game was going to not only completely change my perception of the PS3, but also videogaming in general. Uncharted 2 isnt just a great game or the game of the Game of The Year for 2009 - its in the conversation for the best game of all time.

Obviously, thats a strong statement, and while its true everyone has their own favorite game of all time, I think that for many people who play it Uncharted 2 will challenge their time honored favorites for greatest ever. I can never decide what my favorite game ever is, there are so many great ones, but Im quite sure that Uncharted 2 is right up there among the best. Is the game perfect? In some respects, mostly technical, yes. From a gameplay and story perspective, your mileage may vary. If you fancy a blend of Hollywood style Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider flavored story telling, huge action set pieces, 3rd person shooting mechanics, Prince of Persia like platforming and adventure game style puzzles, this will suit you like a glove. Add in a mix of lag-free multiplayer and coop modes over the free Playstation Network, and you have a serious contender.

There are no new gameplay elements to speak of in Uncharted 2. Everything you do in this game, you have done in other games before. But what Uncharted 2 does that makes it unique is that it mixes all these elements together with a level of polish and production quality that has never been seen before in a videogame. From the camera work to the animation to the particle effects in the explosions, this is the most consistently impressive presentation the gaming industry has come up with to date.

The graphics are simply stunning, definitely the best I have ever seen in any game on any platform. Marcus Fenix is rendered by about 15,000 polygons in Gears of War 2 for the Xbox 360. In Uncharted 2, Nathan Drake is pushing 80,000 polygons. The level of detail in the game is insane. Uncharted 2 uses the power of Cell processor in synergy with the Blu Ray drive (the game takes up 25GB of space), the Hard Drive, and the Nvidia GPU like no game before it to create unbelievably high image quality. But beyond the graphics and presentation, the feel of how Drake controls and interacts with the world is simply superb, and the pacing of the game is pitch perfect. The unique sound design for each area and cutscene, the musical score, and weapon sounds, are all outstanding. Naughty Dog has raised the bar for every developer; this is the new standard of quality for videogame production. Ive simply run out of superlatives, so Ill stop right here.