Territory Unknown
Well, they've done it. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves finally bridges the gap between an action movie and a video game. Oh, and it's a damn good video game too.
Published: October 10, 2009
The original Uncharted's animation was lauded for being incredibly detailed and varied, and the tradition is upheld here with aplomb. There's still a slightly funky skating effect that Nate will do when moving over some bits of the terrain, making it obvious that he's almost on a plane above the rest of the world and not exactly locked to its particular undulations (you can jump off some seemingly empty spaces on the lengthy train sequence, for instance), but by and large the variety of his actions is beyond impressive.
When things move into cutscenes, the results are as good as you'll ever see in a motion captured cinematic, thanks in large part to capturing multiple actors in the same scene with props. The lighting, precision of movements (check out the way Nate and Schafer's hands move when they first meet; there's actually a tiny little sub-shake they do that would never show up in a game that wasn't meticulously captured) and detail in the models is mind-blowing. What's truly impressive is that most will probably never notice the instances of when the game moves from in-game cinematics to those that were pre-recorded with the engine's assets.
They may, however, notice the fact that just about everyone does one of those flying-leap-with-a-last-second-catch sequences in every single chapter of the game. They're effective, sure, but a bit... copious to say the least. By the third time through the game, you'll end up laughing at just how frequent they are -- or at least I did.
It's rare that I'm ever able to say this, but the audio in Uncharted 2 is... perfect. Delivered in uncompressed 7.1 if your system allows it, plus uncompressed 5.1, DTS, Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II in addition to normal stereo, the options are damn near ridiculous. What you'll hear when pumping the game through a seriously beefy sound system are meat explosions, clean effects for everything from reloading to running over different surfaces. The actual environments are modeled too, so when you're in a cave, chatter and effects will echo if the surfaces are close enough. The various growls, gunshots and shouts that play out are every bit as good as the dialogue, which is plentiful and often hilarious -- even after hearing them a half-dozen times.
Greg Edmonson's soundtrack had better appear on a CD that I can purchase with my hard-earned cash in the next few weeks or I'm going to go insane. It's fantastic, and any doubts I had about the variety or impact of it besting the original's were washed away almost instantly. The original theme returns, tweaked slighted and bolstered by some absolutely amazing other themes that are bent and re-sculpted to incorporate the flourishes from the different regions Nate and friends scoot around in. Seriously, Sony, soundtrack. Please. And another DJ Shadow remix while I'm begging?
I honestly can't think of anything more to say. I could, of course, but that would require getting into specifics and blathering on long after you've been convinced to pick up what is now may favorite game on the PlayStation 3 (replacing the original, fittingly). Words cannot convey just how smashing a success this is for Naughty Dog, and if this is to be the future of the PlayStation 3's library, I may finally prep one of those delicious crow pies and chow down. Clearly the PS3, in the right hands, is capable of delivering an audio/visual experience that is peerless, besting even the best that a ridiculously pimped-out PC can deliver in terms of consistency. This isn't just a showpiece game, nor a thrilling single-player ride, nor a lengthy and addictive-as-hell multiplayer entry, but a beautiful confluence of all three, making it the very definition of a must-have.
