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Response To Gamers: Where the F@!* is Uncharted 2!?

The other night, I decided to blog my very own personal top-ten list of games that had been released this generation. Why? So gamers had a feel of the new reviewer they were getting; so they weren’t shocked when they got on their computer screens to see the odd score for Monkey Island 2: Special Edition. Not to my surprise, a lot of very rude gamers had complaints. Actually, they all had one specific complaint. Each and every one wondered where Uncharted 2 was. To compliment my understanding of the English language, they each politely raised their complaint by posting comments such as, “No uncharted 2 = you’re a moron and your list is crap. Fuck you.” After reading a plethora (you know you just Google’d that word) of such well thought-out and very reasonable complaints, I decided I would blog a response to all.

Note: This is not a review of U2, Diego already did so very well. I disagree with it, but he wrote it. Now then, let’s dive into the controversy.

I think it’s a smart idea to throw up the SPOILER ALERT here. If you haven’t played Uncharted 2 and want to, this is not the article for you. Anyway…

After receiving the complaints and knowing about eight-hundred others shared the same need to burn my house down, I did something rare; a fan-service for our readers: I went back played more of the game. Immediately after getting home today, I decided to give the fans of Uncharted 2 a chance for the game to ‘wow’ me like it did them. I played a few of my favorite chapters from the campaign, two rounds of co-op, and a few games of the competitive multiplayer. And to be completely honest, I felt myself as unamused as I was the first time through with each feature.

I began my venture by loading up the few select chapters that take place right after Drake gets out of prison and into the war-zone. Why? Because the beginning of a game is supposed to set up everything, both gameplay and story. And while the other levels set up the story marvelously (by informing me that I’m going to go through the game despising my main character for being an unlikable loud-mouth that went through no character growth), it introduced movement rather than gunplay whereas the chapters I decided to play introduced gunplay as well as capitalized on the platforming elements. What could go wrong? Well a lot, actually. Like, more so than from developers thinking that transforming your main character into a lycanthrope is sheer brilliance. Like every one who plays this chapter, the first thing I tried to do was throw a propane tank. I aimed it, shot when I was supposed to for the automatic blow up, and the chemical reaction from the propane released an explosion of rainbows and butterflies. Cool. Since that plan failed, I realized I had to take cover and fight my way against the big bad three terrorists. And as soon as I hit that circle button, I felt my loose parkour Indiana Jones turn into the Statue of Liberty as he pressed up against that wall. Okay, so the cover system is janky. I bet the kills will be worth the effort, right? Well thirty clips later, I find out enemies actually use bullets like aspirin and the only way to kill them is to overdose them by about sixty hits over the prescribed amount. Once my enemies looked like swiss cheese, I got out of cover and pressed on. But before I get into that, let’s recap: we have a janky and clunky cover system in a cover shooter with enemies who eat bullets and yet don’t give off any feeling of accomplishment after being slain. Let’s hope the platforming is flawless.

Well, hopes have been gruesomely murdered and curb stomped by a giant Gundam. I’ll tell you now, the level design in which they center the platforming around is actually fairly creative and can be best described with the phrase ‘cool and thrilling.’ However, the actual game mechanics just fall flat on their face while trying to carry Nathan Statue-of-Liberty-Indiana-Jones Drake around. Let me clarify a bit: Their are always parts in Uncharted where the entire crew faces a wall and Drake needs to scan the environment for something to grab onto so he can climb to the top of the tower and go through various wacky shenanigans in the process. However, their is absolutely nothing in the game to differentiate grabable ledges from background scenery. This was a case in the first game too, but this time around we face grabable scenery that just doesn’t lead any where. It’s always awkward climbing up on a ledge and finding out you don’t have to go there. Each and every time I expected Elana to look up and say ‘Drake, where are you going…?’ to make me feel even more ashamed of myself. The best part? This will happen when you’re three stories off the ground. (Trophy Unlocked: Join the mile high club. Description: Not as satisfying as you hoped, huh?).

Once I had all those problems confirmed for me and my rolling eyes, I decided to play a few games of multiplayer. Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of PS3 multiplayer games. This is because they aren’t centered around the idea of PlayStation users sitting around with their friends enjoying the game the way they choose to; it’s not a social experience. To me, it seems most PS3 games use the multiplayer to just extend the single player by pitting people against each other in the hopes of unlocking cool new stuff. Trust me when I say, that feeling gets tedious after you’ve went online with friends who explode with laughter and excitement at the first sign of a good kill. It’s the very reason why unlockables are not needed for me when I play a game online. I’ll admit, KZ2’s multiplayer has a ton of good ideas, Resistance 2 was just very satisfying to play, and LBP is fun for all (even if I communicate through the XBL party system while playing it), but U2, however, just doesn’t give that satisfying feel and carries over all the gameplay issues to the online interface. It’s just not as tactical as Halo, Killzone, or even Gears. I just don’t find it fun. I find it cluttered, laggy, and trying too hard. Heck, their aren’t even fun weapons like in all the shooters I mentioned previously. Nothing sticks out and that is going to lead us right into the main problem. Yeah, keep reading.

Uncharted 2’s main problem is that it just tries too hard to be a money making franchise. Yes, it succeeds in that aspect, but only because the general audience is full of easy to please tools who crave a new desert to pop some heads in. That may be a little harsh. Honestly, nothing is wrong with wanting your game to sell. They have to sell to keep in business, it’s simple logic. However, to guarantee success, the game has to play it safe. Thus, it sticks to concepts people know and are accustomed to. You won’t ever find any of the creativity found in games like Godhand or Portal in these safe titles. In fact, in Uncharted 2 you won’t find ANY creativity. What you’ll see is emulation and refining. You’ll find poor quality emulation of the Gears of War cover system, the Assassin’s Creed climbing system, and the same exact story as the first Uncharted. It takes all of these experiences and throws them into a B-movie plot about revenge, discovery and blue people and throws them in a few extraordinarily cool levels (that over-stay their welcome once or twice too often) that make every gamer think, ‘Haven’t I done this before?’ Uncharted 2 is by no means a bad game, it’s a rather well designed game, but it just rose to game-fame by doing what every other game has already done and THAT’S why it’s over-rated bullshit. Naughty Dog, I will forever expect more from you. I hope you read this and give me something to make me eat each and every word I wrote.

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60 Comments

60 Comments

  1. sam

    July 29, 2010 at 10:24 pm

    YOU FAIL!

  2. sam sucks donkey fuck

    July 29, 2010 at 10:28 pm

    Don’t worry. There are and always will be trolls on the internet that can’t express what they want to without adding words like fuck shit or moron. It’s in their nature and your article is great. Never back your opinions down just because you are afraid of some teenager troll who is going to insult you because you stated something that you don’t like with reasons.

  3. unbiased

    July 29, 2010 at 10:32 pm

    haha.. is this serious. A janky cover system? really? killzone has a janky cover system, uncharted is as smooth as gears is. And as for enemies taking so many bullets to die.. try head shots.. 1or 2 at the most, but I guess you just like to blind fire an AK 47 while holding down the trigger, we all know that is 100% acccurate… this is a joke.

  4. Chad Sexington

    July 29, 2010 at 10:34 pm

    Fair enough you think Uncharted 2 is overrated, but citing Godhand and Portal as examples of originality in gaming completely undermines your argument about Uncharted 2. The fact is, all games are now no more than refinements of pre-existing ideas, so this article could apply to pretty much anything.

    In the words of the internet: epic fail.

  5. lol

    July 29, 2010 at 10:42 pm

    Worst article I read in my hole life, secondly Gears cover system is horrible you allways get stuck and the Assassins Creed climbing system is basicly a win buttom you just move in the direction you want to go and you get there in Uncharted you actualy have to press jump to get to certain locations.

  6. Brillo

    July 29, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    Well said Chad

  7. Nada Nuff

    July 29, 2010 at 10:57 pm

    People nitpick about Uncharted 2 and complain that it’s overrated because they’ve already experienced it. They’ve already been blown away, and so it will never be new and exciting to them again. Therefore it SEEMS like less of a game now than when it was released.

    Where were the people saying that Uncharted 2 was average when the game first came out? Sure, there may have been one or two jaded gamers who just didn’t get it, but where were the others? Most of the reviews, both “professional” and “amateur”, were all positive. I know everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but what is it that the majority knows that the uber-critics don’t? Nothing. We all played the same game and we all loved it. But because some couldn’t KEEP ON loving it the same way we did that first time, they think that they were wrong the first time around and talk the game down.

    Games, even the best ones, get old. As does everything. The Dark Knight was an incredible movie. Ten years from now it will still be the same movie, but it won’t be as incredible. Why? Because I will have seen it many more times, memorized parts of it, analyzed parts of it. It won’t thrill me anymore. But I won’t think it less of a movie because of that. It’s time will have passed, and I’ll be looking on…but I won’t call it overrated. Ditto with Uncharted 2. Ditto with every other masterpiece that comes out.

  8. Diego

    July 29, 2010 at 11:03 pm

    Brilliant article, I give it 5 out of 5.

  9. unbiased

    July 29, 2010 at 11:04 pm

    is someone deleting comments?

  10. Terry_Tickleballs

    July 29, 2010 at 11:07 pm

    [shadowjak] = write of this article <– do you even know anything about gaming.

    you top 10 is full of crap (with some few exception) and right off the bat I can tell you haven't played the best games this generation. Some games that are better than most of the games you listed:

    -Demon's Souls
    -Gow of War 3
    -Uncharted 2
    -Dead Space
    -Infamous
    -LittleBigPlanet
    -Red Dead Redemption

    how the fuck do you even have a job as a gaming journalist???

  11. ngngf

    July 29, 2010 at 11:22 pm

    blablabla

  12. Diego

    July 29, 2010 at 11:22 pm

    I seriously don’t understand why you’re all so upset with this. It’s his own personal opinion on whether or not he enjoyed Uncharted 2 and as you can see from his list he has a mixed bag with a ps3 exclusive at the top. I loved Uncharted 2 to death, but do I expect everybody else to share my opinion? Of course not.

    All of this is seriously showing the ps3-fanboys and making all other Uncharted fans look bad. If you’re all so upset about this I’ll consider putting it at the top of my top 10 when I do one.

  13. LookatmeNowlookatyou:(

    July 29, 2010 at 11:22 pm

    You sound more upset that you got insulted than anything, which makes me think that no one should pay much attention to this article. Ignorance in the gaming community is common, you’re even more exposed to it now that you have written… This.

  14. Opinionated

    July 29, 2010 at 11:36 pm

    I respectfully disagree. I find the cover system needs some work, but it is great nonetheless. I don’t know how you manage to climb the wrong things. I seem to know where to go :S I do find the enemies to be bullet sponges, but you have to consider that they are wearing gigantic Kevlar body suits, and a lot of it. There is creativity in this game, the level design is creative, including the puzzles. I agree with your comments with the online, but disagree with your comment that PS3 online games have no creativity, littlebigplanet 1 & 2, modnation racers, and most importantly demons souls. I also don’t understand why you mean when you say it tries too hard to be a money making franchise, it’s simply trying to be a fun game, it succeeds. Halo tries to hard to be a money making franchise with all the useless spinoffs. Ignore that comment if your a fan boy. Thanks for hearing me. Do note I agree with some things in this article.

  15. ron

    July 30, 2010 at 12:03 am

    This is what’s wrong with people these days.

    originality and creativity do not make a good game. Portal is a great game…. with originality and creativity.

    U2 doesn’t do anything new, but it strings them all together in a perfect storm of awesomeness. playing that game was just awesome. beginning to end.

    Uncharted 2 is a great game, it lacks originality and creativity, but It’s still a great game.

    stupid article is stupid.

  16. Terry_Tickleballs

    July 30, 2010 at 12:13 am

    Uncharted 2 has won more awards than any other game this generation, it set the bar in graphics and it has won more GOTY awards than any other game in GAMING HISTORY – not to mention all the perfect scores it’s got.

    the awards were pretty unanimous for Uncharted 2 in the following 3 department:
    -Graphics
    -Story
    -Gameplay

    but Diego is right, it’s his own personal top 10 games and his opinion are based on what he likes…But Uncharted 2 did what in 2008 and what Super Mario Galaxy did in May 2010.

  17. brian

    July 30, 2010 at 12:45 am

    A janky cover system, 60 bullets?
    The cover system is, IMHO, the best I’ve used, better than Gears by a mile, and the enemies, I think 5 shots is the max, 1 in the head.
    That’s where I stopped reading, not because I disagreed so strongly, but because I think that you really do not want to like the game in order to be that reviewer who sees things differently and reviews with his and only his impression. Very different you are.

  18. Anon

    July 30, 2010 at 12:59 am

    Article writer is a dumbass. You think you can argue against fanboys and anons of the internet? You’re dumb as shit. Maybe that’s why you were so proud of yourself for using the word ‘plethora’. Middle school word.

  19. Terry_Tickleballs

    July 30, 2010 at 1:13 am

    LMAOO!!! ^

  20. William Saw

    July 30, 2010 at 1:41 am

    No we aren’t deleting comments, chances are its getting caught in our spam filter. Let me know if some posts don’t show up.

  21. Craig Ballard

    July 30, 2010 at 1:42 am

    GOD DAMMIT ZACK!

    Now the floodgates have opened!

  22. Tim

    July 30, 2010 at 4:09 am

    Honestly, this is how I feel about Uncharted 2. Can’t you guys respect an OPINION? I mean, come on! So you (probably) wet your pants at the very mention of Uncharted 2. That doesn’t mean everyone does. If you guys took a step back and actually looked at what you’re saying you’ll realize that you sound like butt hurt fanboys. I don’t have a PS3 (I want one, but the only issue is money) and I haven’t played a whole lot of Uncharted 2, but this article pretty much sums up how I feel. And all y’alls reactions pretty much involve the words “f***” and “you.” Can’t you guys come up with an intelligent response to the article instead of calling shadowjak a dumbass or dumb as s***? I’ve met people who don’t like the Zelda series (one of my favorites), but that’s ok. It’s their opinions. I’m not a fan of realistic racing games, but you don’t see me blindly insulting Gran Turismo 5. Shadowjak layed out why he doesn’t like Uncharted 2, and explained his points. This is a well written article, and doesn’t deserve this kind of berating from fanboys.

  23. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 4:54 am

    This comment actually confuses me. I’d like to hear why you think both Portal and Godhand are uncreative.

  24. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 4:54 am

    Thank you for the support!

  25. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 4:56 am

    I find this as the most intelligent comment of all. If I thought Uncharted 2 was great when I first played it, you’d be absolutely correct here. But, I really, honest to God, did not enjoy the experience. I enjoyed the train and snow temple levels, yes, but nothing else in it. However, I love your response and thank you for respecting my personal opinion.

  26. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 5:03 am

    If you remember reading my top ten thoroughly, I did give honors to LBP and Infamous. I haven’t had the chance to play RDR yet, money is tight atm though I plan to before the end of the year and, as I said in my article, I know that by the end of 2010 by entire list will need editing. As for God of War 3, I prefer Bayonetta so I gave the honor mention to that. NOT THAT GOD OF WAR 3 IS BAD! I enjoyed it very much and thought it was intense and very thrilling, especially fighting Kronos, but I prefer creativity in my games. The other games though just had something more that clicked with me. If you read my reasonings instead of looking at the pictures like a kindergarten student learning to read, you’d know. Good day.

  27. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 5:06 am

    I felt the need to give my point of view is all. I honestly just used that one person’s comments to display how stupid some people are getting over that. Truth be told, I only wrote this to confirm I gave the game a second chance and detailed my thoughts. Some people do agree, and I’m glad they can. Others are intelligently disagreeing, and I’m enjoying reading their comments.

  28. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 5:11 am

    I don’t believe I said the PS3 online system had no creativity, but if I did I do apologize. I didn’t proof read. What I meant was that the PS3 online system isn’t trying to be a social experience, which irks me. Yes, LittleBigPlanet and ModNation racers do nothing but ooze their own creativity and encourage the creativity of others. They definitely earn their share of brownie points from me. Truth be told, I am admittedly a Halo fanboy, but I will forever agree with you that is has become an expensive prostitute of it’s former self. I enjoy playing Halo and will buy Halo: Reach no doubt, but I am willing to admit that Halo Wars was absolutely TERRIBLE (I’d give it a 2/5 on our system), and that Halo 3 was over-hyped. However, to me Halo feels more like a game and encourages social multiplayer where as I felt Uncharted 2 didn’t. Love your comment though, thanks for the support and the intelligent disagreement. As you can see, U2 just wasn’t for me.

  29. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 5:14 am

    …Half-Life 2. Okami. Portal. Super Mario Bros. Super Metroid. GTAIII. GTAIV. GTA: SA. Do some research before using all caps on words like ‘GAMING HISTORY.’ Yes, it won GOTY from sites like IGN and probably Giantbomb (assumption, not researched), but I still think Infamous and Arkham deserved it more.

    Also, U2 came out in 2009.

  30. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 5:17 am

    I like this comment because you do make a valid point. And while I’m not trying to be different and stand out to get into the lime light, I am however being incredibly tough. This because A. ND used to be my favorite developers. B. I’m a critic. And by critic, I mean I feel the need to find the flaws of a game and point them out so people know what they are getting into. In U2’s case, if I had known of those flaws, I wouldn’t have bought the game.

  31. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 5:18 am

    ………..
    ……………….__
    …………./´¯/’…’/´¯¯`·¸
    ………./’/…/…./……./¨¯\
    ……..(‘(…´…´…. ¯~/’…’)
    ………\……………..’…../
    ……….”…\………. _.·´
    …………\…………..(
    BRO FIST

  32. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 5:18 am

    Any publicity is good publicity 8)

  33. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 5:19 am

    *high fives* Thanks for the support, glad you agree.

  34. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 5:20 am

    Your vocabulary seems pretty prepubescent in itself 😉

  35. Terry_Tickleballs

    July 30, 2010 at 11:11 am

    I did my research (unlike you) and I can bet you no other game has won as many awards as Uncharted 2.
    and yes it came out in 2009 so what’s your point? anyways the fact is that Uncharted 2 won the most GOTY awards than any other game this generation and it won over 150 combined awards (including best graphics, best story etc.), if I were you I would do some research before mentioning games that are not even from this generation like:
    “Half-Life 2. Okami. Portal. Super Mario Bros. Super Metroid. GTAIII. GTAIV. GTA: SA”

    those games are great but I can guarantee you that none of them has won as many award as Uncharted 2.
    if you need proof let me know, I’ll be more than happy to prove you wrong. You are the journalist, you should be the one knowing this sftuff to not look like a 10-year school boy when debating (based on assumptions)

  36. shadowjak is a faggot

    July 30, 2010 at 12:03 pm

    youre a fucking faggot. uncharted 2 is beast. only game better than this is MGS4. suck my dick

  37. Lister

    July 30, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    You don’t have any teeth do you?

  38. Bengoshi-San

    July 30, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    Wow, I mean.. if you can’t see that this game is basically the pinnacle of adventure/action gaming, then it’s going to be very hard for you to understand why we all love it so much.

    The music, orchestrated and created specifically for this game by professionals, music that is not only scene-appropriate but impressive, actually making you feel a certain way during the game.

    Voice acting, second to none, perhaps bioware and blizzard are close seconds, but the voice acting in the Uncharted series is by far the best I’ve ever seen, even Metal Gear solid, apart from Snake isn’t a great example of voice acting.

    Super smooth cover system, get to cover, stand or duck automatically, roll to different piece of cover, jump over cover. I mean really? How are you going to complain about a system that is nearly perfect?

    Shooting and accuracy, depending on the level of difficulty it takes a different number of body-shots to kill each bad guy, but at the end of the day.. a head-shot is a head-shot is a head-shot, and experienced Uncharted players know this. Especially if you spend a few hours playing online.

    Storyline. Okay, this for me is personally the absolute best part of Uncharted. When I am playing this game, I feel a sense of PURPOSE! Some games feel like they exist only to waste your time, Uncharted feels like you’re solving a riddle or finding a treasure and uncovering a mystery decades in the making. It’s the feel of adventure, which is beautifully narrated that makes us love this game.

    Hmmm, let’s see, alien force, threat to humans, inter-space conflict, taking down a double crosser, an evil corporation, bla bla bla bla! It’s the same story for almost 90% of what’s on store shelves today. Is that what you really want to play instead of a game that is hand crafted to draw you into an adventure?

    These developers don’t just nilly willy create a story and go with it, they design it by doing research, going out to locations, knowing their history and mythology, and then sitting down and planning and designing it as a group, with plenty of feedback from the community from the previous game.

    Naughty Dog to me is the absolute best developer in business today, and the Uncharted series is the pinnacle of video gaming.

    It’s the only fu*king game that I take days off work for and play through the night when it’s released. It’s not because I’m a lame, obsessed low-life nerd like the WoW players, but because Uncharted is like a drug, and I love it!

  39. Rasta

    July 30, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    I tend to think that a great game is a great game at any time. Take for example mario that came out way back on the NES. I bet you that game is still fun and exciting. The really great games are the ones that still shine after years and years.

  40. Rasta

    July 30, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    I think saying something like “gaming history” is a bit misguided. There are new gaming websites popping up giving “awards” to games everyday. Therefore, a game next year has an exponential ability to win more awards than any game today. Counting awards doesn’t really mean anything. So what if hillbillygamersofLA.com gave it a rating of 5 oil cans and best game since your sister award. This guy doesn’t like it and points out why he doesn’t like it. MOVE ON

  41. Alex

    July 30, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    hmm

  42. Alex

    July 30, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    shadowjak, oh powerful ruler of this article.
    Controller of comments and destroyer of puny little disgruntled internet goers.
    I read all these comments and I really tried to understand where everyone and you were coming from.
    They all seemed to be sticking up for you!
    I thought to myself, did these people really read the same article?
    So I went back to your article, re-read a few things, I even played some Co-op and Competitive online matches on this site. I tried to love it I really did. But I couldn’t.
    An article that full-on smashes every U2 fans dreams?
    Can it be true?
    Can people finally be realizing that U2 isn’t as good as everyone has been saying?
    Well, no. I guess not.
    See, I was all for letting you have your own opinion, and I still am.
    But there is something quite wrong with letting a games journalist have their own opinion when most of the time a reader can’t have their own. Regardless of how they express it, people have their own opinion and they DO express it. Everyone needs to take some crticism and we all have to be adults and learn to accept that some people express their opinions differently. People use words like “moron” or “idiot” because they’re easy words to use to express their opinion of you and your article based on what you said and how you said it.

    So why are you such a hypocrite? You don’t want to hear blind disagreements like-“U2 rules and you suck”?
    Why not? It’s your job. Well…maybe it isn’t. See, I was just going to go on my marry way because I never comment on articles(probably why this one is so long) I don’t think you really have a “job” though. You seemed professional, legit, you’re getting your opinion out there. It’s published through a relatively popular website. But what makes you any different than any of us commenters?
    I thought it was your well-thought out article, your harsh words, I thought you were different. Actually a professional writer.
    But then I got to these comments.
    You ARE a fraud. Where is the professionalism in admitting “I didn’t proof read.”?
    You are a hack who doesn’t deserve to get paid, all you had to do was write-“Rent the game and see if you like it!”
    A positive, fair comment. The WORST thing you can do is get disageed with in an article of yours and then WRITE ANOTHER WASTE OF AN ARTICLE COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW YOU DIDN’T LIKE THE GAME BUT EVERYONE ELSE DID.
    No one here is a tool playing into Sony’s pocket any more, that ended when LittleBigPlanet came out, people realized that Sony wasn’t JUST out to make the most money anymore, but that Sony wanted to make great games. That’s why there is such a strong friendly competitive nature amongst Sony first party developers. They are all trying to make the best game, not the most money. Naughty Dog has done just that. To say that U2 has NO creativity is just ignorant.
    People loved the game, myself included, because it was FUN, because we allowed ourselves to get sucked into the story. You didn’t? Sorry, but that doesn’t make everyone wrong and you right. That makes YOU and idiot and everyone else open-minded. What game did you like more? Tell us why it’s better than U2 without being a d**k and then maybe I’ll start to take you seriously but until then, stop whining because a couple of people disagreed with you.

  43. Alex

    July 30, 2010 at 3:55 pm

    Hey!
    No one hate on me!
    It’s just MY OPINION
    lol
    so stupid

  44. Kraise

    July 30, 2010 at 4:07 pm

    While I respect your opinion you’re being too critical in your nit-picking for my taste. Say want you want about the game play which I have found to be a little clunky at times , but the characters and writing do right in terms of wit and “Indiana Jones” style lore–better than the Crystal Skull.

  45. the_verdict32

    July 30, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    This is ridiculous. Since all you seemed to do in your article is find “flaws” with the game, that is exactly what I’m going to do with your article.
    First off, how is the cover system “lanky”? There are countless other games that have a very similar cover system. To call this cover system “lanky” is insulting the third person cover system in video games as a whole.

    Secondly, different enemies in the game take different amounts of bullets based on how much armor they are wearing. Recall that different enemies had different colored uniforms. They ones in gray, the ones without any armor, dropped in about three shots regardless of where you shot them. The standard black soldiers took a little more double that because they were wearing more body armor, headshots are crucial here. The shotgun and huge machine gun guys were designed to be killed with something stronger than an assault rifle. They were suppose to be walking tanks. The enemy variety was one of the most enjoyable parts of the gunplay in Uncharted 2.

    Third, I agree that the platforming wasn’t perfect. However, I never really had the same problem as you with climbing the wrong thing. Usually the first thing I could grab on to was the start of the correct path. I wish there was more instances like you described where you could start on the wrong path. That way you would actually have to plan how you would advance. That being said, I have played through the game three times, and I always look forward to the next platforming section when I am going through the campaign; it is simply fun. The awesome platforming set pieces are what make it for me. Also, the way platforming was integrated in to the shootouts was awesome.

    Thirdly, How could naughty Dog really develop Flynn’s character? There wasn’t any time to explain Flynn’s motive or anything like that. That being said, there was plenty of development in other characters. I couldn’t tell Chloe’s motives till the very end of the story, and one could argue that even she didn’t know. Chloe was one of the most complex characters I have ever encountered in a video game. Well, at least an action/ shooting game. Drake is most definitely a step up from the average hero in say a Call of Duty hero, and he is definitely more complex than the the characters of Gears of War.

    Fourth, How can you say the game lacks all creativity? It is true that elements of the game have been done before in previous games, but Uncharted takes those elements and refines them. Think of one other game that combines all of the elements of platforming, third person shooting, and action set pieces together like Uncharted 2? There isn’t one that I know of. You could argue that Medal of Honor isn’t creative because Call of Duty did the same thing first or vice versa (I don’t know which franchise is older), but this is just simply not true. The fact is, Uncharted 2 is chock-full of great creativity and originality. There isn’t game where you get to jump from speeding car to speeding car in a shootout or battle a helicopter while on top of a moving train other than Uncharted. There isn’t a game that combines platforming with gunplay simultaneously as seamlessly as Uncharted. There isn’t a game that made me feel like I was controlling a A+ summer blockbuster every step of the way other than Uncharted. There isn’t a game that has such a well-developed adventure plot even if it does seem elementary at times. Uncharted is a game of its own entirely and completely original.

    Fifth, I realize that there is no split screen in Uncharted 2, but Naughty Dog made that decision because of graphical fidelity reasons. Even without split screen, the game is still just as “social” as most online games. There is a party system, and the co-op is very fun when you can get a few friends to shoot some baddies with. Also, there isn’t not another online game like Uncharted. (I liked it much better before the 1.05 update, but that is a whole ‘nother story) You can climb around the maps just like the single player to gain a vertical advantage on your opponent. In this way the mulitplayer is just an “extension of the single player” and it is a welcome extension indeed. This mechanic allows for a tactical aspect not found in other shooters.

    Finally, I will say this, we all have our opinions and you are entitled to yours (even if I do feel like it is a nitpicking and off-base opinion). After all, my entire comment was just an extension of my own opinion. Thanks to anyone who read all the way through this. If you play Uncharted 2 online, hit me with a friend request, and we’ll get in a match some time.
    PSN ID pro_ballin2132

  46. Shadowjerk

    July 30, 2010 at 5:07 pm

    Hi I’m Shadowjak and I’m a complete dumass who can’t give props to PS3 games because I’m busy humping my xbox 360’s disc tray.

  47. NCXMIAMI

    July 30, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    Well you are entirely of your opinion, but i disagree in pretty much all your points. Yes maybe is not revolutionary as portal or Godhand, but barely nothing this day is… thats not the point…nobody is saying that they reinvent the tire with this game. What they did was simply a master piece (for this type of game) in graphics, history telling and gameplay.
    Like someone said, you dont need to shoot 60 bullets to the enemies to kill them at all (unless you are NOT aiming, or shooting to their legs) One or 2 bullets to the head and they are done…So you cant generalize telling everybody that thats how this game plays…because its not… (you should try to play an online match with people over level 40 and they will show you what they can do with just a few bullets…)

    How the characters move, its what i love about this game, i really enjoy running in to cover, jumping over obstacles, climbing…i dont know what you do or how, but its just smooth as butter for me…the animations and timing is just great. I could be climbing a wall one second and the next jumping over a roof, dropping down again, looking for cover…. or just pushing people down to their dead.
    You can do so many cool things in this game with just a little imagination…

    In terms of weapons…you have a lot of them to choose from, and each one of them plays different…its up to you how to use them and when… Propane tanks, Shields…rockets, sniper rifles, grenades, machine guns, Ak47, magnums, MP4s,FALs, grenade launchers….and way more…..i mean…your have plenty to choose from. This is not MW, so you dont need crazy weapons…They ones that you have are crazy enough, but im sure that they will include new ones in their next game…

    I loved the game when i first bought it… i loved the multiplayer and i stop playing because of some other game…i belive it was BFBC2 i belive, i dont remember… The thing is that just a few weeks ago i decide to play it again… and i got hooked again, i finally reach level 45 and i was able to play the 4 incredible new maps + 7 default ones…
    You have so many modes, including Co-op, that its impossible to get bored…
    Im sorry you dont think the same… The game its amazing from the beginning to the end, i wish some movies out there were as good as this game… the acting is great, the voices sink perfectly with the animations… I just cant find anything bad about it…

    If you think people shouldnt buy it….just because sometimes you see little glitches (that pretty much every game has) you are missing a GREAT GAME and the best thing,…with an amazing multiplayer…

  48. STEINMAN

    July 30, 2010 at 7:36 pm

    I fully agree with this article. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks this way about Uncharted 2.

  49. Opinionated

    July 30, 2010 at 8:44 pm

    Shadowjak, I must agree that the PS3 isn’t much of a social experience. Although it’s the only console I know and love, I can’t help but feel a little screwed over with Sonys team of incompetent software makers. 4 years and no cross game chat? No party system? No custom soundtrack? And all the screwed up FW updates, UnCh2 froze on me twice because of the new FW update. 1 more trophy until platinum! Beat the game on crushing 🙁

  50. Waldo

    July 30, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    You’re definitely entitled to your opinion, but we’d appreciate it if you gave stronger reasons. WHY is the cover system ‘janky’? I find it to be almost perfect. Why is the shooting unsatisfying? Is it because of the lack of Gears-level gore and violence? In fact, I find it perplexing that you enjoy Halo and Gears, yet complain about Uncharted 2’s unoriginality. Hell, you could say that Gears just copied Killswitch (a PS2 title, mind you) and Halo copied… well…. any FPS. Killzone 2 at least had a cover system, Resistance at least had truly creative weapons. Originality isn’t the problem with Uncharted 2. Besides, the design of Uncharted 2 is unprecedented, with the witty dialog and unique characters and mountains of incredible set-pieces. It also has a very unique balance between the fluidity of your character while maintaining a sense of realism and precision- shooting controls (that is, while L1 is held) have slower pacing than platforming controls that it makes killing enemies a cinch, while platforming controls are quick and accessible.

    The reason that this article is bad is not because of your opinion, but because you didn’t justify your opinion well at all. The most likely case is that you have some sort of bias, seeing as you even bashed PSN without backing up those claims at all (the only feature Xbox has over it is cross-game voice chat. Does that make the free PSN service far worse?).

    “You’ll find poor quality emulation of the Gears of War cover system,”- But the Gears cover system is just a poor emulation of the Time-Crisis cover system! Wanna back up WHY it’s poor quality?

    “the Assassin’s Creed climbing system,”- Have you ever played Assassin’s Creed? It’s nothing like it. You just picked out a game with a well-known climbing system and said it copied it. Uncharted’s simple platforming is more akin to Naughty Dog’s previous Jak & Daxter games- in fact, Assassin’s Creed copied the Jak & Daxter climbing system, because you can jump in both of them!

    “and the same exact story as the first Uncharted.”- Really? Have you ever played Uncharted 1? Let’s see… (spoiler alert) Drake gets funding from a reporter to go to an uncharted island and find a treasure, Sully’s debt collector tries to kill him, they find out he’s alive and rescue him, another islander captures Drake and Elena rescues him, they find the treasure but it’s taken by the debt collector, debt collector’s right-hand man kills him, Drake kills the right-hand man and gets some treasure with Sully and goes home. Uncharted 2- Drake pulls off a heist with his buddy, his buddy betrays him and he’s locked up in jail for 3 months, he goes to Borneo to find a treasure but just finds the map, Flynn corners him and he jumps of a cliff and meets up with his girlfriend at the X on the map, they find yet another clue to the location of the treasure, the girlfriend sneaks in with the bad guys, drake chases after them to extract her, he gets shot and embroiled in a train crash, gets rescued by a Tibetan guy, finds out that the treasure he’s after grants invincibility to whoever gets it, the village that saved him gets attacked by the villain, they manage to fight them off and go after the bad guys, Elena almost dies by grenade, Drake saves the world from the villain that became invincible, he and Elena hook up.

    That’s way different.

    “It takes all of these experiences and throws them into a B-movie plot about revenge, discovery and blue people and throws them in a few extraordinarily cool levels”-Hmm… answer me this. Did you beat the game?

    How is the Gears story less cheesy? Or ANY game’s, for that matter!?

  51. nevercloser07

    July 30, 2010 at 9:55 pm

    Shadowjak,
    I understand your points of view, and while I do not agree with them, I respect you for making them. However, this reads to me like a soapbox article, which is exceedingly frustrating. You start out using “plethora” then commenting that all of your readers google’d it to figure out what it meant. This essentially sets up the rest of your argument as you talk down to the reader. Confidence is knowing you’re the smartest person in the room. Arrogance is saying it. Not that you are arrogant, but simply that this portion of the article came off that way.

    Second I would like to bring up my belief that you simply look at Uncharted 2 as “over rated” prior to really giving it a chance. I think the cover system is about as smooth as it can be, considering it’s a video game. Certainly more so than GoW which you did list as one of your ten favorite games of this generation (though likely for many other reasons than JUST the cover system). The use of the platforming bits in puzzles is pretty well executed in my opinion.

    Look, it’s not my job to make you like Uncharted 2. Everyone SHOULD NOT like it! Then every game ever made from now on would be uncharted clones. As they say, it takes all types to make the world go ’round. It just frustrates me because you seem to be playing into the incoherent ramblings of many of the posters on here who use words whose definitions they certainly don’t fully comprehend. If it’s an intelligent debate you are looking for, shoot me an e-mail. I’m always looking for some good banter.

    Sincerely,
    nevercloser07

    Ps – the story, while not mind-blowing or ridiculously innovative is well thought-out, and the supporting dialogue is incredibly well done. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Or so they say.

  52. Austin

    July 30, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    I can respect most of what you say, although I do believe that some parts of the game were pretty creative, and that the game doesn’t have to go too far out of the comfort zone. That said, I believe there are some parts of your article that are a little unwarranted (such as there aren’t fun weapons, I mean it’s set modern day so it’s not like there’s a whole lot of freedom to make a plasma rifle or anything). That said, I believe that much of what you find wrong with the game are things that seem trivial to others simply because what Uncharted 2 does that games are really missing out on in recent years is concentrate on making an engrossing, emotional story that draws the player in. Too often new games focus too hard on trying to be innovative without making a good story that really pulls you or gets you to do some thinking (For example, I love Portal but aside from a few questions there isn’t really any attachment to the game’s universe because there’s no real story besides escape). Long story short, I feel like you’re just on a different side of the fence. You’re going for the gameplay experience (hence your focus on controls and multiplayer) while most everyone else finds those pretty solid (the Plunder style of CTF is definitely my favorite CTF game type from any game, and I find it amazingly creative) but cares so much to attempt to call you out (juvenile manner or not) because they feel so attached to this game that creates a world and characters one can become deeply attached to. I’m not saying all these people are Okami loving, Bioshock thinking people (judging from the comments I doubt that very much) but I do think that Uncharted 2 was able to really connect with them at an emotional level so well in a way games usually don’t which makes it so ground breaking and meaningful to so many people. As I said, I can see why you think like you do (new multiplayer modes are few and far between these days and the controls can sometimes be sticky [I actually think that about most 3rd person games]) but it’s story and emotional pull are it’s “X factor” that give it’s uniqueness and meaning despite it’s imperfections in the same way that the “badassery” is what pulls people into Gears, the “intense, grounded in reality feel” pulls people into Killzone 2, or the custom map editor and ability to play with your friends in one room online pull people into Halo.

    Sorry if that’s cluttered, I was trying to look back at your article while writing to not get it mixed up with comments I had read but that probably just made it more confusing

  53. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 10:44 pm

    Your comment called me a hypocrite and I still absolutely loved it.

    For the record, I must explain my tool comment: I DID say the general gaming audience when when I aimed the word tool. The general gaming audience does not come on this website, or any other except myspace. The general gaming audience doesn’t know what E3 is. The general gaming audience are those who go to the MW2 midnight launch thinking they’re cool or the kids who still buy Sonic games. We are not general gaming audience. I can guarantee you thought about buying Demons’ Souls and 3D Block Heroes, if you didn’t already buy. that alone separates you and I from the general gaming audience.

  54. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 10:47 pm

    SPOILER ALERT! I put MGS4 at the top of my ‘top ten games of this gen’ list 😉

  55. shadowjak

    July 30, 2010 at 10:50 pm

    MGS4 is one of my all time favorite games, I gave Infamous GOTY 2009, and I still play LBP 😉

  56. kane_1371

    July 30, 2010 at 10:53 pm

    all the time i wanted to lol when reading your article, but i couldn’t, because i had alot of pain in my face after facepalming too many times over your article.
    your article is a bullshit and if you can’t take criticism then you should live in a closet, rather than picking on a game that even you know is by far the best action adventure this generation had to offer.
    and please use your glasses while playing video games so you can see what you are doing.
    i use an almost broken sixaxis and i don’t get a bad aiming or bad cover system.
    and my enemies die by the 5th bullet, if we don’t count headshots.

    and with all due respect and love to bayonetta, which is the very first game that made me get its ost, just to remind me of the good memories, i just can’t understand how you can even compare it with gow3?
    you can’t even compare it with gow2 or 1!
    it is like comparing POP or even all 3 GOW games to ico or SOTC.
    your articles are unbelievably unbelievable.
    they are just to much, even for fucked gaming journalism.

  57. Chris

    July 30, 2010 at 11:52 pm

    I’m usually all for personal opinion. It’s what makes everyone different. But this is more a flamebait article. It’s basically bashing a game that everyone loves, maybe because you didn’t like it, maybe because you just want hits.

    Nathan Drake an unlikable character?
    Hmmm, so Indiana Jones is unlikable too huh?
    And Han Solo?
    And every other great lovable rogue type character, with a little bit of ordinary dude mixed in?

    He’s sarcastic, he’s funny, he’s in love, and he’s a bad ass. How is he not likable? This series has some of the most fleshed out characters in games. I actually like my heroes to have personality and not walk around in silence.

    And the game is quite creative in its puzzles, level design and characters. Why do the game mechanics need to be original? It ties mechanics from many games into one and polishes and tightens them up. There’s nothing wrong with that. If we relied on originality and creativity in games, we would have half the games that we do, or less. People reference, and straight up rip off, other people all throughout history. But adding your own spin to it is what makes it unique.

    The cover system has a few hiccups here and there, but I got used to it during the first game, so it was a breeze for me. And you need to be good if you want to play multiplayer. It’s better than the Gears of War’s mechanic. And don’t even go to the “unique” Gears of War cover system argument, cause they took that from another game.

    If you look closely, the ledges you need to climb are usually yellow or covered in bird shit, or have birds around them. And Bullet sponges? You should try the first game. That was bullet sponges, I thought this game handled damage well. It sounds to me like you did’t enjoy it because you weren’t very good at it.

    And it also sounds like you don’t like multiplayer because you dont have a lot of friends on ps3. I have a mic and friends who play me. I don’t see how it’s any less social than xbox.

    I may have missed a few points but I would have been more forgiving if you didn’t end with “Yes, it succeeds in that aspect, but only because the general audience is full of easy to please tools who crave a new desert to pop some heads in.” Stating that it may be harsh doesn’t change the fact that you basically lumped yourself in with every other commenter on forums saying “You’re gay, this game is the shit.” “Shut up moron, only tools dont like this game.” Without this ending this article might have been at leasst decent. That was highly unnecessary and made your article look even more like flaimbate. In no way was this “professional.”

    Saying you didn’t enjoy a game and stating why is one thing. But calling it overrated and not recognizing any of its accomplishments isn’t exactly professional journalism. I can see a game winning one or two awards and not deserving it. But you can’t deny the huge list of awards it received.

  58. shadowjak

    July 31, 2010 at 6:34 am

    I actually agree with your last two paragraphs and explained my tool comment in a different comment. The general gaming audience are those people on CoD you find and just don’t like, where it is all they play and they are a stoner filled and racist twelve year old crowd. These people don’t buy Metal Gear, they buy Turok, Haze, and MW2.

  59. Craig Ballard

    July 31, 2010 at 10:29 am

    Shadowjerk? I love it.

  60. shadowjak

    July 31, 2010 at 11:07 am

    You just criticized me about not being able to handle criticism then proceeding to flame me about criticizing your game. Good show buddy 😉

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