Setting the stage
In 1292, Marco Polo departed China with fourteen ships and over six hundred passengers. When he arrived in Persia a year and a half later, only one ship remained and only eighteen passengers had survived. Despite recording most of his journey in minute detail, Marco Polo never revealed what happened to the lost fleet. In UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves, fortune-hunter Nathan Drake embarks on a quest to find the loot they carried, soon discovering that Marco Polo was hiding a much deeper secret — he had gone on a secret expedition to find the mythical kingdom of Shambhala and to recover the Cintamani Stone, the "wish-fulfilling jewel" of Buddhist mythology. The discovery sets Drake on a new course, tracking Marco Polo's trail through a diverse range of exotic environments, teaming up with friends from the first game as well as new characters on his journey. The quest also pits him against a new, more formidable adversary, Zoran Lazarevic — a ruthless, rogue paramilitary leader with his own private army and a relentless ambition to recover the stone for himself.
Getting a feel for the game
UNCHARTED 2 plays like a combination shooter/action game. Many enemies from Lazarevic's private army try to end your quest, but how you deal with them is up to you. You can choose to attack in a guns-blazing shootout or take a stealthier approach to disable them without resistance, or even avoid them entirely. As far as moving throughout the game, you get to enjoy an abundance of options. Climb walls, jump across ledges, run, or climb hand-over-hand across ropes using intuitive controls. You can even engage in combat while climbing or hanging. The mechanics of the game have been re-worked from the original to make movement both more fluid and more open than before. And, this super-smooth, limitless action system is copied identically into the online multiplayer modes, so there's no learning curve when switching between the two.
The presentation . . . WOW!
UNCHARTED 2 takes full advantage of the PlayStation3's Blu-ray disc drive, using the latest disc technology to be able to store more information than ever before. In fact, Among Thieves uses half the Blu-ray disc's space, meaning that this game would take three or more discs on any other console. If you're wondering what takes up so much space, remember that this is a big game with a lot of characters, places, and freedom, plus an amazing multiplayer mode and 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound. But also using up quite a chunk of disc space are the game's visuals. UNCHARTED 2 outputs up to 720p HD. But wait, you say. Blu-ray is supposed have 1080p video isn't it? Well, yes and no. Blu-ray discs can hold Full HD video, but they're a storage medium, so they can hold less than that if that's what the publisher puts on the disc. Among Thieves will output 1080p video, but it will be a scaled version of the 720p content, so chances are it won't look any better and may even have artifacts. But before you let the number of pixels drive you off, listen up. The 720p video of Uncharted looks better than most 1080p games. In fact, it's won multiple Best Graphics awards at the E3 expo. You see, especially with games or other animated material, it's not just about the number of pixels. Read on to learn more.
No, really
It doesn't really matter how many pixels you have displaying your picture if the source material isn't up to par. Many games can be output in 1080p, including almost all PS3 games (like UNCHARTED 2), but many of those are really blown-up versions of the 720p they are optimized for. The ones truly designed for Full HD are often more of a distraction than they are a benefit to the game though. Why? Because if the close-up of someone's head while they talk shows them with jerky facial "muscles" and incorrectly-displayed motions, you won't even be listening to what he says. Another common issue is games that don't put superior detail into their graphics can have things like poor object shape and smoothness, or poor-looking picture. No matter how large you make them, poor graphics are poor graphics. UNCHARTED 2, on the other hand, spared no detail in the presentation of the game. Every texture and animation have been carefully attended to in order to make this one of the most visually amazing games available. It's no joke when people compare the look of this game to an action movie. That sort of praise is sure to elicit smiles at Naughty Dog Studios, the game's maker. You see, when they built UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves, they wanted to create as aesthetically amazing of a game as was possible. They went to great lengths to utilize their Naughty Dog Engine 2.0 built specifically for the PS3, based on a Havok physics engine. They made the game much more cinematic in both cutscenes and gameplay. They adjusted everything down to the minute details, so you can get full character interaction using dynamic geometry to truly capture human emotion in characters. Finally, they ensured that there was no visible loading and optimized things like lighting, shadows, animations, and physics to provide one of the most lifelike game presentations available on any platform. Seriously, it looks like an amazing HD movie.
Link up
If you've got a PlayStation3, chances are you're pretty familiar with the wonderful world that is the PSN. When you've got your console hooked up to the internet, a whole world of online gaming, interaction, and even shopping awaits you at the touch of your controller. But, no matter how familiar you are with the PlayStationNetwork, UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves is likely to offer you an entirely new experience. While online, you can compete in competitive or co-operative gametypes with friends or strangers from around the world. This is a first for the award-winning UNCHARTED series. Unfortunately, to preserve the stunning visual presentation of the game, there is no split-screen play on Among Thieves, but if you've got friends with PlayStations, you can challenge them or team up to take on foes. Fortunately, having full-time single player allows online gameplay and visuals to carry over seamlessly from offline to online. The look, feel, and controls are all identical so there is no learning curve or adjustment needed. Unfortunately, that removes one excuse for playing poorly online. And one of the cooler online features of UNCHARTED 2 is the Cinema, which takes advantage of the movie-like presentation of the game to allow you and/or friends to watch replays of matches in gorgeous HD detail. Headsets are even supported so you can trash-talk other players, or talk out a team strategy. But remember, online content isn't rated, and the experience can change since content isn't filtered from users, so be sure to monitor children's online activity.
Fight to the finish
Online competitive multi-player can be the best kind of gaming for many people. Whether you're battling out with your Guitar Hero axe, racing another player on Midnight Club, or shooting at virtual enemies in Call of Duty, the PlayStationNetwork allows you to test your mettle against a large population of challengers around the globe. UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves carries on that tradition with several modes to let you fight against known or random competitors from around the world in heroes-vs.-villains style with a variety of characters. There are four main competitive game types that each allow you to play matches of up to 5-on-5. Deathmatch is a typical shoot-em-up challenge of one team against the other, except with the innovative gameplay that allows you climb, shimmy, and jump your way to victory. Plunder is styled after capture-the-flag, with each team trying to grab a central treasure and carry it back to their base. The treasure slows down the carrier, but they can throw it to add a greater teamwork element. Elimination sees the teams in a no-respawn battle to eliminate the other team before all players of their team have been killed. Chain Reaction works like Plunder, except there are 5 treasures that must be returned in the proper order to win. And best of all, these game types have custom variants that will appear online. Additionally, players can customize gametypes to play against friends.
Friends to the end
But if virtually shooting people you've never met doesn't sound like fun (or you need a break), check out the co-op game types. In the online co-operative game, up to three players can take on the roles of Nathan and two of his friends to complete different missions involving gunfights, platforming, and teamwork-based objectives. An example of this is Gold Rush, where teammates work together to try to bring a treasure back to their base while Artificial Intelligence enemies will attempt to stop them. In co-op teamwork is rewarded heavily. And, currency won in multi-player can be added to currency won in single-player to allow you to buy upgrades and additional content.
Don't miss out
UNCHARTED 2 has received 24 perfect scores from major publications. It's won numerous awards in categories like "Best of Show," "Best Graphics," "Best Action/Adventure Game," and a lot of platform-specific awards including "Best PS3 Multiplayer Experience." It's safe to say that it's a hit. And it's no wonder why. After all, Among Thieves has smooth, open gameplay, immaculate graphics, a great story, and impressive online multiplayer options. It's a must-have game for any PS3 owner (the kind of game to make Microsoft fanboys jealous), so don't wait until they're gone to try to get yours. Order today.
ESRB rating
This game has received a rating of "T" for Teen due to Blood, Violence, Suggestive Themes, and Language, so it shouldn't be played by anyone under the age of 13. And online gameplay isn't rated or controlled, so parents should use extreme caution in allowing children to play online.
