Just watch Nathan Drake. He is eerily human despite his digital origins, and an imperfect hero. In the cold, he breathes into his hands to keep them warm. After a jump, he stumbles before regaining his balance. He slips off the ledges he reaches for.
It is stunning to watch, and brilliant in execution. Here is a video game character without bulky armor, without any powers, and is fallible. Drake is comprised of more than witty comebacks and cheeky one-liners. That is what generates an emotional response, whether fear, joy, or sympathy as Drake searches for the lost treasure of Marco Polo.
In the opening scene of Uncharted 2, Drake sits in a seat, looks down, and realizes he is bleeding. The camera pans quickly to establish the character is sitting in a train dangling off a cliff. The dizzying, vertigo-inducing shot works to introduce the gameplay, with Drake now struggling to reach the next train car, one that is barely secured on the top of the mountain. It creaks, breaks apart, and nearly kills Drake multiple times.
What is nearly incomprehensible about Uncharted 2 is that it continues to increase its scale. Its varied locales do not simply exist for show. They add an element to the gameplay, increasing the thrills and the challenge, while further deepening Drake’s will to complete his mission.
The sheer number of memorable moments contained in Uncharted 2 outrank any of its competition, including a stunning battle against a helicopter aboard a train. Drake must outrun the chopper that begins blowing cars off the tracks, requiring a quick-thinking player to push forward, solving this platforming puzzle on the fly.
Uncharted 2 also allows for softer moments. After being rescued by a Tibetan man, Nathan walks through his small village to take in his surroundings. The player can choose to interact with some children, kicking a stray soccer ball to them or playing hide and seek.
When that village is assaulted later, being smashed under a tank, that soccer ball reappears. It is deflated and alone on a ledge. The children are lost.
Article comments
1 - tk
While a great game the helicopter scene is not memorable. Every game these days seems to have a scene on a train where you fight a helicopter or another flying machine and are forced to move up each train car. It is no puzzle requiring on the fly problem solving skills. It is a hackneyed level much as this is a hackneyed game review.
2 - Lenny
Wow, that was a bit harsh tk. I thought the train level was amazing, not just because of the helicopter, but because of the miles and miles of beautiful, animated, lush scenery that passes by while you're on the train. Perhaps you think it's really easy to slap all that stuff together. Personally, I thought that was amazing. And when they threw the helicopter in, that was the icing on the cake!
3 - Michael Prince
I agree with you Lenny, and with the review. The graphics, animation, set pieces and pure spectacle have to be experienced to be believed. I have stopped and simply looked around more times in this game then I have in any other since the first Uncharted. The best game of the year hands down.