She made me do it: “Forced to play Uncharted 2”

Uncharted 2 FI

Ever since our newest contributor Sam started writing the review for Uncharted 4, we got to talking about some of the great games we missed in the day. First games that became a subject were.. you guessed it, the Uncharted serie. I played many games on many different systems, and while I very much enjoy adventure games, I somehow missed the Uncharted series. and now, almost 7 years after it’s initial release in 2009, I ‘had’ to play Uncharted 2, and she made me do it!

How could you possibly miss the Uncharted games?

The answer is really rather easy. During the 7th Generation of console gaming I mostly played Xbox 360 and had the Nintendo Wii to fill in the gaps. With that, most of my friends also played exclusively on the Xbox 360 and you’ll gradually starting to see why I missed out on one of the greatest series of the 7th Console Generation. A mistake that I am currently rectifying by playing a lot of Playstation 3 titles, and even more stacking up on my massive backlog.

Start at the start

Believe it or not, I do actually own the original trilogy on Playstation 3 and played, not too long ago, the first entry. To be totally honest, I was entertained, and I would recommend any newcomers to the serie to start with the first game, but it wasn’t as amazing as people made Uncharted out to be. I knew that getting into Uncharted 1, and with that in mind I enjoyed it, but never found the spark to continue playing the second game shortly after that, and so, Uncharted 2 got lower on the backlog list than it deserved.

Uncharted Collection

The journey begins

God bless remasters. And Sam was nice enough to let me borrow her Uncharted Collection for Playstation 4. And so, our journey in what most people call the best game in the serie, begins.
Nathan wakes up in a train in one of the most spectaculair game openings ever created. Without spoiling to much, you get thrown right into the thick of the action with intense climbs, dazzling jumps and challenging yet manageable gunfights. This first section, where you walk around in the snow, shows Naughty Dogs’ famous attention to detail in exceptional ways. I was truly amazed at how snow very slowly melts from your cloths, but if you are close to fire, it disappears like.. well, snow to heat!

The amazement continues.. poorly

After the amazing intro and a few beautiful cutscenes where the most important characters are introduced, you go off on truly starting your adventure. But then, Naughty Dogs does something which I never understand from developers.. at the very start a the game, you are forced in a sneaking mission where every detection forces you to try over. Luckily the stealth sections aren’t all that difficult and loading times are incredibly short upon detection. But forcing the player into a slow sneaking section this early in a game famous for the intense scenes and amazing pacing, is a blunder I just don’t get.

but we continue..

And what a damn incredible ride it was.. Uncharted 2 takes you from the snowy mountains, to the beautiful jungle, to age old temples and ruins. As I personally love a good snow level, I was very much entertained by the beautiful and stunning snow environments, even though at some parts, you wish you would be able to go somewhere a bit less slippery.

Uncharted 2 Snow

”Verdict?”

Apart from some annoying difficulty spikes here and there, I truly had a great ride. The gameplay never feels outdated and the mechanics work flawlessly. The characters are as interesting as people told me and the action sequences as tense as to be expected. I loved every second and I am truly looking forward to playing Uncharted 3 and 4. I would recommend anyone who hasn’t played this serie to give it a try. Unless you have a serious lack of time or a very short attention span, I recommend you play the games in the order of release like I currently am.
I missed out on this great ride but currently making amends.. and she made me do it!

Sooner or later I have to repay her.. and I will, I’ll make her do it.. just not sure which game just yet. Got any great idea’s? I would love to hear them on Twitter or Facebook.
 

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