Uncharted 2 is essentially the perfect sequel. It takes everything from the first game in the series, Drake’s Fortune, and improves upon it by adding more exciting set pieces, a better story and more varied gameplay. Although the game only came out two years after the original, you can tell that Naughty Dog really went the extra mile when crafting this game and didn’t just repeat what they had done before.
Story and Characters
-Nathan Drake is once again the star of the game and he continues to be an incredible character. He is charming and incredibly likable and also a very capable hero that is easy to root for. Uncharted 2 doesn’t do too much to add any new depth to his character from the first game, but it does continue to have him interacting with new characters that leads to a lot of great dynamics. He is voiced incredibly well by Nolan North and it is not hard to see why Nathan Drake became one of the most popular video game protagonists.
-The side characters in the game also really shine. Drake’s main companions in the game are Chloe Frazer and Elena Fisher, Elena being a character players saw in the first game. These female side characters are both fantastic and while they both serve as love interests to Nathan, they are much more than just parts in a love triangle. Chloe is a flirty, capable adventurer and you can never be entirely sure of her allegiance, while Elena comes off as more proper and not as experienced with Drake’s hectic world. Seeing the two characters interact with Nathan and each other is very entertaining largely due to the witty and fun dialogue. Nathan’s primary companion, Victor Sullivan, is put on the back burner for the large majority of the game which is a bit of a shame and the justification the game provides for it is also rather weak, but it does allow the story to focus on the female supporting characters which I enjoyed.
-The main antagonist of the game is Zoran Lazarević, a ruthless Russian mercenary who has his own nefarious reasons for pursuing the treasure. He is a decent enough villain, but fairly generic and really just serves as someone to provide an army of soldiers to fight and a bad guy to stop, but it also works given the type of story the game is telling.
-The main story of the game is a fun adventure that spans over several countries and is full of fun twists and turns and archeological reveals. The story opens with a fun suspenseful scene and the early chapters mess around with the order of events. The pacing of the story is well done and there is never a moment in the game that drags.
Gameplay
-The gameplay is very simple and consists mainly of a lot of shooting and climbing, but the game does a good job varying it up. In some missions, you are sneaking around a museum avoiding security guards, in another section, you are fighting off a helicopter while on a moving train. The game constantly changes things up and the various weapons you can collect from enemies also help add variety to the combat. I do wish you could hold more than two weapons at a time, but there is so much ammo and different guns that I suppose it isn’t too big of an issue.
-The set pieces in this game are really the best part and show how improved this game is from the first. Some standouts include a battle on top of a train, a car chase through a moving convoy and being pursued by a tank through a Tibetan town.
-I do wish there was a bit more side content as the game is very linear and there is nothing to collect besides treasures that don’t really add anything, but considering when the game was released, it isn’t too much of a negative. I tend to like when games have skill trees or upgrades, but the game doesn’t suffer too much despite not having them because of how fun and varied the settings and levels are.
-A minor complaint with the game would be there are some intense difficulty spikes in certain areas. I only played on the regular difficulty, but there would be certain areas where I would die several times. Sometimes it was because I made a mistake, but there are some other times when it feels like the game just throws a bit too much at you. It can be mildly annoying how bullet spongey some of the enemies are as well. Obviously it is a video game, but because it has such a good story and feels cinematic, it feels more out of place to have enemies that take a full magazine of ammo.
Side Content
-As mentioned before, there really isn’t any side content and the game is quite linear. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it would be nice to have a bit more to do or maybe some side objectives similar to Resident Evil 4.
World/Level Design
-This is another area where the game really shines. While the first game took place all on one tropical island, Uncharted 2 spans a large variety of locations that all feel very distinct from one another. You travel from Istanbul to Borneo, Nepal to Tibet and even into the Himalayas. All the locations look great, the remaster did a good job improving on the look of everything and makes it so a game that is around 15 years old, still really holds up.
Graphics, Sound, Music and Glitches
-As mentioned, the graphics are really good and you can tell that Naughty Dog did a lot of motion capture for their characters. The animations look very fluid and the environments are incredibly detailed.
-The sound design in the game is very good. The shots from machine guns and the collapsing of buildings all sound great. I am not sure why, but Nathan reloading his gun and throwing the old magazine on the ground always had a very satisfying clang in my opinion.
-The music in the game is fantastic, every location has its own tracks that really add to the atmosphere. The main Uncharted theme is also used very well and adds to the excitement of what is happening on screen.
-I did not encounter any glitches on my play through which is always a big win. The game was remastered so that may have provided an extra opportunity to give the game a layer of polish.
Main Positives of the Game
-Incredible story and characters that make the game extremely engaging throughout. All the characters are likable and the dialogue is extremely well done.
-The gameplay is a lot of fun and the gunplay holds up pretty well. The variety in the gameplay is quite good considering how simple the gameplay first appears. The puzzles are rather easy, but they are also decently fun.
-The settings and levels are very well crafted and I loved how much variety there was to all of them.
-Great soundtrack and sound design.
Main Negatives of the Game
-The game is very linear, it would be cool if the environments were a bit more open.
-Some areas that were rather difficult and a bit frustrating at times.
-Some enemies that are too bullet spongy.
Overall Score: 9/10
Story and Characters
-Nathan Drake is once again the star of the game and he continues to be an incredible character. He is charming and incredibly likable and also a very capable hero that is easy to root for. Uncharted 2 doesn’t do too much to add any new depth to his character from the first game, but it does continue to have him interacting with new characters that leads to a lot of great dynamics. He is voiced incredibly well by Nolan North and it is not hard to see why Nathan Drake became one of the most popular video game protagonists.
-The side characters in the game also really shine. Drake’s main companions in the game are Chloe Frazer and Elena Fisher, Elena being a character players saw in the first game. These female side characters are both fantastic and while they both serve as love interests to Nathan, they are much more than just parts in a love triangle. Chloe is a flirty, capable adventurer and you can never be entirely sure of her allegiance, while Elena comes off as more proper and not as experienced with Drake’s hectic world. Seeing the two characters interact with Nathan and each other is very entertaining largely due to the witty and fun dialogue. Nathan’s primary companion, Victor Sullivan, is put on the back burner for the large majority of the game which is a bit of a shame and the justification the game provides for it is also rather weak, but it does allow the story to focus on the female supporting characters which I enjoyed.
-The main antagonist of the game is Zoran Lazarević, a ruthless Russian mercenary who has his own nefarious reasons for pursuing the treasure. He is a decent enough villain, but fairly generic and really just serves as someone to provide an army of soldiers to fight and a bad guy to stop, but it also works given the type of story the game is telling.
-The main story of the game is a fun adventure that spans over several countries and is full of fun twists and turns and archeological reveals. The story opens with a fun suspenseful scene and the early chapters mess around with the order of events. The pacing of the story is well done and there is never a moment in the game that drags.
Gameplay
-The gameplay is very simple and consists mainly of a lot of shooting and climbing, but the game does a good job varying it up. In some missions, you are sneaking around a museum avoiding security guards, in another section, you are fighting off a helicopter while on a moving train. The game constantly changes things up and the various weapons you can collect from enemies also help add variety to the combat. I do wish you could hold more than two weapons at a time, but there is so much ammo and different guns that I suppose it isn’t too big of an issue.
-The set pieces in this game are really the best part and show how improved this game is from the first. Some standouts include a battle on top of a train, a car chase through a moving convoy and being pursued by a tank through a Tibetan town.
-I do wish there was a bit more side content as the game is very linear and there is nothing to collect besides treasures that don’t really add anything, but considering when the game was released, it isn’t too much of a negative. I tend to like when games have skill trees or upgrades, but the game doesn’t suffer too much despite not having them because of how fun and varied the settings and levels are.
-A minor complaint with the game would be there are some intense difficulty spikes in certain areas. I only played on the regular difficulty, but there would be certain areas where I would die several times. Sometimes it was because I made a mistake, but there are some other times when it feels like the game just throws a bit too much at you. It can be mildly annoying how bullet spongey some of the enemies are as well. Obviously it is a video game, but because it has such a good story and feels cinematic, it feels more out of place to have enemies that take a full magazine of ammo.
Side Content
-As mentioned before, there really isn’t any side content and the game is quite linear. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it would be nice to have a bit more to do or maybe some side objectives similar to Resident Evil 4.
World/Level Design
-This is another area where the game really shines. While the first game took place all on one tropical island, Uncharted 2 spans a large variety of locations that all feel very distinct from one another. You travel from Istanbul to Borneo, Nepal to Tibet and even into the Himalayas. All the locations look great, the remaster did a good job improving on the look of everything and makes it so a game that is around 15 years old, still really holds up.
Graphics, Sound, Music and Glitches
-As mentioned, the graphics are really good and you can tell that Naughty Dog did a lot of motion capture for their characters. The animations look very fluid and the environments are incredibly detailed.
-The sound design in the game is very good. The shots from machine guns and the collapsing of buildings all sound great. I am not sure why, but Nathan reloading his gun and throwing the old magazine on the ground always had a very satisfying clang in my opinion.
-The music in the game is fantastic, every location has its own tracks that really add to the atmosphere. The main Uncharted theme is also used very well and adds to the excitement of what is happening on screen.
-I did not encounter any glitches on my play through which is always a big win. The game was remastered so that may have provided an extra opportunity to give the game a layer of polish.
Main Positives of the Game
-Incredible story and characters that make the game extremely engaging throughout. All the characters are likable and the dialogue is extremely well done.
-The gameplay is a lot of fun and the gunplay holds up pretty well. The variety in the gameplay is quite good considering how simple the gameplay first appears. The puzzles are rather easy, but they are also decently fun.
-The settings and levels are very well crafted and I loved how much variety there was to all of them.
-Great soundtrack and sound design.
Main Negatives of the Game
-The game is very linear, it would be cool if the environments were a bit more open.
-Some areas that were rather difficult and a bit frustrating at times.
-Some enemies that are too bullet spongy.
Overall Score: 9/10