A Difficult Stone to Pass - mk II (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3))

Member Name: dj981

Product:	Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
Date:	03/11/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unprecedented production values

Disadvantages: Frankly, the ending's a bit lame

Having joined a barely conscious and badly wounded Nate Drake on a shattered train surrounded by frozen mountaintops, you are at once involved in and confused by Uncharted's story. That is, you are for the split second it takes for the carriage to slide off the edge of a previously unseen sheer drop, leaving you dangling perilously above an icy abyss, the fragile coupling your only separation from certain death. The fall sends Nate ricocheting down the now vertical vessel, with only a desperate one-armed lunge saving his skin at the last (note: get used to this).

Cinematics then segue into gameplay, in an instant flipping your role from intrigued onlooker to main protagonist. For a moment it caught me off guard - most average adventure games would continue directing the action from here - but Uncharted isn't your average adventure game. Your first task at the controls is to clamber up the outside of the increasingly unstable carriage, your nervous ascent contending with falling debris, howling winds and unreliable footholds. For a few magic moments, I was the lead in a Hollywood Blockbuster, with scripted CGI events melding into real time and back again (note: get used to this too).

This chaotic and bewildering opening sequence is actually the midpoint in Uncharted's story arc; a technique used in Hollywood for years but seldom transposed into games, and it's not the first time you'll notice credible parallels with the silver screen. For 12 explosive hours Naughty Dog nail their execution of big-screen pacing, dialogue, spectacle and attention to detail, and the result is a metaphorical (and sometimes literal) dizzying high point for the PS3 and console gaming in general. I also have to mention here they made me feel like some kind of Spider-Man / Indiana Jones (pre hip replacement) / Chuck Norris hybrid with a dash of Brad Pitt thrown in for good measure, which clearly makes for fun times.

The story is as involving as anything found in the action adventure genre at the movies. It begins with Drake's less than altruistic quest for personal gain - on the trail of Marco Polo's treasure laden yet doomed return from China - yet his plans are rapidly disrupted by one of a succession of unexpected developments. By the time the closing credits roll, you'll have been betrayed and abandoned, become involved in a love triangle, and come into conflict with a murderous war criminal and his militia; each development bringing you closer to understanding the true significance of the mysterious Chintamani Stone and the power locked within it.

Uncharted is an embarrassment of riches, but for me its crowning glory rests either side of that perilous climb for survival over the Tibetan mountains. That scene directly follows simply the best train-top scramble I've ever played. It's a breathless way to begin the ascent to Uncharted's climax - dodging fire from helicopters and hanging from the sides of the carriages, while desperately trying to avoid the onrushing signal boxes and gun-toting militia. Although this sequence doesn't explode any boundaries in terms of original content, the production values are so high and the controls so effortlessly slick that Naughty Dog manage to elevate even the most aped movie homage to a fresh and exciting new level.

One nimble side step of a spoiler later and we get to witness the other side of Uncharted's nature. Wandering through a Tibetan mountain village in a stunning fusion of artwork, audio, and the PS3's graphical muscle, you have an enforced moment of calm to enjoy. It's rare for an ostensibly macho and gung ho game to lead you into a transient period of tranquillity, but it's a mark of how confident the developers are in their product, and rightly so. I spent longer than I should have just taking in the views and interacting with the curious villagers - playing football with some kids, leaning over the fencing to take in the mountains towering above the sun-dappled river thousands of feet below, and watching the multicoloured bunting being buffeted by the mountain breeze. Admittedly, I was quickly bettered by the urge to go and blow shit up again, but it completed the second part of a memorable juxtapose you just don't find in mainstream action games.

And really, that's the key to Uncharted's success: it invests time in the minutiae and understands how this is vital to building atmosphere and character. It never wastes a moment to entertain, littering even the quieter moments between set pieces with an entertaining exchange or pithy one-liner. The CGI sections are also superbly voice acted and painstakingly lip-synched, and when combined with some of the most natural looking gesture animation I've ever seen in a console game, you're looking at a rare feat of presentational lustre. Naughty Dog even use the accessing of Nate's journal as a device to add depth to the characters and plot; rather than having the action severed abruptly, he produces a journal from his pocket to thumb through, its contents a combination of clues to the game's puzzles and amusing little doodles. This helps to add a human element to even the peripheral characters, and if nothing else offers a few moments of unexpected pleasure. In action games you'll never get access to the extended narrative sections to flesh out a story as in the movies, and it's pleasing to see a title that wrings every last opportunity dry of its potential to compensate.

This is an important title because it paves the way forward for a genre that's been trying to achieve precisely this effect for years; taking all the poorly executed elements from its forbears and getting them absolutely right. For example, players will find not one but two solidly written and well acted female co-stars that are interesting and tough in equal measures, playing an essential role in helping Nate reach the story's conclusion. Far from being a patronising marketing ploy to lure adolescent teenage boys in the vein of Tomb Raider, Naughty Dog designed these girls to be easy on the eye but strong enough to dampen Nate's occasional childish quip with a witty retort or two, moments later saving him from falling to his death and shooting a few militiamen. They're often in control and always useful, and that's an entertaining and refreshing change in approach.

So the question of whether to invest in Uncharted really rests upon how you like your gaming. Some will say at its core is a victory of style over substance, but in my opinion whoever doesn't want to take part in this slice of Hollywood has no soul. It's exciting, funny and stunningly directed, and importantly for those with limited gaming time, highly accessible. If you're exceptionally tight or on a budget, online functionality will preserve its longevity, with both competitive and co-operative variants enough to justify holding on to the disc long after you've cracked the solo campaign.

If I was really looking to nit pick, I could mention that there isn't a huge amount here that hasn't at least been attempted previously. The platforming sections are linear and simplistic, the only complication being routes so obscure you'll occasionally need to employ the hinting system for identifying designated climbing points. The final boss battle was also a slight disappointment for me, but some of the credit for that foible has to be attributable to the stellar experience that preceded it. In fact, in retrospect, the final third of the game doesn't have quite the resounding impact of the first two, with some of the shooting sections outstaying their welcome when coupled with a noticeable hike in checkpoint intervals.

To let these minor complaints mar the experience would be to miss the significance of Uncharted in its wider context as a benchmark title. The key to its success is that it works harder to weave the plot into the action and the action into some stunning CGI, the result being a package much greater then the sum of its parts. Naughty Dog have clearly sold the family silver to pay for the production costs, but invariably the action more than holds its own in response. Before I get too carried away eulogising, it would probably be wise to point out that it's not quite a fully fledged movie script, and that it does take an inexplicable wrong turn into Implausible Street at its conclusion when it would have been far easier to continue forward into Believable Avenue. However, to those who might scoff I have four words for you: The last Indiana Jones.

Summary: The best in the genre by a mile - does that do it for you?