ICO Review

Written 02/19/2010

Note: Screenshot and video courtesy of Google Images and Youtube respectively. Credit goes to the original capturers.

Have you ever heard of ICO? No? Don't worry, nobody else has either. Unfortunately though, you're missing out on one of the best games on the PS2...really.

Visuals and Presentation

Considering that ICO was released in late 2001 and the power of the PS2 had not yet been fully realized, the game is simply beautiful! The environments, while mostly indoors, make you feel as though you're taking a journey through a waking dream. The character and weapon models look as good as they can for the time frame. Textures look good as well, but can be a little repetitive. My only real complaint is that the outdoor environments can be pretty bright and thus hard on the eyes.

Visuals and Presentation Rating:

Sound

As far as sounds go, ICO simply doesn't have many. The ones that are there are high quality and add immensely to the overall feel of the game. The music is very subtle, but equally appropriate. The voice acting is all in Japanese, but fits everything nicely. In all, ICO provides limited but good sound.

Sound Rating:

Gameplay

ICO's gameplay consists of 80% puzzle solving, 15% platforming, and 5% combat. ICO is not for the person in your life who dislikes critical thinking and puzzle solving, as it will quickly and effectively frustrate the living daylights out of them. You will spend a lot of time looking around with the camera for the best possible method to solve a puzzle or clear a platforming sequence. Even then, such things often boil down to trial and error, and that's really half the fun. If all you had to worry about in these puzzles and platforming sequences was yourself, then the game would be entirely too easy. During all of these sequences you must bring your companion, Yorda, along with you to open magically sealed doors that Ico cannot open on his own. Unfortunately, she is nowhere near as agile as Ico, and alternate paths must be opened for her to progress.

After those paths are opened though, Ico must literally hold Yorda's hand and lead her throughout the game. You might think this would end up being a nuisance, but in reality it's quite refreshing. It's not often in gaming that you have the opportunity to touch your companion characters in a meaningful way like that outside of a cutscene. I quickly found myself growing attached to her by this frequent simple gesture.

On occasion, you will need to defend Yorda from encroaching shadowy beasts who will attempt to capture her and drag her through portals into their realm. These are the only times you will experience any combat in ICO. There are only three weapons that Ico can use: a stick, a sword, and a different sword that has magical lightning emitting from it. After obtaining a weapon, or if you feel confident enough to go unarmed, simply press the square button to swing; that's it. Typically, this would make me want to howl in agony, but there is so little combat in ICO that it's not really a problem. In all, the gameplay in ICO feels like a Zelda game with stripped down combat. If something can even resemble a Zelda game in the slightest, that's a huge plus in my book.

Gameplay Rating:

Story

WARNING: Major Spoiler Alert! Also note that some of this section is purely conjecture and may be false.

In the traditional sense, ICO does not have very much of a story, but ICO is not a traditional game. If you have played Shadow of the Colossus, you will recall that at the very end of the game, the main character was possessed by an evil spirit. After having the spirit cast out of him, he is found as an infant with horns beginning to grow out of his head. In ICO, the main character is a boy no older than ten years old with, you guessed it, horns protruding out of his head. This makes me believe that Ico is the same person that you played as in Shadow of the Colossus.

Either way, at the beginning of the game, Ico is brought to a castle on a remote island to be sacrificed to an unknown being for simply having horns. After escaping his bonds, he sets out to find a way out of the castle to freedom. While exploring, he stumbles upon Yorda, who is also being held captive for some unknown reason. Needing all the help he can get, Ico frees her and discovers that she is the daughter to the queen of the very castle you're in.

It is here that conventional storytelling ends. The tale is no longer told with words, but by the silence and emptiness surrounding you. Like a piece of art, the interpretation of this is left to the observer, and there is no right or wrong way to see it. However you do interpret it though, this is a journey that absolutely must be experienced to understand and appreciate.

Story Rating:

Replay Value

Unfortunately, considering that ICO is purely linear game and takes 7 hours or less to complete on the first playthrough, replaying it a second time will take you even less time than that. There is also nothing new to discover by exploring areas more in depth because of that linear nature. So unless you enjoy the game enough to replay it the exact same way you did the first time, ICO's replay value is virtually nonexistent. Honestly though, a game as unique as this deserves a replay, but not everyone might agree.

Replay Value Rating:

Final Thoughts and Overall Score

It really is a tragedy that one of the brightest gems of the PS2 era has gone so largely unnoticed. Though I suppose that this was somewhat rectified with Shadow of the Colossus. If you have the opportunity to experience ICO, take that opportunity and run with it! There is no other game out there quite as unique and tranquil as this. Any self respecting gamer would be doing themselves a severe disservice by not experiencing it.

ICO Overall Score:

Star Wars: Republic Commando Review

Written 07/06/2011

Note: This review is for the PC version of the game. Screenshot and video taken from my machine.

I really wanted to play Republic Commando when it was released back in 2005, but I couldn’t afford it and was rounding out my senior year of high school at the time. By the time I had enough money for it, the game completely slipped my mind. I only remembered it recently when I managed to snag it for $5 during a Steam sale. Not only had I finally gotten my hands on the game, but I also decided to make it my first Youtube playthrough game. Should I have forgotten about Republic Commando so long ago? No, but it was still great to save that much buying it!

Visuals and Presentation

Compared to today’s generation of ultra-realistic games, Republic Commando looks quite dated. To make such a comparison would be unfair though, so I won’t do it. Compared to other games of the time, Republic Commando’s visuals are quite solid. Models and textures are as detailed as they could be for the time, with most of the effort showing itself in the textures. Having done some rudimentary modding in the Jedi Knight games, I know that such a technique is the best way to achieve more realistic results with the limited power of the older game engines. Animations, while rather limited, are all much more fluid than many other games of the era. The environments and enemies are equally limited, but are still well designed. The limited variety also helps to keep the game focused, though there was still a little available room left to add more variety. By far the most limited in variety are the weapon models, but it actually serves an understandable purpose in the gameplay; which I will explain shortly. Overall though, Republic Commando’s visuals are solid with a lack of variety.

Visuals and Presentation Rating:

Sound

Considering that this is a Star Wars game, most of the sounds and music you’ll hear in Republic Commando are the same things you’ve been hearing for years. Honestly, I would have it no other way! The sounds and music of Star Wars are a large part of what makes the series so iconic, and it would simply not be the same without them. In addition to those classics, there is a very nice and original title song that also plays at key points in the campaign. The voice acting is also top notch, with the notable inclusion of Raphael Sbarge. For those of you who don’t recognize voice actors in games, he also voiced Carth Onasi from Knights of the Old Republic and Kaidan Alenko from Mass Effect. Everyone portrays their roles excellently, which is helped along nicely by the intelligent and coherent writing. Overall, the sound package of Republic Commando is excellent despite the reuse of most of the classic sounds and music you either love or hate by now.

Sound Rating:

Gameplay

As odd as this may sound, there are no Jedi whatsoever in Republic Commando save for a roughly 30 second appearance of Yoda. You are instead, big surprise, a Republic Commando in charge of three other Commandos. The game is a first-person shooter with a heavy emphasis on squad tactics. The shooting mechanics themselves are simple and basic, and are especially easy to pick up if you’ve ever played a Call of Duty game (and who hasn’t?). The gameplay’s real depth comes into play with its squad command system. While in most areas, you will be given the option to assign any of your fellow Commandos to a tactical location, allowing them to snipe, throw grenades, provide anti-armor fire, or man an unoccupied turret. Unfortunately, each location is pre-set to a certain action. So if a particular location is designated for sniping, the Commando will only snipe in that location. Fortunately, the developers were smart enough to place each tactical location in good spots.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the weapon selection in the game is very limited. The reason for this is that your primary weapon, the DC-17 blaster rifle, actually acts as three separate guns. You start off with the DC-17 only acting as an assault rifle. Soon though, you’ll find a sniper attachment that you can switch to while still using the same weapon. After that, you’ll come across a grenade launcher attachment as well. While still being the same gun, each attachment uses it own ammo type; which is convenient. Other than the DC-17, there are seven guns in the game, but you will likely rarely use them, as you’ll be nicely supplied with DC-17 ammo throughout most of the game.

The difficulty of the game is fairly relaxed most of the time. On occasion though, you are thrown into a situation so difficult that you will die at least ten times before you succeed. I personally don’t have a major problem with this, but it was definitely frustrating nonetheless. Multiplayer in Republic Commando shows the game’s age most clearly, and generally feels like simply a tacked on feature. The gametypes are cookie-cutter, and mostly revolve around Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. The map designs are nice, but they can’t distract from the overall blandness of the multiplayer gameplay. Honestly, Republic Commando’s multiplayer can’t hold a candle to its competition. This game shines in its campaign experience, and I believe that was the intention. Multiplayer in Republic Commando would be best left ignored.

Gameplay Rating:

Story

At first, Republic Commando’s story seems as though it will make little to no sense. You begin the game as one of many elite clone squadrons sent to Geonosis to aid the Jedi in the events near the end of Star Wars: Episode 2. After you extract from the planet, you are sent to...well, I won’t ruin it for you. Suffice it to say that events begin to tie together very well as the game progresses, and ending with things leading directly into a battle depicted in Episode 3. Until the very end of the game though, there will still be questions as to why you are present in certain locations. Unfortunately, the game’s ending is also a pretty nasty cliffhanger; so be ready for it. Overall, the game’s still is a bit confusing at first, but ends up being worthwhile.

Story Rating:

Replay Value

Considering the weak nature of Republic Commando’s multiplay, all of the game’s real replay value is in its campaign. Fortunately, the campaign took me a respectable 10 hours 48 minutes to complete on the normal difficulty. Unfortunately, there is not much to do after that but replay the campaign on a harder difficulty. The game is certainly worth another playthrough if a Republic Commando 2 is ever announced, but until that happens, the game’s replay value is highly dependent on how much you enjoy it the first time through.

Replay Value Rating:

Final Thoughts and Overall Score

If you’re tired of playing a Jedi in Star Wars games, give Republic Commando a try. If you enjoy tactical military shooters, try Republic Commando. If you like Star Wars in general, try Republic Commando. If you hate Star Wars, what’s wrong with you? The game is available for PC and the original Xbox.

Star Wars: Republic Commando Overall Score:

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows 2000, XP or Vista
• Processor: Pentium III or Athlon 1.0 GHz or faster CPU
• Memory: 256MB RAM
• Graphics: 64MB 3D Graphics card with Vertex Shader and Pixel Shader (VS/PS) capability
• DirectX®: 9.0b
• Hard Drive: 2.0GB
• Sound: 100% Directx 9.0c
  

Prince of Persia Review

Written 05/10/2011

Note: This review is for the PC version of the game. Screenshot and video taken from my machine.

On occasion, I like to try something different. I’ve never played any of the Prince of Persia games save for about an hour of a few intros. So when I saw the more cell-shaded Prince of Persia in GameStop for $10, I figured it would be worth giving it a go. To someone uninitiated to the franchise, was it worth the money? I’d say!

Visuals and Presentation

From what I can tell with my limited knowledge of the franchise, this Prince of Persia takes a much more stylized approach than the games before it. The colors are bright and vivid, with textures that make everything look just like a piece of concept art. I wouldn’t exactly call it cell-shading, but that’s probably the best way I can describe it. This “loud” art style also shows itself in the character models and textures, particularly in the Prince himself with his blue and orange scarf. The animations are also quite fluid and you can feel a certain rhythm when you begin chaining together different acrobatic feats successfully. The environments, both the corrupted and healed versions, are well designed and rarely leave you guessing where to go next. Enemy variation is pretty limited, but considering that you’re struggling against one enemy at a time for long stretches of time, it’s not that bad. The camera, while intuitive and manageable, will at times lock itself in a position that makes figuring out where to jump next difficult. It happens so infrequently though, that it really doesn’t distract from the beauty of the moving concept art piece that is Prince of Persia.

Visuals and Presentation Rating:

Sound

The sound of Prince of Persia is really quite solid. The music could easily fit in an Arabian Knights movie, and it’s a nice change of pace, at least for me. The running, jumping, sliding, swinging, flying, and all the other sounds, including those in combat, never disappoint either. The real star here though is the voice-acting. For those of you interested in such things, the voice-actor for the Prince is Nolan North. That’s the same fellow who voiced Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series and Desmond Miles from the Assassin’s Creed series. The Prince’s attitude and demeanor are very similar to Drake’s, and if you’ve read either of my Uncharted reviews, you know how much I like Drake. If you take the time to talk to Elika, you’ll be treated to a great deal of the game’s history, her personal feelings, a growing relationship between herself and the Prince, and some chuckle-worthy banter. While the whole package isn’t always stellar, it’s definitely never painful to listen to. Oh, and make sure your turn your sound up a bit if you hope to hear the voice-acting.

Sound Rating:

Gameplay

The gameplay in Prince of Persia is distinctly separated into platforming and combat. You’ll spend most of your time jumping, wall running, climbing, holding on to ledges and vines, using power plates, and flying through air. It’s a great deal of fun, as it’s almost like playing a rhythm based game without the music. I can’t really say I’ve played a game with platforming quite like this. The next closest thing to this I’ve played is both Uncharted games, and that’s still not exactly the same. Aside from his hands, feet, and agility, the Prince also has a gauntlet which he can use to slowly descend walls. It may not seem that great at first, but you’ll soon find that it can be an invaluable tool.

If the Prince can’t reach an area on his own, he can call on Elika to compliment his abilities with her magic. If a gap is just too far to jump, Elika can help the Prince jump a second time in mid-air and thus make such gaps insignificant. She can also use power-plates, which allow her to hurl both of them great distances, run up walls temporarily, and even fly. When you combine the Prince’s acrobatic abilities with Elika’s power plates, you have yourself a very fun and visually entertaining platforming system.

The game’s combat is also pretty unique. It revolves around two on one battles at all times, with the Prince and Elika facing off against one foe. You will never face more than one enemy at a time. To prevent the combat from quickly becoming stale, it focuses on chaining together as long of a combo as you can, and random quick-time events. You can jump, have Elika jump in for a magical attack, use the Prince’s sword and gauntlet, and block. To effectively chain together combos, you need to constantly be switching between Elika, the Prince, his gauntlet, and jumping. The Prince’s gauntlet throws enemies in the air and allows you to juggle it for a moment before spiking it to the ground. Chaining together combos is also slightly more difficult than you might think until you figure out the mechanics, and could almost be considered a meta-game.

As great as the gameplay is, there are also no real consequences for failure. You will not die in Prince of Persia, not even once. It’s not because the game is too easy, as it’s not, but because Elika will always save you just before your death, guaranteed. This gives no real consequence of failure, as it is absolutely, unequivocally, impossible to die. The only consequence for failure when platforming is being forced to restart your acrobatics where you began them, which is never too far away. In combat, failure only means that your enemy regains a portion of its health, which can easily be taken away again with a moderately executed combo.

There is also no real sense of character advancement in the game aside from unlocking the use of power plates. You keep the same weapons, armor, and skills throughout the entire game. There are no unlockables that I know of, and you never gain any new abilities in combat. While I can somewhat understand why these choices were made, I also feel like more could have been done to give the player a better sense of advancement and more incentive to not fail.

Gameplay Rating:

Story

WARNING! Spoiler Alert!

The basic premise of the story is that a dark deity is attempting to break free of its generations long imprisonment and has corrupted the world around its prison. Elika is the last person of the tribe tasked with maintaining the deity’s prison in the area. She liberally falls on the Prince, who is dragged into circumstances beyond his control. After that, you hunt down and eliminate four of the dark deity’s top servants and heal the lands of their corruption. I won’t say anymore for fear of ruining the ending, but I will say that things take a very unexpected turn toward the game’s conclusion. Overall though, the story isn’t actually as great as it might sound. It’s by no means bad, but I felt like it wasn’t very far beyond average, if that.

Story Rating:

Replay Value

Because of the lack of progression and unlockables, the replay value of Prince of Persia is highly dependent on how much you want to replay the same content in possibly a different order. There’s really not anything beyond that. Granted, the game is enjoyable, but you may want to wait a few years and forget the finer details of the game before replaying it. That way you can enjoy it more as a new experience again, instead of knowing exactly what to do throughout the entire game.

Replay Value Rating:

Final Thoughts and Overall Score

Having never played a Prince of Persia game to completion before this one, Ubisoft definitely has me interested in trying out the rest of the games now. Maybe I’ll pick up the HD remakes of the first three games on PS3. Overall though, this Prince of Persia seems like an excellent introduction to the series! The game is available for PC, PS3, and 360.

Prince of Persia Overall Score:

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows® XP/Windows Vista® (only)
• Processor: Dual core processor 2.6 GHz Intel® Pentium® D or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 3800+ (Intel Core® 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better recommended)
• Memory: 1 GB Windows XP/2 GB Windows Vista
• Graphics: 256 MB DirectX® 10.0–compliant video card or DirectX 9.0–compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)*
• DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0 or 10.0 libraries
• Hard Drive: 9 GB
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 or 10.0–compliant sound card (5.1 sound card recommended)
• Input: Windows-compliant keyboard, mouse, optional controller (Xbox 360® Controller for Windows recommended) 
*Supported Video Cards at Time of Release: ATI® RADEON® X1600*/1650*-1950/HD 2000–4000 series NVIDIA GeForce® 6800*/7/8/9/GTX 260–280 series *PCI Express only supported Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported. These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game. For the most up-to-date minimum requirement listings, please visit the FAQ for this game on our support website at: http://support.ubi.com. NVIDIA® nForce™ or other motherboards/soundcards containing the Dolby® Digital Interactive Content Encoder required for Dolby Digital audio.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - Game of the Year Edition Review

Written 1/29/2011

Note: Screenshot and video courtesy of Google Images and Youtube respectively.

I thoroughly enjoyed the original Uncharted, and that’s no secret from my review of the game. It was smart and funny with excellent gameplay, visuals, and sound to boot. Two years after the original’s success, Naughty Dog gives us Uncharted 2: Among Thieves; IGN’s overall Game of the Year for 2009. Is this sequel worthy of such an honor? In a word, definitely! Why didn’t I pick this up sooner again?

Visuals and Presentation

Visually, Uncharted 2 is an absolutely beautiful game and tops the original in basically every way. Models are textures and much more detailed, environments look and feel much more intricate, and the effects are simply stellar. The water and snow in the game are particularly nice from both a visual and technical standpoint. When anything comes in contact with water or snow, only the parts that actually touched the water or snow are affected. With water, it can become anywhere from slightly damp to completely soaked. With snow, the effect can best be seen on characters, as it will pile up on your boots and legs, as well as any other body part it touches, and thaw out realistically. Footprints also remain in the snow (as far as I can tell) indefinitely.

As excellent as all of the eye-candy on-screen is though, the animations outshine everything else by and far. They are so smooth and believable that each character’s personality can clearly be seen without them ever saying a word. Drake’s animations are full of stumbles, ducks from cover while covering his head, startled jumps, and flailing through the air while reaching for something to grab onto. Chloe’s animations on the other hand, are much more refined with better balance and less unnecessary movement. I particularly like her hair animations though, as they are among the most realistic I can immediately recall from any game I’ve played. Stair animations are also present and look fantastic. I know stair animations aren’t very important to many people, but when a developer takes the time and effort to include them in their game, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What, is that just me?

Typically, most of the eye-candy from a single-player campaign needs to be stripped out for the sake of gameplay in multiplayer. Not so in Uncharted 2! Everything you see in the campaign is present in multiplayer, with the only difference being that the water and snow effects on characters are slightly reduced. I have no idea how Naughty Dog managed to do this, but I’ll bet they learned some of the same black magic Valve used when they put such massive groups of zombies on-screen without any lag at all. In all, if you want to see the real power of the PS3 with a truly beautiful game, look no further than Uncharted 2!

Visuals and Presentation Rating:

Sound

The sound in Uncharted 2 is an exact copy of the original’s with the only differences being a few new voice actors and music tracks. Naughty Dog brought everything that was excellent in the original game and added some slightly better writing for the voice-actors, which is really quite good considering how awesome the original Uncharted’s writing was. The music has also been tweaked to better suit the new environments, and it all sounds great. I don’t really have much to say about the sound in Uncharted 2 because it’s all so similar to the first game, which was great. If you’d like more info on the sound of Uncharted 2, I would highly suggest reading my review of the original Uncharted.

Sound Rating:

Gameplay

The gameplay of Uncharted 2 sort of assumes that you’ve played through the original game until you at least encounter the enemies with laser-sighted weapons, as they will be thrown at you relatively early in the sequel. After that, new enemy types will appear that are much more difficult than in the first Uncharted, like soldiers with riot shields, others with such heavy armor that they almost require headshots, minigun users that look a lot like the Heavy class from Team Fortress 2, and a few other unique enemies that I won’t spoil for you. Allow me to say though, that when you meet these unique additions, you WILL die multiple times. Those guys are brutally hard!

Other than that, the game plays exactly like its predecessor, a third-person shooter/platformer/cover-shooter. I’ve never played Gears of War (I know, where have I been right?), but I’ve seen enough videos of it to say it’s an appropriate comparison as far as the shooter and cover mechanics go. To put it simply, if you don’t find yourself at least some nominal cover, your life in Uncharted 2 will be pretty short indeed. Don’t think you’re entirely safe when in cover though, as the AI will quickly surround and overwhelm you if you’re not careful. The best thing you can do is find cover that gives the AI the least amount of possible routes to flank you, then keep an eye on your weakest angle while thinning out the opposition.

Melee combat has been slightly improved to make it more entertaining, but at its core is still a bit shallow. When meleeing, enemies will now try and counter you. When this happens, time will slow slightly and give you ample opportunity to escape the counter by pressing triangle. While it’s definitely not the most in-depth thing in the world, it can actually be pretty fun; so I suppose I can forgive its lack of depth.

When you’re not running and gunning, you’ll be solving basic to moderately difficult platforming puzzles. You can climb, jump, scale certain walls, and generally anything you would expect from the first game. Occasionally these sections will be a little frustrating because the camera will set itself at such an angle where the controls become a bit confused and unintuitive. It doesn’t happen very often, but it can be a little jarring when it does. Another thing I noticed is that it’s oftentimes difficult to tell where you can and can’t climb. You may see a spot you think you can jump to, but Drake simply refuses to go in that direction. To make life a little easier on you, when this happens, keep moving about until Drake reaches out his hand in the direction you want to go. If he never reaches out, you can’t go that way, simple as that! Trust me, looking out for that will save you a lot of confusion. Other than these core mechanics, you’ll also encounter situations where shooting yourself out isn’t exactly an option. I’m not going to spoil them for you, but let me say that they are all fantastic and a lot of fun.

Multiplayer mechanics are identical to the campaign, but the necessity of cover is downplayed in favor of more traditional running and gunning. Cover is still important mind you, but not as used as in the campaign. The gametypes are mostly your standard fare of Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Territories, King of the Hill, etc. While unoriginal, the solid core gameplay mechanics still make them quite fun. The co-op gametypes are a little more original, with Co-op Objective setting you and two others in the middle of a point in the campaign to find a treasure at the end of the sequence. Co-op Arena is basically the same thing as Left 4 Dead 2’s Survival mode or Gears of War 2’s Horde mode, with you and two others tasked with surviving as long as possible while the enemies become increasingly more difficult. These modes are highly dependent on teamwork, and I would strongly discourage you from going out on your own to be the hero unless you’ve got the bite to match your bark. Finally, there’s an experimental gametype that’s...well...experimental! Overall, Uncharted 2 is a very solid gameplay package with some slight annoyances in the campaign, but some fun multiplayer to make up for it!

Gameplay Rating:

Story

WARNING: Spoiler Alert!

Where the original Uncharted focused on Drake’s heritage and almost solely on his character development, Uncharted 2 focuses more on the overall story and almost everyone’s character development; including their individual relationships. The game begins with Drake enjoying the good life on the beach, when he is approached by Flynn and Chloe. They ask for his help in discovering Marco Polo’s missing expedition and the hidden city of Shambhala, A.K.A Shangri La. After some hesitation, Drake agrees, and the story sets off in truth. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I will say that the story, like the gameplay, is an awesome Summer-Blockbuster action script with healthy doses of betrayal, love, humor, and edge-of-your-seat scares. The story is also told simply, so it’s pretty hard to get lost even if you halfheartedly pay attention. The only thing that may be a little confusing is trying to determine where one character’s real loyalties lie, as they constantly switch sides until the very end of the game. This should by no means distract from the excellent and well written story of Uncharted 2 though!

Story Rating:

Replay Value

Usually a game’s replay value rests solely on its campaign or its multiplayer. Uncharted 2 is one of those rare games where both portions are almost equally replayable. After completing the campaign, the Bonus menu allows you to purchase anything from new skins, to different rendering filters, to cheats, to concept art galleries, to behind-the-scenes videos with the Naughty Dog team. Aside from multiplayer being just plain fun, you can also buy perks, skins, etc in a fashion exactly like that of Modern Warfare 2. As I always say though, it all depends on how much you enjoy the game to begin with. If you enjoy shooters or action games at all, you can get quite a bit of time out of Uncharted 2 should you so desire.

Replay Value Rating:

Final Thoughts and Overall Score

PS3 fanboys (and fangirls) should be very proud indeed to have an exclusive game of Uncharted 2’s caliber. Whether you’ve played the original or not (though I suggest you do simply because it was great), Uncharted 2 is easily accessible and a blast to see and play. If you own a PS3, you are doing yourself a great disservice if you don’t even try this game. Great job Naughty Dog! You’ve earned every accolade you’ve been given and then some! I’m really looking forward to Uncharted 3 now!

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Game of the Year Edition Overall Score:

Playthrough Parts: October 13 - 19

October 13:
Republic Commando Part 88 - Manning Another Turret
Oblivion Part 22 - I hate Vampires!
Terraria Part 59 - Not good on many levels

October 14:
Republic Commando Part 89 - We? It's Just You!
Oblivion Part 23 - So glad. You have no idea!
Terraria Part 60 - King Slime? Where is he?

October 15:
Republic Commando Part 90 - Back and Forth
Oblivion Part 24 - Where there's enemies
Terraria Part 61 - Any time now day!

October 16:
Republic Commando Part 91 - The End, or is it?
Oblivion Part 25 - Most boring backtrackiest episode evar!
Terraria Part 62 - At least I'll land in the water...Hopefully!

October 17:
Oblivion Part 26 - Look at those ragdolls
Terraria Part 63 - Now we're getting somewhere!
Bulletstorm Part 1 - Thanks Epic Games!

October 18:
Oblivion Part 27 - You're a ghost, you don't need sleep
Terraria Part 64 - Corruption in the dark, wonderful!
Bulletstorm Part 2 - Rainbows, puppies, and lucky clovers

October 19:
Oblivion Part 28 - Being Rushed
Terraria Part 65 - What is up with everything trying to kill me?
Bulletstorm Part 3 - That Should Have Been Worth Something!

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Review

Written 04/01/2010

Note: Screenshot and video courtesy of Google Images and Youtube respectively, and credit goes to the original recorders.

The year is 2007, and the PS3 is having a really rough start. Most of what was available were cross-platform sports games and only one exclusive to truly rally around (that being Resistance: Fall of Man). Many believed that Sony had permanently lost its edge to Microsoft and that the PS3 would flop in a similar fashion to the Dreamcast. Undaunted by these speculations, Naughty Dog unleashed Uncharted: Drakes Fortune as a PS3 exclusive. With that, Sony loyalists finally had a game worthy of the then high priced PS3, and 360 owners had their first bouts of jealousy.

Visuals and Presentation

Uncharted is the first game of this console generation to truly tap into the extra power offered by the PS3, and it shows. The character models and textures are of a quality practically unseen in games up to this point. The clothes of every character wrinkle and stretch realistically depending on the movement of the character exactly like it would in real life. They also react to water in the most realistic way I've ever seen in a game. In most games, when a character gets wet their entire body becomes slightly darker for a moment then lighten up again; even if only their feet are actually wet. In Uncharted, only the part of the character that actually makes contact with water becomes wet. The effected clothes also become visibly heavier, drip, and take up to 2-3 minutes to dry off. Speaking of the water itself, it looks fantastic and behaves very naturally. Having attempted to make water myself in multiple game engines and seeing how truly difficult it is, I can attest that Uncharted's water is both an artistic and technical feat.

The environments also enjoy the same treatment as the characters, with lush jungles and ancient ruins. The lighting is dynamically rendered and is particularly awesome in the jungle environments where every leaf of every tree casts shadows along the environment and characters alike. My only qualm with the lighting is that it can be quite bright at times and hurt your eyes. Also, there these odd little dots that the light casts on some objects. The textures are colorful, but not so much so that you're distracted by it. My only complaint with the textures is that Naughty Dog gave too much specularity (I think that's the right function) to every texture; thus making 90% of the game look very wet when it doesn't necessarily need to.

The animations of the characters are top-notch work. Nathan Drake hardly ever does the same jump or lands the same way twice. He'll stumble, flail, and nearly fall over during movement. While in cover, he'll protectively cover his head when under heavy fire and flinch when bullets hit too close to him. Enemies will dodge and weave when shot at, dive for cover, and generally make you wish they would just stand still for just half a second. Overall, the visuals of Uncharted, while clearly topped by more recent titles, are still great eye-candy and will not disappoint.

Visuals and Presentation Rating:

Sound

The sound in Uncharted is just as good as its visuals, if not better. The voice acting is superb to the point that most of the voice actors should win film awards for their excellent performances. Nathan Drake in particular is a joy to listen to simply because he has so much variance in his tone and it all sounds completely natural. He can be cocky and self-confident one moment, immediately switch to being terrified and crying like a little baby the next, and go back to his usual self with a corny yet funny comment. Then there's the banter between him, his companions, and his enemies. All of it is very well written and performed. The quality of the voice acting never diminishes throughout the entire game.

Weapon sounds are also of the same great quality, with obviously weaker weapons sounding well, weak, to stronger weapons with an audio kick that makes you very happy to have upgraded your arsenal. The ambient sounds are very appropriate without being overpowering. For example, it's possible to know you're in the jungle simply by listening. The music is an original score of somewhat tribal music and modern melodies that fit the game perfectly. It's not often sound can beat visuals of Uncharted's quality, but that is done here and then some.

Sound Rating:

Gameplay

Uncharted is broken down into three major gameplay elements: platforming, shooting, and story. The platforming sections of the game are a sort of hybrid between what you would see in Assassin's Creed and Zelda: Ocarina of Time (minus the excruciatingly difficult puzzles). You are presented with the exit to an area, and you must find a way to open that exit and then run, jump, climb, and swing your way to victory.

The shooting sections are similar to something like Gears of War or Mass Effect 2 where cover is absolutely essential to success. Basically, you find cover that gives you the best possible position to view the whole area, figure out where the enemies are typically taking cover themselves, wait for them to poke themselves out of cover, and attempt to take them out before they duck back into cover. That sounds like a simple task I know, but it's not once you learn how smart the enemy AI can be. The enemies in Uncharted know when you're aiming at them and do everything in their power to prevent themselves from being shot. They will duck, dodge, weave, and dive for cover so often and so quickly that it will often feel like you're trying to squash a particularly fast and agile roach and keep missing.

The story section is...well...reserved for the story section of this review!

Gameplay Rating:

Story

WARNING: Minor Spoiler Alert!

Unlike most games from the last 10 years, Uncharted's story is firmly set in the real world...at first. Even when the story does go into strangeville though, it makes a lot of sense in the context of what's going on. It's the sort of thing that that'll make you say “y'know, if this or that really would have happened hundreds of years ago this could have been realistically possible”. I seem to be getting a little ahead of myself though.

At the beginning of the game you are introduced to the main character, Nathan Drake, a very witty and likeable guy who would be great to have at a party. Nathan is a treasure hunter and supposedly a descendent of Sir Francis Drake. He is looking for a vast treasure that he believes his ancestor was on the trail of before meeting an untimely demise. After breaking open the coffin supposedly belonging to Sir Francis Drake, Nathan finds not Sir Francis's body, but his diary instead. This diary gives a detailed account of Sir Francis's search for the Lost City of Gold, El Dorado, and every clue he had found up to that point.

To help fund the trip where Sir Francis had been searching for the city, Nathan agrees to have a History Channel-type person, Elena Fisher, follow him around and record his search on a TV program. Nathan also employs the help of his friend, Victor Sullivan, to bring him to this tropical island.

After the trio reaches the island, things get hairy very quickly. I don't want to say much beyond that as I'll be revealing some major spoilers, but expect a story worthy of a summer blockbuster release with some great action sequences, good character development, and witty/corny humor. To prove my point, a relative of mine who frequently sees me gaming walked into the room while a cutscene was happening and thought Uncharted was a movie. I had to agree that it certainly could pass off as one, but it was in fact a game. Overall, if you're looking for good (not utterly great, but still quite good) story with very believable characters that you would enjoy being around in real life, Uncharted is definitely for you.

Story Rating:

Replay Value

Considering that Uncharted is a very linear game that can be completed in 10 hours max, typically I would say that the replay value on a game like this is hardly worth talking about. Fortunately though, Uncharted is not a typical game in that respect. Scattered throughout each chapter are treasures that you can find which will earn you both PSN Trophies and in-game unlockables such as making-of videos for the game and concept art galleries. I'm unsure if those are the only types of rewards available, but the gameplay and story are so refined and fun that I wouldn't mind replaying the game just for that. So whether you're a completionist or you just enjoyed the game enough, Uncharted is definitely worth at least one replay, if not two.

Replay Value Rating:

Final Thoughts and Overall Score

Quite honestly, having never played a Naughty Dog game before, I was unsure what to expect from them with Uncharted. Not only was I very pleasantly surprised, but now I can't wait to play Uncharted 2: Among Thieves when I get more time!

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Overall Score: