I've been playing game for over 30 years. The first few years of my gaming life (1977-1982) I played simple Pong clones or Grandstand consoles with various football and tennis games. Then came my first real computer, the ZX81 which allowed me to play dozens of different kinds of games. Soon after my passion really evolved when I had my Amstrad CPC computer, ZX Spectrum, Sega Master System, Mega Drive, Amiga 500, Amiga 1200, Sega Saturn, Playstation, Dreamcast, PS2 and everything in between. I love game playing, and I can not deny it's taken up a huge part of my life. In total I must have played thousands of games, many of them only once or twice and not getting very far on them, and many of them to the very bitter end.So, it takes a lot for a game to impress me today. In fact, it takes something very very special to even make me comment on ho good it is. This generation has given us some of the best games ever, my draw dropped when I played Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4, the graphics were beyond beautiful, and the whole thing on both games was a technical tour-de-force. The original Uncharted was a great game, it looked amazing and played very well, and for once it brought me back in believing that games could become brilliant again.
Of course, games today are very different to the games I grew up with in the 1970's, 80's and 90's. Even games downloaded from the internet are something special now. Wipeout HD/Fury would have been unheard of a couple of years ago as a download, but once downloaded it's graphics and game play are enough to blow your proverbial socks off! So, everything taken into consideration, Uncharted 2 must be something really special.
So, what does Uncharted 2 have that makes it the greatest game ever made? First off, character. You play the game and it feels genuine, you feel for the characters and you feel for the script. It feels like you are genuinely part of a movie and you feel you are contributing to everything that goes on. Secondly, from a technical point of view the graphics, sound, script and acting are a million times better than anything that has come before. This is the most beautiful game you have ever seen, heard or had the pleasure of controlling. The cut-scenes are the best you'll ever see... sometime you think you're watching a movie and forget you're playing a game. It is that good.
They've taken the original triple "A" Uncharted, and added a further couple of "A"'s to it. Everything that was brilliant about the first game has been amplified and improved on. You now have the option to play the game with much more stealth, and there are some great stealth attack moves. Talking of moves, the way you go from gun-play to hand combat to climbing is just mind blowing, everything just feels so natural, you ARE the humorous lady's-man Drake.
So, I'll rate this game on completing it once and about to start playing it again, the review can not express how good the game is, it is that good. Anyone who has not played this game, or skips the cut-scenes really needs to get it, and play it right... It's a life changing game to play in the world of games.
Game Play: 10/10 - So many moves, so many treasures to find, so many things to unlock. Perfect for replaying... and I've not touched on the online play yet!
Graphics: 10/10 - The best you'll ever see on any console, with great animation and unrivaled details.
Sound: 10/10 - Simply stunning, I wish I could buy the soundtrack as a separate CD, it's brilliant! Sound effects and dialog are world class.
Overall: 10/10 - It's all but perfect.
