Widely considered as one of the best games on the PS3 and part of a widely popular series, you can call it a crime that I haven't played any of the Uncharted games before. I ended up starting with Uncharted 2, since it's supposedly the best out of the the first three games, to see if I would like the type of gameplay and the story. The first thing you'd notice is how amazing the graphics are (especially since this was released in the earlier part of the PS3's life in 2009), from the effects of the snow on Nathan's shoes to the detailed and lush environments. That said, sometimes the environments are too detailed such that it can be hard to distinguish some things. The environments are also quite varied, from the jungle to cities to mountains, I really like the change of scenery as it kept the game visually appealing as it progressed along. The platforming elements of the game remind me a lot of Assassin's Creed (although it's done better in Assassin's Creed, especially in the latter games since they had time to refine it). Sometimes I wish that Nathan had an ability (maybe something that you can turn on and off) that might indicate what could be climbed and what can't. This is because as mentioned, some of the environments are very busy and it's hard to see where to go next. However, the platforming sections near the end of the game are extremely fun and satisfying.
Sometimes you can't tell the difference between when something is part of the decoration or if it actually has collision detection and climbable. The ability for Nathan Drake to run faster by holding down a button instead of just having the set run speed which isn't that fast would also be nice. There were various sections of the game where the gameplay is annoying. I really hated the levels where the chopper makes an appearance. It's so much more resilient and powerful than you, and it just hovers there, annoying you with the constant machine gunfire. Maybe I'm just too impatient and feel like running away from it. Same with the train sections with the overhead warning signs that kill you, it feels like a cliche movie and wasn't very original. I felt that the controls could be better, by that, I mean that it could be smoother and more responsive. It feels like it wasn't smooth enough when there are waves of enemies coming towards you and you want to break cover and respond quickly. Instead, Nathan kept accidentally doing stuff you didn't want him to (and resulting in more than a few accidental deaths), like Nathan dropping down and hanging off an edge, jumping somewhere else or he would just run into another cover place when all I wanted to do was run away. A couple of the gunfights feel cheap with heaps of enemies in full body armor coming towards you with shotguns, or constantly firing missiles at you.
Shooting makes a huge portion of the game and you can expect to constantly get into gunfights, which can get a bit monotone when you have to get out your gun and shoot someone for the umpteenth time (for no reason other than to extend game time). Puzzles are simple (and feel like a waste of time) while the platforming sections are fun. The last ten to fifteen chapters (once you warp back to the mountains) were amazing though. It got better and better, the gunfights where they bothered to make it a little bit different (whether it was 'monsters' chasing you or you had to use the environment to your advantage) were fun and exciting. The story would also start picking up. Nathan's exploration of the ice caves were interesting and one of the best parts of the game, especially with the appearance of certain bipedal monsters/animals. The brings out to the other major draw of the game, the story. It sucks you in right from the start, and as Nathan gets betrayed, you empathize with him, wanting him to win and get some payback. To tell the story though, there were a lot of cutscenes, is this good or bad? It's hard to say as the cutscenes allow you to invest into the story but it cuts down on gameplay time. Another one of the more well-known elements is the large amount and the huge scale of stunts that Nathan Drake takes part in. There are massive set pieces (more than your average action movie...) and it makes you wonder how Nathan manages to survive all that hammering (frequently you'd wonder whether it's even possible he survives all that, and 'lucky' just doesn't cut it).
It actually feels like the game tries too hard to get all these 'wow' factors in with huge explosions, since it loses credibility. You notice that while the game starts off being quite realistic, it starts to move towards the fantasy side of things during the middle, which was an interesting shift. While playing, I loved the interaction between the characters, the chatter with the side characters feels natural and adds a lot of character. The bantering adds some humor which is welcomed. The story slows down around the middle of the game before picking up again and then slows down at the ending. The last few chapters were incredibly long (especially compared to the chapters before it). Therefore, the last sections feel like a drag and the writers could have shortened this part (i.e. once Nathan gets to Shambala, cut the stuff that happens there since by that stage, you know the ending is coming up, so just get on with it). The final boss was so so, the battle felt plain and there were no surprises. The ending was okay (not spectacular or anything), although I did like how Nathan showed his feelings to the one that he likes. The final revelation of the thing that was driving all these characters was great, it made the whole game worthwhile. Uncharted 2 is a solid game that was fun to play and the story was good, it's not the amazing 10/10 game I was looking for (my personal preference is not a game with shooting being such a large portion) but it was still a blast moving through the story.
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