Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review

Uncharted 2 is a thrill ride from the start to the very well done climax. It is one of the best single player experiences you are going to have on any platform, to date. It surpasses the original, which is a credit all by itself, by a milestone. Naught dog has refined the mechanics that made Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune a blast to play and has made some tweaks with the addition of stealth and new weaponry. The story is fantastic, the music is awesome, and visually it one of the best games you will ever play. If this hasn’t changed your mind about the game, then read on.

You get to play as Nathan Drake, who as a thing for long lost treasures and err…. thieves. This time the players will have the chance to explore more areas around the world compared to the jungle is the original Uncharted. There is a museum, underground caves, Nepal, Icy Mountains and a secret location which I would encourage you to play and find out for yourselves.

Without spoiling much, the story of Uncharted 2 takes place a few years after Drake’s fortune. Nate and his buddies are trying to uncover the mystery of Marco Polo’s doomed voyage from China in 1292. This leads to finding an ancient treasure, the Cintamani Stone, halfway around the world. When it comes to treasures, Nate is not the only one who wants to find it. Enter Zorin Lazarević, ‘a psychopathic war-criminal’ as quoted by Elena Fisher, last year’s model. He has the resources, manpower and the guns, but does not have the brains, which is why he requires Nate’s help to find the sacred ancient object.

The story isn’t very original and has its share of twists and turns. But, it is presented and told it such a way that makes it an enjoyable experience all together. There is a new cast of characters, most from Nate’s past, which help carry the story forward. None of the dialogue and action seem forced and mash all together too well in the 10-12 hours single player campaign.

Not much has changed in the gameplay department. There are gunfights, exploration, wall/rope/pole climbing sequences and the addition of some stealth maneuvers. Stealth is new something new for Uncharted, but there is only some much that it does not make it an annoyance. The set pieces play an important part in keeping the action alive with only an exception few repetitions. The level design, though mostly linear, is pretty nice, offering more vantage points to shoot/flank an enemy from.

What makes the gunfights and action fun is the AI of the computer controlled characters. May it be your partner; you will have at least one throughout the game, or the baddies, the AI seems to do the perfect job either way. Enemies and friends will hide behind cover and use smart advantage points to shoot/flank. Enemies keep on moving from cover to cover and will use brute force to attack the player. There are multiple enemy types this time ranging from lightly guarded henchmen to heavy duty miniguns ablazed mini-bosses.

What made the first game just a breeze to play was the way the player control the main character. The controls were spot on and Nate ran, climbed, shot and jumped very organically. The developers have done the same thing again but this time it seems much better as Nate can jump much better and further than last time. He can also swing an do monkey poles on poles.

GAMES 09: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Hands-on Preview

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was only a single player extravaganza. Naughty dog know that fans would want a single player campaign which was deeper, better and hell more fun than the original.

I had a chance to play the first two missions from Uncharted 2 at Sony’s booth at GAMES 09. And it’s a beauty. The first thing you notice are the visuals. Uncharted: Drake’s fortune was and still is hailed as a visual feast. Everything was polished and perfect looking. The developers have upped the ante here with much better visuals, facial expressions and top-notch presentation. The menu itself is beautiful, with birds flying on the background and their shadows moving with the gleaming sunlight.

Then comes the soundtrack. The main theme from the first game returns and it suits the scenario completely. There is a new addition to the main menu, which is multiplayer. We could not take a peek at that as there was no internet connection in the area.

The first level reveals the artistic side of the new Uncharted. Nate’s train carriage is hanging from a cliff with Nate still in there. Named ‘A rock and a hard place’ Nate, all battered and bruised, must escape before the carriage falls into the abyss in the wintery mountains. I won’t spoil much. This is for you to enjoy.

The next chapter, ‘Breaking and Entering’, shows a different gameplay style. Nate is in a museum, and he has to steal Marco Polo’s lamp, without being detected. Stealth is something new in Uncharted, with none in the original. Here we get to explore some of Nate’s new stealth moves. It is a little difficult at first, but, is nonetheless very exciting. Supporting Nate would be his old buddy, Flynn. The AI in the game has vastly improved as he will not stand in your way and actually be faster than you. Sony says, that an AI buddy will be there with you for most of the game.

The two chapters clearly setup a stage for the rest on Uncharted 2’s single player missions. If you are a fan of the original, like me, then you won’t have to wait long to get your hands on the game, as it is releasing this month on the 16th.

So in brief:
What’s Hot:
•    Gorgeous graphics
•    Top-notch Presentation
•    Amazing soundtrack
•    Better control options

What’s Not:
•    Trial and error method for some swinging and puzzle areas.
•    Long load times.
•    There was no multiplayer!!! [at GAMES 09]

We will have our review up shortly, so be sure to keep checking!

Grand Slam Tennis

The console developing giants, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, are now trying to make the controller more of an item in a game rather then a console accessory. They want to make the controller more interactive, by using motion sensors and capturing the action of gamer on screen. The Nintendo Wii was a unique idea when it was unveiled in E3 2005. Nintendo were always innovators of new technology and the motion sensor Wii remote and nunchuck is one of their latest discoveries. To lessen the gap between motion sensitivity and action on screen, Nintendo announced the Wii Motion plus and EA’s GRAND SLAM TENNIS is one of the first games to use it.

Grand Slam tennis is one of first tennis games from EA Sports, Gamers who have played tennis on Wii sports may be familiar with the concept. This game is much mature than Wii sports and includes all the official game like the Australian open, French Open, and Wimbledon. The game has a total of 23 players, some are retired legends and some current legends including current world No. 1 Roger Federer. The USP of the game is real time shot sensing due to the Wii Motion plus accessory.

First things first, the Wii motion plus woks and works very well. Before you play the main game, a tutorial is necessary. The game can get difficult at time, and the tutorial teaches how to play different shots using the A and B buttons and different swings. There is a huge difference playing the game without the Motion plus accessory. Shots feel weak and tend to go off grid most of the time. Difficulty can be increased by playing with the nuncuck style. But, be warned, this is extremely difficult. This motion plus system has its share of problems. If the controls are problematic the remote can be put still for 2-3 seconds and the motion plus will restart itself. This happens quite often, especially when there is less charge on the batteries.

There is both a single player campaign and a multiplayer mode in the game. The single player campaign includes a Grand slam career mode, exhibition matches and party games. The career mode is the meat of the game including the French, Australian, and US open and Wimbledon. A season consists of all four matches as well pretournament challenges. These challenges include an exhibition match, which rewards skills and rating if you win it, a skill match, which is a doubles game and a match with a legend.

All matches can be played once. If lost, there can only be tried again next season. The career mode is played with a created player, starting from scratch to make a name in tennis history.

Multiplayer mode is online and offline. Offline games are party games, where there are double matches and a game where the player with the most points at the end of two minutes wins. It is fun, if the opposing player is the same level as you are. Online play is the one that gamer mostly look forward to. All the same matched can be played online without any hassles or lags. EA has added a robust online system that will please fans. Once a match is over, you or the other player can add each other as friends, It is a simple click. The simplicity is usually garnered for families who are just starting the Wii experience.

The Wii isn’t a system for visuals. It translates it graphics with art and simplicity, Grand slam is no exception. The players are made to look like cartoon with a slighter bigger head than body, It looks very nice and fluid. The same goes for the audio. It is nothing fancy. Good commentary and sounds like you are watching live tennis.

Anyone who owes a Wii should play Grand slam tennis for pure fun. It is not the best wii game out there but it is incredibly fluid and an overall good sports game. The Motion plus makes all the difference in the world. You owe it to yourself to try it.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

Remember Just Cause. This is around the same thing with lots of humor, and lots lots lots more of explosions. With the joy comes the pain of bugs. When a game is being designed for multiple systems, the PC version is mostly balanced without glitches and errors. The case for Mercenaries 2 is a little different. This is a clear case if ‘Lost in translation.’

As the title suggests you play as Mercenaries. Enter Mattias Nilsson; he has a Mohawk, a grenade at ready and a bullet in the a**. Then there is Jennifer Mui; body beautiful, bad Australian accent. Finally Christopher Jacobs; a cigar in his mouth and loads of ammo. What all these characters have in common is their love for money. No matter what character you choose the gameplay remains unchanged and the perks never matter.

Mercenaries 2 is an open world game and takes place in Venezuela. The plot is simple. Ramon Solano is an up and coming crime lord who needs your help. Once that is done he betrays you. The rest is you wanting revenge on him. The Army comes into the mix who are trying to control the country and the oil supply whilst an ongoing civil war with a few factions. The mercenaries work for one of the factions, doing their dirty work for them and then moving on to the next faction. Each faction gives you the money and information you need to get revenge.

The gameplay in Mercs 2 is very straightforward. Anything and everything can be blown up. You have tons of vehicles ranging from bikes, jeeps, army SUV’s, boats, choppers and tanks. All of them can be hijacked. Some of them have mountable weapons like army SUV’s and tanks. You work for different factions and complete missions for them. Once accomplished the factions give you access to more weaponry, ammo and airstrikes (yep!! They need to be purchased). It is a treat calling an airstrike and seeing buildings and everything else in its vicinity being reduced to a pile of dust. Mercs 2 excels in that department.

For a modern third person shooter and a game which is being developed for next gen consoles; PS3 and XBOX 360, the graphics on the PC are outdated. On top of that the game still lacks polish. Installing the game took a few tries and a long read through the EA forums. Eventually it worked and then crashed. Luckily an update was available citing issues with the launch copies. Mercs 2 is a well made game for the consoles but the PC version disappoints with technical glitches and bugs.

The AI In Mercs 2 is no exception. NPC’s start shooting at you and then suddenly stop as if you are dead. In fact the AI is dumb enough to shoot at walls and then being killed by a melee attack. Some missions require co-op play. The other character is a computer controlled AI who is dumber than the enemies. It is more of a problem working with someone than alone. The AI character won’t follow instructions or do exactly the opposite of what he is told.

Online co-op is a blast, when it works. Only the host can select missions and buy weapons and ammo but the rest can be done co-operatively. The problem here is that the system is pretty fragile. There are connection problems and once connected the game lags even on a high speed connection.

Overall, Mercenaries 2 is a missed opportunity for Pandemic studios. After the success of the first game fans were looking forward to another great game. But the technical issues make the game unplayable, at least on the PC. If you do like explosions and havoc pick up one of the console versions.

The Incredible Hulk

Like every other super-hero, or otherwise anti-hero, movie to come out in recent times, it has, at some point, been complimented with its own game. Not to say it is a bad thing but they ultimately drop down because of low production value and boring or undesirable gameplay. The Incredible Hulk is no different. The game is the official ‘playthrough’ of the anticipated summer movie, The Incredible Hulk. That said it is not a complete representation of the movie.

The story follows nothing from the movie other than the opening and the conclusion. The story missions are mostly to do with destruction and protection. During the game the Hulk saves Rick Jones from the Enclave soldiers. The rest of the game is to protect him from point A to point B, while he is on your back or in some vehicle. Several other characters appear like Mr. Blue, the U-Foes, Emil Blonsky and Thunderbolt Ross.

Like the movie the game is based in New York. It is modeled as New York City with the additions of some Marvel real estate. The whole game is not just story missions. It includes a lot of free roaming too, which for most of its part is pretty much fun but repetitive. In free roaming the Hulk explores New York while collecting power-ups and completing challenging mini-games. The hulk can sprint, wall jump and hyper jump to reach high spaces. Feats, which unlock special moves, are much easily obtained while free roaming and fighting a large number of AI soldiers.

The game incorporates a threat level system ranging from zero to a maximum of nine. Once the Hulk starts creating a mess of the city the ground troops are called. No big problem for Hulk. One punch and they’re gone. Then comes the Humvees with a machine gun followed by Military Choppers, tanks, and finally Hulkbuster armors. These may seem to be a lot of enemies ranging from the weakest to the strongest but they are not difficult to beat. Once achieved, the Hulk can regain full health by spending rage meter points. The more the Hulk destroys the faster the rage meter fills up. To lose the heat the Hulk uses the subway system. Once he is on other the other side the threat level comes down to zero. This makes the game pretty easy even on a difficult setting.

The main treat of the game is the destruction. The Hulk can destroy anything and everything in its path. Any building in the city can be destroyed. The hulk just punches or uses the moves it has unlocked to bring down a building. Smaller buildings are easy to destroy while attracting less heat while the larger building take some time and is a little more difficult as the heat keeps on growing. It is fun to see the destruction but it is brought down by graphical bugs.

From the top of a Skyscraper the Hulk the can view the whole of New York City. But the draw distance is bad. The buildings which can be seen are behind a fog and can only be outlined. You can’t actually see the building until you are close up. Another problem is texture pop-ins. If you go to fast and suddenly stop you see a rough canvas all around you. It takes a few seconds to load up the texture of the surroundings. The game does not include installation on startup, which could have solved many of the graphical bugs. 

The other problem is the frame rate. Once there are heavy explosions with a whole military force attacking and the Hulk smashing buildings, the frame rates drop drastically. It is ironic, since the game is purely about destructions and explosions. The developers should have taken extra care to hold the frame rate together. Other than that the character models are good and move very realistically. The destruction looks good but looks scripted. The building ends up in dusts with lots of some and fire as well.

Finally, there are a bunch of unlockables. These include comic covers, concept art, secret characters and landmark tokens. Landmark tokens are found all over the city once any famous building is completely destroyed. The hulk can be replaced by a number of characters like Hulkbuster, Iron Man or Ironclad to name a few. It does not bring any change to gameplay as only the skin and voice tone change a bit. Nothing special unless you are a fan.

Overall it is a very unpolished game. The negative aspects of the game like poor graphics, unstable frame rates, average sound and lackluster voice acting make it one of the worst games of 2008.