10/10
Uncharted 2 is one of the 2 best games I have ever played (along with MGS4). The characters, the gameplay, the story, the visuals and graphics, the scenarios, the action, EVERYTHING is inccredible about this game. Naughty Dog has stepped it up from Uncharted 1 in EVERY way. The gameplay and the action (in cutscenes AND gameplay) are the 2 major improvements from Uncharted 1. The gameplay in general was made much smoother in Uncharted 2, while various additions to the gameplay were also made: more as well as different weapons, no mandatory sixaxis grenade throwing, blindfire reticle, stealth kills, ability to throw propane tanks and explode them in mid-air, etc. As for the action? Unbelievable, jawdropping, and virtually unparalleled. Some of Uncharted 2's action sequences were so incredible and intense they actually made me laugh bc of how cool they were.
Naughty Dog, in Uncharted 1 and even further in Uncharted 2, created not only an immersive and Hollywood-quality story, but imo even more importantly they have created strong, life-like, loveable characters. Because of this, a player becomes immersed in Uncharted 2 and can actually feel a connection with the characters. Not many games accomplish this, let alone to the same degree as Naughty Dog.
Uncharted 2, imo, has one flaw: along with being so much like a Hollywood action movie, it unfortunately did one of the major things I hate about an action movie...at some points throughout the story, events occurred that were over the top, ridiculous, and/or completely unbelievable. The best movie and scene example I can think of portraying the ridiculousness I'm talking about is the movie XXX with Vin Diesel. In the very beginning of the movie, Mr. Diesel is trying to escape an area enclosed with a 20ft+ fence. He's riding around on a dirtbike, and out of nowhere, without ramp, rocket booster, or superpowers, Vin bunnyhops 20ft+ into the air and completely clears the fence. The rest of the movie was tainted for me because of this idiotic scene. Anyways, Uncharted 2 is a fantastic game, but it did have a few over-the-top and unbelievable scenes. The 2 main ones that stick out are 1) Every time someone leaps off a ledge over a huge gap and is caught by the hand of another person. 2) When (minor spoiler just ahead) Drake and Elena's truck goes off the edge of the mountain and they manage to somehow bail and catch the side of the mountain. These moments in Uncharted 2 certainly didn't ruin the campaign for me, it was way too good to be ruined. But, they were definite annoyances to me, and I became irritated when they happened.
Now, if I was grading Uncharted 2 on simply the campaign, I would probably give it a 9.8 or 9.9 because of what I just mentioned. BUT...I feel the multiplayer for Uncharted 2 MORE than makes up for that .1 or .2. I'll be honest, I am almost completely a single player guy. I have tried online multiplayer for fps's (Killzone 2, Halo, resistance 1 & 2, Modern Warfare 2, etc.) as well as other games, and I just do not enjoy deathmatch and other multiplayer game modes. The only games I have ever gotten into online were Resistance 2 for it's online CO-OP (not multiplayer) and LittleBigPlanet. But I have NEVER enjoyed multiplayer...until Uncharted 2. Not only do I enjoy Uncharted 2's multiplayer, but I am completely hooked! I LOVE IT! It's a blast to play.
Uncharted 2 is a true masterpiece. You know a game is good when, after 100 reviews, not a single one was less than a 90/100. I think everyone has to at least try this game, campaign AND multiplayer...I don't see how you could be anything but blown away.
(I hope this was enough to be able to look past my <100 posts)