Post by The Strategist on Oct 11, 2009 23:49:29 GMT -5
To begin, some might say the game isn't out yet. I already have it, though, and beat it. There are few hours left until official street release, so if you didn't make up your mind about getting it (or not), I hope this review helps.
Sony's final nail in the coffin of Lara Croft is the first game to fully utilize the power of the Playstation 3. Is it worthy of the attention, or is it just a soulless technical demonstration of the PS3 power?
Storyline: 9/10
The story follows Nathan Drake, treasure hunter, as he embarks on a quest to find Macro Polo's hidden treasure, and delves deeply in the Tibetan mythology of Shambala/Shangri-La. While the story borrows heavily from concept and plot points previously seen in many movies and novels, it has provided sufficient twists to keep you on your toes. It starts off with Nathan waking up to find himself shot in the gut and bleeding, in a train carriage dangling off a cliff, and about to end up in the bottom very soon. If that made you feel like you should get out fast, know this: The game has many such setpieces, and little downtime in story development.
Graphics: 10/10
An easy decision. Uncharted 2 deploys the full power of the PS3, which shows. Early in the game, you end up climbing a large hotel and looking at the sprawling city underneath. The view is breathtaking. Walking through water or snow shows appropriate realistic effects, such as Nathan getting soaked or getting his pants frozen slowly. It culminates in the final chapters, when a new beautiful location is revealed in all its glory. The sight alone would have been sufficient and they could have ended the game then with me satisfied. But they keep going, and deliver the best the game has to offer as you near the end. Character motions (facial and full-body) are also some of the best I've seen in any game, thanks to a team of top-notch motion capture actors.
Sound: 10/10
Another easy decision. An orchestra soundtrack graces the game and sets the mood without seeming to get in the way. Voice acting is top-notch, probably because the motion-capture actors were also the voice actors, delivering their lines with fluidity and realism in accordance with their actions and situations. Gunshots and environmental sounds are also impressive.
Control & Interface: 7/10
While the game runs smoothly, I found myself often aiming away from the enemy, when I intended to aim straight at them. This lead to several unnecessary deaths especially in the second half of the game, when enemies become tougher. However, accuracy problems are dwarfed when compared to the health meter issue. When you take damage, the game loses its color until you find yourself in a black and white world, then regenerates as you stay out of line of fire with bloody-red edges. This forced me to repeat the sequence of shoot-kill-hide-heal-shoot again.
Replay: 9/10
While I would readily go solo through some of the missions again for the sheer fun of it, there's little much in terms of campaign extras to bring you back (unless you're like me, and love novel setups in games.) There is, however, some hidden artifacts that reward you with gold, which you can use to get extra multiplayer skins and perks. However, the availability of online co-op and versus modes (team deathmatch, capture the flag, and chain reaction which requires you to capture flags in a specific order,) there's more than the regular campaign to come back to.
Overall: 10/10
Simply put, if you own a PS3 and don't plan to get this game, you're better off selling it. There's a lot more than meets the eye here, and it's worth at least one play-through.
I always knew I should've been in marketing.
Sony's final nail in the coffin of Lara Croft is the first game to fully utilize the power of the Playstation 3. Is it worthy of the attention, or is it just a soulless technical demonstration of the PS3 power?
Storyline: 9/10
The story follows Nathan Drake, treasure hunter, as he embarks on a quest to find Macro Polo's hidden treasure, and delves deeply in the Tibetan mythology of Shambala/Shangri-La. While the story borrows heavily from concept and plot points previously seen in many movies and novels, it has provided sufficient twists to keep you on your toes. It starts off with Nathan waking up to find himself shot in the gut and bleeding, in a train carriage dangling off a cliff, and about to end up in the bottom very soon. If that made you feel like you should get out fast, know this: The game has many such setpieces, and little downtime in story development.
Graphics: 10/10
An easy decision. Uncharted 2 deploys the full power of the PS3, which shows. Early in the game, you end up climbing a large hotel and looking at the sprawling city underneath. The view is breathtaking. Walking through water or snow shows appropriate realistic effects, such as Nathan getting soaked or getting his pants frozen slowly. It culminates in the final chapters, when a new beautiful location is revealed in all its glory. The sight alone would have been sufficient and they could have ended the game then with me satisfied. But they keep going, and deliver the best the game has to offer as you near the end. Character motions (facial and full-body) are also some of the best I've seen in any game, thanks to a team of top-notch motion capture actors.
Sound: 10/10
Another easy decision. An orchestra soundtrack graces the game and sets the mood without seeming to get in the way. Voice acting is top-notch, probably because the motion-capture actors were also the voice actors, delivering their lines with fluidity and realism in accordance with their actions and situations. Gunshots and environmental sounds are also impressive.
Control & Interface: 7/10
While the game runs smoothly, I found myself often aiming away from the enemy, when I intended to aim straight at them. This lead to several unnecessary deaths especially in the second half of the game, when enemies become tougher. However, accuracy problems are dwarfed when compared to the health meter issue. When you take damage, the game loses its color until you find yourself in a black and white world, then regenerates as you stay out of line of fire with bloody-red edges. This forced me to repeat the sequence of shoot-kill-hide-heal-shoot again.
Replay: 9/10
While I would readily go solo through some of the missions again for the sheer fun of it, there's little much in terms of campaign extras to bring you back (unless you're like me, and love novel setups in games.) There is, however, some hidden artifacts that reward you with gold, which you can use to get extra multiplayer skins and perks. However, the availability of online co-op and versus modes (team deathmatch, capture the flag, and chain reaction which requires you to capture flags in a specific order,) there's more than the regular campaign to come back to.
Overall: 10/10
Simply put, if you own a PS3 and don't plan to get this game, you're better off selling it. There's a lot more than meets the eye here, and it's worth at least one play-through.
I always knew I should've been in marketing.
