Genre: Action-Adventure
Year: 2009
Developed by: Naughty Dog
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PS3
#64
Feeling Like: Good boy!
I wasn’t wise with my money in my 20s. We went to Las Vegas for the very first time in January of 2009 and I was completely hooked. Matt wisely recommend a gambling strategy – have a “max loss”. Pick an amount of cash you’re comfortable losing in a single day and stick to it. I’ve spent over 30 days in Vegas and only hit my max loss twice – $200. It’s a good system.
My first night, however, was really special. I was playing the penny slot “Carnival Mystery” and Dobbo mentioned were in a rush to meet up with the lads, to hit the max bet once and we’ll roll. I did. I won $986, approximately $1100 Canadian and I was absolutely giddy. It paid for my trip and afforded me to get a PlayStation 3 upon returning home. This is where I really could’ve used Matt to temper my temptations – over the next several years, I bought every PS3 game I found remotely interesting. Foolishly, I never traded them in, even after beating them and leaving the case to collect dust on the shelf. In retrospect, not the smartest move. Think of how many more hands of blackjack I could’ve played if I’d sold my collection instead of hoarding it!
One of the games I don’t regret buying, in the least, was Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune had some neat moments, but in retrospect it was more a tech demo, or a rehearsal compared to what was coming. I usually had to drag my heels when it came to enjoying the hot new thing, either because of finances or because I was content with what I had. But the rewards of Sin City had given me a surge of excitement, and I was going to double down on playing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves at launch.
It’s one of the best of this, or any generation. Naughty Dog received every accolade available, rightfully so. Everything was improved upon the first – the controls were better, the set pieces were bigger, the stealth sections felt more natural, the combat was harder hitting, the motion controls were removed, the graphics were incredible, the locations felt alive and the signature moments would live on in infamy, to this day. Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 came out just four months ago, yet the part where Ethan Hunt and Grace have to dodge oncoming debris while climbing up the train led me to poke Kyla and whisper “that’s from Uncharted 2!”
She whispered back. “What?”
“The train section is totally from Uncharted 2!“
“Shhh!”
Both the beginning flashback where you have to survive a vertical train crash and later where you see the events that led up to it were the moments I knew Naughty Dog had tapped into something primally special. It wasn’t just that I was hopping from platform to platform, it’s that I was doing it as somebody who moved and looked like a real person. He quipped to himself. He grunted when he barely made a jump. He grew frustrated. Things constantly broke, meaning I had to react instantly when I thought a wall or bar would prevent me from plunging to my death. Shimmying along a ridge became far more interesting because of the intricate set dressing. I could see his breath in the cold, dark night. Nothing came easy. Now, yes, it’s a party trick since the game is really just asking you to point Drake’s hand in the right direction and hit jump, but it’s how they did it that made Uncharted 2 a timeless experience.
Everything clicked. I loved everybody double crossing each other. Allies and enemies all hunting for the same treasure and all heading towards the same sacred location of Shambhala meant I knew danger was around every corner. Each character exudes a certain sexiness, which I suppose can only come from a type of person that enjoys being in the line of fire, for moral or immoral purposes. Dialogue is witty, snappy and action-movie level which is exactly what Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is going for. I knew somebody was going to double cross me in the museum mission – I didn’t care. Any situation Nate got himself into, I was going to get him out. I wasn’t sure if it was through talking, or running, or jumping, or shooting, or punching but I also knew it didn’t matter. This was Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider combined, on the most powerful console in the world with a developer who finally understood how to get the most out of it. A perfect storm for our entertainment.
This is a better action movie than most action movies. The villain, right out of an 80s thriller, is merciless and almost comically evil but in a game like Uncharted 2, you’re not going for subtle. As grounded as some of the sections are early, I loved that they start introducing ancient stones, inhuman powers and monsters in the later stages of the game. There is no denouement, the final few areas are jam packed with teeth clenching gun battles, harrowing environment dangers, helicopters shooting at you, ice demons hunting you down and ancient cities crumbling all around you. It was the first time I felt like I was playing a movie and I know developers have been seeking that feeling for a long time. Here, it was finally realized.
The train part really is the lasting legacy. The fact that you’re seeing the landscape go by, in full detail and it not repeating the same houses over and over is a technical marvel then and it still looks impressive now. I felt like I was inhabiting this world, rather than a series of stages built by artists and programmers. The immersion is so deep and I cared about the characters so much that each subsequent Uncharted was an auto-purchase on day 1.
The only drawback is that Sullivan is barely in the game. I mean, I probably should drop it about 200 spots on the 500 for that unforgivable transgression, but thankfully Naughty Dog righted the ship and gave him his due in future Uncharted titles.
You know, I’m going to Vegas again in January. Maybe I should hunt down a Carnival Mystery machine…
The 500 