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Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | The Official Thread

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Lord Error said:
UC2 is better at traversal than any TR game, and there is no question about it my mind whatsoever. It's done so smoothly and intuitively here that it's scary how well it all flows together. Plus, they practically have the system that SotC had in place for movable terrain traversal, but they made it all 10x more smooth and better animated. Tomb Raider games now look like clunky relics in comparison in this regard... and frankly, any other regard except for puzzles where they remain really good. On the other hand I actually enjoyed puzzles in UC2 so far compared to first game as well, and I thought they were not only nicely varied but integrated really well with gameplay.
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Prince of Persia PS2 games had the best platforming I have ever played. POP PS3/360 spoilt it.
 
I think they should get rid of the combat in Tomb Raider. TR is a better traversal and puzzle game than Uncharted, but its shitty combat really holds it back.
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Modern Tomb Raider is just as "guided" as Uncharted 2 in regards to traversal. If anything, most of the issues come from simply trying to figure out how to get through the areas, not the platforming itself. The puzzles in TR were generally pretty obvious as well.

Thinking back to Underworld, I do think one environment I'd like to see in an Uncharted game is something underwater. The late game scuba segment in Underworld was fantastic and reminded me of another great example (Ecco - Defender of the Future). This type of underwater exploration is quite evocative and would be an awesome fit for Uncharted.

Plus, they practically have the system that SotC had in place for movable terrain traversal, but they made it all 10x more smooth and better animated.
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This has actually become more common as of late. Assassin's Creed did it first (though it was much too automated for my liking), I'd say, while it was also present in Tomb Raider Underworld. I'm glad UC2 makes use of it, however, as it improves those segments tremendously. The original game had none of the climbing and focused on lots of little jumps, which often felt awkward.
 
Zefah said:
I gotta disagree with you here. It isn't scary how well it all flows together because there is always only one path you can take for the "traversal" segments. Honestly they might as well be quick time events (I'm glad they aren't). The only challenge is in identifying what can be grabbed onto out of a sea of objects and ledges that look like you should be able to grab onto them. Once you are on the path you are all set and there is never any risk of missing a jump or making a mistake.

Sure the animations in Tomb Raider are nothing compared to Uncharted and the combat is completely laughable, but the platforming / traversal elements and puzzles are far more engaging.

With that said, I don't agree with SonofABeep either. The platforming stuff is really frustrating at times, but it is essential to this series. Naughty Dog uses it a lot to show off some really impressive scenes and the climbing / platforming mechanics really do add quite a bit to the combat.
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Why should platforming be difficult? This isn't 1991. Games have moved forward. I think the next evolution of platforming isn't in difficulty, it's in easier platforming segments with an open world nature (i.e. you can climb anything that is larger than 2 inches, etc).

Assassins Creed was halfway there, but they ultimately missed their shot because the platforming is so automated. Uncharted is a great blend of interaction and effort, it just needs more options.
 
MrPliskin said:
Why should platforming be difficult? This isn't 1991. Games have moved forward. I think the next evolution of platforming isn't in difficulty, it's in easier platforming segments with an open world nature (i.e. you can climb anything that is larger than 2 inches, etc).

Assassins Creed was halfway there, but they ultimately missed their shot because the platforming is so automated. Uncharted is a great blend of interaction and effort, it just needs more options.
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I didn't mean to imply that platforming needs to be difficult. I guess I just want more freedom. Assassin's Creed was awesome because of how much freedom you had and how the climbing and jumping flowed together so well even though you are right that it was a bit too automated. I know you can't compare an open world game to something like Uncharted, but it feels way to guided in this game. Maybe it wouldn't be so annoying if there weren't so many ledges and objects that look like you really should be able to grab onto but simply aren't allowed to.
 
MrPliskin said:
Why should platforming be difficult? This isn't 1991. Games have moved forward. I think the next evolution of platforming isn't in difficulty, it's in easier platforming segments with an open world nature (i.e. you can climb anything that is larger than 2 inches, etc).

Assassins Creed was halfway there, but they ultimately missed their shot because the platforming is so automated. Uncharted is a great blend of interaction and effort, it just needs more options.
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Hm not sure if I agree.

I loved the increasing difficulty of the platforming in POP. I felt it was perfect in Two Thrones. They really knew what they were doing.
 
Just got the game today and played the hell out of it, so freakin amazing! Everything just comes together in one awesome package. I need to go to school, but I'll know what I'll be doing tonight, going out and friends be damned!!
 
Just beat it today (well this morning, pulled an all nighter.) I was on 16 and I got hooked and played straight through. What an incredible ride. I want to get platinum but I was getting owned pretty good on normal. Guess i'll have to hold that off for awhile.
 
sun-drop said:
man the game imo is just great ...until you hit the train level ..and from there it is NON STOP awesome ... i have to keep a hand towel next to me the whole time cause i have to dry my hands every ten mins .

ive never played a game with so many awesome parts one after the other like this ..it's just a string of fucking badass sections ..they jst flow into one another .... jesus.

think im nearing the end though, up in the temple area at the mo after one epic sniper battle .... holy shit
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Hmmm, I stopped last night right before heading to the train. Can't wait to play later now!
 
JB1981 said:
- BTW, anyone else find this game kind of easy on Hard mode?
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Crap, I knew I should have started on Hard :(
Oh well, I'll just have to beat the game 3 times instead of 2. Not that's a bad thing :D
 
This Treasure Map from amazon is such a waste of space. Only the first 6 treasures in the game... takes up over 700MB.

Really lame pre-order bonus. Golden guns or a skin is way better. Unfortunately Best Buy up here is almost clueless for preorders so I went with amazon just to get something :P.

Clearly learned my lesson. :lol
 
Reading all this platforming talk I'm reminded of the little fight in Uncharted 2 that I think was really cool and I think they coulda put more sections like that into a third Uncharted.

The part where you and elena are trying to get up to the watertower, and you jump out onto a sign to open a door for her. Enemies then come out and start shooting you while you're out there on the sign, so you gotta move around to the other sides for cover and stuff. I thought that was a really cool little bit of platforming/fighting.
 
dark10x said:
This has actually become more common as of late. Assassin's Creed did it first (though it was much too automated for my liking), I'd say, while it was also present in Tomb Raider Underworld. I'm glad UC2 makes use of it, however, as it improves those segments tremendously. The original game had none of the climbing and focused on lots of little jumps, which often felt awkward.
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I don't remember either game having a terrain that moves, undulates, etc. under your feet and that character adapts to it while you control it, or hanging on something that swings and moves while you climb it etc. Granted, I couldn't stomach playing first AC for too long so maybe I missed it, but I did finish last TR and I don't remember seeing something like that there.

Zefah said:
I gotta disagree with you here. It isn't scary how well it all flows together because there is always only one path you can take for the "traversal" segments. Honestly they might as well be quick time events (I'm glad they aren't).
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I meant traversal in general - not just when you're supposed to go and find the exit from somewhere but general interaction with the environment, what you can do and how good it feels doing it - running over obstacles during firefights, jumping and hanging onto something while shooting, etc. The amount of strategies you have there is very large, and the terrain traversal system they have in place is to thank for that.

But even point A to point B traversal that you are talking about was pretty much ruined in last TR with unspeakably horrible camera implementation and spotty and imprecise controls that seemed to do the exact opposite of what I wanted way too many times.
 
B-Dex said:
This Treasure Map from amazon is such a waste of space. Only the first 6 treasures in the game... takes up over 700MB.

Really lame pre-order bonus. Golden guns or a skin is way better. Unfortunately Best Buy up here is almost clueless for preorders so I went with amazon just to get something :P.

Clearly learned my lesson. :lol
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i got both BB and Amazon preorder bonuses. ;)
 
non spoiler sex:

29bbyw9.jpg


1j291w.jpg
 
I guess nobody cares about my awesome wife. :( :lol

Anyway, played for 7 hours last night. I had to really fight to turn the game off at 4am on chapter 18. I had been meaning to stop for about two hours, but I just couldn't. :D I had to get up at 8am, so there was no way I would have been able to finish the game before work.

I'll finish it up tonight. Can't wait! :D


Also, I don't understand the people who think the stealth mission felt forced? It fit in with the story and the previous cutscene and made perfect sense.
They needed to steal the treasure thingie from a heavily-guarded museum. What's the problem?
 
Zefah said:
I didn't mean to imply that platforming needs to be difficult. I guess I just want more freedom. Assassin's Creed was awesome because of how much freedom you had and how the climbing and jumping flowed together so well even though you are right that it was a bit too automated. I know you can't compare an open world game to something like Uncharted, but it feels way to guided in this game. Maybe it wouldn't be so annoying if there weren't so many ledges and objects that look like you really should be able to grab onto but simply aren't allowed to.
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What piss me off in Uncharted's platforming, is how scripted it is. Sometime Nathan can jump very far, sometime something should be in reach, but since the devs decided that you're not supposed to go there, you can't grab it. In the end, it's just confusing and leads to trial and error.

As of me I like my platforming with tons of momentum and physics and as little automation as possible. Mirror's Edge and the 3D Mario are what I consider the pinnacle of the genre (I know Mirror's Edge has a shitty campaign, but I'm speaking of the core gameplay here).

That said, Uncharted is a shooting game with adventure and platforming tacked on, so I'm fine with the automations. Especially since it enhances the shooting.
 
Sean said:
If they can make them better, that's great. But Naughty Dog had the chance to improve upon the puzzles in THIS game yet they didn't. It's easily the weakest aspect of both games IMO and they haven't shown any interest in improving it.

I don't consider the puzzles a crucial element of the Uncharted franchise anyway (there's only a handful of them and they're not good), so I'd rather they just trim the fat and remove them completely.
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;)

I liked them.

And I agree 100% with Deepbrown about the pacing. I think the puzzles, although not amazing provide great pacing. And whats treasure hunting without puzzles?

Top secret hidden artifacts would be kinda lame if hidden in plain sight.
 
JB1981 said:
Got through the train level last night.

:o

:o

:o

- BTW, anyone else find this game kind of easy on Hard mode?
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It ain't that tough at all. Don't really mind though. It challenging enough on hard and the pace keeps the story going well enough to make it perfect. Crushing run should be a bit slower.

I'm just past where I have to fight the yetti in the snow section. What a fucking gorgeous game.
 
RockmanWhore said:
What piss me off in Uncharted's platforming, is how scripted it is. Sometime Nathan can jump very far, sometime something should be in reach, but since the devs decided that you're not supposed to go there, you can't grab it. In the end, it's just confusing and leads to trial and error.

As of me I like my platforming with tons of momentum and physics and as little automation as possible. Mirror's Edge and the 3D Mario are what I consider the pinnacle of the genre (I know Mirror's Edge has a shitty campaign, but I'm speaking of the core gameplay here).

That said, Uncharted is a shooting game with adventure and platforming tacked on, so I'm fine with the automations. Especially since it enhances the shooting.
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Yeah this is pretty much what I was trying to say. The platforming segments are like quick time events except you get to advance the scripted sequence at your own leisure.

I'm glad the climbing and platforming mechanics are there, though, because they work pretty well in some of the combat scenarios.
 
Fenderputty said:
It ain't that tough at all. Don't really mind though. It challenging enough on hard and the pace keeps the story going well enough to make it perfect. Crushing run should be a bit slower.
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i read the failed spoiler part.................. :(
 
Finished the game on "Very Easy", ironically, those Guardians were still difficult to take down, and the "final boss fight" was annoying when the guy kept throwing three grenades causing the resin to explode and kill me on numerous occasions. Will replay on higher difficulty though.

Also, the puzzle involving the four elements, shapes, and symbols was quite brain busting for a few moments...

Did they ever say when the official soundtrack would be released?
 
JB1981 said:
Got through the train level last night.

:o

:o

:o

- BTW, anyone else find this game kind of easy on Hard mode?
Click to expand...

Yes, I found Hard in U2 easier than I remember Normal being in U1, I never played any higher than that in the original.

I do want to get the Platinum in U2 though, so hopefully Crushing isn't too crushing :/
 
HalcyonTB12 said:
Reading all this platforming talk I'm reminded of the little fight in Uncharted 2 that I think was really cool and I think they coulda put more sections like that into a third Uncharted.

The part where you and elena are trying to get up to the watertower, and you jump out onto a sign to open a door for her. Enemies then come out and start shooting you while you're out there on the sign, so you gotta move around to the other sides for cover and stuff. I thought that was a really cool little bit of platforming/fighting.
Click to expand...

This part really stood out to me, it's little parts like this that give it that good pace.

I was freaking out trying to get head shots on each person to conserve ammo. I had no clue that it was infinite at that part in the game.
 
Sorry if it's been asked to death, but has anyone figured out why some people can't get the game to give them the $100k bonus for having completed the first game? I receive the message that no trophies can be found.

Could it be because I'm running firmware 3.0 and not 3.0.1?
 
LOL

Was trying to jump up into these branches to get a treasure I saw at the start of this Jungle swamp, but couldnt do it. So I just shot at it and it fell down within my reach :lol Made me feel like a retard for the 4 minutes of failed leaping.
 
I don't think there's much room to criticize the platforming mechanics in this game after
playing through the train level, which is in my opinion the best fusion of platforming and shooting mechanics I've ever seen. What a brilliant setpiece.
Valkyr Junkie said:
Sorry if it's been asked to death, but has anyone figured out why some people can't get the game to give them the $100k bonus for having completed the first game? I receive the message that no trophies can be found.

Could it be because I'm running firmware 3.0 and not 3.0.1?
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Verify that you have the Uncharted: DF trophies. Remember that trophies weren't patched into the game until fall 2008: if you haven't played it since then there aren't any trophies for UC2 to find. Just load it up, download the patch, and you ought to be good to go.

Others have reported problems with regional differences between their copies of UC1 and 2. Dunno if that applies to you.
 
Valkyr Junkie said:
Yes, I found Hard in U2 easier than I remember Normal being in U1, I never played any higher than that in the original.

I do want to get the Platinum in U2 though, so hopefully Crushing isn't too crushing :/
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i think it's because it doesn't take as many bullets to kill the guys. even Uncharted 1's Normal mode took a lot of bullets to take down those dudes.
 
Valkyr Junkie said:
Sorry if it's been asked to death, but has anyone figured out why some people can't get the game to give them the $100k bonus for having completed the first game? I receive the message that no trophies can be found.

Could it be because I'm running firmware 3.0 and not 3.0.1?
Click to expand...
I don't know if it's the firmware version. I'm on 3.01 and didn't have any problems getting the $100k. However, I also never played Uncharted before the trophy patch and I have heard it has something to do with that. Maybe you will have to beat Uncharted 1 again after the patch or maybe just the last chapter?
 
Forza 3's been submitted to the bench. Uncharted 2....finally! So burnt that the review copy I had on the 1st of September (yes that long ago) was Debug only, and only now do I get the promo version lol. Ahh well, good things come to those who wait?

Drake time baby! :D
 
SecretBonusPoint said:
LOL

Was trying to jump up into these branches to get a treasure I saw at the start of this Jungle swamp, but couldnt do it. So I just shot at it and it fell down within my reach :lol Made me feel like a retard for the 4 minutes of failed leaping.
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yeah there's a few like that... reminds me of Resident Evil 4 / 5 :lol
 
SecretBonusPoint said:
LOL

Was trying to jump up into these branches to get a treasure I saw at the start of this Jungle swamp, but couldnt do it. So I just shot at it and it fell down within my reach :lol Made me feel like a retard for the 4 minutes of failed leaping.
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Yeah, did the same thing:lol I'm like "wtf I'm making the jump perfectly".. Shooting at certain treasures reminds me of RE5.
 
I find myself laughing a lot during the game at the humor. Normally if there's jokes put in, just little quips, I don't even smile. But yeah, I think this is going to be my favorite movie this year too. :D
 
JB1981 said:
Got through the train level last night.

:o

:o

:o

- BTW, anyone else find this game kind of easy on Hard mode?
Click to expand...

IMO it has to do with the fact that there are just so many weapons always at your disposal.
I find that the floor is usually so littered with guns I find it hard to pick the right one in a hurry. Unlike the first game where u had to conserve ammo in certain areas.

Also the levels are much more open, giving you plenty opportunity to flank the enemy and keep moving around under cover while shooting.
 
Evlar said:
I don't think there's much room to criticize the platforming mechanics in this game after
playing through the train level, which is in my opinion the best fusion of platforming and shooting mechanics I've ever seen. What a brilliant setpiece.

Verify that you have the Uncharted: DF trophies. Remember that trophies weren't patched into the game until fall 2008: if you haven't played it since then there aren't any trophies for UC2 to find. Just load it up, download the patch, and you ought to be good to go.

Others have reported problems with regional differences between their copies of UC1 and 2. Dunno if that applies to you.
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Nah, I played through the game a second time after trophies were patched in; I deleted my old saves and started new. However, I am on a different PS3 this time (with everything backed up and copied over), but since it's looking for trophies and not game saves, that shouldn't be an issue. Both games are the same region. I think I'll try upgrading to the optional new firmware.
 
Facism said:
the train was like JAFOOLLLEHH, SO COOOLLEEHH
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Fuck yeah, I was halfway through it (I think) and had to stop to get a few hours sleep, can't wait to get back to it later:D
Want to do a single player runthrough before I hit the Mp but if the GAFe guys are playing MP tonight I may have to put it on hold...

FFO - you're just torturing yourself waiting, get to a shop and pick up a copy and return the one you get in the post to the shop later ;)
 
Kittonwy said:
You're nitpicking on things you have absolutely no fucking clue how to fix. Platforming has to be there because otherwise you would be traveling via fucking stairs all the time, which would be fucking boring and the environment would feel like corridors with invisible walls around it, which would be the worst thing one can do to a game.
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I admit you're right on the first point, and don't take it so much as a complaint as a commentary how how a videogame can handle "realism" inside and outside of gameplay. Does the fact that drake's(or Sev, or Nathan Hale, or Marcus Fenix) running around taking multiple gunshot wounds during gameplay make the danger to them in cutscenes seem less valid? I don't have a solution, I just thought it might be an interesting talking point.

As for the platforming, I honestly think there's zero redeeming quality to it. It just slows down the pace of the game, creates nothing but a strictly linear movement down a too-obvious (by colored bricks/platforms) path. It really does feel like it's there to pad the game and get it around that 10 hour mark.

I honestly think the puzzles are much better suited to this game and I'd take twice as many of those that use Drake's diary and such while having half as much lame climbing down a one way path. Or a little more branching paths or exploration and item collection instead. The problem isn't with the climbing mechanic, it's how it is used. The way it's used in areas like the signpost in the villiage for dynamic cover and in multiplayer - awesome. The way it's used in shambala to make you climb around a strictly linear path - awful.

Drake's journal is hilarious, though. Did anyone else page back to the beginning and see the pages on Sully and Elena and stuff?
 
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