Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Competitive Multiplayer First Impressions

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is one of the best games currently available for the Playstation 3 platform, and its successor is looking to up the ante in every way possible.

Having pre-ordered inFAMOUS, I was among those who received an invite code for the Uncharted 2 multi-player beta. The beta opened up on June 2nd, following the impressive single-player demonstration at Sony’s press-conference at E3. Since that day, I’ve found myself repeatedly drawn back to the game, despite the lack of maps and game-types available in the beta, and I have to say, what I have seen so far is impressive.

Upon booting up the game, I was given a chance to make some alterations to my profile, which included the in-game model I was to use and, more importantly, a choice of two “boosters.” The booster system is reminiscent of Call of Duty 4’s “perks” system, in that it allows the player to choose certain areas in which he would like to excel. The booster choices in the beta were limited to increasing the size of the clip, the amount of ammo one can carry, accuracy while aiming down the sights or while firing from the hip, and others of the same nature. Even with such a limited selection, it forced me to think through how I was going to play. I find myself to be a naturally conservative player, or what most would call a “damn camper,” and as such chose to increase my accuracy while aiming down the sights and increase my clip size. The boosters seemed to have a noticeable effect, albeit not game-changing, and it felt as if they would not unbalance the game, at least not at this point.

After a short bout of matchmaking issues and drops, I managed to get into a full game. I, along with the others in the game, was presented with the choice of two map and game-mode options, similar to the system implemented in Gears of War 2. After we had voted, we were given a last chance to make changes to our characters and boosters,  and were then launched into the selected game. The first thing I did upon gaining control of my character was gasp. The first Uncharted was a visually impressive game, and the second appears to improve on it even further. Despite what I had seen in previews, I was simply not prepared for how good the game would look, especially online. The characters and textures looked vivid and sharp, and the animations were fluid and clean. Barring maybe Killzone 2, this is the most impressive looking online game I have seen on consoles.

Graphics weren’t the only thing going for the game though. The gun-play seems improved from the first, and feels more precise and reactive, as would befit a multi-player shooter. What differentiates the game, however, is the verticality in the multi-player maps. Only seconds after sprinting out of our spawn-point, players started climbing walls and boxes, taking cover on the roofs of buildings and behind crumbling second-floor walls. This simple addition makes  the multi-player game-play more tense and exciting, forcing me to worry not only about enemies on the ground, but about wily adversaries who had taken to the upper-levels of the map. This aspect of verticality is present in both the competitive-multi-player maps that were included in the beta.

What I heard of the audio in the game was similarly impressive, as m4s and ak-47s pattered in the distance and grenades exploded with deadly force. The guns have a good weight to them and every weapon I got my hands on felt deadly.

With fluid action and precise gun-play, this feels like a game meant for multi-player. This is one of the most difficult things for a developer to achieve, and is a main reason why many multi-player modes end up feeling tacked. Thankfully, the game seems to be avoiding that pitfall, and looks on track to deliver an exciting, and lasting, online aspect, provided they clean up the matchmaking system prior to launch.

Tags: Cover Multiplayer online Preview PS3 PSN Shooter Uncharted Uncharted 2