Uncharted 2: Among Thieves release date confirmed

I'm not looking forward to the bullet-sponge "guardians" on Crushing

The golden crossbow makes fast work of those guys! Just takes a couple of grenades to get the first one, then you can steal his weapon and guard it with your life!
 
Well I've decided that the multiplayer sucks ass.

I still can't ever get into a match. Everytime I finally find people I get booted from the match before it begins. I don't understand the problem. I get into the matchmaking vote screen, then the splash screen comes up where it says what place and type of match it is, then I get to the debriefing screen and party up and then after a min or so "You were kicked from the game". I have a 6M connection that works great on every other online game I've ever played. When I look at my signal on the matchmaking screen it is the full bars. What's the deal? Is there an option for people to boot you before it starts if you haven't played the multiplayer before? Or is this just a me connecting to the server issue?
 
I just finished the SP portion of the game last night (to the fanfare of no one sadly) and here's my thoughts on it. If you're one of the, well one people who are still on the fence about whether this game is worth playing, hopefully this will help:

I am one of those people who thought that Drake's Fortune was rather overrated. While it was by no means a bad game, in my opinion the combat was repetitive and cheap, the storyline seemed to come down to "Let's kill whitey" (seriously like every single minority group was fought against in the game) and to me Drake came across as smug and quite unlikeable and unrelatable.

Let me start off with what I thought was good about U2. The graphics were quite improved over the original (which were very good to begin with), the voice acting has remained high grade, and Drake cut down on the douche factor and became much more likeable in my opinion. The combat was refined a bit to cut down on the cheap "Find out there are enemies nearby when you get shot" method that was prevalent in the first one. Stealth kills can be fun, but don't expect a MGS-style experience where you could get through the entire game using nothing but stealth. Also, quite often if you fail at it, you'll alert everyone in the area of your presence as Drake loudly grunts, apparently out of anger that he missed out on the kill.

I found the plot to be easy to follow and intriguing enough to keep me going to the end, but it's by no means revolutionary or something you haven't seen before if you haven't seen a few Summer release action/adventure movies. The game does sometimes feel like you're playing a movie, which can be good or bad depending on your opinion of that.

Now to the hate. The combat still feels very loose and cheap at times. I fail to see how even with helmets on how enemies can withstand 3 shots to the face with a pistol or assault rifle and still not die. This seems to go hand in hand with the feeling that hit detection can sometimes be more questionable than strike detection in this year's World Series. There's not much variation in the weapons either. Also, the combat sections are very numerous to the point of almost tiring, while puzzle solving is almost completely absent until about the last 2 hours of the game. Come to think of it, "Puzzle Solving" should be called "Read the answer to the puzzle in your journal" because it doesn't as much offer hints as it does just give you the answer.

You'll probably find more "puzzles" in trying to find where the next ledge is. Like in the previous game, there's little to distinguish between a grab-able ledge and something that's just scenery. To the game's credit it does offer you hints when it's apparent that you're too thick to figure out what to do, but sometimes the games "Dullard Detection" can be off and sometimes it'll leave you hanging until you consult a game guide, or tell you almost immediately a hint to something that is very obvious but you didn't execute immediately because you were just sightseeing or looking for a treasure in the area.

I also found this game to be quite short and not very varied. Maybe my memory of Drake's Fortune is sketchy, but that game seemed like more of a sightseeing tour than this one did. Obviously this is a game that is "meant" to be played multiple times, but to me games that get multiple playthroughs have to be very exceptional, and to me U2 does not fit into that category. For reference, the last games that I played through multiple times were BioShock, Resident Evil 4, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

In the end though Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a very competent 3rd person action game that you'd be stupid to not at least try if you have or know someone who has a PS3. Still, if you didn't like Uncharted, there's not much here that's different that's going to change your mind, unless the only thing that pushed you away was having to use the Sixaxis to throw grenades. I haven't got into the MP yet, and probably won't delve much into it because A: I'm not big into MP and B: I need to return this soon so I have a GF slot available for one of the other many high-profile November releases. But for those who don't care about MP and just want a fun SP experience, U2 will more than likely deliver for you. Just don't expect anything revolutionary or groundbreaking in terms of a gaming experience.
 
Well I've decided that the multiplayer sucks ass.

I still can't ever get into a match. Everytime I finally find people I get booted from the match before it begins. I don't understand the problem. I get into the matchmaking vote screen, then the splash screen comes up where it says what place and type of match it is, then I get to the debriefing screen and party up and then after a min or so "You were kicked from the game". I have a 6M connection that works great on every other online game I've ever played. When I look at my signal on the matchmaking screen it is the full bars. What's the deal? Is there an option for people to boot you before it starts if you haven't played the multiplayer before? Or is this just a me connecting to the server issue?

I don't think people can "boot" you, but they can certainly back out themselves, leaving an incomplete party to start a co-op match. Last weekend I had a couple issues getting into a co-op objective match, but the failure was always accompanied by a server connection error message. Like you, I seriously don't think the issue was on my end, but the end of those who were barely getting 1-2 bars. I would just keep trying, as the system has now instituted a penalty for those who back out of a match (though I'm not sure at what point in the match getting initialized the penalty would kick in).
 
I just finished the SP portion of the game last night (to the fanfare of no one sadly) and here's my thoughts on it. If you're one of the, well one people who are still on the fence about whether this game is worth playing, hopefully this will help:

I am one of those people who thought that Drake's Fortune was rather overrated. While it was by no means a bad game, in my opinion the combat was repetitive and cheap, the storyline seemed to come down to "Let's kill whitey" (seriously like every single minority group was fought against in the game) and to me Drake came across as smug and quite unlikeable and unrelatable.

Let me start off with what I thought was good about U2. The graphics were quite improved over the original (which were very good to begin with), the voice acting has remained high grade, and Drake cut down on the douche factor and became much more likeable in my opinion. The combat was refined a bit to cut down on the cheap "Find out there are enemies nearby when you get shot" method that was prevalent in the first one. Stealth kills can be fun, but don't expect a MGS-style experience where you could get through the entire game using nothing but stealth. Also, quite often if you fail at it, you'll alert everyone in the area of your presence as Drake loudly grunts, apparently out of anger that he missed out on the kill.

I found the plot to be easy to follow and intriguing enough to keep me going to the end, but it's by no means revolutionary or something you haven't seen before if you haven't seen a few Summer release action/adventure movies. The game does sometimes feel like you're playing a movie, which can be good or bad depending on your opinion of that.

Now to the hate. The combat still feels very loose and cheap at times. I fail to see how even with helmets on how enemies can withstand 3 shots to the face with a pistol or assault rifle and still not die. This seems to go hand in hand with the feeling that hit detection can sometimes be more questionable than strike detection in this year's World Series. There's not much variation in the weapons either. Also, the combat sections are very numerous to the point of almost tiring, while puzzle solving is almost completely absent until about the last 2 hours of the game. Come to think of it, "Puzzle Solving" should be called "Read the answer to the puzzle in your journal" because it doesn't as much offer hints as it does just give you the answer.

You'll probably find more "puzzles" in trying to find where the next ledge is. Like in the previous game, there's little to distinguish between a grab-able ledge and something that's just scenery. To the game's credit it does offer you hints when it's apparent that you're too thick to figure out what to do, but sometimes the games "Dullard Detection" can be off and sometimes it'll leave you hanging until you consult a game guide, or tell you almost immediately a hint to something that is very obvious but you didn't execute immediately because you were just sightseeing or looking for a treasure in the area.

I also found this game to be quite short and not very varied. Maybe my memory of Drake's Fortune is sketchy, but that game seemed like more of a sightseeing tour than this one did. Obviously this is a game that is "meant" to be played multiple times, but to me games that get multiple playthroughs have to be very exceptional, and to me U2 does not fit into that category. For reference, the last games that I played through multiple times were BioShock, Resident Evil 4, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

In the end though Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a very competent 3rd person action game that you'd be stupid to not at least try if you have or know someone who has a PS3. Still, if you didn't like Uncharted, there's not much here that's different that's going to change your mind, unless the only thing that pushed you away was having to use the Sixaxis to throw grenades. I haven't got into the MP yet, and probably won't delve much into it because A: I'm not big into MP and B: I need to return this soon so I have a GF slot available for one of the other many high-profile November releases. But for those who don't care about MP and just want a fun SP experience, U2 will more than likely deliver for you. Just don't expect anything revolutionary or groundbreaking in terms of a gaming experience.

Of course, most of the gaming world disagrees with you, as do I, but I'll just do so respectfully and leave it at that.
 
Well I've decided that the multiplayer sucks ass.

I still can't ever get into a match. Everytime I finally find people I get booted from the match before it begins. I don't understand the problem. I get into the matchmaking vote screen, then the splash screen comes up where it says what place and type of match it is, then I get to the debriefing screen and party up and then after a min or so "You were kicked from the game". I have a 6M connection that works great on every other online game I've ever played. When I look at my signal on the matchmaking screen it is the full bars. What's the deal? Is there an option for people to boot you before it starts if you haven't played the multiplayer before? Or is this just a me connecting to the server issue?

I was having the same problem until I bought a better router... not saying that is your problem, but it cleared mine up instantly, and that was after trying everything I could think of with my old one. I don't know if this game just asks more of a router in terms of processor speed or if it was something else, but that was the only thing that fixed it for me. I'm also on a 6M connection, and I knew it wasn't the connection because it worked fine if I connected directly to the modem.
 
I was having the same problem until I bought a better router... not saying that is your problem, but it cleared mine up instantly, and that was after trying everything I could think of with my old one. I don't know if this game just asks more of a router in terms of processor speed or if it was something else, but that was the only thing that fixed it for me. I'm also on a 6M connection, and I knew it wasn't the connection because it worked fine if I connected directly to the modem.

Before I ever tried playing online, I used to have a horrible problem staying connected for downloads and whatnot on my PS3 until someone, I believe in these forums, suggested updating the firmware of my 3 year old Linksys WRT54G (v.5) router. Ever since, it's worked like a champ without any dropped connections.
 
I just finished the SP portion of the game last night (to the fanfare of no one sadly) and here's my thoughts on it. If you're one of the, well one people who are still on the fence about whether this game is worth playing, hopefully this will help:
...

Like ONUOsfan, I will respectfully agree to disagree but I will make the following counterpoints:

There's not much variation in the weapons either
With 20 weapons total there was actually greater variety than in the first game. In U2, you now get to use an RPG, GAU-19, M32-Hammer, Pistole, and Crossbow, to name a few.


Also, the combat sections are very numerous to the point of almost tiring, while puzzle solving is almost completely absent until about the last 2 hours of the game.
I think it helps if you do spend some time searching for treasures (which from your prior posts, it doesn't sound like you did). It breaks up the action sequences more. Finishing the game on Normal in 17 plus hours, I actually felt the opposite: I couldn't wait for the next combat sequence after platforming and looking for treasures a bit.

As far a puzzle solving, I can think of three major puzzle sequences in the first half of the game off the top of my head.

You'll probably find more "puzzles" in trying to find where the next ledge is. Like in the previous game, there's little to distinguish between a grab-able ledge and something that's just scenery.
There were a lot more opportunities to go vertical, especially in the urban areas creating a new learning curve on what you could grab on to and explore. Which brings me to...

I also found this game to be quite short and not very varied.
As I mentioned before it took me 17 hours to complete, a good portion of which was spent treasure hunting. Most games take about 10 hours to simply run through the story. I imagine if I was trying to race through as fast as I could in order to get it in the mail in order to receive my next disc from Gamefly, I could do it in 8-10 hours on Normal.

From the opening platforming section on the train, I immediately felt this game was U1 on steroids. There was a great more variety in the platforming sequences and what you are able to access, more characters, more environments (jungle, urban, temple interiors, ice caves, trains) more types of baddies, more types of combat. I could go on.

Obviously this is a game that is "meant" to be played multiple times, but to me games that get multiple playthroughs have to be very exceptional, and to me U2 does not fit into that category.
If you don't enjoy the process of finding all the treasures, earning all the combat medals/trophies, and just re-experiencing a movie-like game with excellent graphics, writing, voice acting, and sound, I could see where this would lack in replayability.
 
I was having the same problem until I bought a better router... not saying that is your problem, but it cleared mine up instantly, and that was after trying everything I could think of with my old one. I don't know if this game just asks more of a router in terms of processor speed or if it was something else, but that was the only thing that fixed it for me. I'm also on a 6M connection, and I knew it wasn't the connection because it worked fine if I connected directly to the modem.

Oh I got about 20 $40k penalties in a row trying to get into games (as described above). I will try another router, but don't see why that would be the problem as every other game I play on the PSN works just fine with this router? I'm actually getting U-Verse 18M internet installed on Sunday so if there is still a problem after that I think it is going to be safe to assume that it is not a problem on my side :)
 
Oh I got about 20 $40k penalties in a row trying to get into games (as described above). I will try another router, but don't see why that would be the problem as every other game I play on the PSN works just fine with this router? I'm actually getting U-Verse 18M internet installed on Sunday so if there is still a problem after that I think it is going to be safe to assume that it is not a problem on my side :)

Just telling you what my experience was. My router was 5 years old and had had some other problems anyway... I've also heard of others who have solved problems with firmware updates, putting their PS3 into a DMZ, manually forwarding ports and a variety of other things - keep in mind that different games use different ports.

If any of those is your issue, it won't matter how fast your internet connection is, and likely, your current problem has nothing to do with your connection speed - I'm sure you could get by with 768k if everything was configured properly.
 
Agree, about the speed. Not upgrading for this reason at all. Will try a different router when I get home, but I don't think its going to make any difference. See too many people that have the connection issues online for it to be me. Very disappointing on that side of the Uncharted 2 experience.
 
Agree, about the speed. Not upgrading for this reason at all. Will try a different router when I get home, but I don't think its going to make any difference. See too many people that have the connection issues online for it to be me. Very disappointing on that side of the Uncharted 2 experience.

Going back and reading your first post makes me wonder what the issue is, exactly... when I had problems I saw "Connection Error" and that was what kicked me out. "You were kicked from the game" indicates a purposeful decision by someone (or some server?)... I've not heard of people having issues like that before - very strange... The only way I know of that you can be kicked from a game is if you kill your teammates multiple times - the system then gives them the option to forgive or kick.
 
Like ONUOsfan, I will respectfully agree to disagree but I will make the following counterpoints:

Thanks - I didn't have the time when I posted that to say anything else, but you make an excellent argument.

I would also add one more: a metacritic score (last time I checked) of 96 is pretty strong indicator of universal acclaim. I think it puts U2 in the top 10 or 15 all time (any game, any platform) in that area.
 
Going back and reading your first post makes me wonder what the issue is, exactly... when I had problems I saw "Connection Error" and that was what kicked me out. "You were kicked from the game" indicates a purposeful decision by someone (or some server?)... I've not heard of people having issues like that before - very strange... The only way I know of that you can be kicked from a game is if you kill your teammates multiple times - the system then gives them the option to forgive or kick.

Yeah, that's what I was wondering as well. Very frustrating! I've never played a game so people can't be pissed at me.
 
Thanks - I didn't have the time when I posted that to say anything else, but you make an excellent argument.

I would also add one more: a metacritic score (last time I checked) of 96 is pretty strong indicator of universal acclaim. I think it puts U2 in the top 10 or 15 all time (any game, any platform) in that area.
I knew posting that review here would be about as smart as taking out a Windows Mobile device at a MacWorld convention..

My contention is that the game is not bad by any means, but while you all gave it a 10 out of 10 I'd give it a 7 out of 10. My opinion may change if the multiplayer is as good as people seem to be declaring, but I typically don't get into MP much with games unless I have to (i.e. Team Fortress 2, L4D.)

As far as the metacritic goes, I don't really put much stock in those because I looked at the list and found a number of those titles to be overrated or not what I would put in my list of best games ever (GTA4 a 98? REALLY?) Honestly though I probably wouldn't have even added U2 to my GF queue if not for the fury of overwhelmingly positive reviews that came before the game's release. That all said, I'm definitely glad that I played the game and went through from beginning to end, but right now I seem to be more into games featuring wanton destruction and mayhem, which is probably why I've been deep into Prototype and L4D2 as of late. Of course that may be due to the fact that my life has had a lot more stress as of late, and I found a great way to relieve stress is to fly around Manhattan with the ability to destroy people and mutants in the grossest and most F-U inducing styles possible.
 
I knew posting that review here would be about as smart as taking out a Windows Mobile device at a MacWorld convention..

My contention is that the game is not bad by any means, but while you all gave it a 10 out of 10 I'd give it a 7 out of 10. My opinion may change if the multiplayer is as good as people seem to be declaring, but I typically don't get into MP much with games unless I have to (i.e. Team Fortress 2, L4D.)

As far as the metacritic goes, I don't really put much stock in those because I looked at the list and found a number of those titles to be overrated or not what I would put in my list of best games ever (GTA4 a 98? REALLY?) Honestly though I probably wouldn't have even added U2 to my GF queue if not for the fury of overwhelmingly positive reviews that came before the game's release. That all said, I'm definitely glad that I played the game and went through from beginning to end, but right now I seem to be more into games featuring wanton destruction and mayhem, which is probably why I've been deep into Prototype and L4D2 as of late. Of course that may be due to the fact that my life has had a lot more stress as of late, and I found a great way to relieve stress is to fly around Manhattan with the ability to destroy people and mutants in the grossest and most F-U inducing styles possible.

Fair enough.

We welcome all opinions, even if they're wrong... ;)
 
Fair enough.

We welcome all opinions, even if they're wrong... ;)

Wouldn't be the first time I went against the tide. I'm sure the same will happen when MW2 comes out. I seem to be one of five people in the world who thought that the multiplayer in MW1 was overrated and that the reward based system did more bad than good..
 
Wouldn't be the first time I went against the tide. I'm sure the same will happen when MW2 comes out. I seem to be one of five people in the world who thought that the multiplayer in MW1 was overrated and that the reward based system did more bad than good..

:) Yep, you're the only one! I loved MW1 multiplayer. What do you mean the reward based system did more bad than good?
 
:) Yep, you're the only one! I loved MW1 multiplayer. What do you mean the reward based system did more bad than good?
I didn't like how weapons got unlocked as you played more, or that you got added perks within the game for going on killing sprees. I felt that it mainly went and just made it easier for better players to win matches. I also ESPECIALLY hated how not all the MP modes were available from the beginning (I don't remember if this was in MW but it definitely was in WaW.) If I love CTF, I shouldn't be forced to play a bunch of DM-style matches first in order to play what I want.

I hated being in the middle of a match and then all of a sudden I'd see a radar plane revealing my location or an air strike, or all of a sudden I see a bunch of dogs coming after me and basically all but guaranteeing a kill for whoever sent them. I believe more in a completely level playing field. I'm not saying that the overall experience is BAD by any means and clearly there's a lot of people out there who think the exact opposite of me, but the game seemed too tailored for the hardcore player who invests hours and hours at a time, as opposed to me, the very casual MP player who just plays once in a while.

When MW came out I really paid it no mind. Yeah I saw it got good reviews but to me it was just looked like another generic war-based FPS with a confusing MP system. It wasn't until later when I saw that it sold like 7 million copies in 2 months that I figured I should give the game a look if for no other reason than to see what all the hype was about. I very much enjoyed the single player mode, which is why I'm also disappointed because I heard that MW2's SP is even shorter than MW.

Between the higher prices in Europe and IW's apparent vendetta towards PC users (no dedicated servers, higher price, 18 player max, no ranked player kicking, Steam-only Digital Distribution, no apparent plans for open mod development), coupled with it being the most reserved game in Gamestop history, and topped off with some flat out embarrassing publicity blunders, I would not be very surprised if all this came back to bite the franchise in the ass..
 

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