Finally beat the game last night. I think it took around 9 hrs or so. The last boss battle was kind of a pain in the ass since there were no checkpoints. Still my favorite game of the year. Hopefully I can find some time this weekend to check out MP now.

I just started tonight and am about 8 chapters in but the scene in the spoiler above is worth the price of admission alone. I was cracking up. There have been a few scenes that had me laughing out loud which is extremely rare for a game.

The game started off so friggin slow, but it's moving at a good clip now. Is it just me or has Nathan's looks changed? He doesn't seem as chiseled in the face anymore and instead has more of a baby face look to him. Also, the treasures seem a lot harder to find this time out. In the first game it seemed like I was always stumbling onto them. Here I'm 3-4 hours in and only found about 8-10 of them.

I recommend NOT looking for treasures your first time through. They are pretty well hidden, and the time it takes to search for them really interrupts the narrative.

And the game will move pretty quick from here on out, only slowing down for the occasional puzzle or platforming section. Lots of shooting and crazy action from here on out, and I think this game is particularly good at mixing shooting and platforming, something the Tomb Raider series never quite sorted out.

Also, don't forget to use some stealth every now and then. There are a couple of setpieces that you CAN shoot your way through but are much easier (and more fun) if you strategerize. I love pulling dudes over cliffs!

I think the shoot-out segments drag out far too long and kill any momentum the game had - and the latter shoot-outs in the game get really tedious. Not even Gears of War drags out it's shoot outs like this; unlike Uncharted2, those are usually over before they stop being fun.

Do the vehicle based levels make a return? I kinda enjoyed those in the first.

I've been replaying and using a lot more stealth. Not something I'm used to in my FPS.

So I'm 97% complete and am curious about something. Since the game came out, I kept reading/hearing that there are 2-3 sequences in the game that are "mind blowingly awesome" and possibly to the extent of "never been done/seen before in a game" type hyperbole.

What are these mystery sequences?

I'm truly at a loss. The train? Been there, done that in Gears of War. Maybe the That was awesome but nothing that lives up to the hyperbole that's been tossed around. The last is the number 85% being tossed around. So much so I was ready for it, literally. By happenstance my last save the other night was at 84% so when I booted up last night I was ready to have my mind blown within the fist 10 minutes. I'm still waiting.

I'm not trying to be a jackass, I'm leaning towards it being my GOTY, but I'm genuinely curious as to what these sequences are that are being referenced. It's not like I'm a year and a half late to the party, only a couple months so it shouldn't be an "it was awesome in 2009, you had to be there" scenario.

Of course, I'm not done, so maybe the final 3% of the game is going to make this post null and void.

You are so cynical and jaded.

I'll respectfully disagree that the Uncharted 2's train sequence was been there and done that in GoW. Gears of War did have a train level but i don't think it was nearly as good or as much an experience as it was in uncharted 2. Plus the shoddy controls made it an insufferable experience for me.

'eh. Six of one, half dozen of another. Nathan certainly controls better than a 400lb space marine full of gear and it's more cinematic in Uncharted(which gives you that more of an "experience" feel) but other than that they are pretty comparable.

You're travelling car to car hiding behind boxes, sometimes climbing on top of the train taking out nameless baddies to get to the final car with the boss. You have the Locust in the air on some flying creatures shooting at you (ala helicopter). In one game you can't travel too far to one side of the train because the Kryll will kill you, in the other you can't hang off the side of the train too long or the train signals will kill you. You get to the boss, hide behind a wall/box and shoot him until you trigger a cinematic ending, and in the case of Uncharted a QTE that leads to the cinematic ending.

It was awesome and maybe implemented better, but it should be since it's been 3 years since Gears of War did it. Maybe I am cynical.

God forbid someone have a unique opinion than the unwashed masses.

<--- hyperbole guy.

I was personally blown away by the truck sequence. Once you've played it a few times, it's easy to see how controlled it is, but that first time, I was jawdropped at the fact that I was platforming and shooting from moving trucks. It was like the bullshit sequence in Wet, but I was actually playing it as opposed to doing a QTE. I was Indiana Jones in the convoy scene in Raiders. I can respect that you weren't impressed by it, but I thought it was ambitious as hell. It's also a funny sequence from a storytelling standpoint, and it's probably my favorite part of the game.

The second would be the train. I didn't get to the train in GoW because I found it unplayable after playing Uncharted 2...not the game's fault, but mine for playing it so late. Suffice to say that I find it hard to believe that Marcus Fenix did anything but cover/shoot on the train in GoW, which you could probably do with UC2, but it's just about the most boring way to approach it. The train sequence in UC2 is probably just as controlled an experience in hindsight, but I think that it's simultaneously the most ambitious thing I've seen to date in a game and also is flawlessly executed.

The third is the "inside a falling building" sequence from the E3 demo. From hanging on signs and evading helicopters to watching furniture slide across the floor while you shoot at dudes, that was extremely impressive and fresh. I can only imagine the math required to execute it, and I love Nate's expression at the end.

Apologies if I gave you unrealistic expectations.

In case you guys haven't seen it:

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Same three scenes I really enjoyed. The programming these guys and gals did really removes the super scripted feel that they really should have.

85% is when the game goes downhill, imho. It turns into Gears of War-lite and goes from entertaining adventure to mundane action game. There were a lot of really enjoyable moments in the game and it works together really well as a whole, but it does feel like they shortchanged the gameplay a bit and the hyperbole with how "brilliant!" the game is is a tad overused. < dork speak> It's an 8.0 game with a 9.5 presentation < /dork speak> and I guess I can stick by that. Still one of the best games of '09.

Yep. Subsequent playthroughs betray just how scripted they actually are, but that first time through, I was absolutely floored...and grinning like I haven't since Mario Galaxy.

I don't strongly disagree with this assessment. The last 5-10 minutes after the final boss is pretty fantastic, but there's a good stretch of straight cover-shooting.

It's not that at all and you weren't the only one talking up those sequences. The truck sequence was awesome, but a bit too controlled, IMO. I died a couple times and it's the same exact sequence over and over. The train sequence was okay, it just didn't have that "wow" factor because I have done this before(with some minor differences), and was just another level.

I've been far more impressed with the "third" thing on your list than anything else. It's the little touches the game has that impressed me. Simple stuff like trying to find the right thing to climb on or losing your footing or hand hold while climbing. Also something falling at you while you're trying to climb or a pipe breaking kept things fresh. Unfortunately those are very controlled and not random.

I do somewhat agree with Tracer in the GOTY thread, the game is nearly choked to death by the story they want to tell. The game is way too linear and tight when when it could be just a little more open to play around in. See the truck sequence and every platforming sequence. There is only one path, and if you don't do it perfect you start over. There is very little wiggle room to improvise. Take the tank level, for instance, you can only shoot at it from very controlled points or you die. Nathan should be able to run back and forth across the street, building to building taking out baddies and be in control of the situation but instead you are always at the mercy of how the developers want to tell their story and forced down a certain path.

I think Uncharted and Drake are at their best in the platforming sections, and while the game is certainly balanced far better than the first game, it's still a bit heavy on the shooting side (at least towards the end of the game.) I'm no huge Tomb Raider loyalist or die-hard fan, but they just need to take cues from their puzzle/level designers. Look at Underworld, the "world" itself is basically the level, so much so it's almost overwhelming deciding where to climb first. You have carte blance on where to go and what to do. It's very liberating. A stark contrast to Uncharted. Unfortunately the folks behind TR don't have half the talent in the story department, vocal talent and pool of characters. Imagine a game with the strengths of both games together.

Despite some minor critiques, it's still likely to be my GOTY.

I look at it the same way I do Half-Life 2. Both are VERY controlled linear experiences, but to me, the developers do such an excellent job of steering the player's attention that you never feel like you're being herded (or at least I didn't). Most everything felt intuitive and organic to me despite the lack of open-world type options.

On the trucks, for instance, it's sufficiently hectic that you're just looking for a place to jump since you're on fire...and hey...there's another truck. It's scripted as hell and is always the same, but the first time, it felt very organic to me, and I could hardly believe I was doing it within the game engine...with terrific dialogue to boot.

I just thought it was masterful storytelling and gameplay from end to end...and it's lowest point was better than 95% of other games out there.

The only disappointment I had with the game were the villains. Sure, the big guy was the ultimate OMG bad guy, but the

I challenge you to a duel to the death!*













*in Uncharted 2

I'd rather play coop.

Yeah, but it's hard to challenge someone to a challenge to the death in coop.

Well then, I'd rather plunder his booty.