I put in a good 4 hours last night (ended up at chapter 22 or 23 I think) and I must say that the game is growing tiresome.  It's wave-after-wave of gunfights which boil down to cover, shoot, cover, shoot, scrounge for ammo, repeat ad nauseum.  I probably should have seen this coming because that's exactly what the first game was towards the end.

Of course, I could just be playing the game "wrong".  I can't aim worth shit (any console based shooter) and Drake really doesn't seem to know where I want him to hide.  There's been numerous times where I've pushed "O" to try and have him take cover and he seems to think that means hanging off the side of a platform - 100% exposed to the enemy.  REALLY!? 

The Jeep sequence was most fun I've had in the game. 

Don't get me wrong, Uncharted 2 looks marvelous and it really does show Naughty Dog's attention to detail, but I'm just not enamored with the game.

Well, it is kind of dark in here.  I've been meaning to change that fluorescent light, honest.

Yeah, that scene was definitely off the hook.  Like I mentioned to Don, it brought to mind a like-sequence from this year's Resident Evil 5.  Except this was handled with far more panaché and excitement.  And like the first game, I'm glad the..... turret shooting portion was easy in execution, thus making it an enjoyable romp.

It does get pretty hectic toward the end, but with the new enemy types and addition of heavy weaponry, the game requires you to think more on your feet -- which I felt went a long way at better pacing the skirmishes this time around.  I also like that the game kind of forces you to push on with the fight, and that you've got more levels to cover and hide. 

I wasn't too crazy about the run 'n gun..... Guardian Beast encounters, though.  Luckily, those weren't very frequent.  I'm also relieved the Choker enemy types are relegated only to the multiplayer Co-op modes.  Can't imagine how annoying they'd be to put up with in the single-player.

Finished it up last night.  Last boss took me only two tries.  

I'm torn.  I wasn't particularly compelled to finish the game, so do I want to go through again in Crushing difficulty?  Part of me says yes while the other part wants to start up Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time.  Honestly I think I'd have more fun with the latter. 

Fare-thee-well Uncharted 2.  You were a good game, but certainly not one of the best.

Completed the game on Normal, just an hour ago.

I pretty much agree with what everyone's said so far.
It's a great game, but towards the end it kinda starts losing its appeal.
I definitely didn't enjoy the chapters from 23/24 onwards very much, but fortunately that's not far from the end.

I was never too bothered by the Zombie thing in the first Uncharted, but those Guardians pissed me right off. Whose bloody idea was that!?

I'll definitely be going back for Hard and Crushing (gotta get that Platinum trophy), and I'm sure I'll be enjoying co-op for awhile as well.
The game has plenty of lasting appeal I think. I found only 67 treasures, and I want to find as many as possible on my own.

Also, if I'm going to say only 1 thing about this game, let it be that I really thoroughly enjoyed the cast, the voice acting and the dialogue. Top notch stuff there. The ending brought a smile to my face, and many of the exchanges in the game had me laughing out loud (Drake and Flynn make a fantastic duo).
I can only wish more games had writing as witty as this.

So I've been trying to get a handle on how the New Game works in Uncharted 2, and how things like your Treasure/Medal collection and Bonus features come into play.  What gets carried over?  What can and can't be used?  Will using the bonus tweaks affect Trophy acquiring?  Its infrastructure is more than a little complex, but I think I've got most of it figured out.

First, you can opt to continue with your current completed Auto-Save/Save file, if you're looking to fill out the rest of your Medals, Treasures, and Trophies list.  This will allow you to replay any of the chapters on the fly, as well as being able to view all of the in-game cinemas.  You can use your unlockable Bonuses, including the Single-Player Skins, Weapons, and Tweaks.  Using the Tweaks, such as One Hit Kills and Infinite Ammo doesn't appear to affect your ability to gain the bulk of the Trophies, but I can't be certain if it voids your ability to earn the "Charted!" trophies on higher difficulty levels than the ones you've already beaten.   

If you choose a "New Game" with a new save file, they would first give you the option as to whether or not you'd want to keep the bonus Treasures and Medals you've earned on your last playthrough from your MOST RECENT auto-loaded game.  (Trophies are, of course, a one-time deal; once you've unlocked them the first time, then that's it as far as earning them.)  You can use all of your unlockable Bonuses here as well, but you can only replay the chapters you've beaten on that specific save file.  Same goes for viewing the in-game cinemas.  *Not* carrying over the Treasures and Medals may actually be ideal for monetary reasons, as your total cash flow is cumulative across all saves, and your ongoing earnings would be added to the Store's overall total.  Also, playing as a "New Game" completely resets your Statistics.

You'll want to check out this additional video that actually ISN'T featured in the game's bonus features.  It's a great roundtable discussion with the directors and the cast.  Be sure to check out the other Youtube-related videos, too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnru0qLB … re=channel

Loving the in-game bonus features, by the way.  The Behind the Scenes stuff is always enjoyable to watch, but it's the Concept Art that really floors me.  My god, these are gorgeous designs; the game's graphics are a sight to behold in motion, but the actual art work that precedes the renderings are ambrosia for the eyes. They don't skimp on the number of pieces either, covering every character and major location throughout the game. (Check out my new conceptual Elena avatar.)  This would make for a spectacular art book in physical form.

In between punishing bouts of Demon's Souls, I got an Uncharted 2 invite from Angela. It was my first co-op! I died more times than I cared for... but in my defense, the map was completely new to me. And FUN! For some reason, it's more entertaining to suffer together.

Angela, in response to your Charted! trophy question, you can't use infinite ammo, one hit kills, etc. tweaks until you beat the game on that difficulty. However, you can use stuff like fast motion and one other thing I believe. Of course, I didn't use any tweaks when I did my Crushing run. Why would I want to speed up time on something that was tough enough at regular speed...

You also can't use the guns you may have bought in the single player store on difficulties you haven't beaten yet.

Yeah, it definitely takes a few playthroughs to fully drill a Co-op map's layout into your head.  The Nepal Warzone in particular really benefits from a three-player setup, since a lot of situations have the enemies attacking in a tri-formation.  We did pretty well on Normal, though, using just one of our three allotted tries.  I'm surprised you didn't earn yourself the Buddy System Trophy, but maybe that's because you have to participate in a public matchmaking round.

Ah, that makes sense.  Good to see that Naughty Dog thought ahead in terms of placing the proper restrictions for Trophy attaining.  Thanks for the clarification!

Up for some co-op tonight Angela?

I definitely got a trophy while playing. I can't remember if it was the Buddy System Trophy.

I shudder to think what that map is like on a higher difficulty... The worst part for me was when you died and while you were respawning, I had to find a way to stay alive while the enemies were advancing on my position.

finished my first playthrough, on hard. fortunately it was tougher than UC1, but very manageable. i will definitely do another run on crushing sometimes soon. everything has been said about the quality of the game, there is nothing left.

this sequel made me a fan.

Really?  Most everyone I've spoken to is of the opinion that the first Uncharted's difficulty levels are well beyond that of the sequel's.  Many have likened the second game's Crushing difficulty to the first game's Hard.

That said, Crushing is now the very last Trophy I need to attain for Among Thieves.  This may be the very first PS3 title I've ever earned a Platinum for.

Speaking of, Kotaku's got an interesting article up on Naughty Dog's philosophy about trophy support:

http://kotaku.com/5394076/using-trophie … r-big-game

can't report about crushing on any game, but i've found UC1 hard difficulty to be very easy. i've hardly died at the shooting sequences, mainly from falls. but that reminds me, think i'll go get platinum in UC1 before going back to UC2.

about treasures: in the first game i was missing 9 treasures, but in UC2, i'm missing 35+.

I'm playing through Hard mode now, and it seems to be hardly any more difficult. You can take less damage, but you still regenerate pretty quickly. I don't expect Crushing to offer much trouble.

I've found 68 treasures on my first playthrough, and I've found about 8 more so far, including the Strange Relic this time (can't believe I missed that), but wow, some I can't find some of them no matter how hard I look. I thought I had explored every nook and cranny of Chapter 1, but I'm still missing TWO.
As for the trophy thing, I'm kinda disappointed with what they did with both games, pretty much ALL of it is "perform this action dozens of times (in a row)" which is really the laziest and most boring-to-do kind of achievement there is. I really hate that Steel Fist nonsense. Aiming for that is the main reason I'm getting killed.

Some of the medals are fun though.

Crushing beaten, Platinum get.  It's an awesome feeling.

http://profiles.us.playstation.com/play … ng-Thieves

Crushing certainly makes you look at skirmishes in a whole new light.  Stealth kills aren't just a fun alternative, they're now an invaluable necessity.  And you tend to appreciate handguns so much more; in addition to the high-powered variety like the Desert-5 and Pistole, which are godsends for taking closing-in enemies out in a pinch, successful headshots are borne even out of the standard .45 Defender and 92FS-9MM.  I'd say 85% of my kills were from handguns alone.  A good tip for better accuracy?  Try lowering the aiming sensitivity to its lowest setting.

By far the hardest section of the game for me was Chapter 12, where you.... release the train brake, crash through the station, and have to survive before Elena arrives to pick you up in the jeep.  This part was beyond brutal, bordering on total bullshit, what with the ultra narrow area, shotgunners rushing in, and sniper lasers coming from every direction.  Took me nine aggravating tries.

And then there was Chapter 14, the.... duel with Lieutenant Draza.  You need to more precise than usual with the QTE button commands here, or you'll get nailed for sure.  Chapter 22 was a toughie, particularly when you've reached the.... other side of the Gompa, and you need to man the turret as the enemy waves begin to come across the elevated walkway.  Using the turret is counter-intuitive; its defenses just aren't enough, and it's better to just stick to using the sandbags and regular pop and shoot tactics.  Chapter 25 took a number of tries, too, with the big..... three-way battle between yourself, Lazarevic's army, and the Guardians.  Finally, the last battle definitely took more than three tries this time around. 

Fast Motion does come in handy for those long stretches of non-battles.  Definitely makes Chapter 2 go a lot quicker, as well as the sections heavier on the puzzle solving.

Congrats!

congrats to angela.

i've also finished my plat. for uncharted 1. it was very entertaining shooting the fidgety soldiers on crushing. they act alot more settled in uncharted 2. a few shootouts were pretty tough, including the last boss. other than that, it's pretty doable.

Got some recordings up for you guys.  Nine pieces not featured on the officially released soundtrack, and coincidentally, some of my all-time favorites from the game:

-The Dig
-Urban Warfare
-They're Coming With Us
-Only One Way Out
-Keep Moving  *NEW*
-Run!!  *NEW*
-Siege
-Among Thieves (Soft Version)
-The Monastery (Extended Version)  *NEW*
-Duel  *NEW*

You can hear this particularly rousing rendition in "Urban Warfare", but the warmer, calmer variation is played up in "Among Thieves (Soft Version)."

I'm totally nuts for that melodic segment at 4:10 into "Only One Way Out."  It was the one cue in the entire game I desired most.

^ Wasn't entirely happy with the quality of the above recordings, so I re-did them.  Old links replaced with the new takes.

Heads-up, Amazon currently has Uncharted 2 for $40.  For how long, who knows..... but damned good price.

Three new recorded pieces.  I updated the prior post with 'em.

I've also been sharing my recordings with the folks over at FF Shrine.  There, I had formulated a tracklisting that attempts to place the Official Soundtrack in a chronological order more in line with the game.  Here's what I've come up with.  As you'll see, I've also integrated the stuff I recorded into the listing.

---

01 A Rock And A Hard Place
02 Among Thieves
03 Breaking And Entering
04 The Dig
05 Urban Warfare
06 Desperate Times
07 Bustin' Chops
08 They're Coming With Us
09 The City's Secret
10 Only One Way Out
11 Keep Moving  *NEW*
12 Run!!  *NEW*
13 Refuge
14 Helicopter And Tank
15 Warzone
16 Train Wrecked
17 Marco Polo
18 Siege
19 Cat And Mouse
20 Among Thieves (Soft Version)
21 The Monastery (Extended Version)  *NEW*
22 Brutal Combo Mambo
23 The Gates of Shambala
24 Broken Paradise
25 Duel  *NEW*
26 Cornered
27 Reunion
28 Nate's Theme 2.0
29 The Road To Shambala

One last file for you guys.  The final boss battle, appropriately enough. 

Duel:
http://www.mediafire.com/?ytnztnmtayz

soundtrack got a CD release, yay!

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/02/ … res-today/

My VGM Soundtrack of 2009 just got even better.  Totally snapping this one up.  Especially looking forward to "Take That!", who's musical foundation appears to be that of the recording I did of "Run!!" -- one of my personal favorite pieces in the game.

Now they just need to release a series art book, and I can die happy.  I actually took snapshots of my television, displaying every single piece of art work available from both games' unlockable galleries.  I mean, just LOOK at how gorgeous some of these renderings are:

-Uncharted 2 - Art 1
-Uncharted 2 - Art 2
-Uncharted 2 - Art 3
-Uncharted 2 - Art 4
-Uncharted 2 - Art 5
-Uncharted 2 - Art 6
-Uncharted 2 - Art 7

nice, that's some dedication.

I love the artwork for those games too; it's so lush. Makes me want to jump right into the scene myself. My brother has a nice little collection of it on his site:
http://www.creativeuncut.com/art_unchar … ves_a.html

Oh, hell yes.

that's some expensive stuff, but sure looks great.