Why does Uncharted 2 have to be… so lame?
First off, that title is only there to get all of you Uncharted 2 fan boys interested. Right off the bat, I loved Uncharted 2. Thoroughly enjoyed it. A gift to my eyes, ears – and skin in some cases (I’d sweat profusely during the difficult bits). However there’s just one thing which bugged me, and that has bugged me since the day I completed the little gem… so many moons ago…
Why is it so generic? The gameplay and visuals are perfect; I genuinely cannot find a single fault in that department. Where I feel let down is in the narrative. Sure – it’s Uncharted, the genre is that of action adventure! The exact point is the fact that you play as Nate-Dawg, running around exploring and solving mysteries in foreign locations! But why? Why can’t developers recreate games like this… that are original?
It’s fair to say we all loved Indiana Jones, and when it comes to nerdy, socially-inept, spunk-filled teenage boys – Tomb Raider was a sparkling diamond in the rough. Naughty Dog whipped all these ingredients up and served, nice and hot, audiences the crème de la crème of video game goodness on a plate! But as I ventured through the strange lands of Tibet and Shambahla, I felt myself thinking ‘God… the storyline for this is pretty crummy isn’t it?’ I say crummy to be polite, what I actually mean is ‘God… the storyline for this is fucking shit isn’t it?’
The ending – OH THE ENDING! After experiencing hours of innovative, accurate and wonderful gameplay – I come to the ending expecting a world of love and satisfaction. That’s not such a tall order is it fellow readers? I mean – the game has surpassed any of my expectations up to this point! But as I watch Nate fight the enemies for one last time, in the sort of binary-oppositional, good guy vs. bad guy routine, I start to see just how plain this game is underneath.
No game is perfect. We let titles such as COD 4 get away with “unfair killing and glitching” online, and football games passing to the wrong player in key moments. We appreciate the efforts of the developer, and as nations we settle for what we consider strong attempts at defining, or refining a genre. At heart, BioShock (and sorry that I always refer to this, but you must know it is my one true love) is like your every other shoot-em’-up. Lovely on the eyes and good on the guns. Sorted. But what really separates BioShock from every other shooter is the fact that there is a story! Not just any old story either – but a genuinely emotional, engrossing and intelligent story that you as a player feel extremely responsible for completing. Would it have been half the success it was if it had a generic story? Balls would it!! Reviewers would just state “Trying too hard to be an artsy/horror Call of duty”. And what would you be able to do but agree with them? So here we have an interesting situation. Is Uncharted 2 the opposite of this? Yes, it’s got the lovely visuals, good on the guns and gameplay – but has it no story?
The dialogue is witty, intelligent and thoughtfully considered, however you’d be naive to say that the story is stupendous! It’s just like every other artefact-based adventure game. No amount of clever one liners or lovely character development can hide that. You’re playing it for the characters and for the gameplay, and with all these review companies circulating, allowing the game to jizz all over their faces, I realize that there is no focus on the narrative anymore. They let that fly out the window due to the stellar characters, controls and set pieces.
Guys, I don’t know about you, but to me – without an innovative story, it can only ever be half brilliant. A lovely looking pie with no filling. A secure shell with no substance. Uncharted 2, sadly, is only half brilliant.
Thanks for reading.
124 Responses to “Why does Uncharted 2 have to be… so lame?”
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Oh I get the dumb title you just wanted this to gain popularity on N4G. How creative. kbye
Did it ever tote around that it was super original? no, now shut up and play survival with two buddies.
i found it funny how the only person who agrees with the writer has a xbox avatar above his name, did you even play the game? or do you just log on to sites to talk down any ps3 game. The story wasn’t orignal? who cares go watch a movie instead, its a game
Wow.. This guy is just does not have good taste in videogames. Like really, a title to attract attention, to then say you love Uncharted 2 and that this game is a gem. To at the end say is only half brilliant. Excuse me but your dear Gears of war 1.5 errr i mean 2 was the same thing as the first game and yet people called it a full brilliant game. So sad how peole make such articles to bash games.
Totally agree with the article
Dear God the Sony children are going to murder you…
Drake is the new indiana jones!!!
I admit that this article is retarded, sorry folks.
well isnt that guy a retard LOL one of the best story
do you not see for a second that even if this game is generic, it still has some of the best acting in a game to date? In fact the acting in this game is better than most of the films i have watched these days. The genre may be generic but it’s the people within the genre that really get you and all of the characters were really well developed in this game. I see your point. but it really is a small part of the bigger picture, the game was just excellent!
The guy author is not a retard for expressing his opinion.
I actually agree with him when he says the story is lame. Thankfully, the game hooks you in with its characters and fun gameplay.
8/10 for me.
I liked the story fine. However, people are not happy unless they are complaining about something.
If I could shit in your mouth and post it on News for faggots, I would. You’re piss weak and I eat turds like you for breakfast. I did however enjoy your article, Gary, so keep up the Good work.
-The Offensive Gamer
I’d like to cut open your chest and take a steaming dump down your throat. Your article is quite well written, however, so I will spare you the chest slicing.
“First off, that title is only there to get all of you Uncharted 2 fan boys interested.”
well thanks for getting that out of the way, now i dont have to read the rest of your article. heres your… page hit. thats all you really wanted, right?
@ Moustache
Yep that is all I ever wanted. Thanks for understanding.
why would anyone even buy uncharted 2? naughty dog should have stuck with jak and daxter.
i cant wait for mw2 to win GOTY and make kids cry.
I thought this article contained a lot of relavant points and despite it’s criticism, i think it’s a fair representation of the game as the whole. A good read, and i look forward to many more in the future
Thanks very much wankstain.
TITS!!
dont you just love it, when you get an N4G nooby that just loves deepthroating cock!? Stupid fucking UK fag.
posted by some guy named ME
why would anyone even buy uncharted 2? naughty dog should have stuck with jak and daxter—-
First off if you hadn’t noticed… Jak and daxter has gone down the tubes. After Jak 3 came out no one cared anymore. That and now we have the PS3 which can do much better than an old ps2 game and everyone wants to play something that shows off the next gen console’s power which means THAT THERE IS NO MONEY IN JAK AND DAXTER and that’s all that matters.
ABOUT THE ARTICLE
LAME?? Wait what, I smell fps fanboy!
Although Uncharted’s main story isn’t new it’s how it presents it! The voice acting is great and has multiple surprises throghout the game. It’s very well presented.
I think if you found this lame, your probably the guy who plays COD.
uh wow
I disagree with everything about this post..
if your saying that this game has no story
then your saying movies/games like Indiana jones, and tomb raider have no story. They are very closely related with Uncharted 2, either you don’t know what a good story is, or you have a terrible taste.
I suppose all you care are run/gun fps games
like MW2, there’s no story in that, it’s pointless..
I do smell xbox fanboy in here..
@ carlos
what an idiot you are
you actually agree with this fag who posted this garbage?
anyhow
it’s nice you have a opnion for the game
but really it’s pointless
look at metacritic, Uncharted 2 has a “96″ out of 100
better then mw2!
k he isnt saying its shitty, hes just saying that is generic which it is. look at arkham asylum, now thats an amzing game the combat, the stealth, the story, everything!!! it just feels much more of a game then uncharted with its clunky shooting and supposed lovable characters
I don’t think you go far enough. All aspects of the narrative – plot, characters, and dialogue – are completely generic. Though competently recited by the voice actors, I don’t recall a single memorable piece of dialogue. The cookie-cutter nature of the narrative definitely impacted my enjoyment of the single-player game, though I still liked it overall.