
I think the original Uncharted is a bit overrated. As Sony’s answer to Gears of War, I think people glossed over its faults in order to rank it on that same level. It’s sequel, however, stands on its own merits as a landmark release.

I think the original Uncharted is a bit overrated. As Sony’s answer to Gears of War, I think people glossed over its faults in order to rank it on that same level. It’s sequel, however, stands on its own merits as a landmark release.

A few days ago, I picked up Bulletstorm. It’s clear that the developers behind it really wanted to push the bounds of what a first-person shooter could be. Everything from the weapons, to the level designs, and the enemies themselves, have been tuned for you to pull off fancy juggle combos, and kills that would make Devil May Cry jealous. However, it’s also clear that their single player innovations don’t work within the context of traditional multiplayer deathmatch. Instead, the game offers its own version of horde mode that feels like a throwaway mode meant to to meet check multiplayer off as a feature on the back of the box.
Though the game was a critical hit, the it didn’t live up to sales expectations, and its sequel was shelved. Did Bulletstorm fail as a commercial product because of it’s de-emphasis on multiplayer?

For the first few sections of the game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves made me wonder what all the hype was about. The game starts out with a stealth sequence that I didn’t find very fun to play, followed by a pass through a jungle, which was 95% of the original game. I had high hopes for Uncharted 2 surpassing the good but flawed original, but things did not start off on the right foot for me.
But then you’re running through a city with an armored vehicle trailing close behind you. Then you’re running away from a helicopter. Then you have to escape a collapsing building. From that point on, Uncharted 2 was pretty awesome.

Uncharted 2 was the main reason I picked up a PlayStation 3. Based on everything I saw and heard about this game, this was one of those games that I could not miss. Before I got around to this though, I decided to play Uncharted 1, which was really good, but flawed on a number of levels. If Uncharted 2 were to really live up to the hype for me, it would have a lot of obstacles to overcome that soured me on the first game.
With the year winding down, many gamers have been discussing the best games of 2009, mostly to debate which game should be honoured “Game of the Year”. I think it’s impossible for any media outlet or any individual person to make a list that will make everyone happy. However, what I can do better than anyone else is speak for myself. With that said, my choice for “Game of the Year” is not the be-all-end-all opinion you have to believe in. Feel free to give me your picks for “Game of the Year” and “Game of the Year” nominees.