Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Multiplayer Demo Impressions

( 2 Votes ) As a huge fan of Uncharted and Naughty Dog, the multiplayer demo was simply too irresistible to pass up this week so I decided to give it a spin. For those unfamiliar with Uncharted, its a Third Person Shooter with a cover system, stealth mechanics and an integrated platformer setup. It came off very clean in the first Uncharted and returns once again in Uncharted 2. Now then, the multiplayer demo will stay for a few weeks and will shut down before the release of Uncharted 2 so make sure to not burn yourselves out on a temporary demo. It comes around a 1200mb download and takes about an hour to get going.

Lets start off with the 4 different modes available in the demo. The multiplayer modes include Co-Op Objective, Co-Op Arena, Deathmatch and Objectives. Each of these modes plays out differently and can have large or small rewards depending on your skill. The first mode Co-Op Objective is a side story from the main Uncharted 2 story and has 3 player spots available for you and your online friends or if you prefer to be matched up with a stranger, there is also that option available. The only Co-Op objective mission is based in the Nepal Warzone Map, an area familiar to those who have watched the trailers.

You and your online companions control Sully, Elena and Nathan on a little side mission to get some treasure. You fight plenty of mercenaries along the way to complete your mission in Easy, Normal, Hard, or the brutally difficult Crushing mode. The interesting part of the combat is that you can sneak up behind enemy for choke-holds, fire on top of a window with ease, blow up cars providing cover for enemy troops or use a Rocket Launchers to crush all opposition. Naughty Dog has designed the combat to be smooth in any situation for whatever mood fits you at the moment especially vertical combos.

Co-op Arena is similar to Co-Op Objective but there is no introduction to it at the beginning. Your team is introduced an objective which is to grab the treasure(A Golden idol) and leave it in the treasure chest. Seems simple enough, right? Well you quickly start panicking as enemy troops pour from all over the map trying to kill you and your team. The difficulty escalates as the your assassins bring in shotguns, sniper rifles, riot shields and even armored goons with Gatling Guns try to shut down your team.

At that point, your team must communicate in order to survive and stick together, develop strategies and coordinate becoming decoys or beginning assaults to push the enemy back. Its a great mode which creates camaraderie with total strangers if you go matchmaking. If it sounds familiar, think about Horde Mode from Gears of War 2 except Co-Op Arena has more focus on an objective and survival at the same time.

Deathmatch and Objective are much easier to explain. Deathmatch is simply team deathmatch with 10 players max(5v5) and is a challenge to see who gets 50 kills first. Match weapon selection include Standard, Sniper Rifle and Pistol, Rocket Launchers, and Elimination. The maps include Village, Ice Cave and the Plaza. For a beta, this was surprisingly varied and I am confident that the content in Uncharted 2 is no doubt 5 times larger.

Matches have two objective types, Plunder and Chain Reaction. Plunder is similar to Capture the Flag as you have to grab the Treasure and take it to your side of the map. Chain Reaction is similar to Capture and Hold, as 5 territories on the map are up for grabs and taking all 5 guarantees an immediate victory. To add more good news to the full release, Uncharted 2 will pack several more maps and match types for those looking for variation.

The weapons in the beta already feel smooth and balanced in the multiplayer including the AK47, M4, FAL, RPG launcher, Grenade Launcher, three types of handguns, pump and auto shotguns and finally the Sniper Rifle. To see so much variety is exciting and it worked out perfectly in the multiplayer modes. The beta also gave gamers a chance to check out the booster system or "Perks" available in both co-op and competitive.

Abilities like Fleet Foot will allow you move faster while you are aiming, Down The Irons will allow you to shoot more accurately with the assault rifles, and several others will give you an advantage such as Turtle which makes you faster with the riot shields;good booster when you are clearing rooms of enemies. Co-op upgrades were also available such as making your AK47 more accurate, carry more ammo, or reload faster. A shopping list of boosters will keep the most hardcore players busy for weeks or even months.

To conclude this impression, it looks like Uncharted 2 will be a stunning game for the ages. Great multiplayer combined with another exciting single-player is a sure recipe for another excellent title that will be enjoyed by all kinds of gamers. Everything I saw from the multiplayer demo was polished to perfection and no issues came up that would cause any concern. To have a flawless beta just before the release is truly encouraging of the gaming bliss that awaits us. October 13 cannot come soon enough.

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