Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta Impressions!

2009 looks to be yet another strong year for videogames and of course for us gamers. We will get to experience some of the most stunning and entertaining games of this generation, none more so then Naughty Dog's PS3 exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The sequel to the wonderful Drake's Fortune, looks to build and refine what was an already critically praised game and will also be adding multiplayer for the first time in the franchise. A beta kicked off on Playstation Network today and although the beta is accessible for us gamers if you received a code with InFamous, it is still technically a closed beta. I'll be honest, when I heard that Naughty Dog were including a brand new multiplayer mode into the latest installment in the Uncharted franchise. I wasn't exactly blown away with excitement. 

Like many of you I suspect, I loved Drarke's Fortunes simply because I found it both a blast to play and truly became immersed with both the story and the characters within the Uncharted universe. I definatly didn't need a multiplayer mode to help me decide if I was going to purchase Among Thieves upon release. So I went into the beta with mixed thoughts, I was eager to see how it controlled though and despite my love for the original, I think improvements could clearly be made. So after downloading the beta client and installing it to my system, I booted it up and hooked up my official Playstation 3 wireless headset which I was glad to actually use. As you'd expect with a beta, you basically have a few options that allow one to jump into a match online. While I was eager to check out this multiplayer mode, I also wanted to adjust to the leveling up system the game uses when online. 

Elena Fisher continues to be part of Drake's story.

Rather then creating your own character, you are asked to select the image of both a hero character and a villian character. The hero character comes in the form of one of the main figures of the franchise, for example I chose Victor Sullivan. While the list currently consists of around six different heroes, I already suspect that in the full retail game more will be made available possibly from completing the single player campaign. On a quick side note, I was glad to see Elena Fisher appear in the list of playable characters. It's only the latest E3 trailer of the game which as actually shown her within the game, at one point I had thought that she would not make an appearance. But back to the subject at hand, I picked a hero and a villian in the form of a hooded dark, moody looking gentleman who clearly had issues. Your also given the option to select a specific perk somewhat in the same vain as Modern Warfare. Knowing how I often waste a little ammo from time to time, I went for the extra ammo perk which allowed me to carry more ammunition when online.

There were only a few extra perks from what I could see, but it's possible that as you level up online you unlock extra new perks to adjust to your style of play. Now sadly the start of my beta experience was rather slow, it took ages for me to find players using the games matchmaking service. I'd say around six minutes before I was finally able to connect to any other players, not a great start I think you'll agree. I won't be to hard on this issue though considering it is a beta afterall and it's only just kicked off, Sony or Naughty Dog can work on this issue within the coming weeks. That's the whole point of a beta afterall. The first mode was plunder, a basic capture the flag styled mode which required both teams to rob the other teams plunder and take it to their respawn point. While this mode wasn't great, I was honestly shocked by how quickly a got into the action and how great controlling your character felt.

While some fans will feel that Uncharted would make a rather poor multiplayer game, I now actually believe that Uncharted's multplayer could be a bit of a quiet surprise. It's worth noting that your character really does handle well and controls are both fluid and fun. I still think grenade use is a bit of a mess but it's still useable.  One of the most interesting features, and the feature I very quickly grew to love about my spell playing the multiplayer beta so far. Comes in the form of the cover system, now that alone might not shock you as many titles of today use a form of a cover system. But online, Uncharted 2's cover system offers gamers the chance to use their brains and strategic minds to outwit their enemy. This cover system also means that the pace of the game is a lot more pleasant then your average Call of Duty game, and I found it very easy to adjust my play style to. There was a simple yet delightful pleasure in outwitting your enemies cover position and out flanking them. Of course you can also jump around on buildings and climb up walls so using you brain can pay off big time. 

Uncharted 2's multiplayer mode, could take many by surprise.I did rather poorly in my first round, achieving no kills what so ever. But my following playthroughs saw me appear consistently at the top of the charts and I suspect that I adjusted quickly to it's gameplay faster then others who may have been use to pacey titles such as Killzone 2. It needs to be experienced to truly see why I personally found the cover system to be such a key part of the enjoyment online. For some it will be a little to slow and thought out, it feels more about your strategic skills rather then your trigger skills and maybe that simply suits my style more. Controls haven't changed a great deal from the past Uncharted game, but it does offer a more tighter experience and general animations are top notch. Currently there is only a couple of maps available and there is also a co-op online mode for you and a friend to fight together, I have yet check this mode out fully so I'll write up on that at a later date. 

Weapons vary, but the common ones are all there and it's probably not really worth going into any great detail at this point. Many of the weapons used in the previous game make a returning appearance, it's worth noting that they do feel powerful to use though. One new weapon I did come across was a minigun of sorts, though I was usually being taken down by one rather then actually using it myself. I'm sure that some of you may have recently seen the simply stunning trailer for the game released at E3, well I can tell you that the game does look that good. Considering this is a multiplayer beta afterall, I was impressed by the visual improvements made. Everything looks sharp and it's honestly hard to point out any true issues with the graphical look of the game, it simply looks amazing. Sadly my experience as been affected by the horrid matchmaking service which at one point took fourteen minutes to find a match suitable, and some menu improvements could be made. But this is a beta afterall so such issues are to be expected, I just really hope Naughty Dog fix the matchmaking issues because I could happily see myself spending many hours with the multiplayer mode alone. 

So for now, that is my general impression of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Multplayer beta. All in all I absolutely love it, to my great surprise I might add. It's perfectly paced and allows you to use personal and team strategy to beat your opponents. Hopefully we will see fixes to the current matchmaking service and general connectivity in the coming weeks. But even those long waiting times are worth another round with Uncharted 2's multiplayer mode, I think that's worthy praise in itself. Other smaller improvements might also be nice to see, for example once you have completed your round with your fellow players. Your basically dropped to the main menu searching for more players. If it allowed you to stick with the same group then that would be good, maybe there is and I simply haven't come across it as this point. There is a sort of party system already in place. So for now, let's just say I like it. By far the most enjoyable mode is the usual deathmatch experience and it plays out well. I'll write again the future on my impressions.