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The Winning Formula of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Kelli Lenae
April 20, 2010
Developers need a glossy coating to attract the masses to their shiny game mechanics. And the gaming industry is great at doing that.
Let's say, for example, that someone was to ask me why I enjoyed Uncharted 2: Among Thieves so much and why I thought it was probably the highlight of 2009. To be honest, it doesn't really bring anything amazingly new to the genre, or to the sequel itself in terms of gameplay. The shooting, platforming, puzzle-solving and overall feel of Drake's Fortune and Among Thieves is pretty darn close in comparison. Uncharted 2 has that nice, new HD graphical upgrade and the characters interact with each other and the environment in excellent fashion , but a lot of new iterations of gaming series can do that yet they never achieve the overall praise Drake's second outing has earned. So what is it? What makes this game stand out so wonderfully?
It's because it has a winning formula. I can break this game down and tell you all, my lovely geek gaggle, why this game--and others of its kind--are good.
#1. Epic Moments Uncharted 2 is oozing with epic moments. The most impressive being the opening scene. There is nothing more impressive than climbing to the top of a train, while hanging off a cliff in a blizzard, with a gunshot wound. You're immediately drawn into the action. Your mind focuses on how this came about and the mysterious origins of the game drags you in. Whether you planned to play 10 minutes or an hour, you play to unravel the mystery longer than you expected to. The Epic Moments are most effective in the beginning. They grab your attention immediately. It's a technique used in Sci-fi/Action movies as well. It's a fantastic way to draw the viewer in and video games can utilize this artistic feature with enough focus and finesse. A lot of other great games achieve the epic moment later. Usually this is with Role Playing Games (RPGs) as they have a slow start to get you into the characters and storyline. Japanese Role Playing Games (JRPGs) in particular hinge on their unique epic moment. It's that cliched OMG moment that makes all the repetitiveness worthwhile and keeps you glued to your seat for the rest of the ride.
A lot of genres take different approaches to introducing the epic moment but it usually happens in all the great series that gamers remember and acknowledge. "The cake is a lie," and "Would you kindly?" are great examples of epic lines in amazingly memorable games and you can't help but love it.
#2. Pacing, pacing, pacing The pacing element is important because, used correctly, it completely hides the flaws and shortcomings. Did you notice that Uncharted 2 is basically a rail-based adventure game? There's really no opportunity for full exploration and most of the action scenes lead you on one straight course. I didn't really notice because the game always gave me a feeling of urgency, it needed to go forward, why would I explore that empty building over there? People are shooting at me and Chloe says I have to go climb that hotel! The invisible walls were hidden with the environment and the game rushed so much that I didn't bother trying to check out every building around me. There wasn't any time! If a game keeps you busy you're less likely to notice your surroundings. Or at the very least, you're less likely to scrutinize your surroundings.
Bayonetta did this wrong. The pacing was crippled by exploratory segments in environments with ridiculous invisible walls. I mean, putting an invisible wall in front of a small patch of open grass in a park is going to look bad. Surrounding Drake with tall, dense jungle foliage and chasing him with bad guys looks good.
Pacing works for every genre. In a thriller, you're not examining the stucco walls, you're looking for movement because you're half terrified. In FPS's you don't usually move the camera everywhere because you need to be prepared to whip the camera around and shoot the guy who's running down the corridor behind you. Pace it well and everything flows perfectly.
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