Uncharted 2 Beta Impressions

Now we all know that Uncharted 2 has been hyped beyond comparison but, possibly, by some nigh on impossible way it might have lived up to the buzz? Now before you take my head off for saying this hear me out. Think what Uncharted is being praised for. Good looking? Check. Good voice acting? Check. Good multiplayer? Most definitely yes.

The beta has been knocking around those lucky enough to be part of it for a few months now and all we have been hearing are good things. It went live to the public a few days ago and the reception has been fantastic. I downloaded it 2 days ago and am already addicted, see here’s the thing. Not only is playing Uncharted 2 online a hell of a lot of fun and absolutely stunning, it’s also rewarding and very addictive. There is an enormous amount of modes and game types to delve into despite how little it seems at first.


The demo gives you 4 different modes to play with: Deathmatch, Objective, Co-op Objective and Co-op Arena. The 2 co-op modes are good fun to play through with some friends but the real meat of the demo is in the Deathmatch and Objective modes. I have been playing for 2 days now and have put in about 4-5 hours and have not played a single game type twice. There are only a handful of maps but the intricacies of the games alter constantly. Be it a standard all weapons point capture or an all RPG fight to the, quite explosive, death. I have played such a numerous amount of different game types but I’m still convinced that I haven’t seen everything this has to offer (I haven't even discussed the brilliant machinima mode). And this is just the beta.

Point I’m trying to get across is this: Download the beta, enjoy it, buy the game, enjoy it and be happy. This is incredible considering it’s free and is in many ways more value for money than some full games I’ve played. Get it and love it.

(As a side note it seems that some people are experiencing a very long wait to get into their first few online games. Whillst I didn't experience this myself I thought I would mention it anyway just incase thats a factor for any of you.)

COD 5 Wii First Impressions

The Wii has taken a brutal amount of crap this year with barely a couple of games worth mentioning (SSBB being one of if not the only one). Still a friend of mine (being a history/FPS fan) was looking forward to COD 5 but unfourtunately his PC can't run iTunes let alone any games. This meant that his purchase be made for the Wii, a console most gamers associate with games that are err... different to the COD series. Nevertheless he brings this game to my house raving about how good it is, in multiplayer that is. So we sit down and decide to do some Co-op. First problem. The sods have decided the Wii isn't capable or at least doesn't deserve co-op so they give us this 2 player monstrosity that is completely pants. Basically player one has a normal screen whereas player 2 gets an aiming reticule on player 1s screen. That's right. all player 2 can do is shoot. Unfourtunately neither players are given a different reticule to the other so the mix up is horrendous and no one gets anywhere. We had to stop after 5 minutes due to the fact that neither of us could aim at anything. So. Where is the 4 player co-op found on every other console and PC hmm?

It gets worse. The campaign has some of the worst physics I've ever seen in a game (with people literally falling to the floor when they have been shot...except this happened in water? Shouldn't they float?). the only saving factors are that the controls are alright and the gameplay is alright. However there is nothing remotely special at all.

The reason that this is a first impressions as opposed to a full review is that I got so bored with the game I gave up on level 2 and played some UT3 instead. I'm told the multiplayer is good but to be honest I'm not even contemplating buying this, purely because Wii owners have been skrewed over again. Damn you, damn you to hell.

I'm sorry but the developers and publishers do not deserve any money whatsoever from this half assed port. Just please do not buy the Wii version of this game, please, help yourself.