Uncharted 2

Looks like we are going to get an Uncharted 2 next year. They are teasing a teaser trailer that will air during the Video Game Awards on Dec. 14. I'm not going to watch them, but I will hit Game Trailers up after the fact.

This is one of my favorite PS3 games so I'll definitely be interested to see what they do in 2. I'm kind of worried about spending the whole time in the snow but maybe they'll do a better job of mixing up different locations in this one.

Game Informer blurb.

Yeah, I have hope that Naughty Dog won't do a bunch of cheap-shot stuff. The increase in stealth and change in climbing makes it seem like it might be taking some cues from Assassin's Creed.

Still, I loved the game and am excited to see how much better a sequel could be with 2 years of work.

I'll disagree and say that there are a number of good games for PS3 (Resistance 2, LBP, Killzone 2, GoW III, MGS4, a bunch of PSN games) but I do think it's hard to justify spending $400 for access to just a couple of games and Blu-ray functionality if you already own a 360.

That said, the first Uncharted was great and I can't wait to see some in game footage for this. I don't think the 'stealth' sections will be too bad and I did start to feel bad about shooting so many people in the face.

And apparently the teaser was rendered using their in-game cutscene engine. I'm impressed, the snow effects looked really good.

I'm disappointed that they're going the 'new love interest every time' route a la Indiana Jones but besides that, everything I've read looks great. This will be a must-buy for me as well.

Joystiq has a 5 page interview up here.

Quite an interesting read. They've basically abandoned the SIXAXIS controls by mapping grenades to their own button and taking out log balancing. I wonder how much longer until Sony just stops including that functionality in the controllers as a cost-saving measure.

As for the story, they're saying it's 2-3 years after the first and that Sully and Elena are not in it at all. Also, they're saying that they're focusing on making it the best single-player game they can. So it's sounding like there may not be a co-op mode in it either.

The improvements to the wall climbing mechanic will be appreciated though. The jumping from ledge to ledge in the first was a bit ridiculous sometimes. They're also aiming to not have an install with the game either which I definitely appreciate. If the two best looking PS3 games, Uncharted and Killzone 2 can get by sans-install I'd hope other developers would make more of an effort.

I don't know that there's any point to making a movie of it. The game basically IS a movie. Like the guy says in the interview (calling it a girlfriend-game) that people actually just enjoy watching you play.

Obviously you could turn it into a movie, but what's the point? It'd be basically the same story but not interactive. I'd rather they develop more Uncharted games than spend the same amount to just make something that I can only sit there and watch.

Well, I actually just watched a second interview that then implied that Sully would be back (nothing about Elena htough). Ah well, I trust that it'll still be a great experience as long as whoever is voicing the new female lead, Chloe, is actually Australian and not just faking an accent.

It'd be a waste to just get voiceover from her though.

Uh oh, it's looks like Uncharted 2 is going to have some freakin' multiplayer!!! As long as it's co-op this game will move from 'must buy day one' to 'will actively hunt down and try to find a store that accidentally broke street date and put it out early.'

All you have to do is buy inFamous to get access to the multiplayer beta ... I hope this is a Crackdown type thing where the game they're bundling it with is actually pretty decent. I don't know that this will even convince me to buy inFamous (since I know I'm buying Uncharted 2 anyway) but it does edge me a bit closer.

I don't mind having a separate co-op mode than main campaign. It can make playing the campaign quite frustrating if you're trying to deal with AI instead of an actual human being.

I don't mind the way GRAW or Resistance 2 did it where co-op mode uses many of the same mechanics as standard but is its own thing. Of course I also love Army of Two so either way really works for me.

Kotaku's got their impressions up here. ETA: And Joystiq co-op impressions here.

It definitely sounds like the multiplayer stuff isn't really incorporated with the main single player mode at all. They have special co-op stuff and standard PvP stuff though. I just hope they don't cut development time on the single player at all to add this stuff in.

Yeah, I'd definitely like to be able to play it occasionally with my 360-only friends when they come over.

Split screen is also a great way to sell an apprehensive friend on a title. It's what convinced me to pick up Left 4 Dead, Army of Two, and GRAW.

Not beta-fied here but I'd just like to remark again how friggin' amazing the video during the Sony presentation was. Cannot wait for this game.

Hopefully you guys will be able to give some more impressions.

The thing that really strikes me as out of place in this though is that your character isn't wearing any kind of armor at all ... given that, you feel like a single shot from a mounted machine gun should probably come close to killing you.

I know it's not realistic to expect body armor to actually protect you that well but there's this cognitive dissonance when I watch guys in t-shirts (including Drake) wandering around and getting shot multiple times in the chest without going down.