Uncharted 2 is enjoying stellar reviews, riding high with a 96 average on Metacritic and standing tall as the critical darling of 2009. In fact, the lowest score a critic could muster was an impressive 9, meaning Uncharted 2 must be damn-near perfect in every way. Unfortunately, my experience with Uncharted 2, which I played to completion, was not that of a 9-10 rated game. Quite the contrary.

Before I launch an attack on Uncharted 2, allow me to proclaim some praise where it is due.

Lush, Detailed Graphics

Uncharted 2 is one of the most beautiful-looking games you’ve ever seen. The attention to detail, set design, and tons of little touches all conspire to push the PS3 to its maximum capability. The artists and level designers truly delivered something fantastic.

Great Voice-Acting

99% of videogames have horrendous voice-acting by 5th-rate talent that would be better served by abandoning the acting and relying solely on subtitles. Not so with Uncharted 2. Here the acting is solid and lines are delivered with something akin to emotion, which is nice to hear.

That’s pretty much it for my positives. Now on with the show.

Great Graphics Do Not Make a Great Game
read more…

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a game of amazing depth. For fans of the Caped Crusader it is a dark treasure trove of trivia, action, and intensity. The voice acting is superb and there is tons of it. Interview tapes you discover along your move through the game unlock hours and hours of dialogue from all of the villains as they interact with an Arkham shrink. The dialogue is well written and performed fantastically so it is a joy for fans and would do a great job of acquainting those with only a passing familiarity with some of the more obscure characters. They also do a great job, along with a load of other unlockable content, abilities, challenges, etc., of pulling you through the game.

And it is important to give the game sometime to fully reveal all of its potential. It actually wasn’t till a couple hours into the game that I wasn’t convinced everyone was crazy and that Arkham Asylum didn’t deserve more than score in the mid-8’s. After all, you were seeing nothing more than cell block corridors, and the visuals were great, but not perfect. read more…