Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review

Should have gone to Specsavers?

Online play also brings Uncharted 2′s small, well-balanced array of wildcard pick-ups into their own. Grab a riot shield and you’ll become a walking fortress with a deadly backhand, proof against frontal bombardment but absolutely begging to have your neck snapped; unholster the chaingun and you’ll slow to a highly conspicuous waddle, easily dispatched if the other team sees you coming, the wrath of Hades if they don’t.

Of the modes, CTF-variant Plunder probably has the longest shelf life: five-man hero and villain teams compete to return a cumbersome golden idol from the centre of the map to their respective treasure chests, whether by lugging it the whole way or hurling it from player to player American-Football-style. Treasure chests are sometimes situated above ground level, leading to frequent last-minute turnarounds as dispossessed teams ambush the carrier during that clumsy final ascent.

Climbing is the new rocket-jumping.

King of the Hill and Domination are self-explanatory shades of capture-and-hold, while Chain Reaction requires one team to storm control points in a certain order. The three-man cooperative experience is split between broken-off segments of the storyline, players blasting their way from checkpoint to checkpoint, and a compelling, round-based blend of area defence and CTF known as Gold Rush. Last and least, there’s Deathmatch and no-respawns-allowed Elimination.

Arriving fresh from the single player, you’ll have a healthy cash reserve to blow on custom character skins, tuned-up weaponry, abrasive “taunts” and Modern-Warfare-esque “booster” abilities. You can slot two of the latter into your profile at once, some run-of-the-mill (carry more ammo), some dangerously useful (see enemies through walls, or stop them from doing likewise), some masochistic (take double-damage from melee attacks). The more potent or eccentric are only available to high-levellers, but never fear, occasional players – Uncharted 2′s match-making system distributes these over-powered veterans even-handedly between teams.