Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta Offers The Same Great Gameplay
The long awaited sequel to Uncharted was finally able to tease earlier this week, when it gave the opportunity to fans of the series and gamers alike to get their teeth into the multiplayer section of the game. While Uncharted 2 is still someway off, scheduled for a November release this year, for many the Beta was a must have experience. Let's just hope it impressed those longing for the early taste.
With Qore subscribers getting their exclusive content and downloads the usual way, and pre-orders of inFamous allowing other players the chance to experience the beta, it has managed to pull in quite a few punters. The beta itself commenced on the 3rd of June and is due to be live until the 28th of this month, ample time for gamers to get stuck in.
Initially it is apparent that there are two modes available competitive and cooperative, both seek games through a matchmaking system. However, this is where a problem occurs. While it is known there are a lot of players with access to the beta, due to the large audience it was able to pull in, there seems to be a struggle to actually find players. Expect to wait anywhere from 2 -20 minutes to join a game.
Howver, the above isn't important as what everyone wants to know about is the actual gameplay. Anyone who played the previous Uncharted title will be instantly at home with the controls. The only major difference is that L2 is now used to ready and throw grenades, but aside from that everything else remains much the same. Down to the basics, there are ten character models to choose from, five for each side, and there are various "perks" which can be used to to do things like, increase accuracy. It's highly plausible that more become unlocked as the player progresses through the ranks.
There are two modes in the competitive side of the game; Deathmatch, which is a straight forward "team with the highest kills wins" scenario, and Plunder, which is a slightly more interesting version of capture the flag. In Plunder a treasure is made known to both teams and they must retrieve it and bring it back to base. The biggest difference being that when picked up, it restricts the player to only be able to move slower and fire the pistol while being carried. This adds a new element of strategy whereby rolling hurls the treasure in front of you, taking cover drops it at your feet and best of all it can be thrown like a grenade, which can really heat things up when you get it thrown towards a team member in a better position to score it.
As far as weapons are concerned, the standard pistol and AK47 make their welcome return as the default weapons for both teams. A new assault rifle, which can be easily obtained as a replacement for the AK47 right off the bat, features a three shot burst fire rate. This is completely different to other assault rifles which have appeared in Uncharted, as they have previously all be automatic fire as default. Other welcome returns include the M-79, standard shotgun, SAS assault shotgun, desert eagle and sniper rifle - with a new addition of the Mini-Gun.
Having played inFamous which the majority of people on the Beta will have in fact been doing, the ability to climb about the map seems a little bit awkward. Sometimes its not very clear what can be scaled and can't be. For the most part if it's really obvious, but at other times, it's more like guess work. The cover system works great online and the ability to set traps by throwing gas tanks at key points adds an interesting level of play. The only somewhat upsetting thing, even if it's very understandable, is that they don't allow instant kill headshots; it's sometimes not even obvious that they've done damage at all.
After each match completes players are awarded "experience" in the form of money and a circular level meter fills allowing the player to rank up. Whether this will unlock more options, characters and perks is yet to be discovered. There also appears to be an award system based on fulfilling certain requirements in a match, like killing an enemy when you've just been killed by them.
All in all though the beta is a great experience. It feels just as it should, and for anyone who loved Uncharted will definitely enjoy the experience from this. Whether the multiplayer is enough on its own to draw players in remains to be seen, but the potential is definitely there. Hopefully the masses will embrace it when the game gets its release towards the end of the year. Until then those of you able to be in the Beta - Enjoy!
