Uncharted 2: Memories of a Mythical Beast...

     Over the past few weekends I've been playing the Uncharted games, in preparation for the third one coming out this fall. I don't have a PS3, so a friend of mine has been gracious enough to let me play them on his. I have enjoyed them immensely.

Like Assassin's Creed... But with more Hind Gunships.

     This post is not so much a review of the games as a story of my favorite memory from playing them. A memory which comes from the second one, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Both games are amazing, with an Indian Jones sort of feel. I love Indiana Jones (except for the latest one. Let's just pretend like that never happened...). Although I'm not much of a platform game aficionado, I enjoy the ocassional Assassin's Creed or Mega Man every now and then. Both Uncharted games had just the right amount of gunfighting and historical fiction to keep me hooked, and the platforming fit in seamlessly.

The "Train Level". "Game of the Year" quality...

     The graphics were absolutely fantastic, as to be expected from the PS3. The facial features were great, and mouths moved believably. The script was hilarious, especially when I imagined the lines coming from Nathan Fillion. I sure hope he gets that part...

     "This is all very interesting, Goongala. But didn't you have a story you were going to tell us?" Right! Right... I haven't done a review in a while, and I've been itching to write one. On to the story...

- SPOILER WARNING! You've been warned...

     So I'm playing Uncharted 2, Chapter 17 ("Mountaineering") at my friend's house. We start out on the outskirts of a Tibetan village. I've been told to find an old camp site for clues on the whereabouts of the treasure I'm seeking. I follow Tenzin, a Tibetan Ezio Auditore, as he climbs free-runs in and out of iced covered caverns. Tenzin has a giant kukri knife on his back, while I'm unarmed. Unarmed, as in only my fists for protection from the wild beasts of the mountain.

LIKE A BOSS...

       After a few platforming sessions, we come across a lone wolf, standing atop a ledge staring at us from afar. I say to my friend, "I don't have a weapon! That wolf is going to kill me." He's like, "Don't worry about it." Fine. I continue on, climbing more ice and snow covered ledges, until we come to yet another open cavern. There, on the far end of the cavern, is the wolf from before with two of his friends. Again, I say to my friend, "I don't have a weapon. Am I going to have to fight those things?" He says," Don't worry about it..." Oh, I'm worrying all right. A hop, skip, and a jump later and I hear a yelp, as in a dog (or wolf in this case) attacked by something. At first I thought, They're over the top of this ledge, just waiting for me to climb up. I'm so going to die... Then I got to thinking, Wait a minute... That was a yelp, which means something else attacked the wolves.

     As Tenzin and I get to the top of the ledge, we find all three wolves lying in a pool of their own blood. I turn to my friend, give a somewhat confused look, then *DING*:

"It's a yeti, isn't it?"

     He says," I don't know about all that..." I smile and nod, "Okay, okay... But, it's got to be a yeti." I continue on, coming to a group of stones arranged in a ladder-like fashion. I start to climb, and the camera pulls out. Along the right side of the screen is a rocky out-cropping covered in ice, with me just to the left, off in the distance, climbing up the rock face. I stop about half way, look at the screen, and start climbing back down. My friend says, "What are you doing?" I point to the right side of the screen:

"WHAT... IS... THAT?!?"

Where once was an iced covered rocky out-cropping is now a furry... something. Again, I say, "What is that?" My friend says nothing, but barely hides a grin. I climb back up, and just as I reach the top, the furry something turns around and jumps down from its perch.

"I KNEW IT! IT'S A YETI!"

     My friend and I burst into laughter as I come up over the top of the ledge. Sure enough, a few minutes later, I find a Nazi-era Luger and fight the "Demon Yeti":

Unlike any yeti I've ever seen!

      Later on you learn the reason they're so fast and agile, and why they exist in the first place. This was my favorite memory from the game. Not the ending, not the epic chase scenes or train rides. The Demon Yeti. All I can say is: I'm so ready for the third one to come out...

 (None of these pics are mine, but I've since forgotten where they came from... So thank you, Google Images.)