When the Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta dropped on PSN for PlayStation Plus users (see: everyone) last week, I cleared my schedule to assure I'd have time to spend with an early look at Naughty Dog's upcoming opus. While I thought I would take Drake and Sully against groups of human controlled mercenaries, in actuality the battle was against constant lag, frequent freezing, and frustrating system reboots. After hours of fruitless attempts, I gave up and my schedule viciously repopulated, leaving no time for treasure hunts and fragging. Though as the greater United States spent the weekend celebrating the independence of our country, I chose to celebrate the independence of my SIXAXIS controller from wires. With network integrity restored and a stable run of the beta queued up, I had an explosive time with Uncharted 3.
+ Deep: Several play modes offer great variation
+ Unlocking customization pieces is not as easy as ranking up
+ Active maps offer dynamic, cinematic action
+ Power Plays to assure no match is a lopsided blowout
+ Two player split screen and in game party system
+ Buddy system literally rewards team play
- Inability to change base clothing on Drake and Sully models
- Characters lacking Uncharted's signature personality
The beta is available to the entirety of PlayStation Network as of today, so why not give it a shot yourself? Though the retail release is still 4 months out, Naughty Dog has sculpted an enjoyable experience thus far. A little tweaking, a lot more weapons, boosters, and kickbacks, and we have what may be the sleeper multiplayer title of the year. And though I'd like to see more writing and personality in the multiplayer (of story characters specifically,) that wont make or break the game I'm sure to have in heavy rotation, even long after the campaign has been completed.
Bullet Points is a stripped down review of a stripped down release, usually in demo or beta. Why spend precious moments reading about what you should be out there playing?