Earlier this week we hosted a small, dare I say, intimate, media event here at the Naughty Dog studios to show a few more journalists what we’ve done so far on UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves and where we are planning on taking it by the time our game is released later this year. This is only the third group of press who has seen our game in action since we first offered a sneak peek only a few months ago. This group of guests included writers from 1UP, G4, GameSpot, GameSpy, GameTrailers, IGN, Joystiq, Kotaku, and UGO.
The very full day for our guests started off with getting them up to speed on UNCHARTED 2, covering background info on story, gameplay and technology such as:
- The historical mystery surrounding Marco Polo and his lost fleet, which serves as the foundation for our story.
- What’s happened to Drake, since it’s pretty obvious he’s a bit scruffier, down on his luck and he’s definitely running with way shadier people than before.
- Introducing everyone to Chloe Frazer, a sexy and impulsive Australian who is just this side of unpredictable and dangerous, not to mention Drake’s new partner and romantic interest – can you blame him?
- Adding in what we’re calling “action-stealth” to give you the choice to go in guns blazing or take out a few adversaries unnoticed before engaging the rest of them.
- Blending together our climbing and shooting into what we call “traversal gunplay” so you can now be in gun combat in the middle of climbing, swinging on a rope, hanging from a ledge or sign…you can shoot pretty much from anywhere, anytime you want.
- All the cool things the Naughty Dog Engine 2.0 can do now, like pushing way more polygons than before, an overhaul of lighting and shadowing, complex enemy A.I., snow shaders and subsurface scattering, fur shading, new physics engine, audio obstruction occlusion…the list goes on and on and on.
And that’s just scratching the surface of it all.
After all that, we gave our guests a gameplay demo that was followed with a cut scene introducing Chloe, all of which takes place in a fictional war-torn city in Nepal. We also gave everyone who came to our studio something no one else has witnessed yet – playing back our Spike Video Game Awards trailer in real-time entirely within our engine.
Check out all the links below to see firsthand accounts and impressions from all of the online sites who came to our studio to see UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves. We also captured a new screenshot that we wanted to share just with you.
- G4 TV – First Look: ‘Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’
- 1UP – Uncharted 2 Among Thieves Preview for the PS3
- GameSpot – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves First Look
- GameSpot – GameSpot Video: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Interview
- GameSpy – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Preview
- Game Trailers – BloodworthGT’s GamePad – Uncharted 2 Mega Blog
- Game Trailers – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Director Interview Part 1 HD
- Game Trailers – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Director Interview Part 2 HD
- IGN – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves First Look
- Joystiq – Joystiq impressions: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Joystiq – Joystiq interview: Talking Uncharted 2 with Naughty Dog’s Evan Wells
- Kotaku – First Look At Uncharted 2: Among Thieves In Action
- Kotaku – Uncharted 2 Director Talks Drake
- UGO – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Preview
We’re really excited to show as much of our game as possible. It’s going to be hard to hold back so we don’t give it all away, but I would definitely expect lots more info, screens and, yes, even video of gameplay, to come as we quickly approach our Fall 2009 release date.
Aww yes the ‘Fur Shading’ has me very interested ;)
give me a half tuck unlockable “HOME” t-shirt for beating Uncharted 2.
:)
Thanx for the info, maybe you can let us know about how long or how many chapters you guys expect to get in.
Any offline/online multiplayer in this game? Please!!!! With a cherry on top!!!
LN
Uncharted 1 is one of my favorite games of all time, I am still surprised of how good this game looked, your graphic engine is nothing short of amazing and I can hardly wait to see what this new upgraded engine does.
And please don’t rush the game guys, I will gladly wait for a master piece than having a half-ass rushed work.
Keep us posted!
acerazer1 wrote:
“From what I can tell right now, this game has little or nothing to do with the first one, so why not just call it Uncharted: Among Thieves?”
I totally agree, I think Uncharted: Among Thieves would sound way better and give the series a more summer adverture movie vibe
I much rather see some game play footage then what some so called “Journalists” think of the game.
Man I can’t wait for this. Is there a plan for a demo? Also is this game due to Spring 2009 or later? Keep the great work, since Uncharted 1 is one of my favorite games this gen.
Can we unlock some blooper moments? That would be awesome!! Also please include developer commentary as we play the game. Similar to game like Half-Life 2: Lost Cost and Riddick.
@56
a number 2 in tittle grabs people attention more.
I feel like a child before Christmas. This game couldn’t come soon enough! Loved the first and I very unexpectedly fell in love with it. It is by far my favourite game on any platform.
The only “problem” I have with this and all the “leaks” and hype surrounding it lately, is my expectations are going to be too high and I’m afraid it’ll be slightly disappointing.
Who am I kidding; It’ll be great!!
I LOVE all the technical details of what is going on in the background of the game!
I definitely hope you bring in-depth videos and even more fun effects, maybe a room or something you earn when you finish the game, displaying and testing out different shaders and effects. Would be pretty wicked! :D
So yeah, more details on the things you mentioned here would be great:
“All the cool things the Naughty Dog Engine 2.0 can do now, like pushing way more polygons than before, an overhaul of lighting and shadowing, complex enemy A.I., snow shaders and subsurface scattering, fur shading, new physics engine, audio obstruction occlusion…the list goes on and on and on.”
Yes I’m very excited as well, Uncharted: Drakes fortune is one of my all time favorite games and from what I’ve seen Uncharted 2 will be nothing less… looks great. *Now only wishing i could play it sooner!*
This is a game I’ve been waiting for ever since I finished Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Between this and Ratchet&Clank Future 2 I’m not sure what story I’m anticipating more. With all the advancements in the tech and gameplay I really hope it doesn’t lose that “Feels like I’m in a movie” factor. I think that was the best part of UDF.
Thank you so much Arne! *Fingers crossed!*
Also, is there any way to know the name of the Portuguese voice actors? I’ve looked them up on the internet but for some reason I never found this information… :(
Online co-op, chop chop!
Awesome!! I knew It’d be better than Uncharted!!. You guys rock. I dream of working like genius like you guys!! I’m studying CSE and want to continue to become a developer myself. I have one question about Uncharted 2: Will it have co-op ? any kind of co-op ?
online co-op would be SICK. Not enough games have this.
I really love all your games. Crash, Jak and Uncharted – I don’t even know which of these series is the best one :) I just hate you, because you sold Crash!!! :D You could do such amazing Crash game on ps3! :( Anyway, please make another Jak after Uncharted 2 :)
Uncharted 2, the sequel to my personal GOTY ’07, and personal favorite game of this generation? Bring it on!
Really, though, I can’t express to you how much I loved Drake’s Fortune. I bought it the day it released, I’ve beaten it 10 times, and I still have it today. Rest assured that, prior to Uncharted 2 shipping, I’ll play it again, probably several more times.
You guys really nailed the gameplay and the story, far more than any other developer this generation. Not just the story and the gameplay, but the excellent voice actors you chose, the stunning graphics and animation, the excellent characters, and everything else that went into your masterpiece.
I simply cannot wait to get my hands on Uncharted 2, my most anticipated game this year.
Thank you for your hard work, and keep it up!
Thanks for the praise! I know many people here at Naughty Dog are reading the comments and they\’ve mentioned how they really appreciate all the kind words.