Playstation fans the world over have been waiting long years for a killer app. They thought It would be Metal Gear Solid, and although the game is the second fastest selling title on the PS3, it never managed to represent Sony as a brand totally tied to Playstation, especially after Kojima announced at E309' that Metal Gear Solid: Rising would be a multiplatform title. Then Came along Killzone 2, and although the game is arguably the best shooter on the market, frankly, it somehow did not manage to sell very well, with sales only barely reaching 2 million sold life-to-date. Again, Sucker Punch landed a massive uppercut hook to the competition with inFamous, however the title could not hold up to the likes of Halo. So what's a hardware giant to do? You save your best for last. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Sony's Halo: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
On day one, Uncharted 2 sold over 300,000 copies in the U.S alone according to vgchartz, compare those numbers to 135,000 copies Uncharted: Drakes Fortune sold in the first week. Also it's estimated that Naughty Dog's latest efforts will top one million sold in one week worldwide, and suddenly it'll hit you that Sony has finally received what fans have been longing for, a game that represents the PS3 perfectly.
Halo, just say the name and immediately your mind visualizes Microsoft. It is the biggest franchise to ever grace the original Xbox, and the Xbox 360. Some even say without Halo, Microsoft would've failed miserably in the console war. Release anything with the name Halo, and automatically you've got a hit on your hands. What Bungie Studios crafted helped lift the Xbox 360 to where it is today and will usher in the Xbox 720.
So can Uncharted be to Sony what Halo is to Microsoft? It's not even a question no more; the reality is, Uncharted 2 has become exactly that, here's why.
1) Like Halo, the Uncharted franchise is a console exclusive that'll never see the light of day on another platform.
2) The first title was not released at launch, but you can expect every new Playstation system from now on, to launch with an Uncharted game. Microsoft released Halo simultaneously with the original Xbox, and Halo 3 on the Xbox 360.
3) Uncharted is one of the fastest selling games on the PS3, Halo 3 is one of the fastest selling titles on the Xbox 360.
4) Naughty Dog's gem is the Highest ranking PS3 exclusive game on metacritic, not being outdone, the Halo Franchise is also one of the highest ranking Xbox 360 exclusives.
5) Overtime, there's no doubt that Uncharted will be the best selling exclusive on the PS3, surpassing sales of Metal Gear Solid: Guns of The Patriots. There's no other title on the Xbox 360, exclusive or multiplat that has sold as much copies as the Halo franchise.
6) Just like Halo, Uncharted 2's onlinie multiplayer is solid.
7) It's a universally known fact, when the first Halo came along, there were many unique aspects to it that made the game stand out. Though it was not perfect, Bungie delivered what was at the time a genre defining experience. Naughty Dog has done the same; story telling in games will never be the same, the cinematic experience was crowned by many as a new standard, the graphics are the best on any console, and because of the reasons just listed, Uncharted 2, like Halo, has defined a genre. Action adventure devs will have to step up to the plate, and deliver even better experiences if they want to excel.
And so the war rages on, day by day with Sony gaining ground. PS3 fans never had a title synonymous with their system, and constantly faced fans of the Xbox 360 talking up Halo as their killer app. You know the proverb: today is yours, tomorrow's mines.
10/17/09 Ernice Gilbert
Need a trophy guide for Uncharted 2? Get it here.
