Nick's take:

Multiplayer is quickly becoming a staple of the gaming industry, to the point where even games that would ordinarily be single player have begun including your standard fare multiplayer romps. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the latest game to follow this trend, along side games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Bioshock 2. Whether you're a diehard naysayer or an evangelical promoter of the inclusion of multiplayer to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, it's here and it's here to stay. So does the train deliver home or do its biscuit wheels derail into a soupy, gravy mess? If the recent beta is in any way indicative of the final product, fans should be in for a treat.

The multiplayer beta features two different modes of play - a competitive deathmatch and plunder mode, and a co-operative mode that sees up to 3 players revisiting slightly retooled scenarios from the single player campaign. The competitive mode comes with two separate levels, an urban plaza and an impoverished village. Deathmatch is your standard fare 5 versus 5. The plunder mode is essentially a rendition of capture the flag, with a golden statue as the prize in lieu of a flag.

Mechanically, the original Uncharted was very solid, so it's no big surprise that the core of the multiplayer mode performs admirably. Uncharted 2 features a familiar stop-and-pop combat system, with solid feeling weapons and ample amounts of cover, nooks and crannies to get the edge on your opponents. If Naughty Dog had simply slapped together a multiplayer mode that featured just that, the worst that could be said about it was that it was a tad uninspired. What sets Uncharted 2 apart from others, though, is the inclusion of the adrenaline pumping platforming that made the original Uncharted so memorable. Uncharted 2 will have players jumping great gaps and climbing to vertigo inducing heights, allowing them to get better vantage points on the enemy to spring that sneak attack or provide cover for a teammate. It's something that few other shooters have tried, and sets it apart from other similar titles, namely Gear of War 2. There are a few nuances to the competitive mode, which will hopefully be fixed. Some weapon balancing could benefit the game - grenades blow up entirely too quickly. Melee attacks could be toned down a bit, their range and power seems a bit overwhelming, and the stealth kill is a gamble at this point - it seems like half the time when I attack players from behind, I would do the standard melee swing instead of the instant kill neck snap. Also, climbing speed could also be increased, given the emphasis that's placed on platforming.

Likewise, the co-op is also mechanically solid. Levels from the single player campaign have been retooled, forcing players to work together in order to complete the levels. For example, in the Nepal War Zone featured in the beta, the campaign version has Nate jumping on a dresser to reach higher ground. In the co-op level, the dresser is gone, obligating another player to hoist him up. Unlike the competitive mode, however, the co-op mode is rather generic. In the Nepal War Zone level, there is very little adventuring or platforming. Rather, players are simply shuffled from one area to the next, forced to defeat any adversaries before moving onwards. It isn't bad, per say, but there isn't anything that makes it stand out from other online co-op games, like Resident Evil 5.

Naughty Dog looks like it's well on the way to creating a serviceable multiplayer to their blossoming franchise. At the worst, the multiplayer is simply lacking of any characteristics that define the franchise. The multiplayer is text book stuff, and will be adequate enough to please fans of the franchise. There is no doubt, however, that multiplayer, at least at this point, is definitely the desert. The single player campaign will remain the meat and potatoes of this package, and as far as I'm concerned, thats exactly how it should be.