January 29th, 2010 at 1:19 pm - by Fallback



Naughty Dog has just released the PlayStation Heroes Skin Pack for Uncharted 2. A fan of all things Uncharted 2 I dove right in and purchased the skin set. After playing a large set of multiplayer matches with all the skins I must say I am pretty torn as to whether the $4.99 skin pack is worth it. First off I must say that I am huge fan of Naughty Dog. Not only did they produce my favorite game of 2009 which exceeded my expectations in every way but they also make my job so much easier. I did not have to bootup my HD capture equipment to take these screen shots or to record the footage of these skins in action. I love them for that.

In regards to the Heroes Skin Pack I like the idea of more character skins in the game and I would totally rather pay for them as opposed to maps which undoubtedly split the player base into "haves" that you can play with and "have-not's" that you cannot play with. We have discussed this ad-nauseum on our podcasts.

A major disappointment is that these skins have no voices tied to them like all the others. Each of the other skins have voice over quotes that are triggered by picking up weapons etc. I understand the issues with getting the voice actors from all these games for this but it is missed nonetheless especially since they are charging $4.99 and the new Assasins Creed 2 DLC is $3.99.



That said I guess I was let down by some of the designs of the skins others pleasantly surprised. The "Cole" from inFamous skin was one that disappointed in particular. In game it looks no where as cool as it does in the render. I think the issue with the in game versions of the skins is that the colors are all muted. So the signature bright yellow from Coles outfit is dull and more like a brown.



Also that the Helghast eyes are not glowing red as it is in the renders and since these are distinguishing characteristics for the characters the fact that they are toned down takes away from the "UMPTH" of it all.





I was pleasantly surprised at the Nathan Hale skin. I think its the best looking of the bunch. Very bad-ass and totally fits the look of the game.




The Chimera skin does look great and its very detailed. They did a great job though the complexion of the Chimera blends in a bit too much with the stage on the Ice cave and waterfalls found in the Sanctuary.

I would have liked if they also included a few other Uncharted 2 characters. Maybe a Tibetan villager. They did fight with you in the game in the village stage. Perhaps that will be included in one of the upcoming packs. In all its great that they are making content available and that they are taking risks by adding these other Playstation franchise characters into the game. I just wished that would not have muted the colors on the Helghast, and Cole though im sure they did to so that these skins were not ultra visible.



The bottom line is that at $4.99 its not necessarily a no brainer. PlayStation sis run a sale last week with a bunch of full games at this very price point including Critter Crunch. That makes it a tough call as to whether these are worth it. If you are a super fanboy of one of these franchises you will probably buy it but if not just sit back and wait for the inevitable DLC bundle that should include these skins and a map pack.

Here are more HD screenshots: (click through for larger versions)