Review by redalert62386

"Among some of the best ever!"

I'll get the bad things about this game out of the way first. The cover system is a little sticky at times. The AI is a little suspect at times.

Ok, bad stuff out of the way!

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the best game I've played in a long time, and one of the best, and most memorable games I've ever played. Period. I know people say that a lot about games they just got done playing, but I've given myself time to let it marinate and soak in, and I honestly can't think of a game that provides more entertainment, humor, action, likable characters, and jaw droppings moments. The game not only blows you away with it's incredible visuals, but also through the dialog and voice acting. Character exchanges have never been more realistic in a video game. Everything feels natural, even the off the cuff random bantering during gameplay. Most of it is very funny, and the writers did an excellent job.

Despite it being a sequel, Uncharted 2 doesn't really follow the first game. It throws in a few gems here and there for people who played the first game, but you really don't need to play it in order to get this one. You might appreciate some things more in this game if you had, but it's not a requirement. If you've seen the trailer where Nathan is falling out of the bus in the snow, then you'll immediately recognize the beginning the game. The game basically starts out in the middle of the story (with Nathan wounded on the bus), and then jumps around a few times to the beginning and back where you meet the main characters. The story unfolds with Nathan and a partner of his, Flynn, trying to find an old treasure of Marco Polo's. From there, it's all about betrayal, double crossing, and finding out that things are never what they seem. It's not the deepest story around, but for this kind of game, it works perfectly.

Another main character of the game, and added love interest to Nate, is Chloe Frazer. She's one of my favorite characters in the game, not only because she's got a sexy little British accent, but because she adds so much to the game overall. Flynn is also a great addition, as is the villain Lazarevic. A big reason all of these characters are great is because of the voice acting. The voice acting is down right amazing. I've heard awesome voice acting before in games like Kingdom Hearts and Metal Gear Solid, but never have I heard it with this kind of quality mixed with so much realism. A lot of that also has to do with the quality of the writing, but big kudos to Naughty Dog for getting great voice actors.

As you go through the game, you'll probably lose count of how many times you mouth opens in awe because of what is taking place on screen. There are so many awesome set pieces and action sequences. There's an incredible train fight with exploding helicopters, and there's another set where you're jumping from truck to truck as their exploding behind you, all the while trying fend enemies off by shooting them. And that's just to name a couple. Pacing in video games is often overlooked, but it can't be when it comes to this game. It's an integral part of what makes it so addicting. You don't want to put it down, and when you do, you can't wait to pick it up again. The gun fights were one of the things that kind of annoyed me in the first game. I though they were way too excessive. They might have been just as excessive in this game, but if they were, I couldn't tell. I enjoyed the gunplay much more. The platforming is better as well. Everything that could be improved from the first game was improved. As I was going through the game, it sometimes surprised me just how much better this game was from the first one. And the first one wasn't a bad game by any means, but it did have it's annoyances. Even the graphics seemed to be a lot better. Speaking of...

I know it's been said, but I'm going to say it again. The game is GORGEOUS! And not just the graphics themselves, but the animations. It's all top notch. The first game got a little mundane in the environment department because they were mainly in the jungle for the most part. In this game, Nathan goes to the jungle, he's goes to bombed towns, foreign villages, and the Himalayan Mountains. All of which look spectacular! The snow and ice in the mountains are a particular highlight, because snow has never been this well done is a game before. As Gametrailers described it, it's like "magic" how the snow moves as you run through it.

As if the single player game wasn't enough, there is also a hefty multi-player component in Uncharted 2. You'll find all of your standard MP fun here, including Deathmatch, objectives, elimination, and a couple different co-op modes. To keep it short, it's addicting. I'm not amazing in the MP or anything, but I've never enjoyed MP online as much as I have with Uncharted 2. I think most of that has to do with the fact that it's third person, it's damn near as amazing looking as the single player, and there's platforming involved. I've actually started to get better because I've been playing so much! :D There's various incentives to keep playing, as you earn money for doing various things throughout. It's just one more thing to add to an already amazing game.

If you haven't guessed by now, I'm giving Uncharted 2: Among Thieves a perfect score. I don't think there are a lot of games out there that deserve perfect scores, but this is definitely one of them. Unmatched production from top to bottom, with exciting action and set pieces of epic proportions, this game is a must own for every PS3 owner. And that's just the single player. Add on the MP, and you have one of the best video game packages to come out in a very long time, that's more than worth the $60 price tag. No one game is worth buying a console over, but if you don't own a PS3, you best add Uncharted 2: Among Thieves to the growing list of reasons to buy one.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10 | Originally Posted: 01/05/10



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