Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2 is a action/adventure title for the Playstation 3. Uncharted 2 has really proven that video games can be just as immersive as movies if not more. From the beautiful cut scenes to the very likable characters to the addictive gameplay, Uncharted 2 is one of the best games ever made.


Story - The story is comprised of many flash backs to the current time, to help tell the story from a very interesting way (which I loved). Drake is greeted by an old pal named Harry Flynn and ex-girlfriend Chloe Frazer. They propose a plan to steal a Mongolian oil lamp from an Istanbul museum, which Drake thinks is a clue to finding the Lost Fleet of Marco Polo. Drake soon realizes that he's being used and has to out run cops in order to escape the museum. You later meet up with old faces like Elena Fisher and Victor Sullivan, and Drake decides to go after the treasure before Harry Flynn gets his hands on it. So with some very interesting mystery solving and fast pace combat, this story becomes a very epic and fun adventure. The beautiful looking cut scenes really make you feel like part of Drakes world and do a fantastic job of story telling without being dragged on. I was very impressed with the story, don't want to spoil much but you won't be disappointed, it is truly an "A" worthy script.

Gameplay - Uncharted 2 is an action-adventure/ Third person shooter. It may feel a little like Gears of War, as UC2 also uses the cover system. You'll find yourself diving for cover to survive and hurdling to the next objective. However you may think it's like other third person shooters but it's much different with Drakes excellent climbing ability makes the scale incredible, you'll be swinging, jumping and climbing to basically wherever you want, the monkey like gameplay is very smooth and fluent, that just feels so perfect for what you need it to do. Not to mention it's super addicting climbing all over the place. The hand to hand combat will go into a 1 on 1 type feel, that you may counter moves as well as deliver. Their are plenty of weapons that should satisfy all killer needs.

Sound - The music in Uncharted is simply put "outstanding". It was one of the best soundtracks I ever heard, each piece of music was so beautifully put together to fit each part of the story which they did a excellent job at doing just that. It will make your heart race as they have some great chase music and such scenes.
The sound design was also a plus for this game, climbing from a broken train, to explosions to massive gun battles, each sound was very realistic and very convincing. It was precise and accurate and really brought you into the battle, especially with some nice surround sound system, which sounded amazing. I enjoyed every bit of it.
The voice acting was just out of this world. I felt like a was watching a movie most of the time, the actors were so convincing and were just perfect at their job. Actors like Nolan North (Drake), Steve Valentine (Harry Flynn) and Claudia Black (Chloe Frazer). They all did an excellent job and had me completely impressed the whole game.


Graphics -This game has some of the best graphics and animation you'll ever see. The graphics are outstanding and are true eye candy. Whether its gameplay footage or watching a cut scene, they all look amazing. This game was very well detailed. Textures are very well done and really come to life. It shows that the creators put a lot of time in to this game. The water is just unreal in Uncharted. It looks amazing. They even have a "wet" effect if you will. What I mean is that when you jump into a pool of water your clothes will look like their soaked (because they are!) very realistic and looks really cool. The levels were very well detailed, from running away from a helicopter to falling off a train. This game is "easy on the eyes" simply put, it is beautiful. The design of the levels were really good, plenty of room to explore and it all looks great. The lighting effects look amazing, every glimmer and shade is very realistic. Sun beams peaking their holes in the roof were just something else.
The animation is another goody for this game. It is very fluent and smooth and both gameplay and cut scenes are phenomenal. The wind blowing the leaves and the physics of this game truly show that Naughty Dog knows exactly what its doing and does it extremely well. You'll notice things like hair blowing, leaves and building crumpling right beneath your feat and it all looks great, the animation is just so smooth and there is not a complaint to be had here. They did a excellent job with the graphics and there is no two ways about it.

Multiplayer - You may not see this game as a multiplayer type game at all (which is what I thought), but let me just say, that the multiplayer may just be one of the most addicting yet, I was so surprised on how much fun this was, with plenty of upgrades, skins and perks to buy, with a leveling system, this will keep you busy for a long time, I strongly recommend this to anyone, it's fun, well made and has plenty of DLC and weekly updates called "The Lab" which let's players try new game modes such as "All shotguns" or "Rockets only" and many more.

Final Rundown - What this all comes down to is that, this game is almost flawless, there may be a few things you may pick at but it would be mostly personal preference. I however could not find anything that really pissed me off or I felt was a con. This is a fantastic game and truly deserved all those Game of the year awards.

+Pro's

• Epic Story
• Rememorable characters
• Fantastic Voice acting
• Addicting and fluent gameplay
• Outstanding Soundtrack

Review Score - 10