Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I picked this up at full price, choosing it over Brutal Legend (which was a good choice seeing as I got BRutal Legend a lot cheaper the other day). I loved the original Uncharted, it had a great story, great characters and great gameplay. that's all though, just "great", nothing pushed it into the higher categories, like "genius" or "brilliant".

This game, however, pushes the boundaries of what the first game showed was possible. The move from the Uncharted Engine to the much more refined Havok Engine has really allowed Naughty Dog to concentrate on building a fantastic experience. The graphics are top notch, and the only things blighting the first game, the terrible Sixaxis moments and Quick-Time-Events (DEVELOPERS! QTE'S HAVE ONLY EVER BEEN GOOD IN TWO GAMES! GOD OF WAR AND RESIDENT EVIL 4 WII EDITION! PLEASE DON'T USE THEM ANY MORE!) have been removed.

The story is superb and is full of twists and turns and amazing set pieces. The train sequence is one of the best ever. The cover mechanics are simple and effective, and the guns feel accurate and realistic, although you will probably never feel the need to deffer from the Pistol/AK47 combo unless you run out of ammo at any point.

The acting flows and the voice acting is at worst grating after a few straight hours. The characters are fun to watch and it is essentially a 7 hour movie. It's what a proper Indiana Jones game should be.

Onto the Multiplayer! This is fun and mixes up the basic single player. The only proplem I really found with it was that as soon as Modern Warfare 2 landed those playing it literally halved. The maps aren't that great, but more are promised, with The Fort map being released for free this past weekend.

Good

Gameplay is far more refined than the first.
It feels like a playable movie, which is what games have been trying to do for years.

Bad

You will never really need to use any other weapons than the basic ones.
Story is way too short, but this is becoming the norm at the moment.

Overall

A fantastic experience which is worth at least one play through of the story. If you have a PS3, this is essential stuff. If you haven't consider it. This would be great as a movie and is one of the best stories in gaming so far. It's funny and the multiplayer is incredibly playable. GOTY contender? I think so.



PS If anyone actually reads this, please leave me a comment.