Publisher: 
Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer:
Naughty Dog
I just want to get out of the way that I absolutely hated Uncharted Drakes Fortune and by my estimation the game is virtually broken. Uncharted 2 Among Thieves however , is a completely different story. Most of the problems from the prior game have been addressed. But there are a few new and old problems that still linger in the very long shadow of greatness that this game casts over the rest of the industry.
The story in Uncharted 2 Among Thieves is definitely torn right out of action movies. Everything from the heist sequence at the beginning to the final battle at the end of the game. The game has a definite cinematic look and feel. There is an amazing flashback setup tying the beginning and middle of the game together. This kind of thing is absolutely incredible and the extent to which they hold on to the movie feel throughout the game is something other developers could learn from. Unlike in the last game the story doesn't revolve mainly around any one set environment and the player will end up going from jungles to icy caverns in the space of just a few hours. There is still a definite lack of indoor environments with the exception of a few temple areas; but that can be forgiven due to the game's break neck pace. There are plenty of double crosses and triple crosses but most the player will see coming and there really aren't too many surprises in Among Thieves unless you are VERY young or not a big action movie fan. I have been purposely vague here about the specifics of the story because it is probably one of the best parts of the game; so I don't want to spoil and part of it for the reader. I will only say that the use of the current main villian was poor in the context of the story and the support villain Harry Flynn would have been a much better main villain as he was fleshed out and made human. The choice they made was an inhuman soulless tool of the plot. That is certainly a personal and somewhat literary criticism which might also say something impressive about the story as a whole.
Uncharted 2 bares a graphical quality that in most cases is unmatched in rest of the industry. There are certainly hiccups in areas like a goofy animation or perhaps a wall texture that isn't complete and you can see light under or in some cases through it. But these are minor nit picks. The continuity between in game cinematics and actual gameplay are very close and in some cases near the end of the gam the player actually believes they have control in for a couple seconds before realizing it's actually a cinematic. The animations in the game are great overall. The facial animations are very expressive when it comes to Nathan Drake. The problem are just about everyone else, who have the tendency to recycle animations which sometimes makes people's emotions hard to read or just uncannily unrealistic. But the very fact that we are discussing such details shows just how far gaming has come in the past couple of years.
The sound design and music in the game is absolutely incredible. Every part of the game is loving scored and all the effects in the game are used to ultimate impact. Every part of this game needs to be heard to be experienced fully. I would put Uncharted along side any academy award winning film and let them fight it out for sound superiority. The voice acting is incredible, but it's little surprise with actors like Emily Rose and Claudia Black voicing some of the leads. I feel that only one other game comes even close to the musical and sound effect greatness that Uncharted has; that would be Bioshock; and that won how many awards?
All of the presentation elements in Uncharted 2 Among Thieves are amazing and really I have little or nothing to complain about them. The real meat of Uncharted 2 Among Thieves is the gameplay as it should be in any game. The game has an excellent blend of shooting, platforming, and puzzle solving. I will try and tackle each in that order.
The third person shooting in Uncharted 2 is a definite improvement over the first game. Most enemies now take around 2-3 shots and most die when hit with a headshot. But the "boss" enemies in the game; like the gunners, the shotgun wielders, and the snipers can take far too many shots. Also there are some "special" enemies in the game near the end that REALLY take the idea of realism out of the game completely. I have to say also that the fact that you have complete control of your aim and that there is no auto-aiming made me really think where I hit the enemy would have an impact. I shot so many people in the crotch and not one dropped afterward. Trust me if ANYONE gets hit there, they are going down. I did appreciate the variety of weapons in the game and the fact that they had 4 different handguns, a couple of shotguns, and some special weapons like sniper rifles, mini-guns, and RPGs. Grenades also are much improved over the last game allowing you to actually aim the grenade throw without shaking the dual shock controller. The totality of the shooting is very good, but in the end it seems like Naughty Dog took two steps forward and one step back. I think they should have simply peppered in more enemies and made a few more with riot shields rather than trying to make enemies harder to kill. Also the cover mechanics in the game seem to have the issue that some surfaces don't allow you to cover against them even though they look like they can be. Other times, Drake won't pop to cover as he should and leaves the player standing the open looking stupid. The cover system was a great idea but the geometry of every level needs to be considered before giving it the green light; at least in my opinion. Also the end game interest in trying make the player run and gun is annoying and I tried to avoid doing this as much as I could.
I will add hand to hand combat in here as well considering it doesn't fit anywhere else. The game did a good job of making hand to hand combat more useful and certainly doing the stealth kills later in the game is rewarding. But the hand to combat is unbreakable and sometimes enemies can initiate it. Making Drake vulnerable to gunfire and grenades. Also at the beginning of the game there is a long string of stealth sequences that must be done to proceed. This mechanic throughout the game work just fine but due to the geometry of the level many of them don't work properly. Making the level frustrating, many reviewers have had to play the level over and over. Which seems to show that there were definitely some errors made. Its a shame considering most people will not realize that the rest of the game is good and this is not representative of the game.
The platforming in Uncharted 2 is in some ways much better than the first game in other ways falls into the same problems that game had. Uncharted 2 gives the player ample opportunity to jump, climb, and shimmy over lots of surfaces. There is no map and in this way Drake's Fortune was a little better, as there the path was very well defined and getting lost was difficult. In Uncharted 2, I guess as a nod to open world games; they give you other paths. Paths that lead no where and in some cases simply end with you finding a little piece of collective treasure and in some cases lead you only to a impassable wall. This to me is a waste of time and resources. If you want to have the player go down a particular path, don't give the player an illusion of having a choice to go down another. Also, if your going to have game hints, don't say things that are obvious like,
"Climb to the open window"
Or unnecessarily vague like,
"Climb up the column."
Really Naughty Dog? What column there are many?
The long and the short of this is that; if your going to remove the map; give me some other way to find my way other than a strategy guide. I can't tell you how many times I went to jump to a particular area and fell to my death; only to find out that I wasn't supposed to go that way. There also doesn't seem to be a logical or consistent extent to which Drake's abilities can be gauged. By the end of the game I had an "idea" of what Drake could or couldn't do; but this gets the player into a more trouble than necessary. Also the A.I. characters in the game move too quickly to perform their tasks; to go even so far as to knock the player off of platforming pieces. I never died but I did have to go back an redo it the area because of it. The action in itself is no big deal, but when it occurs the sense of immediate frustration can be depressing to the player.
I will say that the puzzle solving in Uncharted 2 Among Thieves has the BEST PUZZLE SOLVING in ANY GAME. The game gives you hints but never actually tells you what you must do. The puzzles cool and appropriate to the context. Never did I feel lost or frustrated. EVERY OTHER DEVELOPER out there should take note of the masterful job Naughty Dog did with this game's puzzle mechanics and design. The designers of these puzzles should all get raises.
I would like to discuss a couple of wonderful areas of the game. There is a train sequence in the game where Drake is climbing on and through a train while it's moving. It is probably the greatest train sequence in any game ever made and it is SO COMPELLING that I would not mind to see it copied by subsequent titles. The sense of speed and the idea of doing platforming, cover, and shooting all on that train while it's moving were amazing and made the level very fun. The other area I found incredible was the one in which Drake is jumping from one truck to the next while shooting guys and doing hand to hand combat. The surfing itself is better than any other. This was what WET was trying to do and Naughty Dog nailed it in the head. There was room for error and the sequence isn't on rails. Like just about every part of the game nothing is on rails. I would also like to comment that the sparing use of quicktime events in this game are perfect. EVERY OTHER DEVELOIPER should take note at the perfect use of this mechanic in Uncharted 2 Among Thieves.
Finally there is the multiplayer. I certainly like the multiplayer in the game and the beginning choice of maps and modes is great. But the matchmaking system as I experienced where matches can be made up of teams where the players are as much as 20 levels above your level can be frustrating. This is really an issue for the beginning player who hasn't memorized the map and doesn't start with even one booster(which are Uncharted's version of perks). The idea that not only does your team have to win but you have to have had a part in that win makes leveling up a grinding process. I played around 6-8 hours of multiplayer when it was in beta and once the game came out I've played around 2-4 hours. While the multiplayer is definitely good. It will take ALOT more people playing it to make it a lasting quality experience.
Overall Uncharted 2 Among Thieves is a wonderful game. But most players will probably find that they need a strategy guide to get through it to the end. I would definitely recommend a try before you buy. However, Uncharted 2 has elements in it that make a seminal game for the PS3 and gaming in general. In a year or so if you haven't played this game you probably won't be able to call yourself a gamer. My only hope is that the people making God of War 3 have played this game and take some of the relevant pieces into their own title and maybe even make them better.
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