Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, like God of War 2 before it, is a truly incredible sequel that expands on everything that worked about it's predecessor, fixed things that didn't work, and delivers a story so entertaining that it feels like an interactive movie. The writing is witty and engaging, the plot is fast-paced and bombastic, the graphics are beautiful as ever for the remaster, and the gameplay keeps a decent balance between gunplay, traversal, and puzzles to keep players engaged throughout.
STORY: The in medias res opening of this game sets the expectations for this sequel, right from the opening quote from Marco Polo. Left with a critically-injured Nate precariously hanging from a derailed train with no explanation, the player knows to expect bigger set-pieces, better graphics, more thrills, and a more brutal story for Nathan than was delivered in the first game. The point of an IMR opening is to leave the audience questioning "how did we get here?", and the game accomplishes that handily. From there, Nathan runs into some old contacts in the Bahamas, and they arrange a heist on a Turkish museum, despite Nate's misgivings. From there, a tale of betrayal, power, uncovering the past unfolds with almost impeccable pacing.
The characters in this game are again the engine behind the appeal of the game, and they are on full form throughout. Nate is lovable, witty, and charismatic, Elena still holds a firm sense of right and wrong (and brings out the best in Nate), Chloe is an unapologetic badass with a reluctant soft side, Harry is the kind of villain you could never get tired of punching, and Lazarevic makes for a truly menacing antagonist, sacrificing anything to achieve his ends. The chemistry between all of the characters is electric, and gives the game so many quotable moments. Even more minor characters like Tenzin and Schafer have memorable moments make the game a pleasure to revisit.
As with Uncharted 1 & 3, this game also introduces a race of semi-supernatural monster enemies towards the very end. It's always something I've been kind of indifferent about, but I will say that the Guardians of Shambhala are the coolest of the lot, and offer more of a challenge than the "slippery naked guys" from the last game, while not being AS much of an annoying set of bullet sponges as the Djinn in the 3rd game.
The set pieces in the game are also mind-blowing, spanning from collapsing buildings, to centuries-old booby traps, to taking out an armed convoy, to shooting down a helicopter from atop a moving train (a highlight level for the whole trilogy).
GRAPHICS: Developer "Naughty Dog" has always been at the cutting edge of graphics tech, and for a mid-generation PS3 game, it definitely shows. Overall, I certainly wouldn't mind an update for the entire trilogy to be done in the style and fidelity of Uncharted 4, but these graphics (especially in the Nathan Drake Collection) are definitely nothing to complain about.
This game is much more globe-trotting than the 1st, and every new environment is more beautiful than the last. From the Turkish Museum, to the dig site and mountain in Borneo, to the war-torn Nepalese city, to the mountain and Schafer's village, to the Monastery in the mountains, to Shambhala itself, every environment is visually distinct, beautifully realized, and thrilling to explore.
GAMEPLAY: With the clunkiness that plagued the first game's shooting being cleared up in the second entry, there's not much to complain about with the gameplay of Uncharted 2. The gunplay is fun but fair - ammo is always plentiful, with numerous weapons offering multiple approaches to any encounter, with none feeling impossible when played on Normal difficulty, which is the way it should be. Of course, harder difficulties should be much more challenging (I myself have played the game on Crushing before), but for those who play for a balance of story and gameplay, an encounter that causes 1000 deaths just grinds the gameplay to a halt. That sort of thing shouldn't happen on regular difficulties (looking at you, God of War '05), and Uncharted 2 nails the progressive difficulty.
Traversal is smooth and doesn't really get to the point of feeling boring or drawn-out, but allows the game to call players' attention to the beautiful environments, while some segments offer a little more of a challenge, with players needing to think about how to get from A to B, rather than just following the intuitive paths that are often presented. I appreciate the variety between the two. One thing that's worth mentioning here, though, is that there are 101 treasures to collect across the game's ~11-hour run time, so completionists should be prepared to explore every single nook and cranny, because some of them are a real pain to find. Thankfully, the game has a per-chapter treasure counter, so if you get to the end and you're only missing a handful, you don't have to play the whole thing again to find them.
SUMMARY: Uncharted 2 is an improvement over its predecessor in every conceivable way, moving effortlessly between multiple locales, balancing a larger cast of characters, offering challenging but rewarding gameplay and an immensely entertaining and satisfying story, worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. The whole thing works like a well-oiled machine, and is rightly hailed as the best of the first 3 Uncharted games, and it often flip-flops with the 4th game for my personal favourite. If you own a PS3 or onwards, the Uncharted games are a must-play, this entry especially.
Overall rating: 9.5/10.
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