Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review

Posted March 8, 2010 by Jallen (143)

When it comes to action games, you can’t find one better. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Even though the first Uncharted was a great game, Among Thieves is even better.

The Story is basically an Indiana Jones clone. Here is a treasure hunter in search of Marco Polo’s lost fleet. It has every twist imaginable; backstabbing, double crossing and death defying moments you would expect from Indy, but as Nathan Drake you experience all these thrilling moment with a smoothness even the first game couldn’t boast.

The actual game world is spectacularly good looking. The first was one of the best looking PS3 games, but the second takes this to new heights. As Drake, you spend a lot more time travelling the world with your friends Sully, Cloe, Flynn and a few others (you might even recognise them…) then you did in the first game. As you transverse jungles, temples, sewers, war stricken streets; all over the world you can’t help but to just stop and stare, at just how amazing this world looks.

The gameplay is where the game really shines. Even though the story feels like a big budget blockbuster, the gun play, melee combat and the effortless platforming make the game flow so smoothly, it feels like you’re watching a 7-8 hours action movie. The game builds up to exciting, thrilling moments, in which you feel Drake’s relief after you single handily take down helicopters, tanks, even trains. There are plenty of intense moments in which you’re jumping for your life from collapsing buildings, ancient ruins, and hanging from train cars. While the game has some of the longest load times I have ever seen in a game, once you load into the single player game, it doesn’t load again. The gameplay flows from cut-scene and back to gameplay without a break. A new chapter with display as you begin a new level, but the game never stops.

The gun play is 3rd person, and goes over the shoulder when you look down the barrel. Moving in and out of cover is incredibly smooth but I did notice that in tight situations, hallways especially, the camera is very slow turning and aiming is sluggish. Since you’ve got regenerative health and shotguns cover a good size range, it was more of an annoyance. Melee combat feels very brutal, it’s basically button mashing, with an additional button to block/dodge, but you feel every punch delivered as the camera slows just as you deliver the knockout.

Level design flips between incredibly open or very linear. You find yourself climbing over cars, up street posts, A/C units, sides of buildings, all while taking down enemies with anything from rocket launchers to pistols. But once the coast is clear, it’s a straight line to the next fight. Platforming elements are very straightforward. If you get stuck for a few seconds, then a hint button appears and tells you where to go, which there is pretty much only one way to progress. But, the camera pans out and gives you a cinematic view of wherever you are, so it kind of distracts from the linear segments.

Once you complete the single player campaign, there is plenty of replay value with the multiplayer. Modes range from classic team deathmatch, to CTF style, co-op, and arena. You can play with up to 10 other people in deathmatch modes. Co-op has a very fun arena mode in which there are 10 rounds of enemies spawning, with them getting more challenging as the rounds progress. You can also co-op though spin off levels of the game. There is level progression and you can unlock tons of upgrades for your character and weapons, cut-scene movies, and "tweaks" to mess with the actual gameplay like mirroring the levels.

Overall, this is a great game. It may feel like a clone of a few different games/movies, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good clone. Most of the game is done so right, that the few moments/complaints are very minor and easy to overlook.

Uncharted, Uncharted 2, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

About the Author

Jallen

Spends his days reporting on games, talking about games, thinking about games, watching videos about games and reading about games. So much so has little time to actually play any of them.