Nathan Drake is back after his highly successful first outing on the PS3 in 2007 and this time, he means business. Naughty Dog have taken the base of the first Uncharted title and upped the stakes to another level.
Plot –
The main story mode of the game consists of Nathan Drake attempting to find a Mongolian oil lamp after accepting a job offer from two new characters in the game, Chloe Frazer and Harry Flynn in an Istanbul museum. Nate accepts the job when he learns that the lamp may lead to the treasures in Marco Polo’s lost fleet. Flynn and Drake acquire the lamp, which contains a map showing that the lost fleet had been transporting the Cintamani Stone from Shambhala. With old faces returning and new ones popping up, it’s time for them to get going on the new adventure and find what they are looking for!
Graphics –
This is something that really sets the game apart from anything else out there at this present time. This game is a masterpiece in the looks department, it really is. The way the whole thing flows together is just fantastic and you can clearly see the amount of time and attention to detail that the Uncharted team at Naughty Dog have put into this game. It’s just brilliantly done in every way. Its movie like with the action cut scenes and the superb flow of the game when you are in control of Nathan Drake. I’ve not seen a game this brilliant for a very long time and I’m not sure I will for a while as it’s that damn good. If this is the sort of game that Naughty Dog are achieving now on the PS3 i can’t wait to see what they come up with in say a few years time!
9.5/10
Gameplay –
Think Tomb Raider meets Indiana Jones and that’s close to what you get with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. It has the jumping, climbing, puzzle solving etc like Tomb Raider but it also has the amazing action sequences that really set this game up to be a fantastic game from start to finish. What really got me while playing this game was how engrossed i was in the game because of the breathtaking story along with the perfect paced gameplay and i just couldn’t leave the game alone. I wanted to see more and more of it! There are some levels that just took my breath away including the very first level of the entire game, A Rock and a Hard Place and also Urban Warfare and Locomotion. If there was one word that summed up the gameplay in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves it would be – fabulous.
9.5/10
Longevity –
The main story mode of the games has 26 levels and although it will keep you busy for quite some time, it won’t keep you going for a massive amount of time in general as the levels are quite short once you get gripped by it all and before you know it, you will be flying though the game in no time. One thing i would say is to choose a harder difficulty setting as at least then you have a challenge on your hands and you won’t finish the game too quickly and you will also enjoy it more that way as you take your time on it rather than going all guns blazing though the game like a madman!. Once the story mode is complete, of course there are plenty of extras that will give you more incentive to go play the game again if you fancy doing this. Not all players will but i know alot of players that have already done this. The other big thing about Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the fantastic online mode over the Playstation Network. Great fun and with tons of people always online and some great matches including Plunder, Deathmatch and Elimination to name a few. Loads of hours wasted there then!
9/10
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is out now and is exclusive to the Playstation 3.
Thanks for reading.
