Like the first Uncharted combat is similar to Gears of War, though a little looser with its cover mechanic and significantly more agile. Fortunately the combat is improved from the original game, with enemies now taking less than fifteen bullets in their t-shirt wearing bodies to finally go down. Environments are also better designed for fighting within all three dimensions of the world, allowing players to hide behind anything they can hang from. By adding this verticality the combat encourages more movement, allowing you slip from cover to getting in close for some close quarters combat. It appears Nathan has been having lessons from Storm Shadow, because between the two games both the melee combat and stealth kills became significantly more effective, so getting in close is no longer a death warrant but a legitimate and (satisfying) tactic.

 

Platforming remains unchanged from the first instalment, which it to say it looks great, but once you find your route it becomes fairly simple. Ironically Uncharted 2 suffers from its improved graphics. Higher detail in the environment leads to difficulty in making out what is an interactive element and what is just window dressing. Combine this with never being quite sure if a missed jump was from the lack of an environmental object or due to a bad angle of approach and you will often launch yourself into the same chasm several times in your quest to find the correct route.

 

 

Occasionally the game manages to combine its platforming and combat elements during and it is then that both mechanics shine. Most significant among these meldings is a level where you have to move up a train as you are attacked from all sides. Everything can be used as cover but as the train moves along the winding track the angles change allowing opponents to get a different vantage on your position. This combined with the fact you can shimmy along handholds you find and leap from one carriage to another and you are left with a level lifted strain from an old cowboy movie.

 

The train level does make up one of the most dramatic levels of the game, but Uncharted 2 is littered with similar, if smaller scale, set pieces to ensure that while the explore, shoot, repeat mechanic may become predictable in its pattern, the variety of its contents remain surprising.

 

 

 

On top of the incredibly story and game play that make up the single player element of the game Naughty Dog also managed to incorporate a sizable online component. I haven’t really played enough to pass comment, but the three games I played were incredible. The ability to use the verticality of the world added a different feel from most similar online titles. It’s just a shame that at three in the morning there don’t seem to be many players for me to play with.

 

 

"Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" is an awesome experience. It takes the original game and improves on it in everyway creating a dynamic cinematic experience. In keeping with its storytelling routes it is incredibly linear but the connection the characters display with each other, and created in me as a player, ensured that my goals were the same as theirs and I was elated to follow the game’s fast paced lead down the roller coaster tracks.

 

If you have a Playstation 3 there is no reason not to buy this, and if you don’t own one then perhaps now is the time to seriously consider getting one.

 

 

 

 

+ Beautiful, cinematic experience
+ The train level
+ Fantastic voice work
+ Amazing attention to detail in the environment