Back in November 2009 I was so caught up with the release of Assassin’s Creed 2 that I decided not to buy Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. This PlayStation 3 exclusive title has been crowned ‘game of the year’ by many videogame magazines, websites and also at the Spike Video Game Awards. I finally got my hands on it during Christmas 2010. I finished the game within 3 days, time for a ‘Final Verdict’ review.
Plot
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves follows the adventure of treasure hunter Nathan Drake. One of his fellow treasure hunters spikes Nathan’s interest in a treasure related to Marco Polo. It seems Marco Polo might have discovered the location of the mythical city Shambala and the greatest treasure of all: the ‘Cintamani Stone’. Legend says this powerful stone is able to grand wishes!
Of course things are not as easy as they seem. Nathan gets double crossed, but he won’t take it laying down! Nathan decides to hunt for the stone himself. But will he be able to outsmart war criminal and über badguy Zoran Lazarevic? And, what about the friends that are helping him – can Nathan trust them?
Final Verdict
Uncharted 2 opens with a true cliffhanger… no seriously, the game starts right after a big traincrash. While the game introduces you to the controlls, you need to get Nathan out of the crashed train which is hanging from a cliff! After you manage to get Nathan to safer ground the game goes back to the start of the story. Time to find out how Nathan got into a traincrash in the first place. The stage is set and this opening definitely got me into the right flow to continue playing the game.
Even though Uncharted 2 has an exciting story, veteran gamers will encounter elements that will remind them of other games. Some of the action scènes really reminded me of ‘Metal Gear Solid’ (1998). Such as taking down a helicopter with a stinger missile while standing on a rooftop. I missed the insane rambling of Liquid Snake :P Instead of being stuck on one rooftop, Nathan has to jump from rooftop to rooftop before being able to take down the helicopter. Also the battle with three tanks in Uncharted 2 reminded me of the moment you have to fight a tank with your bare hands in Metal Gear Solid. Oh and the classic ‘shooting while driving’ sequence is taken to a higher level by the creators of Uncharted 2, forcing Nathan to jump from driving truck to driving truck! Parts of the snowy Nepal mountains also reminded me of ‘Tomb Raider: Legend’ (2006).
Even though elements of Uncharted 2 might seem unoriginal, I did like how the creators have remixed these oh so familiar elements. The game is a great mix between action and exploring. I also enjoyed the way Nathan interacted with the other characters in Uncharted 2. Not just story wise, but during the game other characters help you out solve puzzles and take down enemies. Even though you play the game alone, with these npc‘s helping you out, you never really feel alone. Definitely a different emotion compared to playing Tomb Raider where Lara is alone most of the time *sighs*
Having your PlayStation 3 hooked up to your HD (Ready) television with a special HDMI cable has never felt so rewarding before. The graphics of Uncharted 2 are truly fingerlicking good! A soundsystem connected to your TV or PlayStation 3 also isn’t a bad idea… the soundtrack fits the game perfectly.
Conclusion
In the end Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a pretty solid mustplay game with an exciting story and great action. The game is already available under the ‘Greatest Hits’ or ‘Platinum’ label, PlayStation 3 owners actually don’t have any excuse not to buy this game. Seriously, who can resist this treasure hunt story?
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