Uncharted 2: Among Thieves review

For the past three years, my PS3 was a BluRay player. During this generation of gaming consoles, Sony had lost some of their exclusive titles making it possible to play the games on Microsoft’s X-Box 360. If you can get the same game on another console, then purchasing a different console is frivolous.

The PS3, in my opinion, was a waste of money. After all, I believe P.T. Barnum said “A fool and his money soon part.” That was the case until Uncharted 2: Among Thieves came into my possession.

All I can say is “Wow.”

The story could easily fit in with the Indiana Jones trilogy. (I refuse to acknowledge the fourth film.) All Uncharted is missing is the Nazis.

The story goes something like this: Drake gets involved with two other thieves to steal a lamp from a Turkish museum. The lamp holds a map to ancient mariner Marco Polo’s shipwreck. He gets double crossed and adventure ensues.

The controls are fluid and tight, which only help when you find yourself surrounded by waves of seemingly endless enemies. The countless hours of climbing around ancient ruins would be absolutely maddening if the games controls were crap.

Speaking of climbing, there is a lot of it. Here’s something you should get used to when playing this game. The game is a visual treat. Though most of the game is figuring out how to get from platform A to ledge Q, the area is nice to look at.

While Uncharted 2:Among Thieves is a great game and is definitely worth the $60 price tag, it’s not a system seller. Also, there are some things that I would like to see changed for Uncharted 3.

1. The best line was “Great. The power’s out, a girl’s trapped. I swear, if there is a zombie around the corner..” One liners like this kept the dialogue fresh and entertaining. They are sprinkled throughout the game, but it just needed a few more quips and witty retorts for my tastes. The game’s dialogue is well done, I just need a few more.

2. Speaking of witty retorts and smart-assed quips, a voice change is in order. NaughtyDogs’ Nathan Drake already looks like Nathan Fillion (Serenity/Firefly). It would only make sense to have Fillion voice his digital doppelganger.

3. Less climbing. While an understandable aspect of the game, it’s too frequent. It feels as if NaughtyDog realized the game was too short and padded it with filler levels. Overall, Uncharted 2 is a great place to start on the PS3 or a great addition to your current library.