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For a system desperate for great exclusive games, one man answers the call…..Drake…..Nathan Drake.

I’ll save you the trouble right of reading the rest of this review right now.  Other than being a bit short (it took me about 11 hours to finish), if you own a PS3 you need to buy or rent this game now.

Uncharted 2 takes everything that was good about Uncharted and amps it up to 11.  Uncharted 2′s cinematics and gameplay flow almost seamlessly leading to some really great set pieces.  As we rejoin Drake,  he is trying to find Marco Polo’s lost fleet.  The story quickly evolves into a story worthy of a summer blockbuster movie that finds Drake racing to prevent an artifact from falling in the wrong hands that is rumored to grant the holder enough power to take over the world.  Gameplay is from the third-person perspective and combat is mostly cover based shooting similar to Gears of War.  In addition to the gun play however is a very functional stealth and hand-to-hand combat mechanic that if the player chooses can help Drake get out of various situations without firing a single bullet.  Almost as impressive of how well these stealth sequences work is how well the game still works if the player chooses not to employ stealth.  Instead of instantly killing the player, most of the time the game will allow the player to continue.  Guards will be alerted and act appropriately, but if the player uses his available cover and firepower well enough non-stealth fans will be able to guide Drake through the stealth sections without too much trouble.  Voice acting is second to none and the orchestral score compliments the action well.  There are a few frustrating moments where you would think Drake should be able to grab on to a ledge but instead will fall to his death, but otherwise the controls are very solid during both adventure and action portions of the game. The near seamless integration of cinematics and gameplay leads to some truly fantastic results.   I don’t want to spoil it too much for anybody, but there is a train sequence in the middle of the game that is probably the best set-piece action sequence I’ve ever played in a video game.  As an added bonus there is a solid multiplayer component with multiple game-types.  There really isn’t anything that makes the multiplayer stand out as something unique to the Uncharted universe, but it done quite well.

Scores:

Graphics:
Everything from the characters to the terrain look great.  As good as anything seen on the PS3 to date.

Sound:

Excellent voice acting, great sound effects, and solid orchestral score add to the blockbuster movie feel.

Gameplay:

Gameplay is like playing the latest action adventure movie.  Numerous truly special set-piece sequences throughout.  Only a couple of places in the game where Drake can’t jump or grab something that it looks like he should get in the way of a perfect score here.

Controls:

Controls generally work very well.  It isn’t hard maneuvering drake either during climbing or action sequences.

Originality:

Nothing overly original about the core gameplay.  However, it does set the bar high for all future action-adventure games

Overall Single Player:

A truly special experience that anyone who enjoys this type of game must experience.

Overall Multiplayer:

Solid, but doesn’t bring anything truly unique about the Uncharted universe to it.

Reviewer’s Opinion:

Best 3rd person action-adventure game and leading candidate for game of the year.

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