'Uncharted 2: Among Thieves' game review

Is Sony's adventure game thick as thieves or just plain thick?

By Paul Semel

Posted October 8, 2009

Special to Metromix

Developer: Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot)
Publisher: Sony
Available On: PlayStation 3

Before it came out at the end of 2007, the third-person action game "Uncharted" was tagged as being a "Tomb Raider" wannabe. When people finally got to play it, though, they realized it was actually more of a cover-based shooter with some (but not enough) "Tomb Raider"-esque acrobatics.

Well, it seems like the problem's been solved for this sequel, which has more of everything the first one had, and then some, making it less of a straight sequel and more of an evolution.

While on a routine thieving job to steal an artifact he and his cohorts hope will lead to the lost treasures of Marco Polo, Nathan Drake—think Lara Croft without the accent or assets—goes on a globe trotting adventure from Borneo to Nepal and beyond that would make Indiana Jones say, “Sounds like fun.”

As before, Nat does a fair amount of Rainbow Six: Vegas-esque hiding and shooting this time out, though there's more, both in quantity and quality, of the Lara Croft-style climbing and jumping as well. They even make up for the Nate's lack of feisty feminine charm by giving him an equally capable sidekick/girlfriend named Chloe, expertly voiced by Farscape's Claudia Black.

But the game goes beyond the original by co-opting other genres. Not only is there a bit of "Splinter Cell"-esque stealth action, but some all-out battles reminiscent of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare"'s frantic firefights, and even some running away that recalls "Crash Bandicoot." Granted, it doesn't do any of them as well as those aforementioned games, but it manages to do them well enough, and mix them together well enough, to keep things compelling.

Of course it helps that this great gameplay is driven by a solid story that's not only told with the panache of a great action film, but with a witty script and some real chemistry between the characters. All of which is augmented by responsive controls, a variety of beautiful and interesting locations and some of the richest, most vibrant visuals and use of surround sound we've seen on the PS3.

This is not to say there isn't room for improvement when the Naughty Dog guys get to "Uncharted 3: In 3D." The game often uses a fixed camera, and like all fixed camera games, there are occasions where not being able to move it makes some jumps unnecessarily difficult. The cover mechanic has also been done better, while some of the controls, especially in the climbing, could be more fluid. These, however, are minor issues.

For a bigger issue, one has to go online. Besides the story mode, the game also features competitive and co-operative multiplayer modes. With the former, teams of five on five can play such usual modes as “Deathmatch” and the “Capture the Flag”-esque “Plunder,” while the latter has you and your online pals playing another “Flag” variation, except it's you guys against the computer, and if you survive, the next round is tougher. Though given how Nate is often joined by a sidekick in the story, the lack of a co-op option for that as well—y'know, one where we'd get to play as Chloe—is glaring to the point where you might expect them to add it later…and charge for it.

Bottom Line: Somewhere, Indiana Jones is wondering why he hasn't had a game this good in a while.