PS Exclusive Masterpiece Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the sequel to Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Set two years after the events of Drake’s Fortune, it starts where the first game left off, that is after Nathan Drake completed the quest for El Dorado.
Now, Nate is trying to find clues about Marco Polo’s lost fleet with a few fellow thieves and soon finds himself embroiled in a dangerous game.
That’s as far as one can go without giving spoilers.
The story is engaging, and I loved that it is full of twists and turns that kept me guessing.
There are also quite a few puzzles that are tricky and do not contain fillers. This game has something for everyone – puzzles, action, platforming, exploration.
So, without further ado, here is our Uncharted 2: Among Thieves review.
Story and Characters
The storytelling is a delight, with believable and complex character development. The bad guy may be one-dimensional, but the other characters are all intriguing to watch as they interact in an authentic manner which adds to the immersive experience.
Uncharted 2 is a high-octane, action-adventure game that requires players to be on their mettle as they navigate an exotic world while shooting, solving puzzles, and progressing through the twisting and suspenseful story.
New and Improved Features
The first game was so good that I had high expectations for the second one, and it did not disappoint. It has a lot more action than the original, with an intense storyline and co-op multiplayer mode.
Moreover, gameplay features like combat have been blended more smoothly than in the first title; everything has improved substantially.
Combat felt more natural; navigating environments was smoother than before thanks to easy climbing mechanics that were added for this iteration which makes traversing difficult places much easier.
While puzzles made use of PS3 hardware features such as motion control, so they no longer feel out of place among other many features.
Combat and Level Design
One of the most impressive features of Uncharted 2, is its level design. Rather than fighting on flat ground, almost every battle scene offers multiple levels and areas to use to your advantage.
If you want to stay on the ground and take people out the old-fashioned way, you can. However, you have other options, such as flanking, which we did not see in the previous titles.
You can also traverse to higher ground for tactical advantage. Stealth was already present in previous titles, but here it feels more immersive and super useful.
You can take out many enemies before the guns start blazing. With the tons of new advancements, you get a better feeling that you are in control. Even though the story is linear, you can at least choose how to finish off enemies.
Improved Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The AI in the previous game was smart and super good. But I’m thrilled to say that in this game, the enemy AI was even better.
It made great use of the environment in advanced ways, used grenades, regularly shifted between covers, and when in groups they tended to advance as if they knew they outnumbered me.
Overall, they are fun to fight against which is also because this game does not intend to give players a hard time on the fighting part.
Our companion AI did not lag behind either. It was always eager to help, able to keep up, and did not get in my way, which allowed me full freedom in approaching each situation as needed.
Conclusion
Ever since I played the original Uncharted game, I knew that Naughty Dog was a company to be reckoned with.
The first one had a great story and gameplay. But now they have outdone themselves with the sequel Uncharted 2: Among Thieves!
It boasts superior graphics, more action-packed set pieces than before (the train section was my personal favorite), plenty of puzzles, and everything else was taken up a notch.
The previous title was fun and exciting, but this was even better. The gameplay and graphics are top-notch, making this one of my favorite games of all time.
I could go on forever about how much fun I had playing this game!
Overall Rating: 95%
Game and Publisher: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves © Sony Interactive Entertainment
