Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - (PS3)
Developer: Naughty Dog
Format: PS3
Genre: Action


Benchmark action adventure in this PS3-exclusive title



PS3 exclusive games that are worth buying the console for are few and far between. But fellow gamers, what we have here is a reason to buy the PS3. Mix Tomb Raider with Gears of War, add an absorbing plot, a cheeky script peppered with one liners and a visual flourish all its own - and you have Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the best action game to hit the PS3 all year.

Players once again fill the boots of Nathan Drake - descendent of Sir Francis Drake and star of the show. Unlike the first adventure that saw our hero use an ancient journal to discover long lost island treasure this time he's solving a historical mystery involving the infamous Marco Polo expedition from China dating back to the 13th Century. Drake finds himself on a quest to discover the Cintamani Stone located in a mythical Himalayan city called Shambhala - and so begins an epic quest involving a variety of gorgeous looking locations, a new love interest and more double crossing than an EastEnders omnibus.

Rarely does a game carry the type of script and plot one would expect of a film but Nathan Drake and his treasure hunting ways are about as influential a characterisation since Indiana Jones. The gameplay remains largely the same as the first - a mix of third person shoot and cover gunplay, mixed with some nifty toe to toe melee combat and topped off with a generous sprinkling of exploration, acrobatics and puzzle solving.

Fortunately, the puzzles are never too complicated and mercifully, the acrobatic platforming segments (of which there are quite a few) are never as frustrating as what can happen during a Tomb Raider game. Drake moves with such fluid style and grace that it really is a joy to watch him clamber and shimmy across the screen - visually, this is top of the tree stuff.

A ten-hour single player campaign boasting production values of this high quality would be more than enough for most but this sequel also boasts a raft of multiplayer elements including both 10-player competitive and 4-player co-op modes that often involves friends working together to collect gold or trying to fight off wave after wave of enemies.

As far as PS3 action games go this is it - the benchmark and the standard by which all others will be judged. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a polished, professional and highly entertaining action adventure. If you don't own a PS3 we suggest you consider doing some treasure hunting of your own.