Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an action adventure third person shooter platform game. Although this game was released way back in 2009, its gameplay structure and movie like qualities still beat other games of today. Naughty Dog is indeed one of the best developers in the whole world. They are a company that really knows how to use their crafts. Their level of detail in the game is remarkable and the platforming set pieces are eye candy and fun to do. Another factor of what makes this game perfect, is that it doesn’t just take place on a single island and instead, it changes locales a handful of times over the course of the adventure. You’ll really feel that you’re exploring the whole world. Plus, the game’s voice acting is top notch. It’s definitely one of Naughty dog’s strengths. Nathan Drake has always been a likable character, as well as Victor Sullivan, Nathan’s fatherly figure and mentor in treasure hunting. The story is also great and direct to the point.
It’s not hard to tell that the graphics are amazing. Naughty Dog squeezed every ounce of power of the Playstation 3. If you compare this game with other games graphically, other games would look inferior to it graphically. My point is that, the game is polished especially in the graphics department. Naughty Dog intended to maximize the utilization of the Cell’s SPU (PS3 engine). They also use Havoc Engine Physics for the game. Uncharted 2: Among thieves, received universal critical acclaim, earning numerous “Game of the Year” awards in 2009. Hard work and dedication by the whole team sure paid off. The game is really beautiful and engaging, from the moving train to the breaking rocks, you’ll really have fun with this game. This game was the first to utilize the motion movement in gaming. An example of that is when Nate moves around and advances on a moving train. Sequences and set pieces like this raised the bar in quality for gaming. The Indiana Jones type of story and treasure hunt gameplay are fantastic. Plus, the animation of Nathan Drake towards his surroundings are spot on. If Nathan is injured, he’ll really “walk” injured, you’ll feel the “rhythm” of the animation transforming into realistic movements. Many people love this game, the game has a GameRankings score of 96.38% and a GameStats score of 9.6/10 and also received a Metacritic score of 96 out of 100, making it the most critically acclaimed game in the year 2009.
Hiawatha Bray of the Boston Globe said:
“No other video game has ever done a better job of capturing the style and rhythm of the movies. The action sequences in Uncharted 2 look as if they were shot by a team of cinematographers, then edited into a coherent and thrilling narrative. The game’s storyline is trite, but a first-rate cast of voice-over actors carry it off with flair.”
I definitely agree on all of that, especially the voice acting part. Nolan North as Nathan’s voice nailed it. We all know that Nolan North has a lot of voice work in the video game industry but he really did a great job voicing Nathan Drake. He made the character alive with his voice and everybody loves it. The rest of the team did great as well in the voice acting department.
There are a lot of words to say and my words won’t be able to express how much the game is a masterpiece. Truly, one of the best games ever made. Uncharted 2 will not disappoint. Some fans even say, “the graphics, oh my gosh, for the graphics”. This will make you indeed would want to buy the game alone, good thing Uncharted 2 doesn’t come with graphics alone, but it also comes with fun gameplay. If you have a Playstation 3, for sure you already have played this game, if not, then maybe something’s wrong with you. All praises to the team of Naughty Dog for bringing us a wonderful and great experience. This game won countless awards and it’s no surprise that they did. If you haven’t played the game yet or if you don’t have a Playstation 3, go get one it’s cheap or borrow the game from a friend. It’s really worth it. It makes me wonder that Sony always has better exclusives compared to Microsoft. I don’t even think Microsoft has that much exclusives, I believe they have only two major hit exclusives, like Halo and Gears of War, but that’s for another story. PS3 has a lot of great exclusives and I’m glad that the Uncharted Series was made for the platform as I believe that only a powerful system could handle such an epic game, and that’s the Playstation 3. Check this game out and have a great experience. Uncharted 3 is also out, but I wanted to review this one first, as this made a huge impact throughout the years. Enjoy playing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and discover new and refreshing experience in gaming.