Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

- Reviewed on PS3 -

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves released on October 13th, 2009.

Naughty Dogs' (The Developers of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves) beloved sequel to an amazing first Uncharted game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves takes the players on yet another grand adventure full of mystery, betrayal, combat, humor, and treasure!

Nominated, rightfully so, for many game awards, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an actual Game of the Year winner and tells a story so memorable in the Uncharted series, introducing new characters and even new (and improved) game mechanics, that fans worldwide have considered this to possibly be the best in the series (as of writing this blog post). 

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

Nathan Drake is back, yet again, for another thrilling adventure in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves!

The third person camera / controls also make a comeback and upon playing the first level, I felt a feeling of similarity between this and the first title that released years before. 

The overall story of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is about Nathan Drake trying to find a key artifact, known as the Cintamani Stone, which is, to be believed, as the key to the mysterious, "Uncharted" land of Shambhala. 

New characters also make their Uncharted series debut such as Harry Flynn, Zoran Lazarevic (who is the main antagonist of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves), and popular Uncharted staple character, Chloe Frazer. 

Returning characters also show up like Victor Sullivan and Elena Fisher. 

All the same voice actors for the main cast of characters do a splendid job in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Nathan Drake specifically still has that same humor and overconfidence as ever. 

All the different, well-defined characters, make Uncharted 2: Among Thieves such a spectacle to play and each personality is able to contribute greatly to the 10 and a half hour (average) campaign. 

The actual gameplay itself, as mentioned earlier with the camera, is very similar to Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. 

The controls are very similar with tweaked UIs but Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, does have new, additional guns, parkour, and enemy types!

New gun examples include FAL Assault Rifles, Wes - 44 Revolvers, and even Tranquilizer Guns!

The new enemies in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is where the game shines best in my opinion. 

Unlike Uncharted: Drake's Fortune where the majority of enemies were pirate related AIs, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves takes enemies up a notch with heavily armored, minigun carrying types, (SPOILER) crazy Shambala Guardians with Crossbows, and even Yeti like monsters that will surprise you later on in the story! 

The parkour shares similar mechanics like highlighted pieces of the environment (so you know where to jump to / from), but it (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves) also gives NPC's much more freedom with their own parkour abilities to make it feel more immersive whereas Uncharted: Drake's Fortune would typically only let you (Nathan Drake) do the parkour and open up areas for them. 

The graphics are very well toned and even hold up to today's day and age (in my opinion). 

My only issue with the graphics though were the characters' eyes where they were much more highlighted than the rest of their bodies (especially Chloe), which always distracted me and ruined the immersion at times. 

That's not the biggest con though when it comes to gameplay, as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has a huge issue with audio and frame rate drops!

At least on my PS3, when playing scenes with a lot of gunfire / enemies, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves would always start having issues with the audio, where there would be no more dialogue, footsteps, or even music... just loud cracking sounds from the audio trying to output.

Similarly, the frame rate drops were horrible during these audio glitches / crashes, but I knew if I could somehow beat these portions of the levels, I could get out of all that mess. 

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has a plethora of locations to visit / explore within its 26 chapters. 

These locations include...

    - Borneo
    - Indonesia
    - Istanbul
    - Nepal
    - Tibet
    - Turkey
    - Shambhala

In these locations, you will be able to find treasures just like in the first game.

There are a total of 100 treasures in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves that shine during gameplay just like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune did. 

With the inclusion of a Strange Relic hidden in the game, there is actually 101 treasures. 

Finding treasure, getting a certain number of kills, and / or even completing the game on various difficulties, will earn you tons of money (and PS3 trophies) to unlock extras.

These extras include behind the scenes movies, artwork, and also clothing items for your next (eventual) playthrough of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. 

The final boss fight (SPOILER) with Lazarevic was quite a thrilling conclusion to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, despite the online criticism, but when I kept failing at this fight during my playthrough, it really opened my eyes to how bad the checkpoint system was in this sequel. 

The characters, gun fights, collectibles, extras, enemies, locations, and overall arching story, made Uncharted 2: Among Thieves such an incredible sequel to Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was so incredibly fascinating to play at the time, but when sequels are made, for any media format, their supposed to adapt and continue what made their previous counterpart so special in the first place, and that's exactly what Uncharted 2: Among Thieves did here!

If you can look past the audio and frame rate issues that are unfortunately plagued in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (at least for me on PS3), then you will have a blast with this amazing, critically acclaimed sequel!

Pros: 

    - Well Established Characters
    - More Enemy and Gun Types
    - Collectibles
    - Great Plot
    - Plenty of Extras
    - Longevity
    - Smooth Parkour Mechanics
    - Outstanding Voice Acting

Cons:

    - Same, Easy Puzzles
    - Audio Glitches
    - Frame Rate Drops
    - Weird Character Model Highlights (with Eyes)

My Rating for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (on PS3):

4 / 5


-----



Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins

- Reviewed on  3DS  - The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins released on October 28th, 2014.  Based in the world of Avatar, The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins is a turn-based strategy game that actually takes place during books (seasons) two and three of the mainline series.  Though Avatar fans would enjoy this title, the laggy input, absurd cutscenes, and dated graphics wouldn't appeal to audiences (I feel) now a days.  This review WILL have  Major Spoilers  so keep that in mind before continuing... The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins revolves around Korra being stripped of her bending.  The first few missions in this 3DS title are to familiarize the player(s) with how the turn-based combat works.  After you complete missions, you'll eventually unlock the Water, Earth, Fire, and Air bending elements.  This game mechanic blends in well with the mediocre story of Korra facing these chi-blockers and facing off against a new a...
Read more

Layers of Fear

- Reviewed on  Switch  - Layers of Fear released on February 16th, 2016.  To me, I went into this game completely blind with the expectations to have a very scary gaming experience, instead I got more of a walking simulator game with only a few scary moments, and the rest of the game was puzzle related.  Layers of Fear has its fair share of creepy, uncomfortable moments but in the end, this title failed to give me the horror aspects I have grown to love in video games.  This review WILL have  Major Spoilers  so keep that in mind before continuing... You play as a painter who slowly goes mad trying to get the perfect painting masterpiece.  With your daughter gone (SPOILER) because she was taken to a new home / family, and your wife unfortunately dead, the main protagonist must suffer through the horrific process of constant flashbacks and nightmares.  The main issue I have with Layers of Fear is the fact that there is only two chapters th...
Read more

Stardew Valley

- Reviewed on  Switch  - Stardew Valley released on February 26th, 2016.  When it comes to relaxing, stress free games to enjoy, you would be crazy if you did not pick up Stardew Valley.  Stardew Valley has the enjoyment to bring gamers and even non-gamers to the playing field.  This review WILL have  Major Spoilers  so keep that in mind before continuing... Your journey begins when (SPOILER) your grandfather passes away and he grants you his farm land, which of course you rename and customize as you wish. I think there could've been a better way to see how you gain your farmland, but even though I wasn't a fan of this opening, the rest of this enormous, glorious game made up for it. You can choose a different type of farmland as well, that being the default version, water version, and many more. After you settle in, you can also play split screen co op which is a massive plus for people who want to play a nice, relaxing, enjoyable game like menti...
Read more