Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Set a couple of years after the end of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune; Uncharted 2 brings a bloody, battered Nathan Drake back to our screens. The filmic reference used deliberately because the game oozes movie style in music, camera shot, style and acting.

You start in trouble and things fail to get easier. To talk plot would spoil the game but Among Thieves finely balances well used clichés with an exceptionally written scenario. With this you get great voice acting, tight well-scripted amusing lines driving the story and a truly evil villain. This is as good as the finest of the Indiana Jones movies and shows how embarrassingly bad the most recent outing of that series was. This isn't to knock the plot of the first game it's just outstanding here.

Sometimes you need to catch your breath from the fantastic action to do some clambering. You'll often find yourself just stopping to catch the vista of a city spread out in such fantastic detail that it, in itself, is gripping. Similarly when in hidden temples you can find yourself going just slightly slower to enjoy every surface and light reflection that plays across it. It's breathtaking and extends down to Nathan's beautiful diary and each character model.

These characters move well with controls tightened up from the first game, allowing more variety and a couple of new touches. If you found you avoided physical combat in Drake's Fortune this will no longer be the case. Creeping and killing is essential as ammo at later levels and higher difficulties is scant. This time though it's so easy to pull someone over a wall to give them a love tap it becomes second nature. Hanging and shooting also seems more logical in this game and kills will be quickly racked to gain early trophies.

This isn't to say that the enemies are push-overs. If you thought they had flanking down well in the first game they're far better here and it's easy to become overwhelmed, especially by shotgunners who move in close and deal lethal damage. Even with most fights involving at least one other friendly character, all of whom are invaluably controlled rather than getting in the way, they have their own issues to deal with.

The main problem with Among Thieves is unfortunately the adventuring. There just aren't enough options to scale areas in more than one way. Sometimes you may be stuck looking for the next ledge, rope or jump but in the main they're plain to see and these sections seem to act as connections between areas of combat or to further the plot. Yes, there are sometimes other paths but these will lead to treasures rather than ending in lethal, enjoyably infuriating dead ends or without an easy way to return. This unfortunately decreases the thrill level of clambering across vast chasms in some way.

Online modes add to the fun allowing some of the vast areas from the game to come into play for a selection of the normal types of competition. A nice three player co-operative mode adds to the entertainment here and although not ground breaking it is solid and beautifully balanced. Achievements, as in the main game, can be gained here and these give you money to spend on bonuses and upgrades.

Uncharted 2 is the Naughty Dog's bollocks. It really is a joy to play and experience with many factors in its favour. Hopefully the next game will iron out the last few minor issues before Hollywood butcher the memory with a movie. If you like Lara, Indy, Quartermain or just Nathan's first outing then this is an essential purchase.