Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review
A Review - By Gaetano Prestia
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is, simply put, a perfect blend of action, adventure, exploration, combat, humour, emotion, platforming and puzzle solving. It’s an accessible fusion of highly addictive gameplay mechanics that propel it high above any other action-adventure title we’ve seen this generation. Developer Naughty Dog’s sequel to the critical and commercially successful Drake’s Fortune is substantially better across pretty much every main aspect of the experience, making it one of the best video-game sequels of all time.
Many of the same gameplay mechanics from the original return, but it’s in Among Thieves small tweaks and improvements that ultimately make it the better experience. There’s no questioning that this is an game, as Naughty Dog did an amazing job of developing memorable characters and gameplay in the original. They’ve carried that accomplishment over to the sequel, and instead of this being a re-imagining on the experience the first game offered, it excels on it, leaving Drake’s Fortune look like nothing more than a tech demo for the far superior sequel.
Among Thieves once again involves our witty hero Nathan Drake, the charismatic treasure hunter that is always looking for adventure. Taking place about two years after Drake’s Fortune, Among Thieves has Drake attempting to solve an unknown historical mystery. The center of attention this time is the seemingly cursed voyage of Mario Polo from China sometime around 1292. After spending several years as a prisoner, Polo left China with 14 ships and 600 passengers, only to arrive at his destination with one ship and 18 people. While Polo happily documented his other adventures, he never revealed what happened to the remaining ships and passengers.
The story is told incredibly well through well-directed cutscenes and perfectly executed dialogue. The opening ten or so minutes are made to feel like the opening of a blockbuster film, as our hero sits on a beach sipping drinks with his friends, discussing Polo’s last voyage. There’s a feeling that this scene is going to lead into something spectacular, and it eventually does. The game’s charm really shines through its story-telling techniques and without giving too much away, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat. Most notably, the banter between characters during both cutscenes and throughout the actual gameplay is great and the developer has done a sensational job with the character development. Drake seems to have evolved from the first adventure and because we know his personality and objectives, there’s less of a personal focus on him than there was in the original. This leads the way for a stronger focus on the main story, as well as the minor characters that you’ll meet throughout the adventure.
Naughty Dog have made Among Thieves more of a broader experience when it comes to the gameplay. With Drake’s Fortune, you were never really forced to use the stealth or silent takedown moves during moments of combat and they were more of an afterthought that took a backseat to the complex gunfights that happened in large areas. You had those options, but the game didn’t really encourage you to use them. When you couple that with the way the levels were actually designed, you have gameplay mechanics that went unused for quite a while. However, Among Thieves takes advantage of pretty much every combat tactic, as the way you tackle each area alternates as you progress through the game. Sometimes you’ll be punished if an enemy guard spots you, whereas other times you’ll actually have to silently takedown a guard before you can progress through the area.
However, the forceful nature of the stealth early on in the game gives the experience some initial pacing problems. You might feel like you just want to whip out your gun and kill some bad guys, but you’re forced into silently moving through an area without being seen. It’s great that they’ve made the stealth more than just an afterthought, but the placement so early on might hinder the experience for newcomers to the genre.
The silent kill animations have been improved to give Nathan the ability to take down a foe from around a corner or while crouched. With the improvements in these combat tactics, they’re far more important to the overall experience and are required far more frequently than in the original. This is fantastic, as the gameplay experience changes and alternates right through, giving us more options when it comes to combat. There are certain areas that have similarities to the original game, yet the way you tackle them will be completely different. You’re required to use every tactic Nathan has at his disposal, as opposed to simple moving and shooting. This adds a great dimension to the experience.
When it comes to moving through the lush environments, the gameplay has been given a slight nudge to give it that edge over its predecessor. Firstly, throwing grenades no longer feel like a chore as they did in the original, with a simple tap of the L2 button hurling a devastating time bomb right into the path of unsuspecting enemies. You’ll also be able to pick up gas canisters that are weirdly overly available throughout the areas, which can then be thrown into the air and shot at to cause a nice explosion and take out several enemies at once. The addition of blind-fire for when Nathan is in cover makes the use of weapons like the shotgun more effective when you’re limited with your movement and range. Furthermore, the cover system has been improved slightly, as Nathan slides far more quickly into cover than he did in the original, as well as moving from cover to cover very inconspicuously and efficiently.
The adventure itself never slows down, with some spectacular moments through both the cutscenes and gameplay experience. You’ll come across crazy mini-gun wielding madmen, run away from a speeding truck through the narrow streets of Nepal, jump across collapsing rock formations and hold on for dear life inside a falling building. These are just a few of the crazy moments you’ll encounter throughout the 12-hour or so experience. Everything about the experience has you on the edge of your seat; from the twists and turns you’ll discover through the story, to the amazing gameplay mechanics and perfectly designed combat areas. Among Thieves is one hell of a ride, one that will have you holding on for dear life as you take on one crazy turn after another. The story and gameplay are fused together perfectly to offer an incredibly memorable experience, one that is both accessible and challenging.
There’s a great balance between the platforming, combat and puzzle-solving; most of the time you’ll be using tactics to move through areas and reach your objective, but there is the occasional puzzle that mixes things up a bit. Whereas the puzzles in Uncharted were anything but a challenge, Among Thieves offers a small amount of decent puzzles that help level things out a bit and add a new level to the overall experience. Furthermore, moving across a city to reach an objective in the distance requires patience as you move from building to building using Nathan’s uncanny ability to climb things like a monkey. Naughty Dog must be applauded for their perfect balance of all three, focusing on the most important aspect (combat) while offering plenty of the other two without over doing them.
Both the enemy and friendly AI are incredibly intelligent, with enemy AI responding to your own tactics and explosives you may throw their way. If an enemy is facing one way and you sneak up behind and throw a grenade at their feet, they won’t notice. Throw one their way while they’re looking right at you and they’ll jump for cover. Enemies respond to the environment, as they blind-fire and take cover wherever necessary to counter your own combat tactics. Furthermore, whoever is shooting by your side doesn’t rely on you to survive, as friendly AI never die and do a great job of taking out enemies. They’ll never get in your way and often use the gas canisters and grenades to take out their nearest enemies.
It’s great, then, that all of these fantastic aspects are complimented by the outstanding presentation. Naughty Dog hasn’t held anything back, developing quite possibly the most visually stunning game on a console to date. The environments are lush and gorgeous, the character designs and animations perfect and fluid, and the level designs great for combat and exploration. The movement of Nathan when he is injured highlights the effort put into character animation, as he realistically holds his torso to signify pain and injuries. The game starts off in snow-capped mountains, and here you’re introduced to spectacular fire effects as explosions glisten in the glow of the white snow and the sun above. The snow clings to Nathan’s blood-soaked clothes as he walks around, making for a visually impressive start to the game.
The game seems to get better as you progress, with the later chapters glowing in HD. Most PS3 gamers have been waiting for a game to look this amazing and it’s great that they also get an amazing experience to compliment the gorgeous presentation. Jungle levels glisten in the sun, cities ooze personality and the cutscenes seem like they’ve been taken straight out of a movie. It’s a spectacular overall presentation with no issues in sight.
Once you get through the entire story, collect everything you want to collect and master the gameplay, multiplayer awaits you. Naughty Dog has upped the ante this time round, taking all of the great gameplay tweaks into the online experience. Every single aspect of the combat – silent-kills, stealth, hand-to-hand combat – can all be used in multiplayer, so this isn’t a watered-down gameplay experience from the single-player campaign; it’s the same experience, but with friends. All of the typical modes are there – Deathmatch, Turf War, Elimination, just to name a few – and there isn’t a shortage to get through. Each have their own level of enjoyment and all are well populated for some intense online action.
There’s a great leveling up system that incorporates medals and cash, so there’s plenty of incentive to be playing this game for a long time. Survival Mode probably can’t compete with Gears of War’s hoard mode, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun and never gets old.
The Mechinima mode works for the most part, allowing you to record multiplayer videos and create your own stories. It’s a unique mode that was blown up in Halo 3, but only those with a dedicated interest in Mechinima will probably find enjoyment in it. It’s worth checking out for the giggles, though.
The Final Verdict
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves isn’t quite perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. It does a sensational job of introducing you to the characters and executing an interesting story right from the get-go. The improvements in the gameplay make it substantially better than its predecessor and there is a great balance between the combat, puzzles and platforming. Naughty Dog have done a wonderful job to incorporate stealth early on in the game, although it takes a while for full-blown action to kick off, which might discourage some gamers. Visually it’s absolutely stunning with a perfect presentation. Yet the graphics really do take a back-seat to the adventure itself, as its memorable, exciting, engaging, challenging and most importantly, fun.
Gameplay
9.7/10
Everything about it is just spectacular. They’ve fixed the grenade throwing issues from the original to make using them easier and more accurate. Gun combat is fun and Nathan moves through cover more efficiently and aggressively than he did. There is a great balance between stealth, combat and puzzles, although the stealth is used too early for too long.
Graphics
10/10
Absolutely flawless. A stunning presentation. No notable glitches. No clipping issues. No screen tear. Nothing. Amazing detail and lighting effects and fantastic character design. The environments are just gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.
Sound
10/10
A fantastic soundtrack and brilliant voice-acting. The sound-effects, from the gun crackle to explosions and jungle sounds, all sound great.
Value
9.7/10
Roughly 12 hours to complete the single-player, but you’ll want to play it again. Then there’s multiplayer, which is surprisingly addictive and a fantastic online experience.
Overall
9.8/10