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The sequel to Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, this title takes everything that was great in the first game and improves on it. The developer, Naughty Dog, has learnt a great deal about storytelling and the way this tale unfolds is so much fun and, at the same time, quite clever. The plot follows our hero, Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter of sorts akin to Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. He is joined by a band of like minded characters and together they set out to find the lost treasure of Marco Polo. The quest takes a drastic left turn as events unfold and a villain is uncovered. The race is then on to get to the treasure before it is used for dark purposes. I am deliberately keeping plot points fairly light in this review simply because i don't want to give much away. The way the story unfolds and the twists and turns are so enjoyable it would be criminal to give too much away. Sufficed to say, you will finish the game feeling very satisfied and the ending leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling, especially the place they leave the characters. Bring on Uncharted 3.
What is brilliant about this game, and what makes it stand out from similar titles is the storytelling. It is more like an interactive movie than a game but it has all the classic third person shooter and treasure hunter elements in there too. There is plenty of gun play, car chases, shootouts with helicopters, damsals to rescue, monsters to fight and villains to defeat. There are puzzles to solve, fist fights to be had and dark jungles and temples to explore.
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The blending of cut scenes and gameplay are done so well that there is very little difference between the two. All the cut scenes are done using the game engine so once they are over, the character is able to be controlled right of the bat. Also, there are also moments where the action that would normally be reserved for a cut scene happens while you are still playing. An example (which was shown at E3) is during a battle in a building against a helicopter. As the chopper fires repeated rockets at the building to take you out, it finally gives way and the building comes crumbling down while you are still inside. This is in the middle of a firefight with various henchmen so you will need to take them out while guiding yourself toward the only way of getting out of there alive. There are many moments like this where the action is ramped up and the player is in the middle of it.
