Game Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves pits wisecracking demigod linguist Nathan Drake against bad guys in a race to acquire the wish-fulfilling Cintamani Stone of Buddhist legend. Doesn't hurt that it's supposed to be a raw sapphire the size of an exercise ball, either. In this adventure, Drake travels to Turkey, Borneo, Tibet, and Nepal, climbing, sneaking, and shooting as he goes. Bonus: he's accompanied by two awesome women, one of whom keeps [SPOILER DELETED]. Whatever, I was shipping them hard.

My first entry into the series was 2011's Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the Vita (here's my review), and despite being older, 2009's Among Thieves is only slightly less pretty to look at and is just as enjoyable to play. Honestly, everything about this game is a standout: the relentlessly fun combat system, the hilarious banter among the characters, the dead-easy puzzles, and the spectacular soundtrack. Sure, it's chock-full of tropes and contrivances, but that's part of what makes it wildly entertaining. Among Thieves won about a dozen awards after it came out, testament to the skill of the team that put this game together.

My single tiny complaint was the boss battle at the end, where I got killed at least six times, but that's probably my fault because I got complacent from breezing through all the previous shootouts. The developers probably wanted to speed up players' heart rates for this final showdown. If so, they succeeded. I was a ball of tension as I frantically ran around and shot at [SPOILER DELETED].

Apart from that, this is pretty much a perfect action/adventure game. It takes less than 10 hours to complete, and the disc offers multiplayer game modes as well, if that's your thing.

Next on my to-do list: Uncharted: Drake's Deception!

TL; DR: The Uncharted series can do no wrong. Recommended.

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