Spoiler Danger Low
The Good
+ Everything, but seriously:
+ Graphics
+ Story
+ Nathan Drake
+ Stealth Kills (ninja strike!)
The Bad
- Nothing
- ...No, really, nothing
Note: Click the pictures for bigger and more impressive versions!
I sat down to play the second game in the Uncharted franchise with monstrously high expectations. You see, I bought my Playstation 3 specifically to play Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and its sequel. It was 6 months ago that I penned my review of Drake's Fortune, and I asserted that by itself, it was worth the investment in my PS3. It set the bar impossibly high for adventure games, platforming games, storytelling, graphics, polish, and... well, everything. Naughty Dog crafted what was a damn-close-to-perfect game. So, like I said, my expectations coming into the second game were off the charts, which begs the question: did it live up to them?
In a word, yeah.
Where can I start this one? I could start by listing what Among Thieves does right, but that's an impossibly long list. Perhaps I can start with what it does wrong, but even after a second play through and a long time to think about it, I struggle to find many things. Might as well just jump right in.
In the Assassin's Creed 2 review, I wrote that Desmond was one of the coolest protagonists in modern video games. I had to choose my words very carefully there, because in the back of my head I knew he wasn't the coolest. That title belongs to the one and only Nathan Drake. With Drake's Fortune, Naughty Dog set out to create a likable everyman who was smart but was prone to making dumb choices, who was likable and engaging. Boy oh boy, did they succeed. I had almost forgotten about that, but when I sat down to play Among Thieves and the opening scene has Nathan struggling to get out of a train before it falls off a cliff, all that emotional investment came rushing back.
You see, the first game introduced us to a rich world populated by relatable characters, ones that had a reality that shirked what is accepted in the modern video game world. The simple attention to detail in the animation and texturing, the astounding voice acting and the incredible story brought these characters to life in a way that was never before done in a video game, and has yet to be replicated by anybody outside Naughty Dog. Because of the depth and personality of these characters, because of the way they were brought to vivid and detailed life, they became akin to real people. Perhaps a better way of describing it would be that they were brought to life in a way similar to that of a character in a novel. The time and attention devoted to character development is beyond that of what is given to that same task in most movies, and far above that which is given in games. Drake's Fortune changed that by creating a movie-like experience with characters that I feel like I know personally. A rare feat indeed.
So, enter the second game, Nathan waking up in a train that is seconds from going off a cliff. The first level serves as a clever tutorial while still pushing the story and characters forward. And talk about a tense way to start a game... I was quite literally a mere inches away from the TV. The tension brought me up and out of my chair, I cringed every time some debris fell away, I gaped at the drop when the camera panned to an overhead shot, I was engaged so deeply that I forgot I was holding a controller and actually responsible for what was happening on screen. It's a great experience to play a game that has that effect, but it is a reward far too seldom found in games.
Let me tell you now that the game only gets better from there. And better and better.
The game's story, propelled by its fantastic, witty, and highly amusing cast of characters, is as breathtaking as it is perfect. It moves along at a pace that just dares me to put the controller down and go to bed. Need a bathroom break? Yeah, well here's an exploding car to keep you rooted to your seat. The game keeps the dramatic moments coming fast and furious, but they never seemed out of place or just thrown in as did many of the moments in Modern Warfare 2. These felt like actual parts of the story line and the experiences were more tense and lifelike because of it.
In terms of graphics, Among Thieves raises the bar set by the first game. This is, without question, the best looking game I have ever played. Naughty Dog utilizes the power of the PS3 in a way that makes every other developer out there blush. I'm not sure that the Xbox 360 could reproduce the graphics in this game - it probably cringes and spits out an RROD error at the very thought. There's nothing out there on any system that can compare to the sheer beauty of this game. Everything from the character models to the scenery around you is fully realized and painstakingly detailed. In fact, one of the complaints about the first game was that everything took place in a jungle. Well, say goodbye to those days. Among Thieves sees Drake trotting around the globe to locales far and wide. You have some jungle, some icy cliffs, a monastery, a ruined city, a couple of temples... all of which are drop dead gorgeous.
One of the best areas of the game is the level in which you are climbing through an abandoned and derelict monastery. The view off the cliffs and through the waterfalls ranks among the greatest things I've ever seen in a game. One thing Naughty Dog does extremely well is selecting camera locations that maximize appreciation of a situation of view. This skill is on full display as the camera moves from one vantage point to another to grant you some pretty epic views. The ice cave... also amazing. War torn city streets... amazing. Native village: amazing. It's all so damn amazing.
Oh and when you get to the final area of the game, you'd be a sad person indeed if you didn't take a moment to absorb the splendor of the location. More beautiful places don't exist in video games. It left me utterly speechless for many minutes as I swiveled the camera around trying to take it all in.
Much like everything else, the game play in this game is tuned for maximum player engagement. Naughty Dog fixed the issues fans had with the gun play in the first game and tightened up a lot of the platforming segments. One of the truly nifty things about the platforming segments in particular are the lack of obvious visual cues to tell you where to go. This adds a very sweet level of challenge that easier games (*cough* Assassin's Creed 2 *cough*) are lacking. Among Thieves does not coddle you like other games do. It tosses you out into the world and allows you to figure it out for yourself. So much win. This is doubly true because Uncharted 2 has some of the most challenging platforming puzzles to be found in a 3D game. Couple the lack of obvious visual cues with some large scale puzzle solving, and you can call me sold. Add this to the fact that the game perfectly balances platforming with combat segments, and I just dies and went to heaven.
Combat. In a phrase - poo on guns. Naughty Dog went back to the drawing board for the combat system, as I mentioned earlier. The gun mechanics are very much improved (I actually enjoy them now), but it's the hand to hand combat that really shines. One of my favorite parts of the game is the stealth kill mechanic. I would wander through many areas all ninja-like snapping necks and making no noise. It's the same thrill I got when assassinating people in Assassin's Creed 2, but in a game play setting that's (oddly) more designed for doing such things. Naughty Dog wagered that the audience would love stealth kills, and as far as I'm concerned, they wagered correctly. Heck, if Uncharted 3 ditched guns entirely in favor of stealth kills, I'd be just fine with that.
As with everything else in this game, the soundtrack of Among Thieves is wonderful. Greg Edmonson takes the helm again and gives us one delightful score. It was a pleasure hearing Nathan's theme used in new ways, and the new territory the score explores is delightful. this was another one I bought as soon as the opportunity presented itself, and I haven't regretted it yet.
OK so, I'm going to cut this short before I write something about as long as a novel. I could do it, trust me. But do you really want to read that much? I didn't think so. If you own a PS3 (or even if you don't), you owe it to yourself to play this game. I bought my PS3 for this franchise, and I have yet to even remotely regret it. Put simply, gaming just doesn't get much better than this.
In fact, find me a better all around game. Do it. Bet you can't.
Score: 10.0/10.0
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