So how does one start a review for a video game which already has some of the best review scores ever? Well, to be honest, poorly.

Before I get to the game, let me note that my biggest issue with the game wasn't the game really, but my ps3 locking up (first time ever it has ever been glitchy for me) multiple times during the last 3rd of the game. The first time I thought I had lost 3+ hours of gameplay, but luckily the in-game autosave feature (I never even noticed that there was such a thing) saved me from yelling at the tv/ps3. Ok, now that that is over, lets get to the game review.

The Story: Ok, first off, I want to try to say spoiler free in this review. The story starts off sometime after the events of the first game (some other sites say a year or two, I havent played the first yet, so I dont know) and begins with Nate and a few fellow thieves working on finding Marco Polo's lost treasure fleet. Of course, things aren't quite that simple and the cast winds up going on a much grander adventure. There are plot twists, betrayals, rebetrayals, unbetrayals, and various other sneaky things going on. There is a way above average (for video games) story here, and its told way better than average as well. The great storytelling extends to the character development; which is better than 3 or 4 other video games combined (or one very popular series). Almost everyone with more than two lines of dialogue has an interesting reason for doing what they're doing, well, except for the main villain, they cliched that out with him following some Destiny which is never really explained or developed. The way that everyone interacts with one another is realistic and interesting, and sorta feels like they put everyone in the same room, filmed them practicing the dialogue, then used that as a basis for the character's expressions/body language. Then there is the fact that almost every character is unpredictable in some way, but not in a forced or unnatural manner (well, except for one charactor that exists for only one "level" of the game).

The Game Type: Its basically a First Person Shooter (though you see the action from a flying camera, not your eyes, so would that be Third Person shooter?) / Platforming (walls, cliffs, street signs, etc) game. The game is somewhat forgiving on the Platforming, but not very on the shooting/combat.

The Game Play: Uncharted 2 gives you with gunfights, environmental navigation, and puzzle solving to keep you busy. Everything in the game has been blended together almost seamlessly. The platforming can be used for cover (jump up and hide on a sign for cover then fire at enemies), etc. Its a true testament to Naughty Dog (the game developer) that so many things just fit so perfectly together in the gameplay. Nothing really feels forced, from the platforming to the shooting, even to the puzzle solving. Don't get me wrong, the Story is still linear, and you don'tWhile the game is still very much a linear tale, taking you from point to specific point, you're offered many more options in how you approach and deal with battles. really have any option of navigating away from the plot, but the game lets you freely determine your own strategy when you are in gun fights, etc.

One thing that plays a big part in this is that stealth is always an option, and it's actually a very useful tactic to take advantage of when you approach a situation (if you prepare enough to look around to see where the other baddies are). If an enemy doesn't see you and you attack him, you'll perform a silent stealth takedown. There are a couple spots in the game where I took down four or five enemies before the gunfire starting whizzing around, greatly improving my chances of survival. It's even possible to avoid a big fight entirely if you can clear an area of enemies silently as there won't be anyone around to call in for reinforcements. Though there are times the game forces you into this tactic as part of the "training" levels that you have at the beginning of the game.

Of course, you don't have to use any stealth at all if you just want to just roll into a fight. Well, that is except for that one "level" where you have to be stealthy as you're not allowed to be seen or outright kill anyone. The problem here is that your route isn't as obvious as it could be and you only need to take down three or four guys out of a room packed to the gills with guards. If you don't do things in a fairly specific order, you'll fail and have to restart. Honestly, I failed enough at this area I pulled up one of the many online game guides to get a little help with the take-down sequence.

This is one of those games, that as you get more comfortable with your character, the game just gets better and better. The first half felt like a nice, but once you hit the half-way point, everything kicks into full swing and you start getting into jaw-dropping sequences.

The third part of the game is puzzle solving. Now, there isn't a ton of these, but they are pretty important. And this is when you are introduced to Drake's journal. It gives you hints, which the game will then voice out to you as you flip the pages. I must recommend stopping to scan/read each page, some of the stuff in there is quite amusing.

One thing that I didn't touch on when I was talking about combat was the AI, both the bad guys and your occastional teammates. Those of you who played the original (i haven't, but it should be here this week, I will play it before I reply Uncharted 2, so I am taking this off what others have said) have told me that the foes were smart, used cover, etc. In this game they take cover, use grenades well and were generally fun to fight because of this. I will say though that the AI continues to make great use of the environment even though it's generally way more complicated this time around, which is great. Now, while the opponent AI was already impressive, your companion AI is absolutely phenomenal. You're almost always with someone else this time around, which was something that I was a little concerned about when I had originally heard this as friendly AI almost always gets in the way. Not here, and not ever.

It really feels like they're with you rather than in your way, thinking for themselves and doing stuff that real people would do, well. In the climbing sequences, the computer will either quickly go ahead (and show you the way) or stay back and wait for you to pass it first. If there's a gunfight, it'll find its own cover, take care of itself and stay out of your way (for the most part, they only use pistols, but they carry a couple thousand rounds with them). The only time in the game that I thought the AI did something that I wasn't pleased with was once when I came to a room where two factions where fighting, we were hidden in cover and I wanted to wait the battle out. After staying quiet for about 30 seconds and playing along, the AI teammates jumped up and joined the battle, dragging me into it as well. That's it. During the other ten hours of the adventure, of which a good eight-plus is spent with someone at your side, they were always complementary rather than hurtful and often actually very helpful.

The one game play complaint I have is about the climbing/platforming paths. In many areas, these are just too scripted, too linear. There is only one path to use, which seems almost restrictive. I get the need for puzzle platforming at times, but it seems liked the developer could have allowed a bit more room to determine your path at times. My other minor quibble is that I just don't catch on to game cover systems fast.

It's impossible to talk about Uncharted 2 without mentioning its stunning visuals. While the cutscenes are where you would expect to find stellar visuals (they are that way here too, stellar) but there are some scenes that you'll play in that will have your jaw on the floor. The world is packed with bits of detail that do nothing for gameplay, but do a lot to draw you into the world and make you feel like this is a real place. The texture detail is astounding, the amount of random stuff everywhere is mind boggling, the lighting is some of the best we've ever seen and the overall art direction is phenomenal. And of course, let me not forget to mention the amazing animation, killer explosions and pretty much every other pixel on the screen. There is one area, in the first section of the game where I stopped at an overlook and just sorta gazed upon the landscape the developer had created.

Oh, that reminds me. This is the first game I can remember where if you jump in the water (note, at one point at a hotel, jump in the pool, trust me) your character comes out looking wet. If you walk through water, your pants/shoes get wet. If you walk through snow, the same. If it rains, you get wet, your hair gets wet, everything shows as being wet (though you do airdry pretty fast). Its that attention to detail that really puts the game up on another level. There is an argument to be made that the actual gameplay oftentimes looks better than the cutscenes. This is truly one of the best looking games that I've ever seen, and you could easily argue that it's the best overall on the PlayStation 3.

The Game Narrative: Cutscenes, some of the best I have ever seen. They aren't boring, they don't stretch too far, many times they are seamless from gameplay to cutscene to gameplay (more from cutscene to gameplay then the other way, but still). There isn't a lot of wasted filler to allow the game to preload, they give you what you need to keep the story going, helping flesh out the characters. There are also none-cutscenes where important details are given while you are still in control, which is nice. The voice cast is top notch, and really seem like they are who they are. Ok, let me explain that. Sometimes the voice cast is just there, reading the lines, and dont seem that involved. But this cast sells it, especially the two ladies Drake is involved with in the game. There are also some really nice moments between the characters, from which you can tell the voice cast really wanted to sell what they were doing and took a lot of pride in their work.

The Grade: This is the part I always dread, how do you give a grade to a game, if you haven't played every game ever made. But, this was easy, this is by far the best game I have every played. seriously.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves gets a 10 out of 10. Any game that is willing to use the same level twice (you will see what I mean) because that level is just that damm kick ass good, well, it deserves more praise then I can give it. Using what Adam Sessler said at G4tv, Uncharted 2 is one of those games that you want to sneak out of bed early to play before anyone else is up. Its like playing as Indiana Jones or as John McClain, or maybe both wrapped up into one stellar game.

tRuMaN