Review of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

This is my first foray into the Uncharted series. The plot is harmless enough; kind of on the boring side. Something about Marco Polo and Shambala and what not. Nathan Drake and his supporting cast are pretty likable, the woman I would recognize as one of the new gears in Gears of War 3 does a fine job here as femme fatale Chloe. The main baddie is your typical Russian goon, a man that would make Ivan Drago proud. Alongside him in the villainy I noticed was the man who played Alistair of Dragon Age fame, playing a similar character here yet with a darker edge. The game is fun, and at times gorgeous(except when it freezes!). I found the puzzles to be frustrating and tedious at best, thought they are over very soon. Most of the firefights actually get rather repetitive, I was just waiting for the next eye-pleasing climbing episode as I chugged along in the game. Speaking of gears of war, this game basically plays like a fluid version of marcus n' friends' romp yet with an odd pg-13 no gore angle that makes kills a lot less satisfying beyond the awesome melee/stealth kills. Drake is really a killing machine by the time all is said and done. The set pieces are really a sight to behold, highlights being a car chase involving the monkey-like Drake having to jump from car to car and the falling train moment depicted on the cover that you thankfully have to experience twice. Uncharted is a world were everyone has the climbing abilities of a lemur and will be shunned if they display any less. Not quite Raiders of the Lost Ark, yet entertaining nonetheless, Uncharted 2 is a game one should run through at least once; the multiplayer is pretty robust and fun in itself as well I might add.