Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Rating: T (Teen)
Price: $59.99

By Joe Ziemba

Playing this game feels like I’m inside of a captivating movie. Immediately after starting a new game from the main menu, I was drawn into the intro sequence with eyes wide open. Not many games, or even movies, can accomplish this feat. Please realize that when I say intro sequence I don’t mean long winded cut scenes but rather a sort of interactive flow of non-rendered clips seamlessly woven into game play. The movements of the character are even dynamic instead of the standard rigid back robot running round. In lieu of ending a cut scene with a cut to black resuming behind the character, we get a suave real time connection back to behind the character. Also, the attention to detail for objects and the environment was impressive.

Right away I noticed the music in this game was done very well. Again, it sounds like a movie with real symphonic recordings at high quality that synchronize with what’s going on in action. The voice acting is also done very well with obviously experienced actors. As far as the graphics go in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, there isn’t a whole lot to phone home about. However, the game does use all modern and up to par texture quality, special effects and lighting.

One part of video games that’s difficult to quantify is the story. I find that many developers do not put the storyline high enough on their list of priorities. The story is the heart and spirit of a game, and without it we just get an empty shell full of head shots. This is not so for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves because I really want to know how it ends. For attention to detail, polish, captivation and just plain excellent developmental awesomeness of this game, I give it five out of five stars.