Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is definitely not a game that needs presentations, awaited by a host of fans, dazzled by an excellent first chapter, but above all by the incredible quality of images and videos released during the skilful marketing work carried out by Sony waiting for release the second episode of the trilogy. Nathan Drake's second adventure is ready to go out, with a heavy burden on his shoulders or to demonstrate the potential of the black monolith and establish itself as the title of the best game of this generation.

Drake Awakens

Starting a new game the intent of the developers appears immediately evident: the opening scene sees our dear old Nathan Drake wake up on a train, with his body covered with wounds and a rather slammed face. Thanks to a wise choice of shots, the player soon discovers, together with the protagonist, that the wagon is hanging on the edge of a ravine, in a very precarious balance. The scene, realized like all the others with the game engine, is so integrated with the gameplay to leave stunned: the absence of transition, the choice of the framing, the lack of any hud or indication on the screen ... nothing leads to presume that it is our turn arrived. And so it is that, incredulous, we try to touch the left stick, and it is with great astonishment that we see that yet ... it moves.

This introduction played also serves as a classic tutorial, which together with the presence of the equally classic explosive barrels is one of the very few elements that reminds us that we are actually playing a video game and not admiring a good action movie. Soon we will realize that this initial part is nothing but an anticipation of future events, and thanks to a clever use of flashbacks the real game will begin, in the sewers of Istanbul.

The plot of the game, although very conventional, is full of twists and turns to attract the player's attention to the end. In the same way the dialogues are fun and very well written, and the characters, the protagonist in the first place, possess a remarkable charisma. The development team is obviously able to manage the pace of the game with great confidence: towards the middle of the adventure, after a sequence of about 2 continuous hours of daring action, Drake and the player "take a break" in a pleasant Tibetan village, where for about twenty minutes the most extreme emotion they will experience will be caressing the face of a yak. It is a very brave choice, yet it works perfectly.

Cinematic Gameplay

As for the gameplay, this Uncharted 2 is like its predecessor: a pastiche of different styles collected by other famous and tested productions. But if in the first game it was limited to taking the shootings of Gears of War and alternating them with the climbs of Tomb Raider, here the situation becomes much more varied. In fact, there are stealth sections and more emphasis on environmental puzzles. The latter hardly ever whet the ingenuity of the videoplayer, but prove to be a discreet expenditure to drive away the monotony of the alternation between phases of action and shootings, emphasizing the "adventurous" character of the production.

Significant progress has been made with regard to the exploratory phases. In many cases, in fact, non-canonical settings and the absence of backtracking will be saving elements to liven up progress. Abandoning the classic cliches, Uncharted 2 leaves behind lianas and creepers, to organize a pathfinding not too brainy, but in contexts (like the urban one) that manage to give the idea of an improvised exploration on the spot, to the advantage of freshness of situations. The difficulty is therefore very well calibrated, apart from a couple of frustrating moments when you are literally flooded with enemies and bullets from all sides. The choice of self-recharging energy is consistent with the "Action Movie" theme followed by the developers. Everyone knows that in action movies the enemies' projectiles never cause permanent damage to the protagonist.

Longevity is in the average of games of the genre: 10-12 hours of play. Unlike the other products, however, these 10-12 hours are almost completely free of dead moments or repetitions. Only towards the end does one begin to feel the presence of some combat too many, but nothing really annoying. Thanks to the excellent "Chapters" function, moreover, it is possible to restart at any time from a specific point of the adventure. And trust me, some parts of the game are so sensational that you'll absolutely want to replay them in the future.

The camera does its job very well, the animations are always convincing and the presence of several highly spectacular scenes always helps to maintain an exceptional impact, taking into account that the graphic engine is 99% of the time anchored to 30 frames per second, despite let there be such a good thing on God. What about the settings? We pass from Istanbul to Borneo, passing through Tibet and the Himalayas, between snow and rain, night and day, water and storm, running trains or chased by helicopters, in Uncharted 2 there is also a variety in this sense clearly above the average. If in Killzone 2, for example, some subterfuges were adopted by the developers to give an exceptional graphic impact, this game of Naughty Dog does it without any apparent compromise other than that of low to medium general interactivity; the whole is beautiful, varied, sometimes devastating, so much so that we can say without too many hesitations that there is currently nothing better on consoles in this sense.

Overall - 9.4

At this point, in assigning a vote to Uncharted 2, it is necessary to focus not so much on whether it is a good game, but rather whether it is the best of this generation. Surely it is a masterpiece that should not be missing from the collection of any gamer. It will not be revolutionary, but what it manages to do is immerse the user in an intriguing story, written and directed with great skill. In some ways, Uncharted 2 transcends the concept of gender, characterizing itself as a long film to play at breakneck speed, in which you will fall in love with that nice rogue that is Drake and his traveling companions.