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Quick ‘n Dirty Review: Uncharted 2 (PS3)

Uncharted 2 is Game of the Year. It feels odd to say that before Modern Warfare 2 releases and before I'll get a chance to play (and love) Assassin's Creed 2, but it seems like the odds stacked against those two very high-profile games are insurmountable; Uncharted 2 is about as close to integrating a big budget blockbuster film with the immersion and gameplay of a top-notch AAA title as you can get.

From the second the game starts and you take control of Nathan Fillion Nathan Drake in a busted train car atop a snowy mountain, bleeding from a massive wound in his abdomen, it's apparent that Naughty Dog set out to amaze the player with a variety of interesting scenarios, gripping story and amazing graphics. This game is the showpiece of the PS3, a game you can point out to anyone who wonders what the console even has going for it.

But, more importantly, the game is so good that you become absorbed in it all. Once the game takes you past the introductory level and you starting getting into the nitty-gritty, start seeing the gigantic set pieces, twists and turns and control the daring escapes, once you start making your way through shoot-out after shoot-out, you immediately become lost in this game. You get sucked in through a potent combination of handcrafted gameplay and jaw-dropping events. It's a game that sets out to gradually raise the bar just that little bit higher through each and every chapter.

And it improves on the original in many ways. The climbing and platforming are all better. The enemies have more intelligence than in the last game and aren't the dumb bullet sponges they were in Drake's Fortune. Even the introduction of stealth works extremely well for the game. The story feels like it's getting predictable as you progress -- basically everything with Chloe I thought I knew was going to happen before she did it -- but only when you start to get a grasp on it all does it pull the E-brake and make a sharp turn off the road, heading for unfamiliar territory.

Basically, if you play one PS3 game this year, it had better be this -- but play Drake's Fortune first, by all means. This is Sony's big franchise and I personally can't wait to see where Uncharted goes from here.

Highs

• Single-player campaign full of fantastic scenarios that one-up the previous jaw-dropping moment; the game keeps raising the bar on itself
• Improvements to the platforming, climbing and even the cover system
• Addition of stealth and greater emphasis on melee combat feels natural to the franchise and doesn't come off as forced

Lows

• There's, like, nothing I didn't like

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