4.5/5 ★ – movie_meter's review of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered.

Plot: Continuing Nathan Drake's story from the first game in this franchise, Uncharted 2 goes bigger and crazier in this adventure story. I'm gonna be straight up honest here... I much prefer the plot of the first game. It's a lot simpler and the whole deal about El Dorado is just better in my opinion. Yes, Among Thieves is grander, larger in scale, and consists of more stunts, but you know that saying ‘less is more’? That is exactly how the first game feels. I’m not saying Uncharted 2’s plot is poor, in fact it’s still really awesome, I just honestly think there is really something special about the first game. The actual story in this installment is quite interesting and it’s really cool that the plot sends you to all these different places. I was a little worried about two thirds of the way through that I was losing track of the story and got a little lost with my objectives, however it cleared up fairly easily. I would have liked to stay in Shambala for a bit longer than I did, but that is a fairly minor complaint. The returning characters are fantastic and their arcs are extended not repeated. The new characters are also pretty good. Harry Flynn was an awesome character... until he betrayed me. Chloe Frazer is great and all... but she’s not on Elena’s level. And the villain, even with his minimal screen time, is pretty mediocre. 8/10 Graphics/Visuals: Definitely a step-up from the first game. The cut-scenes look pretty good and I especially noticed the improvement at the beginning of the game. But the actual gameplay’s visuals somehow look even better than the cut-scenes. The vibrancy of the colours are also much better than the first game, which is an impressive achievement. Each place you visit from the Turkish museum, Borneo, the streets of Nepal, the snow-capped mountains, to the lost city of Shambala, all have a unique colour tone. And that tone is utilized perfectly, and remains incredibly consistent. The atmosphere this game builds, much like the first, is really awesome. When it wants to be creepy, it is creepy. When it wants to be action-packed, it is action-packed. When it wants to be emotional, it is emotional (let's all give 3 seconds of our time to appreciate Jeff). On the whole, the visuals are great, definitely not today’s standards, but I’m not unhappy. 7.5/10 Gameplay: Yes, I will admit, a much better improvement of the gameplay. The gun-fighting was better as this game introduced height levels. Almost every shooting encounter, you have the option to get to higher or lower ground. This game forced me to use the range of different types of guns, which in turn, helped me become more confident in all the different types of firearms. I noticed myself genuinely thinking about how I will approach a section, and I spent quite a lot of time thinking about tactics and strategy. Unlike the first game, you can’t run into a fight, guns blazing. You really have to come up with a plan and execute it. And this was a really fun aspect of the game. The platforming was good, certainly better than Drake’s Fortune, however it still was a bit tedious and annoying. Even Drake says in one bit “I’m so tired of climbing shit” and honestly, as soon as he said that, he and I connected on a new level. One thing I want to point out, is that THERE IS STEALTH IN THIS GAME! The hand to hand combat is easily the best improvement and it’s even better as there are stealth parts. It was a lot of fun as you have the freedom to choose to use stealth or jump out shooting. The melee combat is great as there is a dodge button (I know, crazy). Obviously, the melee fighting hasn’t come close to Arkham, but it is certainly better than the first game. I did experience some glitches. Nothing game breaking though. 8/10 Acting/Cast: Yeah this is pretty much on par with the first game’s glorious voice work and cast. Nolan North is fantastic. So so so so good. He gives Nate a real soul which helps him feel like a genuine person and character. Emily Rose and Richard McGonagle are fantastic with their characters. And the new recruits, Claudia Black and Steve Valentine are also exceptional. Literally everyone is pretty much perfect and you completely forget that these people have actually been voiced by actors. Very awesome work by all of them. Not one single poor performance. 9/10 Soundtrack: Much like the first, the music by Greg Edmonson is fantastic. Uncharted’s soundtrack is probably my favourite video game soundtrack I’ve come across. It’s so distinctly unique, but it’s just really awesome. When I hear it’s music, I’ll know immediately that it was from an Uncharted game. Nate’s theme is so awesome, I just get so much nervous energy when I hear it. The tone I talked about earlier is also set by the music. It just fits this game perfectly. It’s hard to describe. My favourite tracks from the soundtrack are The City’s Secret, Reunion, Nate’s Theme, Marco Polo, Broken Paradise, Among Thieves, and of course, The Road to Shambala. 9/10 “You were right” “About what?” “Everything you touch does turn to shit.” Should you play it? Yes. If you have a PS4, or you’re getting a PS5. This franchise should definitely be on your radar. Overall: Despite how good and how much I loved the first game, Among Thieves is even better. With the exception of maybe the storyline/plot, this just simply out does it’s predecessor. The combat is fantastic, with the addition of strategies, tactics, stealth, and improved melee combat, it just makes the game incredibly fun. The visuals, while aren’t up to modern standards, are excellent, especially for when this game came out. The music is awesome and just sets the standard for the type of game it is. The voice work is incredible, which leads to the characters feeling more real. I would have loved to be unique and say that I enjoyed the first uncharted more than the second. And honestly I was expecting to keep to that for about half of the game. But then the train bit happened. And oh my goodness that was incredible. The train section and beyond is some of the best gaming I have experienced, it’s just a shame it took a while for the game to really escalate into the 10/10 mark. This game was definitely a lot of fun. For now, I’m gonna have a break from Nathan Drake’s adventures and I’ll replay Spider-Man. I do have a lot of games on my radar that I’d like to play, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I hop onto Uncharted 3 sooner than I anticipate. Score: 90 (Fantastic)