'Uncharted 2' Finds Gaming Treasure

Nov. 30, 2009 — -- One minute you're sipping a beer on a tropical island, the next you're running across a speeding train in the Alps dodging helicopter rockets all in search of one of the greatest treasures in history. Such is the life of Nathan Drake, the protagonist of "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves," the sequel to the 2007 Playstation 3 hit "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune."

"Uncharted 2" manages to heighten the already pulse-raising sense of adventure that came with the first game through exceptional platforming, combat and set pieces that covey a sense of grandeur that seems more at home on the silver screen. The games few flaws -- its sometimes frustratingly linear progression and unnatural boss fights -- are more than overshadowed by outright fun.

The second installment has an even more ambitious worldwide scope than the first as Drake romps through jungles, snowy caves and precarious mountain passes in a race against a predictably evil rival. Predictability, as it turns out, is one of the plot's greatest faults. Players will find themselves thinking a few steps ahead of most of the various betrayals and twists, but the story's delivery is so smooth most won't care.

It's obvious there was a lot of thought and time put into the story side of "Uncharted 2" as the voice acting and scripting are heads above most action games.

While the cast is as stereotypical as the plot -- the evil Russian mercenary, the beautiful-but-deadly fellow treasure hunter, the grizzled-but-affable old adventurer and of course the unavoidable comparison between Drake and Indiana Jones -- it's again in their delivery that any eye-rolling is lost.

They may be saying lines like "X marks the spot!" but their interactions are so natural and clever it all seems at home in Drake's world.