It took me two weeks, but here it is; my Uncharted 2 review. Enjoy.

Nate Drake and company took the Playstation 3 by storm back in 2007, and represented one of the first promising original IP's for Sony's console. Two years later, as one of the few remaining behemoths of the rather lonely Fall '09 lineup, Uncharted 2 has quite a bit of hype to live up to. Luckily, it does, and then some. Uncharted 2 is a fantastic game through and through, the likes of which we don't see too often these days.

The story again follows Nathan Drake as he scours the world in search of treasure. This time around he's surrounded by quite a number of well rounded characters. The banter between Drake and these characters is quite amusing, and feels surprisingly natural even given some of the over-the-top situations they might find themselves in. Of course, the plot thickens, and there are a few twists, but the story is campy, and never becomes convoluted. Uncharted 2 might not have the deepest story, but what it lacks in depth, it makes up for with great pacing, dialogue, and characters.

With the plot paced as fast as it is, the gameplay moves at a similar rate. The constant flow of new things to do, and story snippets, as well as seamless implementation of the platforming, and shooting systems we know and love makes for an experience that nearly borders on the sublime.

In essence, Uncharted 2 recycles the same gameplay formula as featured in its predecessor, but segments of gunplay, platforming, and puzzle solving, as well as awesome set pieces are implemented in a much more graceful manner. Instead of a segment of just shooting, followed by a segment of just platforming, etc. the game integrates all of its elements so well, it's easy to get lost in the campaign mode.

To go more in depth about the gameplay, I'll just say that the guys over at Naughty Dog kept things simple. Shooting sequences are done in a "stop-and-pop" ****similar to a game like Gears of War, platforming is exciting, yet effortless, and puzzle solving is perhaps too easy.

Some may be disappointed by the simplicity of these gameplay elements, but they are implemented very well. That coupled with the fact that set piece moments pop up at a near constant rate keep things fresh, and fun.

The second (and entirely new) pillar to Uncharted 2 is the multiplayer component. Players can go head to head in 5 vs 5 matches, orplay co-operatively with two friends.

The adversarial multiplayer is quite good. The 10 user player cap fits well with the smaller maps, and, quite impressively, Naughty Dog was able to work the platforming aspects of the campaign into the multiplayer. While none of them are very original, there are plenty of modes, but disappointingly, there aren't a whole lot of maps. Still, that's one minor gripe for an all around great multiplayer experience.

The cooperative mode is great as well. There are a number of levels to go through that recreate some of the best moments from the campaign with a few new twists. The dynamic of the three player team works quite well, as you'll have backup, but there won't be too many allies all shooting for the same bad guy, and there's plenty of strategizing that can be done, especially on the higher difficulty.

The multiplayer modes are tied together by an experience system (a la Modern Warfare) in the form of cash money. This cash can net tons of goodies from weapon upgrades, to characters, to even taunts one can use after a particularly sweet kill. The experience system might not be entirely original at this point, but damn if it doesn't make the multiplayer experience addicting.

It goes without saying that Uncharted 2 is a very impressive game in terms of it's production values. The environments are stunning, the animations feel real even when it comes to the gravity defying platforming, the orchestral score is great, and the overall sound design is awesome as well. However, the motion capture, and acting during the game's numerous cutscenes really steal the show. As ridiculous as the events in the game may get, they always feel real thanks to the way the writing, voice acting, and mo-cap all blend together. Technically, and sonically, Uncharted 2 is impeccable, and unmatched as far as console games go.

Uncharted 2's 8-10 hour campaign is, at this point, of an okay length for an action adventure game, and the treasure hunting aspects can add some re-playability for perfectionists. It's the multiplayer, however, that will add a lot of value to the overall package. With tons of modes, and unlockables, the multiplayer experience can quickly get addicting, and will soon enough the hours will add up.

Uncharted 2 is one of the most important games of this year. Not only is it a great improvement on its predecessor, but it's one of the few games that has struck me as more of an experience than a game. As I've stated before, it's easy to get lost in Uncharted 2; the campaign never lets up, the multiplayer is addicting and all around awesome. If you have a Playstation 3, don't miss out on Uncharted.

"Then what's a ten?"

"Clowns."

Just a choice quote from the ending. That is all for now.