#47
Change YoY: +2 My Rating: 9.0 / 10
Uncharted 2 was the game that fulfilled the potential the first game had shown but hadn't quite managed to properly execute on yet. Everything here is better, the gameplay is more varied and better balanced, the story is better written, the characters have more depth to them, and the visuals were absolutely breathtaking at the time. Each subsequent game would continue to improve on the gameplay and visual side of the franchise, but it would take until Uncharted 4 that a game in the series outdid this one on the other elements. The set piece moments in Uncharted 2 were absolutely exceptional, with the ramping up intensity of the train level remaining a highlight of the whole series nearly 15 years after the game's release.
Even today, I can still go back and replay Among Thieves without any issues, and it feels like going back to meet old friends. Perhaps more than anything, the thing that truly carries these games are the natural interactions between the characters and the relationships that develop and evolve between them over the course of the series. Essentially, it's a playable adventure movie in the best possible way, and when it comes to certain aspects of the style it is yet to be outdone.
