I’ve always admired Kotaku’s love/hate reviews, so in a similar vein…

Loved

Chase Sequences. While Drake isn’t quite as light on his feet as Crash, every single moment of those scenes remind me of running away from boulders in the first two Crash games. I always love seeing the lineage of a developer’s past modernized and woven into their current work, and nowhere is this more evident than when Drake is running from a truck, helicopter, or whatever.

Dramatic Tension. Carrying Elena’s friend off to his inevitable doom was predictable. Watching Flynn shoot Drake, and then seeing the look of horror on Drake’s face after Flynn asks something like, “what, no clever line?!” added a unexpected sense of mortality to the character I previously associated with humor and merry violence. I can’t recall a previous situation where Drake was completely fucked with no hope, but it certainly felt that way on the train.

The Surprises. Whether it’s car exploding in my face, a truck bursting through a barricade, or a piece of shit Drake’s climbing snapping off, Among Thieves never lets you get comfortable. And it’s not doing it with bullshit instant-quick time events or cheap deaths, opting instead inconsequential environmental instances. It adds a much needed and often ignored sense of character to your surroundings.

Better Pacing. I never want to quit playing this game. Whereas the last Uncharted felt a bit combat heavy, the second often opts for different styles of play. Entire chapters are comprised of nothing but platforming, and, when there are battles, they don’t feel as endless or as hopeless. Guys still seem to run in out of nowhere, but they’re finite and I always feel like the end isn’t too far away

Guns Everywhere. I don’t think I’ve ever been close to running out of shit to shoot guys with. It works to my advantage because I have a trophy obsessed, use-all-the-guns mind, but it also alleviates one of my biggest fears in shooting games; running out of ammo. Sure, it may be on the other side of the area and you might have to take some heat to go get it, but it’s never out of reach. Naughty Dog did the right thing in making ammo acquisition challenging, instead of helpless.

Inspired Platforming. Admittedly Drake doesn’t have the best platforming chops. He animates well and always looks natural, but he moves a little stiff and there seems to be no “almost;” he either makes it or he doesn’t. Rather than just make all the jumps simple, as the entire first game did, Naughty Dog has opted to use the environment as the challenge, rather than Drake’s mechanics. The gear room in the ice temple felt a bit videogamey, but having the time the platforms and run up the gears exploited Drake’s features to the fullest and, yet again, it reminded me of playing Jak and Daxter.

Drake isn’t an Asshole. Along with most everyone else, I’m tired of the jaded, affected adolescent male youth that so often populates the personalities of videogame characters. Again, Drake wanting to help his friends and not leave them behind is a bit cliché, but walking through an Indian(?) village and using the action button to shake hands? Are you fucking kidding me?! It sounds simple and I’m sure it may come off as stupid, but that’s an amazing leap forward for character design. He even greets the cow (“Hello…uh, I mean Moo”)!

Best looking console game I’ve ever seen. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve stopped in my tracks just to look around my environment (actually, looking at my stats, it says I’ve stood still for an impressively lethargic 32 minutes). Uncharted looks phenomenal and, unlike Killzone 2, uses its technical prowess to paint with every color of the visible spectrum. Even the typically static buildings in the far reaching background look fully rendered and easily exportable, and the illusion is only broken when I realize I can’t hop down and look at them. Uncharted is a world I wanted to explore, and I can’t wait until open world games feature a similar level of talented art direction and technical muscle.

Not so much…

Cut scenes. They’re all magnificently well done, but I figured Naughty Dog, for all of Drake’s advancements, might find another way to convey narrative without putting a hold on interactivity. Honestly, the stories managed to get its hooks in deeper than I’d care to admit, but I’m disappointed with their reliance on tired method of storytelling.

The Disconnect.This was called to my attention on a GAF thread, but Drake’s personality (especially with the antiviolence sentiment in the stealth mission) conflicts with his insatiable bloodlust. Drake slaughters through 500 or so people. Given they’re carbon copy bad guys and not random innocents, but he feels like a regular dude – not Dutch from Commando. I don’t actually care because I love the combat, and I don’t think there is any acceptable work-around to the problem, but it’s something that digs at me.

Not knowing where to go. I understand that stopping to pause and let the player know where to go breaks the illusion of making your way through the game, but Among Thieves relative lack of direction occasionally leaves me without any clue as to where the fuck I’m supposed to be going. Once I figured it out it’s obvious (and typically a street sign), but making Drake jump off cliffs or aimlessly run up endless walls, all in search of the correct area, is kind of a drag.