Uncharted 2: Electronic Media's 'Page Turner'

We all have them. My girlfriend will sit there and read book after book, manga after manga, giving small oooh's and aahhh's when the main character saves the girl or kisses that boy she's liked. My sister will sit and watch episode after episode of Lost, Dexter, Spaced and Big Bang Theory and laugh hard when Simon Pegg shouts at the kid who likes JarJar Binks or when Johnny Gelekie finally gets a piece of the action. We, the current generation of gamers, sit there and laugh hard when Elena Fisher introduces herself to Chloe as 'Last years model' and this is why Uncharted 2 is our version of a page turner.

Page turner is such a weird expression, what I mean by it is that I was hooked all the way through the story Uncharted 2 wanted to tell me about. I sat there and soaked up every bit it was willing to offer until there was nothing left but the rather good epilogue made up of co-op gameplay and online mulitplayer.

Whether its missions to retrieve oil lamps or trekking through swamps to grab Marco Polo's journal pages, Uncharted 2 had me sitting on the edge of my sofa. From the very beginning of the game, which sees Drake trying to climb up a train teetering on the edge of a cliff in snowy mountains while being brutally injured, to the very end, that had me panicked when a character gets badly injured, the game does not relent with its fantastic camera angles, stupendous animations, quality voice talent and monstrous action.

But why aren't more games like this? After Uncharted 2 I got hold of a copy of Assassins Creed 2, a game that many critics said to be 2009's game of the year. I just couldn't understand it, how could this game with its sloppy put together story, awful facial animation and, for the most part, sub par lip syncing pull the wool over so many peoples eyes? Obviously this question will always go unanswered but I feel that some of its praise is given to it due to the overall feeling people were left with at the end of the first one. Comparing Assassins Creed to its sequel will make AC2 look like the second coming of Christ, but is that fair view point? By the same token can people say the same thing about the Uncharted series? with a 'more of the same' feeling to it? I hope that wasn't the case.

Uncharted 2 was my 2009 game of the year and is my favourite series on PS3, If you've never tried it out and own a PS3, pick up the original and then try the sequel.