Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

There aren’t a lot of video games that interest Ling, and certainly not to the point where she’ll give me the evil eye if she catches me playing the game without her! The one game that she likes a lot and has even tried her hand at has been Uncharted on the PS3, as blogged here in Dec 2007.:)

The game is an action-adventure of sorts and features the fictional Nathan Drake, a modern-day Indiana Jones. The first title in the series was a massive hit, given its cast of well-defined heroes and characters, very cinematic film-like visuals, great voice-acting and a film-esque motion picture score, and high production values all-round. Heck – the game was so popular and well-received I even ended up using some of its production features as part of my series of Introduction to Computer Games lectures 2 years ago.

Ling (like me) has been eagerly waiting for its sequel Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and over the last several days, we’ve been putting an hour or so each evening – in usually in between Hannah’s feeds – for the game together. As soon as the game loaded up the first evening and we saw Nathan Drake in the first scene, Ling let out a bit of an exclamation “Wow… so realistic!!” The first game looked really good. The second and new game looks fantastic.

Among Thieves takes Drake across the globe in a search for the Cintamani Stone from Shambhala, the mythical kingdom in ancient Buddhist and Hindu lore that’s supposedly hidden somewhere in Inner Asia. The journey takes Drake and his friends through quite a few places: including a Turkish museum of antiquity, the jungles of Borneo, Nepalese cities, the Himalayas, and an ancient monastery on top of a mountain. If nothing else, the both of us marvel at how photo realistically is each area created on-screen that a lot of times we’ll just pan the camera around to soak in the sights.

The funniest thing though is that I wonder why Ling likes this game so much, and I’ve think in good part it’s the quirky yet likable hero and that he’s supported by strong female characters that don’t just wait around to be rescued. Women kick butt in these two games, and their interactions with Drake belay a mix of feminine cuteness, slightly flirtatious innuendo, and the sort of old familiarity you’d normally find only in either the oldest of friends or in the minds of some of the smartest dialog and scrip writers in entertainment.

The game since its launch earlier this week has won heaps of praise from not just game publishing sites but also from general entertainment. We’re nearly done with our first play through for Among Thieves too.

There’s a rumor that Harrison Ford is considering a fifth outing as Indiana Jones if the script that’s in the works is of any good. But that’s not going to be in the theatres – if ever at all – for the next few years. In the mean time, the both of us will be returning again to both of Nathan Drake’s adventures a few more times.

 

 

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