I´m just randomly going to spill some thoughts on this game now that it is finished. I want to bring up points that might not be the overall opinion and as such I´m prepared for flaming. This is also why I have chosen to not write a review on the game. The only thing it would bring me is a lower recommendation ratio on my reviews. Its sad that it works that way but thats how it is.   
This text will probably sound pretty negative but thats because these are the points I want to bring up. Uncharted 2 is a fantastic game and a game I will probably play through again but me sitting here squirting awesome-sauce on the screen would not make for an interesting text.
 
For me the game is all about the production values. They are so insanely through the roof that they become the best part of the game. The overall presentation is quite mindblowing at spots. Its also all about the great characters and the interaction between them. Sound quality is also way up from the first game with much better SOUNDING weapons unlike the pea shooters in U1.

Its great to see these fantastic locations that all feel very dynamic and lively. Environments in general might actually be..yes.. THE best looking ever. On the other hand this is a very easy thing to say when you get your hands on a good looking, hyped up AAA release. If I were to instantly go back and compare to something like Gears of War 2 the difference might not be that mindblowing. Better,yes, but not mindblowing. With lighting and weathereffects seen in few other games though history tho, I always wanted to see the next locale and the next cutscene. Theres also some very intense cinematic moments stuffed in there that isnt as heavy on gameplay and that are scripted in such a way that you think you are going to die but you manage to get out of it in the last second. Its a great trick that brings the rollercoaster-value up even higher.  But all these things also hide the flaws very well.
 

Underneath this surface is a game that I still can´t enjoy to its fullest. Naughty-Dog have improved alot over U1 but man, they have ways to go before they can be counted amongst action titans such as Epic Games.  
I found myself often thinking about Gears of War 2 when playing U2. When I was thrown into another arena based battle I couldnt help but think about how much more well paced and designed they feel in a game like Gears 2. The flow of combat still feels a bit off in Uncharted. I can´t really put my finger on it but they feel a bit to chaotic and I often find myself dying from stuff I didnt even know were there. 
A.I behaviours might be smart (except when they throw grenades on themselves over and over) but I dont think they are FUN. The smartest A.I arent always the most fun to fight and considering what you go through over the course of the game I wouldnt blame them for making it even more unrealistic. 
I think I prefer third person shooting in a bit more structured form than in U2. It dosent have to be corridors, it just have to feel a bit less random both in arenadesign and enemybehaviours. 
I´m going to guess that many people playing through Uncharted 2 havent played Gears of War 2 and with that they lose a bit of perspective. I think that the Single Player campaign of Gears 2 is very comparable in terms of cinematic quality, rollercoaster moments and epic scenes. But without the frustration of the combat. 
You also die way to quickly on Normal in U2. You constantly have to be on the move to be more random than the A.I but in doing so you die all the time from trying to run from one point of cover to the next. Sometimes just sticking your head up will get you killed from something way past your line of sight. I constantly feel lucky when surviving a long encounter and thats not how I want to feel when playing a game through on Normal.
Its a bit sloppy and since Epic Games pretty much brought this style of combat into the current generation they also created the bar for it. Sadly it was very high even at Gears 1.  
 
Leveldesign is also very confusing at times. This was a problem I had in U1 and its still there. In several spots I find myself just having to wait for the hint button to

appear just so I can see where I´m supposed to go. The flow of the gameplay is broken up by this confusion and combined with the battles it ends up being a bit too exhausing on my mind. Part of it is because of the detailed environments but part of it is also failure in the leveldesign.  
A bit of a smaller thing that also was a thorn in my side was the whole weapong thing. There are so many weapons in the game..sooo many and they always get dropped ALL over the place. This often results in confusion in the heat of the battle. You need a new weapon so you go to pick it up only to find that there are so many things cluttered on the ground around the weapon you want that you end up either dead or with the wrong gun in your hand. This means you have to take cover again with the wrong weapon and then run up there again to start cycling through dropping your weapons with triangle until you get what you want. This is still annoying after a battle when you run around the area looking for ammo. Before you know it you have thrown your equipped weapon instead of picking up more ammo for it. Drives me up a wall !
There´s also alot of nitpicking to be done here on stuff like Drake jumping to his death even tho I clearly wasnt jumping that way and glitching the cover just enough to fall over a ledge. But stuff like that and stuff like choppy animations in certain situations arent really things that get in the way of the game. 
 

The thing is tho that Naughty-Dog succeeded so well in the presentation of the game that I am willing to put up with all this to see it through. The atmosphere, enviroments, characters and dialogue are so very well produced that one can´t help but fall in love with the game. Alot of work has been put into pacing in both gameplay and enviroments to create a very caried campaign that feels like a grand adventure by the time you are done. 
This game have some of the best voiceacting, character interactions, graphics, sound and pure rollercoaster feeling of the year and thats why its good. Its not because of combat or traversal. Its because of the cinematic quality of the experience. Because man, there are so many WOW-moments in this game where you cant believe you just did that. 
That is why you need to play through the game. The gameplay isnt all bad but that is not the reason I´ll play this game through again before the year it over. 
 
With that said I welcome any and all discussion on the subject. If you can argue against me in an adult manner I will welcome you and listen to what you have to say. Because that is fun. Mature discussion over a game is something very satisfying. On the other hand, if you are reading this and feeling uncontrollable anger I recommend that you just leave. I am not claiming to be right on any of this (hell I am willing to accept that I´m just mentally unable to enjoy the style of combat that this game offers), its just my perspective and I feel I really, more than ever, need to make this clear here.

I´ll be broadcasting my first 8 or so hours of Aion live on Xfire tomorrow. More details to follow with specific times e.t.c. So if you have any interest in this new MMO add me on Xfire (username: thejimbon) and keep your eyes peeled on this blog. 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 [UPDATE] Seems like there are widespread problems with getting Xfire to work properly with Aion. I cannot even take a screen shot in-game at the moment. Marathon broadcast has been put on hold until its fixed. 
 
[UPDATE 2] Seems like Xfire dosent support any in.game features in Aion yet. Guess we´ll have to wait for that.. bummer.

I really dig ODST but I am really not a big Halo multiplayer guy. So I´m going to give away my Sgt, Johnson multiplayer code to someone that will actually use it.

Throw me a PM and i´ll throw you the code. I´m not gonna make some kind of contest for it so no motivation required. Just be fast if you want it !

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*UPDATE* [Code has been sent out, mere seconds after the post]

Got my copy and had a hard time quitting before I was done. Full review can be found here