So good, it feels like the next-next-generation of games
The original Uncharted took many gamers by surprise simply because developer Naughty Dog had never done anything close to a sophisticated mature adventure game before. Known primarliy for the kid-friendly Jak and Crash Bandicoot franchises, Naughty Dog came out of nowhere with a game that showcased some of the best graphics, dialogue, voice-acting and storytelling ever put into an adventure game.
I knew Uncharted 2 would improve on its predecessor, but it's really hard to fathom how quickly this developer has leapfrogged everyone else this generation. Uncharted 2 is so good, it really feels like a game from the *next* next-generation of consoles. You could strip this game apart piece by piece and hold each up as the new benchmark for industry standards. Graphics, art direction, level design, pacing, character and plot development, writing, combat and platforming, sound design, multiplayer ... every single element of this game has been polished to a "10," and then polished again. You thought Blizzard games were polished? My god ... Naughty Dog has raised the bar for everyone.
It's very hard to think of any reasonable criticism to fault in UC2. Sure, the storyline might not capture your imagination *quite* as well as the original, and the characters don't make quite the same "wow" first impression from the first game. There's not any story-branching or multiple plot threads, so the replayability takes a hit from a pure story standpoint (but not from a gameplay standpoint -- the platforming and combat in UC2 is a joy and highly replayable). But those are really minor, subjective quibbles.
Uncharted 2 lives up to the hype, and then some. Easily one of the best single-player games I've played in years -- if not, ever.