Sometimes a game’s sequel is such an astronomical step forward, it’s hard to even remember the first game was where the series started. Games like Assassin’s Creed 2 and Portal 2 fall into that category, but perhaps the quintessential example is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The first Uncharted wasn’t a bad game, but it stands in the shadow of a sequel that quite literally revolutionized action-adventure games and changed the entire trajectory of PlayStation as a brand. This is the game that transformed Nathan Drake into one of the most iconic video game characters of all time, and sparked a “cinematic” revolution.
Uncharted 2 was exactly what PlayStation needed in 2009 — a smash-hit unanimous Game of the Year that sent the console surging ahead, finally giving the Xbox 360 serious competition. It’s hard to overstate just how important Uncharted 2 was in every way; it finally gave us the closest a video game could ever get to the Indiana Jones experience, inspired countless games to follow suit (including Tomb Raider), and set a new precedent in terms of graphical presentation.
