If you enjoyed Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, you will be thrilled with Among Thieves. The action is smoother, the characters are more refined, the set pieces are grander and the story is fresher. While you do not need to have played the previous game to understand this one, I do recommend it since there are a few returning characters and mentions of events from the first game. The overall feel of this game will be instantly comfortable to returnees as well.
Uncharted is a series that thrives on the spectacular. From the steamy jungles of Borneo to the icy mountains of Tibet, this adventure with Nathan will frequently awe you. What Naughty Dog created here is monumental both technically and artistically. Perhaps the best example of this is the train sequence where you can watch the environment go from warm and lush to snowy and bleak as you gain altitude. Their attention to detail is evident when you consider that the view outside the train is secondary to what you'll likely be paying the most attention to: fighting your way from the back of the train to the front. Yet the wizardry needed to create this section of the game must have been staggering.
I was not a fan of the story in Drake's Fortune. It drew too much from the classic tales of treasure hunting to the point of being stale and predictable. While Among Thieves does have some similar patterns and pacing, it does not suffer this same downfall. I enjoyed this one all the way through, including the twist at the end. The developers sought to pack in as much excitement as possible and succeeded, bringing us a game that is a condensed thrill ride throughout. For me this journey took just over 11 hours.
A few new characters in this game are a positive addition to the holdover cast. Those familiar to us have also been subtly improved without betraying who they were. This is a lively, wisecracking bunch with a heavy dose of romantic tension between certain members. Chloe is a favorite of mine with her saucy remarks and difficult to pin down morals. The antagonist in this game doesn't have a great deal of depth but he does bring up a couple interesting questions regarding Nathan. One issue that has bothered me in both games is the disconcerting way that characters react differently to danger during cutscenes versus gameplay. In a cutscene, a single gunshot can kill a person and is treated with appropriate seriousness. However, during gameplay I can walk off several shots from a .50 caliber machine gun and our characters regard this with concern but not the same reverence.
Combat is nearly identical to Drake's Fortune but the encounters themselves are more varied and better designed. I found myself using explosives and sniper rifles more often, pleasantly shaking up what had become tedious to me in the first game. Melee combat is still very simple but it's better to have the option than not. As you get deeper into the game there are some enemies that take an inordinate amount of shots to take down. Some of you may not be bothered by this but it draws me out of a game to pump several shots into an adversary's head and see them still standing. The final boss fight takes place in a fantastic environment but the actual act of fighting in it was more frustrating than fun.
Finally, linearity is both a strength and weakness in this game. This is a finely crafted experience that leads you along a path where emotional events are no accident. The characters, story and pacing all benefit from a tightly contained experience. The gameplay, however, doesn't gain as much. Climbing is more an exercise in determining where the game wants me to go next than it is a revelry in freedom of movement. Gunfights also don't allow for much creativity as I'm forced to almost always approach specific fights in a particular way.