We can just start with this: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the game of year.
Welcome, my friends to Uncharted 2.
Everything about this game trumps the first one, giving players more epic locales, bigger set battles, and the most amazing cinematic presentation since Metal Gear Solid 4. Everything about it just screams "big-budget action film",and for all of you who've seen the commercial with the girlfriend who thinks it's a movie; this is no lie. The story is splendidly told, with cut-scene and real-time action blending seamlessly. Hardly ever will you see a loading screen, and never during the same scene. All loading takes place only when changing locales, something that greatly benefits the presentation of the story.
There are but a few things that keep this game from getting a perfect score. One, the climbing system has been improved, but still not perfected. There were several times when Nathan would attempt to climb something that was not there, leaving him suspended in mid-air for several minutes before I realized the answer was to simply go around a corner or climb downward, and a few times he was unresponsive to the next step in his climb. There were also a few sequences where I died a few too many times, simply because there was a reaction based conclusion that wasn't easy to spot. I only make these complaints because the presentation of this game is paced so well that dying takes you out of the immersion for just a short moment.
And finally, yes the answer to everyone's question (SPOILER ALERT), near the end of the game, Naughty Dog is going to do something similar to the zombies at the end of the first game, which still hasn't made any sense to me, because the Uncharted games are something of a realistic experience, in the sense that with a slightly stretched imagination, these events could actually happen. The supernatural elements kind of ruin that.
And I haven't even attempted the multiplayer yet.
But minus these small complaints, Uncharted 2 is everything the first game was, but better. It has amazing graphics, solid gameplay, and one of the most engaging stories the medium has ever seen. The presentation is unmatched, possibly only challenged by Metal Gear Solid 4, but regardless, Uncharted 2 is without a doubt in my mind, game of the year.