One of this holiday's biggest releases is the Playstation 3 exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Which is a good game with a big problem. And that problem is called Uncharted 1.

Read the review after the jump.

The first Uncharted was a revelation for its characters. The romance between Nate and Elena was well written, subtly animated, and expressively acted. No game had done characters so well on all three of those levels. Furthermore, Nate himself was a great everyman, the quintessential charming rogue in a genre full of space marines. The rest of the game was gorgeous, concise, and full of memorable set pieces.

But now here comes the sequel. The first strike against it is some clunky character development. It plays with betrayal and double-crossing, but it all comes across as confused. Who's doing what to whom and why? From the simple romance of the original game, here's a messy love quadrilateral among Flynn, Chloe, Elena, and Nate, which is about two wheels too many for a fun date.

The McGuffin in the last game wasn't important, but it was constantly present and it was related directly to Nate. This time, it's some dagger thing and maybe a gem and I think there's a secret city, plus some blue stuff that explodes and creatures that will have you longing for the first game's skinny hairless zombies. Once again, the simplicity of the first game is lost in a sequel's attempt to dial it up to eleven.

The locations in Uncharted 2 are, of course, gorgeous. But the supposed globetrotting consists of tightly contained jungle areas, a tightly contained ruined city, and a train. The train, of course, is tightly contained. You have about as much freedom of movement in the jungle as you do on the train. But the trade off for being ruthlessly shunted down a single path is some of the best graphics you've ever seen. And the character animation is probably the best you've ever seen. So graphics whores, this is a game for you.

The shooting bits are the best part of Uncharted 2. Although it doesn't afford the variety of more imaginative settings like Halo, Gears of War, or Resistance, it's easily on par with those games when it comes to capturing the thrill of a good gunfight. The cover system, the grenades, and scrounging for ammo are still the heart of the gameplay. And this time, you can take it all online. A wide range of competitive and co-operative modes all tie into a system of unlockable perks that reward you the more you play. There's not a lot of variety in the perk system, but it does what it needs to do: give you an incentive to play beyond "Hey, this game is great!"

Unfortunately, the Tomb Raidering bits between shoot-outs feel like filler. Climbing walls and solving the game's "puzzles" gives you time to breathe and admire the scenery, but there's nothing here that hasn't been done better in other games. In fact, I can't help but feel Uncharted 2 should have ditched all those scenes in which Nate shimmies around ledges scripted to crumble at the same place every time. Absurd jumps, bionic fingertips, and Prince of Persia wall climbing sort of ruin the illusion of Nate as an everyman. He is the nonpareil of Parkour. The game certainly could have done with four or five fewer instances of someone about to fall only to be grabbed by the wrist at the last moment. And I don't think anyone would miss those silly puzzles in which you slide blocks or turn mechanisms to match a page in Nate's journal.

But all this isn't to say Uncharted 2 isn't a good game. It is. But the problem is that if you want a game that tells a great story and does interesting new things with gameplay, Uncharted 2 can't hold a candle to Brutal Legend or Batman: Arkham Asylum. But its biggest sin is not living up to the promise of Uncharted 1.

(You can read my more detailed review at Crispy Gamer here.)