Uncharted 2

Uncharted 2 is officially the best game ever made. It's a perfect blend of action and puzzles with jaw dropping graphics.

The first thing you notice, is that this game is absolutely beautiful. The game opens on you in a train car hanging of a cliff, and you need to climb back up (this is a third person game). While the path is pretty "linear", it has you going around all 4 sides of the outside, as well as the interior of the train. With each step you take the environment around you changes. Seats fall, poles bend, wheels and rocks, and trains fall. This is a very nice introduction to this game's awesome movement mechanics. You can climb up walls much like in Price of Persia or Assassin's Creed, but it feels much more spontaneous and integrated better than those two. Even around the battles you can scale walls and signs to get a vertical advantage on your enemy.

Climbing is also mixed with stealth. Uncharted 2 has an almost perfect cover system. It feels kind of like Gears of War, but much smoother and tons more stuff to let you hide behind. It's actually closer to feeling like GTA4 in that regard. From cover you can take out enemies like a ninja, snapping their necks or throwing them off a cliff. When stealth won't do, the weapons system is very good as well. You can switch perspectives, and change weapons on the fly in aiming mode. You can also throw grenades quickly from the aim mode. Best of all, there is blind firing from cover, as well as firing while hanging from a wall/etc.

For all you multi player nuts, online mode is just as cool. All the mechanics are intact, including the stealth attacks and climbing. Yup. Drool.

The game's story is as good as it's gameplay. In my opinion it bests even the latest Metal Gear Solid games in story, acting, and animation. Some of the best parts of the game are so intense, it literally puts you right in the cinematic. There is one level where you are running towards the camera through an alley, firing your gun at a truck chasing you down on your heels. Mess up, and you get crushed. It's very intense. The very best parts of the game action-wise, put you in really dynamic locales. Below is a video of a fraction of one such level. It puts you on top of a moving train, trying to get to the front. It speeds through the jungle, and then when it opens up, you are pursued by a helicopter as well as soldiers.

I won't spoil the surprise on the 2nd video.

If you have a PS3, you need to buy this game now, if you don't already have it.