When you get right down to it, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves doesn't blaze any trails. You can point to a half-dozen heroes Nathan Drake looks and sounds like. He hangs out in environments that look like they were taken from the Tomb Raider series. At one point—and boy was it a facepalm moment—he solves a puzzle by moving mirrors to redirect light. You could turn Uncharted 2 into a fine drinking game if you want to start yelling out where these set pieces and action scenes come from.

On the other hand, this may be the best action game released in the past ten years. It's not just a good game, it's a game that makes you wonder why other games aren't better. Complaining about Uncharted 2 being reminiscent of past games is like tearing down Christina Hendricks because other women also have breasts.

So what does the game do so right? I'm glad you asked.

Title Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Developer Naughty Dog Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment Price $59.99 Shop.ars Platform PlayStation 3

The characters feel real

"I didn't ask for your heroics," a woman tells Nate at one point in the game. Nate understands the same thing the player does: if she had to ask for them, they wouldn't be heroics. Drake is an oddly human lead for a video game, even if his escapes do stretch the bounds of the believable. That's what makes him great though; we get the sense if we had just a bit more upper body strength, or if we read just a few more books, then we could do the things he does in the game.

Also spectacular is the voice acting. This is the new high water mark for writing and voice acting in video games. The conversations flow naturally, no one breaks character, and people actually have interesting things to say.

The net effect is a game that isn't as good as a movie—it's actually better than most movies. Watch the body language and expressions on characters that aren't the focal point of certain scenes; they'll react to what's going on. In some places, the silences are more telling than the words. Character interaction is natural, nuanced, and constructed in a way that actually makes sense. This is one of the rare games that I played without subtitles, because they move faster than the spoken word, and the jokes and dramatic sections work better when you don't know what someone will say next.

Nathan Drake is a funny, self-deprecating guy. His friends and enemies are just as well-developed. Even better, although he often seems somewhat super-heroic, Drake can be hurt. He can be broken. At parts of the game he looks battered by what's going on around him, both physically and emotionally. When he gets angry, it's in a way that feels real and biting. The story itself is no great shakes, and you'll be able to see many of the plot twists coming a mile away. What's special about this game are the people in it, and how they act around each other. That's a rare thing in any game, much less an action title.

(All that stuff I just said? Don't apply it to the villain. Seriously, the accent is the most interesting thing about him. Just saying.)

The levels may be linear, but the action isn't

The gun fights in Uncharted 2 are good, but they'd better be, because you'll be spending a lot of time with a firearm in your hands. At first, the gunplay may seem a little simplistic, but the options the game gives you as you tackle each situation are many. You can take the stealth route and silently take down some enemies to improve your odds. You can literally run and gun, although you'll eat through your ammo rather quickly. Or, you can take a more measured approach and move across each set piece slowly, aiming with precision.

Whenever I died in a section a few times, I would try to attack it from another angle, or with a new idea about how to survive, and I was always pleasantly surprised by what I found. Your tactics change depending on which of the game's many and impressive guns you're holding, or you can use your grenades extensively, or just run at someone when they're reloading their shotgun and do things with your hands.

You have a limited reticule when you blind fire from cover, and the cover mechanic itself is much improved from the first game; the gun fights feel much better, and the controls have been tightened until they scream. Even better, the gunfights often have a vertical element; you'll have to pay attention to what's below you and above you the entire time. The level design in the areas where the game throws a large amount of enemies at you is amazing, and it adds to the replay value of the game. The combat isn't a chore; you'll want to play each section multiple times to check out all your options.

There is one scene—and I wish I could go into more detail but I don't want to spoil anything—that is set up in a way that I found utterly original. It involves a road sign, and I wonder if people will be as thrilled with it as I was. That's how impressive Uncharted 2 is: a random gun fight in the middle of the game is given as much love as a major set piece.

Two-thirds of the way through the game, I was still finding new animations and hand-to-hand fighting moves. You always feel like something interesting and fresh is right around the corner.