Uncharted 2 is not the game it could have been

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.