Ok so it didn't really save my life but it did save my weekend. The year was 2009 and Uncharted 2 had just come out. At the time I couldn't be bothered to pick it up because Uncharted: Drake's Fortune had pretty much turned me off to the whole linear platformer thing. Not to say that the original Uncharted was a bad game. It's just that after playing Infamous how could I ever go back to an on-rails platformer again. I mean Infamous just made open world platforming seem so inviting and ...open. So I had no intentions of hopping on that band wagon. Instead I was going to sit back and throw a copy of Modern Warfare 2 into my 360 and unleash some hell on any 13 year old noobs that didn't come correct. Of course as is usually the case with launch 360s mine bit the dust and I was left with a weekend that was stark on options. So I decided to whore up on my trophies.

Only problem was most of my PS3 games were out on loan to other like minded trophy whores. The only other game I had that wasn't out and about was Metal Gear Solid 4 and there arent any trophies in that game. Even if there was I'm not sure I would have been able to sit through another hour of that convoluted plot with grabbing the nearest rock and bashing my brains in. So I immediately call up a friend and ask him does he have any games that he isn't playing. Lo and behold he just happened to have one that I might enjoy. So I get him to bring it over and I pop it in to my PS3.

Of course the game in question just happened to be Uncharted 2 but I couldn't really complain seeing as I had no other options. Now I usually can tell everything I need to know about a game from the look of the main menu. From viewing Uncharted's menu I got the sense that i was going to be in for some very standard platforming fare. How lucky I am that this game was anything but standard. From the very beginning my heart was in my throat. Yours would be to if you woke up to find yourself tied up on a train that is going on a one way trip to Smithereensville, which by the way is located at the bottom of a cliff. Yes you read that right I woke up on a train that was staring straight into the abyss of a 1000 foot drop to doom. The game then forces you to climb out of the train and up it to get back to safety. Did I mention that you are also bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds and your upside down? Within the first two minutes this game was more epic than any other game that I had ever played.

Had that been the only time this game had set my heart to attack mode I would have been content. Instead I was takin on a joy ride across the world to find some artifacts that would save it from a grave evil. Ok not the most original story but then again I don't necessarily play games for a story. I play games for that feeling that comes from overcoming extreme odds and Uncharted 2 delivers those in spades. Not to mention that the story while not original was presented expertly with careful attention to detail. Uncharted 2 also has the distinction of being one of the most visually pleasing games of all time. In fact the game looks so good that I decided to run a test and hooked it up to a standard definition. The visuals were still jaw dropping and crisply presented. How many games can say they look great on a standard definition tv in this day and age?

So yes even though Uncharted 2 didn't save my life, it most definitely saved what would have proved to be an otherwise dull weekend. And in the process turned me back on to linear platformers. Not bad for a game that only played for the trophies. So I am sure that one can forgive me for a little hyperbole. Especially considering the fact that the last level was exciting enough to have me consider quitting school and becoming a treasure hunter. And oh yeah Elena, god she's hot.