Uncharted 2: Among Thieves ("UC2") was officially announced today with a trailer to show how beautiful the game still is.  The amount of texture, sound, and animations in the game will definitely preclude it from ever getting to the Xbox360 in one piece, if ever.  It is definitely the game to look forward to on the PS3.

Hopefully that embed works. . .  If not-- http://www.gametrailers.com/player/43231.html

Beautiful

Uncharted 1 ("UC1") is just plain great looking.  The game takes place primarily on jungle infested islands surrounding a quest to find the city of gold which turns out to be just one giant gold statue.



http://www.gametrailers.com/player/30355.html

A change of scenery in UC2 will be a welcome change.  If it ends up being in a jungle again, disappointment will follow.  However, Nathan Drake apparently follows the voyages of Marco Polo this time around, which I don't expect to be jungle heavy at all.

Premise

If you took a good Indiana Jones movie, added elements of Gears of War's cover system, elements of Tomb Raider's exploration and threw it into one you'd get Uncharted.  Tomb Raider 2 was the last time I enjoyed a third person shooter until Gears of War, until I played Uncharted. 

Not only is it a great premise, the story, dialogue, and over all cinematic feel to it adds a lot of flavor to the game.  Best part -- the cinematics aren't 30 minutes long.

Gameplay

If you haven't picked up on this yet, this article is more about UC1 than UC2 since the trailer is merely a teaser.  I can surmise without looking that there are about 100 comments on gametrailers saying the trailer is too short or doesn't show gameplay. . . hence its just a teaser.

However, the gameplay in UC1 was spot on.  Hardly any third person shooters ever make a big impact.  But in UC1 you'll find yourself mastering the cover system by taking quick aimed shots, blind shooting rushing enemies when you're overwhelmed, and dodging and diving between cover to save your ass from amazingly accurate grenades (a bit exageration on the amazingly).

The guns made the game great as well.  Certain firearms were better than other firearms to blindfire which made switching a necessity in hard situations.  In addition, there was unarmed combat and somewhat of a stealth element for quick takedowns to help even the odds.

Overall

The premise, gameplay, and beautiful graphics of UC1 definitely make Uncharted 2: Among Thieves a game worth looking forward to December 2009.