I know what you're thinking, "A 9/10? Everyone says this game is a 10!"  Yes a 9.  This is a great game, anybody that's even seen the game can probably tell you that, but at the same time, it has a few flaws.  Very often this game comes across as a jack of all trades, master of none.  Since everyone and their mother has already gushed about the positives of this game, I'll focus on the negatives.

First, the platforming.  This is undoubtedly one of the best climbing/platforming games of the year, but there is certainly room for improvement.  There is usually only one way to go about doing things, the way Naughty Dog wants you to.  Hundreds of objects in the game world looked like something Drake would be able to scale with ease, but strangely, I could not climb them.  Being stuck on the developer's path was extremely frustrating, especially after playing climbing games such as Assassin's Creed II and inFamous, where everything and anything you can fit your hands on can be climbed onto.  Another annoyance was Naughty Dog's decision to map "drop" and "take cover" to circle.  A few times in the game I found myself having to start a firefight over because I wanted Drake to take cover behind an object that was too close to a ledge.

Next is the combat.  The combat can often be frustratingly hard, and doesn't seem as tight as it could be.  It is a huge improvement from the first Uncharted, but doesn't feel as well done as the third person shooting action in a game such as Gears of War.  The game throws an unbelievable number of enemies at you, and I found myself just wanting to get back to the platforming and exploration, or getting to the next awesome set piece.  The villain is a fugitive war criminal but somehow has the resources to hire a private army of men to rival that of most nations. The game would have been much better, and much more believable, had there been a more realistic number of enemies.

My favorite part of the combat, a feature oddly overlooked by the GI editors, was the addition of stealth kills.  These were pretty well executed and provided a refreshing change of pace when they were possible.  However, sometimes the stealth aspect was inconsistent.  For example, if you pull an enemy off the edge of a balcony and he falls right in front of another guard's face, the other guard doesn't notice.  But if you are out of sight of all other guards and the guard you are attempting to kill notices you, you will still alert the other guards even if you kill your target without making a sound.

Finally the graphics.  This game has the best console graphics of any game to date. Period.  The only slip-up I found was the trail that follows characters when they run in the snow.  It just looks weird and I don't know what its supposed to look like.  Since snow is prominently featured in the game, its pretty noticeable.  The character models are superb, and are the best I've seen at emerging on the elusive other side of the uncanny valley.

These complaints prevent this game from being a perfect 10 in my book.  The game is still incredibly good, though, and if you own a PS3, it is definitely a must-have.  The story and set pieces surpass that of any other game or movie like it, including Indiana Jones, in my opinion.  I include movies in that comparison because this is the kind of game I have been waiting for all my life in terms of production values.  Never before have I been so interested in how the relationships of video game characters developed.  I found it hard to tear myself away from this game, even to play Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer.

Bottom line: amazing game, must-play, but not God's gift to mankind as most other reviews would have you believe.