I said in my last blog I'd stop using the word Uncharted as a pun in blog titles. I lied.

I ended up finishing Uncharted 2 after discovering a 'very easy' difficulty below easy. I just wanted to finish the game to get the story, but I ended up really enjoying the last few levels. I enjoyed them so much that I went out and got Uncharted 3 right away. I'd heard a lot of mixed things about UC 3; it seems widely accepted that it wasn't as good as 2. Because of this, I went into the game with tempered expectations. I ended up enjoying it much more than 2; I liked the story much more, with the whole Lawrence of Arabia vibe resonating with me more than the Indiana Jones vibe of UC 2. I thought the locations were more varied and had a better sense of place, and the scripted sequences were more enjoyable. I still thought the combat was by far the weakest component of the game, and brought down the whole experience much like it did UC 2. Still, it had less BS moments than its predecessor and I'm glad I ended up playing it.

I also had the good fortune of reviewing Risen 2 for New Game Network. Like its predecessor, It's a flawed but extremely colourful and immersive RPG with a good amount of wit and a great sense of character progression. I thought it had some of the best quest variety and the most rewarding exploration of any RPG in recent memory. Both CD Project Red and Bethesda could learn a lot from Piranha Bytes when it comes to quest structure, a balanced economy and world design. If you enjoyed the Witcher games, I very highly recommend Risen 2 as it offers a similar brand of role-playing albeit with a less rich story and one dimensional characters.

I've also picked up the first Infamous, but haven't had much time to play it due to business with work and other games and my inherent need to drink myself into a stupor a couple times a week. I played a couple hours of it and did enjoy it; I hope to find the time to play through it in the near future. I also picked up Diablo 3 today and have enjoyed it thus far, although was booted with a server error which I find a bit disconcerting given that I was playing solo. I know Diablo 3 is a co-op game and I'd love to find people to play with, so if you are in the same boat let me know your battle.net ID or whatever you use to add friends. I believe mine is withteeth26.

All these games should keep me very busy in the near future, although I'm looking to get Max Payne 3 when it comes out for PC. I'm also deliberating whether or not I should replace my HD5850 with a GTX680. I have no pressing need to, but the announcement of Company of Heroes 2 has me wondering if my current GPU will hold up against some of the more demanding titles coming out in the next year or so.