It’s difficult to describe the joys of Uncharted 2 without devolving into a hyperactive eight year old. Part of me looks at its ten hours of nonstop bliss and wants to declare it the bestest gam3 evar, while disdainfully sighing at other consoles for not offering a single player experience that’s equally squeal-worthy. Instead, I’m merely going to preface this review by stating that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the year’s best game so far, and anyone that plays it will instantly understand why.

Uncharted 2 is a third-person platformer/shooter that sinks its razor-sharp claws into your unprepared psyche as soon as your finger leaves the start button. In its nail-biting intro, roguish protagonist Nathan Drake is seen clinging to the unsteady handrails of a derailed train car, which happens to be teetering off the edge of a snowy cliff. You’re then introduced to the game’s silky smooth platforming mechanics as everything begins to disintegrate around you, with windows, seats, and giant hunks of mangled metal plummeting your way. This describes a fairly typical segment in Uncharted 2 pretty well, as all of its action sequences are anything but straightforward.

Take one of its shootout: instead of simply exchanging bullets with unskilled hooligans, the gunfire is interrupted by a rampaging helicopter. Drake, being the hero that he is, exclaims, “Oh crap!” and turns to run away, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as the ground below him collapses. Or take an ordinary mountain-climbing sequence that becomes extraordinary, as the rocks Nathan is scaling break away beneath his fingertips, leaving our hero one weak ledge from a grim, painful death. Luck never seems to be on Drake’s side, so you’ll have to learn to expect the unexpected as each thrilling sequence unfolds.

Drake’s journey begins with a hunt for Marco Polo’s lost expedition. The story is well-told, but the twists and turns that it takes will keep your mouth agape. It is a veritable smorgasbord of action, offering something unique in nearly every chapter. Whether it’s a heist gone wrong or the exploration of a remote mountain village, each sequence feels wildly original and full of unexpected scripted events. Drake will be chased by a tank, climb a colossal hotel tower, board a moving train, and even end up in a collapsing building, and that list doesn’t even begin to encapsulate some of the game’s best moments. All of them are superbly designed, with playable action sequences and in-game dialogue taking the place of the quick-time events and lengthy cut scenes that most games would resort to.