it never really out-tomb raider's tomb raider, but it *is* the prettiest console game going and half the joy of a good tomb raiding is the environments. the gunplay is vastly, vastly better than uncharted 1, and probably the best stop-and-pop i've played not called r6:vegas. i just stopped after the first yeti fight and i've been really impressed -- the game is superbly paced and mixes up the tomb raiding and the gunplay perfectly. the dialogue is lightyears better than the original, too, to the point that i've only skipped a couple cutscenes. ALSO JESUS CHRIST HOW DID NAUGHTY DOG MAKE SO MANY AWESOME ART ASSETS IN SUCH A SHORT TIME? the attention to visual detail in the levels is fudruckin' nutso.
lastly, they fixed the fuckin' explosions. god bless them nd cigarillos.
is it goty? probably not -- it feels really samey at some points, the modeling still freaks me the fuck out, and there's a few unpleasant bits (anything involving the train, really). but it is damn good and i am looking forward to finishing it.
it really throws the shittiness of part one into sharp relief, though, with the former title's janky-ass melee combat, lame shootout arenas, and clumsy environmental puzzles. uncharted 2 is making me regret ever praising uncharted one as highly as "mediocre".