Legacy of the Treasure Hunter
Why Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is My Favorite Video Game of All Time
Opening
With the Uncharted film, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, having been released earlier this year in February, I decided that now was the perfect time to discuss a video game that has been my favorite for well over a decade. That game would be none other than Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Although I adore plenty of other video games, such as Batman: Arkham City and Dishonored, none have ever come close to standing up against the second installment in Naughty Dog’s critically-acclaimed franchise. Through both the immersive, gravitating single player story, as well as the wild, insanely enjoyable multiplayer modes (which are unfortunately no longer available since Naughty Dog shut down the game’s online servers in 2019), I have put hundreds of hours into this title. What makes Uncharted 2 so special to me? Let’s go over all of it, shall we?
Note: Minor spoilers lie ahead. Major story points are avoided. I recommend playing the game first, but you should be safe to read this article regardless.
History
I’ll start from the very beginning. I grew up playing Xbox. In the early 2000s, my father bought an Original Xbox over the Playstation 2 for the sole purpose of playing Halo: Combat Evolved, an Xbox exclusive. Naturally, he moved on to the Xbox 360 in late 2005. As a young child, I played Xbox 360. This means that I was completely unaware of the fact that the rivaling Playstation 3 featured an abundance of exclusive games that I had never heard of.
One day, in either late 2010 or early 2011, I was watching gaming videos on YouTube. Scrolling through recommended videos, I stumbled upon a gameplay video for a game known as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The thumbnail picture for the video looked interesting, so I decided to check it out. I was mesmerized. The game looked amazing! Through both its visually-beautiful set-pieces and crazy-fun gameplay, I was blown away!
Uncharted was a game that I had never even heard of, and I questioned why I was ever unaware of the title. After doing some research, I made the devastating discovery that Uncharted was only available for the Playstation 3. In a review for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, IMDb user galahad58–1 stated, “I feel sorry for those who do not own a PS3 to experience it” (2009). Furthermore, Analog_Devotee, another IMDb user, claimed, “Simply put, this game (Uncharted 2) was a stone-cold console-seller. Many who only owned an Xbox 360 were biting the bullet and purchasing a PS3 to play this game” (2021). Spoiler alert: I was one of them!
Intrigued, I looked up what other exclusive games the PS3 held. Apparently, Uncharted was not the only exclusive IP that Sony owned. The Playstation 3 also featured other excellent-looking exclusives such as God of War, Ratchet and Clank, and Infamous. I couldn’t believe what I was missing out on! The fact that these titles were not available for Xbox 360 infuriated me! I practically demanded that my parents pay $300 to buy me a Playstation 3 for my tenth birthday in July 2011.
Wish granted! My dad set up my new PS3 in the upstairs gaming room. I started with Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, then gave Infamous 2 a shot. Infamous 2 was a lot of fun, and I immediately knew that I had made the right decision to purchase a PS3. I played those two games on my tenth birthday. The following day, I put the Uncharted 2 disc in the console. Now, July 2011 preceded the release of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception by four months, so I only owned Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Being a young kid, I skipped Drake’s Fortune and dove right into Among Thieves, as I thought it looked like a lot more fun.
Seeing as how this was my first experience with the Uncharted franchise, I knew absolutely nothing about Nathan Drake, the main protagonist of the series, except for how he looked on the game’s box art. All I could do was remember why I forced $300 out of my parents’ bank account in the first place. I was absolutely certain that this game would not disappoint me. My expectations were through the roof and completely unrealistic.
Story and Characters
I went into Among Thieves expecting it to be one of the greatest video games I would ever play in my life. Just from the opening sequence, I knew that it would be. Right from the start, a bloody Drake is climbing up a train that is vertically hanging off the side of a cliff in the snowy mountains. Immediately afterwards, we soon learn about how Drake arrived at that position. We are introduced to Harry Flynn, a former colleague of Drake, and Chloe Frazer, an associate of Flynn, in the ensuing cutscene that follows the cliff-hanging climb-up. The story then backtracks to four months prior, where we begin a perfectly-paced adventure that naturally flows all the way through.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Uncharted series, Nathan Drake is a fortune hunter who claims to be a descendant of Sir Francis Drake. He travels around the globe in search of valuable treasure. Think Indiana Jones.
One thing Uncharted has always successfully accomplished is getting players invested in the story and its characters. Among Thieves is no exception. As a ten year-old, I thought Harry Flynn was a really cool guy — until he betrayed Drake and subsequently got him sent to jail. After Chapter 2: “Breaking and Entering”, I hated Flynn and wanted to get back at him. Unless you are a young child, like I was, you tend to appreciate both the heroes and villains involved in a good story. Much like Drake, Flynn was funny and charming. However, Harry was nowhere near as smart as Nathan.
After getting bailed out of jail by his father-figure, Victor Sullivan, Nate learns that Flynn is working with Zoran Lazarević, a Serbian war criminal who is hellbent on finding the Cintamani Stone. The Cintamani Stone is located in the lost city of Shambhala. Lazarević plans to use the stone and its mythical powers as a means to gain immortality and achieve world domination. Therefore, Nate and his allies must find the stone first and destroy it in order to save the world. As you can see, the game has a story set before you with intriguing characters whose motives are made clear.
What makes Nathan Drake such a great protagonist? You could say it’s his personality. He is charismatic, humorous, and witty. However, there is something about his character that goes the extra mile. Something that truly defines him as a human being. That ultimate trait would be his willingness to always do the right thing. When Jeff, Elena’s cameraman, is shot in between Chapters 10 and 11, Nate refuses to let him sit there and perish. Nate picks Jeff up and carries him out of harm’s way, despite Chloe’s pleas to leave him behind, imploring, “You’re gonna get us all killed!”
Near the end of the game, in the lost city of Shambhala, Nate, Chloe, and Elena are grouped together looking for an escape. Before their exit, however, Nate vows to stop Lazarević from becoming immortal and save the world from Zoran’s hopes to achieve global domination. Chloe believes the smart idea would be to leave Shambhala while they still can. Nate decides to go after Lazarević, as he tells Chloe that he will forever regret it if he doesn’t try to stop him. Despite the fact that Chloe claims his bravery as “suicide”, Nate goes on.
As for the other characters, Chloe shows tremendous signs of character development over the course of the story. When Jeff is shot, she shows no care nor concern for his well-being. Nate says, “We can’t just leave him here to die.” Chloe responds with, “He is as good as dead already and so are we if we don’t go now!” Later, in Shambhala, Elena is severely injured and needs help to move. Elena tells Nate and Chloe to “stop Lazarević.” Chloe responds with, “Not a chance… Come on, sunshine.” When Elena and Jeff come under fire from Lazarević’s forces in Chapter 10: “Only One Way Out”, Chloe mocks their troubles, stating, “Jeff and Elena are in trouble. There’s a shock.” By the time we reach Chapter 25: “Broken Paradise”, Chloe begins to refer to Elena as “sunshine”.
Uncharted 2 possesses a rapidly-evolving story and contains characters whom players will come to love as they progress through the game. This is why many gamers view the Uncharted series as “almost like a movie”.
Scenery
Now, let’s step away from the story for a little bit and tackle the scenery. Uncharted 2 features a great number of chapters that take place in a stylistic, well-crafted world. From the temples of Nepal to the snowy mountains of the Himalayas, each level features scenery that is bound to take your breath away. My favorite chapter of the game (and whole series, for that matter) is Chapter 22: “The Monastery”. I loved climbing up the towers while taking down Lazarević’s soldiers in the process. Another setting we can’t forget is the Tibetan village. When you play through the game, it truly feels like you are traveling around the world.
Soundtrack
All of the Uncharted games carry a beautiful soundtrack that is unique to that particular title. Among Thieves holds some of my personal favorite musical pieces from the Uncharted franchise. “Reunion” and “Among Thieves” are both in my top three favorite tracks from the entire series (neither is number one, however. My number one musical score from any Uncharted soundtrack would be “Sir Francis Drake” from Drake’s Fortune).
The musical score sets the mood for each location. “Breaking and Entering” is very mellow and easing, as it is the theme for the quiet stealth heist of the Istanbul Palace Museum. “Helicopter & Tank” is upbeat and pumping, as it plays throughout scenes that involve a helicopter firing at Nate and Chloe in Nepal. Composer Greg Edmonson did a fantastic job with capturing the overall feeling of each setting and situation all throughout the journey.
Gameplay
Another reason to love Uncharted is for the gameplay. It is a third-person action-adventure game that allows you to shoot, punch, and blow up your foes. The game also includes plenty of platforming, giving Drake the ability to climb up ladders, pipes, and street signs, among other objects. One defining characteristic of the series is its puzzle-solving sections. In Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, there are a handful of instances where the player must use clues from both Drake’s journal and the surrounding environment as a means to progress through the story. Lastly, the single player story mode contains 101 different treasures that can be found throughout the chapters. These treasures are not required to advance through the game, but provide players with an exciting challenge, especially for those who choose not to look up the locations on the internet. All together, this rounds up for an unforgettable experience.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves also improves on the gameplay elements that were seen in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. One of the biggest examples would be the stealth aspect. In Drake’s Fortune, the use of ninja tactics was sorely lacking, for the most part. Among Thieves fixes this issue almost immediately with Chapter 2: “Breaking and Entering”. This is the chapter in which Drake and Flynn sneak through the Istanbul Palace Museum while numerous guards are on night patrol.
Compared to Drake’s Fortune, Among Thieves is able to offer players so much more. The original Nathan Drake adventure primarily focuses on shoot-and-advance gameplay, meaning you encounter a wave of enemies, shoot them, and move on to the next section. The second time around, players are able to do as they please for many of the game’s combat situations. If unseen, players can approach enemies quietly and take them down from behind without firing a bullet. On the contrary, they could go in guns-blazing, if they’d like. Uncharted 2 definitely allowed much more variety than the first entry did.
Multiplayer
Despite the fact that the online servers to the PS3 version of the game were shut down in 2019, I put numerous hours into Uncharted 2’s multiplayer modes and have memories that I will cherish forever. I had a lot of fun playing both with and against other users from all over the world. I would often challenge myself by playing through entire matches with the goal of earning as many stealth kills or pull downs as possible. I got plenty of angry messages from opposing players, as they stated that I was not “playing the game the way it was meant to be played”. The thing is, I wasn’t cheating. I just decided that I wouldn’t use my weapons. If anything, I made the game more difficult for myself and easier for the opposition. Eventually, I became really good at it and other gamers bombarded me with harsh messages. I miss those days.
What made Uncharted 2’s multiplayer unique was the fact that every player, regardless of level or experience, began each match with a standard AK-47 rifle and 92FS-9mm pistol. Other weapons, such as the RPG-7 and Micro-9mm submachine gun, were strategically placed around each map, usually in the spots you would expect to find them. For example, the Dragon Sniper was found somewhere up top (in most cases), while big weapons, such as the M32-Hammer (grenade launcher), were placed right in the middle of the map.
Why exactly were standard loadouts so special? It would be due to the fact that they provided fairness to all players. Having players start out with a generic loadout gave everyone a fighting chance, as a level 10 user could easily use a Moss-12 shotgun he or she picked up to kill a level 50 user holding an AK-47 (assuming the player bearing the Moss-12 gets up close). Uncharted 3 introduced custom loadouts and kickbacks (that’s an entirely different story for another time), which gave veterans an upper hand over rookies. While the change was inevitable, many players preferred Uncharted 2’s balanced multiplayer as opposed to Uncharted 3’s over-the-top action. Nonetheless, Uncharted 2’s multiplayer was simple but entertaining, and most wouldn’t have it any other way.
Co-op
As crazy as it sounds, I actually enjoyed the cooperative modes more so than the competitive ones. There were two primary modes of co-op: “Co-op Objective” and “Co-op Arena”. “Co-op Arena” featured three different sub-categories: “Survival”, “Gold Rush”, and “Siege”. “Gold Rush”, a mode where either two or three players team up against AI enemies and carry a golden idol towards a treasure chest, was my favorite. Everyone else loved “Survival” mode, but I thought killing waves of enemies ten times over was too simple. “Gold Rush” and “Plunder”, a competitive mode in which two teams of five fight each other in effort to bring the treasure to their respective chest, defined the game’s multiplayer. Seeing as how Nathan Drake is a treasure hunter, these modes separated Uncharted from other multiplayer shooters such as Call of Duty and Gears of War.
Maps
While on the topic of Uncharted 2’s multiplayer, I also feel that it would be a good idea to name some of my favorites multiplayer maps. My top three, in order, would be the “Village”, “Museum”, and “Sanctuary”. The “Sanctuary” was great because there were plenty of high points and climbable areas. The “Museum” was terrific not only for its massive size, but also for its abundance of climbable structures. Finally, I’m not sure why the “Village” is my favorite map. I’ve always loved it. I think the “Village” may have been the map where I played my very first multiplayer match in. Whatever the reason, I know the “Village” has always been special to me. Also, an honorable mention would be the “Highrise”, a map that was based on the rooftops of Nepal. As you can predict, I loved it for the openness and traversal. Overall, I was a fan of the multiplayer maps that contained big open spaces with a ton of places to climb (minus the “Village”; not much climbing there, but a great map).
There were also a couple of maps that I am not too fond of. The “Temple” was a nightmare for me. It was very closed-in and did not allow for a lot of platforming. The “Fort” was also mediocre at best, as it was a very straightforward, us-on-one-side, enemies-on-the-other type of map. Lastly, the “Ice Cave” was relatively narrow, much like the “Temple” and “Fort”. Overall, I’d say the “Temple” was my least favorite map, as I always dreaded it when other players voted for the setting. Imagine my frustration when the voting of maps is between the “Temple” and “Museum” — and the “Temple” wins! It happened plenty of times. The frustration and pain I felt of my fellow lobbyists voting for the “Fort” over the “Sanctuary” was equivalent to your favorite sports team losing a championship game. It was devastating.
Finale
There you have it! My favorite video game of all time: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves! I loved it as a kid. I love it as an adult. The characters are well-developed and feel special, while their reasons for searching are made clear. There is also never a dull moment, as the game switches between chaotic madness and easing walkthroughs. Although it is unfortunate that those who have not yet played this game will likely never get to enjoy its magnificent multiplayer (bring the online servers back, please!), the single player story mode will live on forever. Besides, the story mode is the main reason to play Uncharted, anyway. Thanks for the ride, Nathan Drake! Your second outing will forever be my number one!
You might be wondering how my parents felt about their $300 investment in a Playstation 3. Was it worth all that money just to play a handful of exclusive games? Trust me, they are well aware of the Uncharted franchise. I remember playing an online co-op match of “Survival” on the “Plaza” map back around the 2014–2016 timeframe. After the session concluded, I went and told my mother, “Mom, I might still be playing Uncharted when I’m seventy years-old!” They know it is my favorite game. Mom. Dad. Your hard-earned money was well-spent. Thank you!
Works Cited
Analog_Devotee. “10/10 — A LEGITIMATE MASTERPIECE!”. IMDb. Posted August 2, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1349460/reviews?ref_=tt_urv.
galahad58–1. “Incredible”. IMDb. Posted November 14, 2009. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1349460/reviews?ref_=tt_urv.
About the Writer
Caden Maher is a student at Southeastern Louisiana University majoring in Business Management. He enjoys writing about his interests, hobbies, and passions.