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| Honor Among Thieves. |
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune proved to be a success for both Sony and developer Naughty Dog. Like most successful games, a sequel had to be planned. And in 2009, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the PS3 came to be. Immediately upon release, the game was met with positive acclaim from both fans and critics alike, it later came to be one of the best games of 2009. Thanks to the success of Uncharted 2, Naughty Dog became one of the gaming industries' most respected game developer. Last year, it was bundled alongside its predecessor and successor as part of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, a remastered compilation for the PS4 which was done in anticipation of the last game in the series, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Without further delays, let's get into what many fans would call the pinnacle of the series, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
STORY- Set after the events of Drake's Fortune, treasure hunter Nathan Drake is on the hunt for the lost city of Shambala and a relic called the Cintimani Stone. A band of mercenaries are led by a European warlord, Zoran Lazarevic are also after the city and the relic, so it's a race to the treasure. Along the way, Drake is joined by newcomer Chloe Frazer and old friends Victor Sullivan and Elena Fisher. The story is more adventure-filled this time with many places to visit and characters to meet. While all that sounds great, one downside from the previous game that remains is the game's one-dimensional villain, which could have benefited from some backstory.
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Drake and company are in for a big adventure.
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GAMEPLAY- If you've played Drake's last adventure, you know what to expect. If not, let's go over the basics. Uncharted 2 is a third-person shooter with platforming elements. You control Nathan Drake as he hops from one gun fight to another. When up against enemies, Drake can take them out by either using hand-to-hand combat or by simply shooting them. If Drake takes out an enemy using a brutal combo, he'll get extra ammunition. A downside of the original game was that you rarely used stealth tactics to dispose of enemies. In Uncharted 2, there are lots of stealth opportunities to take care of enemies, even a level based around stealth.
Gun combat is still the same, only there's new weapons to try out. Drake can be equipped with a side weapon, main weapon, and four grenades. He can also pick up weapons from defeated enemies that are laying on the ground. Additionally, Drake can take cover and attack from there, either using aimed or blind shots. Or he can just run-and-gun his way through enemies. Furthermore, the Speed Run feature of The Nathan Drake Collection returns, with some new challenges.
Platforming makes a return and it's helpful during the game's puzzles. Drake will climb ancient statues, broken bridges, a half-destroyed train, and so on. Speaking of puzzles, there are plenty to solve here. Drake can use his journal to find clues on how to solve the puzzle. If you're finding some of these puzzle a bit difficult, there is a hint system that will give clues and directions needed for solving the puzzle.
Treasures are back once again and there are lots of them to collect, over 101 to be precise. As a matter of fact, some of them are so well-hidden that you will be pulling your hair out trying to find them. In my first playthrough of the game, I have only found 38 treasure in total. If you are a treasure hunter, you will be probably using a guide already to find them. Treasures can unlock bonus content such as concept art, behind-the-scenes material, and cheats.
A downside still present in Uncharted 2 is that you couldn't send the grenades back to its sender. This proved to be pain on higher difficulties such as "Crushing". Additionally, Uncharted 2 came with an online mode that's sadly been taken out of The Nathan Drake Collection for unknown reasons, which is a shame since it was a lot of fun.
Gun combat is still the same, only there's new weapons to try out. Drake can be equipped with a side weapon, main weapon, and four grenades. He can also pick up weapons from defeated enemies that are laying on the ground. Additionally, Drake can take cover and attack from there, either using aimed or blind shots. Or he can just run-and-gun his way through enemies. Furthermore, the Speed Run feature of The Nathan Drake Collection returns, with some new challenges.
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| The gameplay is still fun and slight improves over its predecessor. |
Treasures are back once again and there are lots of them to collect, over 101 to be precise. As a matter of fact, some of them are so well-hidden that you will be pulling your hair out trying to find them. In my first playthrough of the game, I have only found 38 treasure in total. If you are a treasure hunter, you will be probably using a guide already to find them. Treasures can unlock bonus content such as concept art, behind-the-scenes material, and cheats.
A downside still present in Uncharted 2 is that you couldn't send the grenades back to its sender. This proved to be pain on higher difficulties such as "Crushing". Additionally, Uncharted 2 came with an online mode that's sadly been taken out of The Nathan Drake Collection for unknown reasons, which is a shame since it was a lot of fun.
PRESENTATION - Visually, Uncharted 2 is big improvement over its predecessor. Still, that's not to say that the first game was a bad looking one. Environments and character models are more detailed and have more polish to them, thanks to Naughty Dog's then new 2.0 game engine. The soundtrack and voice acting are still superb with many commendable performances. As for the PS4 remaster, Bluepoint Games did a great job of making the game run at 60 frames per second and 1080p resolution.
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| The presentation was some of the best on the PS3 and holds up incredibly well today. |
OVERALL- Without a doubt, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a 7th gen. classic. Memorable characters and action, great gameplay, and a stunning presentation made it a huge step forward for the franchise. Naughty Dog truly outdid themselves with Uncharted 2. Bluepoint Games also need to be praised for the effort they've put in the PS4 remastering as well, it's the best way to experience the PS3 classic.
EXCELLENT
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