Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Regular edition cover, depicting protagonist Nathan Drake in the game's prologue, with the phurba's handle on the left

### Developer

Naughty Dog
Bluepoint Games (*Remastered*)

### Director

Amy Hennig
Bruce Straley

### Programmer

Pål-Kristian Engstad
Dan Liebgold
Travis McIntosh

### Designer

Richard Lemarchand
Neil Druckmann

### Artist

Erick Pangilinan
Robh Ruppel

### Writer

Amy Hennig
Neil Druckmann
Josh Scherr

### Platforms

PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4

### Release

**PlayStation 3**
NA: October 13, 2009
AU: October 15, 2009
EU: October 16, 2009

**PlayStation 4**
PAL: October 7, 2015
NA: October 9, 2015
UK: October 9, 2015

### Mode(s)

Single-player, multiplayer

***Uncharted 2: Among Thieves*** is a 2009 action-adventure third-person shooter video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. A PlayStation 4 remaster, developed by Bluepoint Games, was released in 2015 as part of *Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection*. It is the sequel to 2007's *Uncharted: Drake's Fortune*, and the second mainline installment of the *Uncharted* series.

The *Uncharted* series follows the adventure of treasure hunter Nathan "Nate" Drake. In *Among Thieves*, Nate competes with a Serbian warlord and a former associate to find the fabled Cintamani Stone, located within the mythical city of Shambhala. In his quest, Nate is aided by returning characters Elena Fisher and Victor Sullivan, as well as newcomer Chloe Frazer, a former partner and romantic interest of his.

Similar to its predecessor, *Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* is a linear action-adventure video game that combines mechanics and elements of third-person shooters, platformers and puzzle games, as well as introducing stealth mechanics and an overhauled melee system. Players control Nate, who is often accompanied by an AI-controlled companion that can help the player in combat and puzzles. *Among Thieves* introduces multiplayer to the *Uncharted* series, offering a variety of competitive modes as well as a three-part co-op mode called "Co-op Objective"; multiplayer servers were terminated in September 2019.

Naughty Dog began work on *Among Thieves* soon after the first game's release, which became a critical and commercial success for the struggling PS3. Development focused on improving the studio's in-house game engine to support extensive motion-capturing shots and cinematic in-game cutscenes, as well as the implementation of a multiplayer mode. The game's story and settings drew influence from the expeditions of Italian explorer Marco Polo. *Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* was officially announced in December 2008.

*Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* received critical acclaim from gaming publications, and has since then been considered one of the greatest games of all time. Critics unanimously considered the title to be superior to *Drake's Fortune*, and praise was directed towards improved gameplay mechanics, art direction, visuals, animations, narrative, characterization, elaborate set-pieces and multiplayer modes. It won multiple end-year awards and was a commercial success, selling over 6.5 million copies by 2015. A sequel, *Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception*, was released in 2011.

## Gameplay

*Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* is a third-person shooter video game that combines elements of platforming and puzzle-solving within a linear single-player campaign. For the entire duration of the campaign, players control Nathan Drake, an American treasure hunter and fortune seeker. Drake can run, jump, leap, swim, fight via melee combat, hold firearms and grenades and take cover behind surfaces via the game's cover-system.

Gameplay is broken into three sections involving maneuvering environmental challenges and hazards through climbing and platforming, solving puzzles through hints and visual cues, and engaging in combat encounters against the game's main enemies which are legions of mercenaries and hired guns operating under the main villain Zoran Lazarevic. *Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* offers a variety of firearms to use across the single-player campaign such as assault rifles, handguns, shotguns, snipers and rocket launchers. Drake can carry up to two firearms at the time as well as four hand grenades.

The melee system includes revamped mechanics altered from *Drake's Fortune*, with streamlined instructions and combos to perform. The stealth system from the previous game has also been modified with more defined mechanics, as exemplified with the level design which was expanded to allow Drake to take advantage of the system more frequently. Players can continue to perform stealth takedowns as long as they haven't been spotted by an enemy, after which the player can no longer engage in stealth until all enemies in the arena are cleared.

A major feature in the game is "Drake's Journal", a small book that includes hints, tips and miscellaneous information and trivia for various puzzles, story bits as well as comedic effect. Players can open the journal and go through its contents at almost any given moment outside of combat.

As with its predecessor, *Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* includes an in-game award system for accomplishing certain feats such as specific kills used by various weapons or tactics. Players can unlocked multiple bonuses and additions through the award system, including weapons, clothes, skins, cheat codes and visual modes that modify the campaign. Collectibles also exist, with 101 treasures to collect throughout the game; each milestone yields the player points for the award system.

## Synopsis

### Characters and setting

Set two years after *Drake's Fortune*, *Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* once again follows treasure hunter Nathan "Nate" Drake (Nolan North) as the main protagonist. Returning characters include Elena Fisher (Emily Fisher), a journalist and Nate's ex-girlfriend; and Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Richard McGonagle), Nate's old mentor and fellow treasure hunter. A new major character introduced is Chloe Frazer (Claudia Black), an Indian-Australian treasure hunter and thief who was once in a relationship with Drake.

The game's main antagonist is Zoran Lazarević (Graham McTavish), a former Serbian military officer and war criminal who searches for Shambhala after surviving a NATO assassination attempt. Lazarević leads a large army of mercenaries and soldiers in his quest for the lost city, and is aided by Harry Flynn (Steve Valentine), a British treasure hunter with past connections to Drake. Lazarević is also aided by Draza, his lieutenant.

Supporting characters include Tenzin (voiced by Pema Dhondup), a Tibetan village leader who aids Drake in the later stages of the game; Karl Schäfer (René Auberjonois), an elderly German explorer who wounded up in Tenzin's village after leading his own expedition to find Shambhala; and Jeff (Gregory Myhre), Elena's cameraman who serves as a minor ally in the middle of the game.

### Plot

A wounded Nathan Drake wakes up in a train car, hanging from a snowy cliff; despite his injuries, he manages to escape the train car and retrieve a *phurba* in the snow before falling unconscious.

Through flashbacks, it is revealed that Nate was hired by an associate and fellow treasure hunter Harry Flynn to infiltrate a museum in Istanbul, which houses a Mongolian oil lamp connected to Marco Polo's doomed 1292 voyage from China. Hired by a mysterious client, Flynn also hires another treasure hunter called Chloe Frazer for the job, and the trio agrees to cheat Flynn's client and claim Polo's treasure for themselves. Unbeknownst to Flynn, Nate and Chloe are former partners, and the two decide on escaping together after the job is done.

Breaking into the museum, Nate and Flynn discover Polo's fleet was shipwrecked in Borneo, and supposedly carried the fabled Cintamani Stone from the lost city of Shambhala. Flynn double-crosses Nate, leading to the latter's arrest. Three months later, Nate is released thanks to intervention from his mentor Victor Sullivan, who was contacted by Chloe. The two inform Nate that Flynn's employer is war criminal Zoran Lazarević, who seeks the Cintamani Stone.

In Borneo, Nate and Sully infiltrate Lazarević's camp, with Chloe working as a mole within his forces. They discover that the Cintamani Stone never left Shambhala, and eventually locate the remains of Polo's crew in temple ruins. There, they find a phurba and map detailing that the carrier of the phurba can gain passage to Shambhala through a temple in Nepal. Nate and Sully are soon cornered by Flynn and his men, but manage to escape. Due to the high risks, Sully decides to back out.

Nate and Chloe continue their search in Nepal by themselves, with Chloe maintaining her cover. They encounter Nate's ex-girlfriend, the journalist Elena Fisher, and her cameraman Jeff, who work to track down Lazarević's involvement in the Nepalese chaos. In the temple, Nate and Chloe find that Shambhala is located somewhere in the Himalayas. Jeff gets wounded during one of the gunfights with Lazarević's men, leading Nate to carry him through to safety against Chloe's wishes.

The group is eventually cornered by Lazarević and his men, who obtain the information Nate found; Jeff is executed while Chloe is forced to turn on Nate and Elena to maintain her cover. Nate and Elena manage to escape, and Nate decides to get on a train used by Lazarević to find Chloe. With Elena's help, Nate manages to catch up with Lazarević's train, fighting his way through his soldiers and killing his lieutenant, Draza. Confronted by Nate, Chloe refuses to leave after Nate compromised their job for Elena and Jeff.

In the middle of Nate and Chloe's argument, Nate is shot by Flynn. Wounded and cornered by Lazarević's men, Nate derails the train over a cliff, and the story resumes from where the prologue segment started. After fighting through more soldiers, Nate collapses due to his injuries, but is rescued by a Tibetan Sherpa called Tenzin, who brings Nate to his village.

Nate reunites with Elena, who followed the train tracks after the two split. She and Tenzin introduce Nate to a German explorer called Karl Schäfer, who also searched for Shambhala in his youth. To help Nate understand the gravity of the city and the stone being found by Lazarević, Schäfer sends Nate and Tenzin on a quest to find the remains of Schäfer's men. Inside the icy caves, Nate and Tenzin find themselves fighting strange yeti-like creatures. They eventually find the remains, belonging to Nazi Ahnenerbe, with Nate deducing that Schäfer killed his own men to stop them from finding Shambhala.

Nate and Tenzin return to the village only to discover it besieged by Lazarević. The two men fight their way through the village to rescue Schäfer as well Tenzin's daughter Pema, eventually liberating the settlement while Lazarević and his men continue forward with Schäfer as a hostage. Nate and Elena follow the soldiers to an ancient monastery, where they discover a mortally-wounded Schäfer, who informs them that Lazarević is in possession of the phurba and urges Nate to stop him.

Getting further inside the monastery, Nate reunites with Chloe who surrenders the phurba. Along with Elena, he unlocks the passage to Shambhala underneath the monastery, but the two are confronted by Lazarević and Flynn, who became aware of Chloe's treachery. In exchange for Elena and Chloe's lives, Nate is forced to work with Flynn through the passage. They are attacked by the yeti-like creatures again, before Lazarević arrives to kill them and reveal their true identities as humanoid guardians of Shambhala.

Nate and his allies manage to escape into the city after another attack by the guardians. Inside the city, they discover that the Cintamani Stone is actually a giant piece of amber derived from the sap of an ancient tree of life growing at the center of Shambhala, and the true source of the flammable resin Nate encountered during his journey. The sap is what Lazarević truly searches for, as its consumption grants the drinker supernatural strength and healing abilities. Before Nate and his group can continue, they are confronted by a dying Flynn, abandoned by Lazarević, who uses the last of his strength to try and kill the trio with a grenade.

The trio survives but Elena is gravely injured. Leaving Elena in Chloe's care, Nate tracks Lazarević down to stop him once and for all. Lazarević is ultimately defeated and left by Nate to be killed by the remaining guardians. He and Chloe manage to carry Elena out of Shambhala while the city crumbles.

Some time later, Elena recovers in the village with Sully tending to her. Chloe bids Nate farewell, but not before advising her former partner to confess his feelings to Elena. After paying their respects for Schäfer, Nate and Elena rekindle their relationship and kiss.

## Reception

### Reviews

*Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* was released to critical acclaim. It holds a score of 96/100 on review aggregator site Metacritic based on 105 reviews, classified by the site as "universal acclaim". It is the highest-rated game developed by Naughty Dog, and ties with Polyphony Digital's 1997 title *Gran Turismo* as the highest-rated game published by Sony.

### Sales

As of March 2015, *Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* sold over 6.5 million copies.

## Legacy

The second game in what would become the *Uncharted* series, *Among Thieves* was followed by a sequel, *Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception*, in 2011. Both *Drake's Deception* and Naughty Dog's two final *Uncharted* titles, *Uncharted 4: A Thief's End* and *Uncharted: The Lost Legacy*, make references to plot elements featured in *Among Thieves*.

A scrapped scenario in *Uncharted 2: Among Thieves*, dubbed "The Mute Girl", later became the basis for Naughty Dog's next intellectual property, *The Last of Us* (2013). *Uncharted 2* also influenced Ready at Dawn's *The Order: 1886* (2015).

## References

1. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/uncharted-2-among-thieves
2. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/company/naughty-dog?filter-options=games&num\_items=30&sort\_options=metascore
3. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/company/scea?filter-options=games&num\_items=30&sort\_options=metascore
4. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/03/16/bloodborne-may-be-the-ps4s-salvation-in-2015/?sh=344a975b28d8
5. ↑ https://www.shacknews.com/article/80523/how-an-idea-from-uncharted-2-led-to-the-last
6. ↑ https://www.vg247.com/the-order-1886-inspired-by-uncharted-2