Day 17: Uncharted 2 Among Thieves

"Well, seeing that we talked about Sucker Punch's badass treasure hunter yesterday, how about we talk about Naughty Dog's take on a similar character in the Uncharted series. But which one to talk about today?"

Lyra: Look alive, jerk!

(Lyra throws an Uncharted game at my head)

"Will you stop throwing games at my head!"

Lyra: I'll stop when you make another chapter!

"Whatever! Let's just see what you gave me."

(I look to see Uncharted 2 Among Thieves)

"Let's do it!"

Uncharted 2 Among Thieves is another great example on how to do a video game sequel. Namely taking elements from the first game and making them even better. How does Uncharted 2 do better? Well, let's see: You have villains that are more memorable than the first game, set pieces that are more memorable than the first game, and gameplay that's more fair than the first game. Yeah, I'd say we have a pretty good sequel on our hands.

The story follows Nathan Drake as he and his partners, Victor Sullivan, Elena Fisher, and new character Chloe Frazer, as they search for a treasure in the ancient city of Shambhala. However, the villains of this game, Zoran Lazarevic and his associate Harry Flynn (who so happened to be an associate of Drake's at one point), are looking for the treasure too. The treasure in question that the villains are looking for is sap from a tree in Shambhala called the Tree of Life so Lazarevic can consume it and become immortal. Now it's up to Drake and his friends to stop Lazarevic before he accomplishes his goal. This story is very Indiana Jones esque, but then again this is Uncharted, a game series where you play as a badass treasure hunter, so it's only expected that this game would be inspired by it somewhat.

Like I said, the set pieces in this game are a huge upgrade when compared to the first game which is primarily set in the jungle. Among Thieves does have Drake trek through jungles and ancient ruins, but now he's making his way through ice caves, museums, villages and cities, and of course the ancient city of Shambhala, all of which look amazing. Seriously the graphics in this game are among the best on the Playstation 3, and while I haven't played the Nathan Drake Collection on PS4 yet, I can imagine that they look even better on there.

Most of this game's action sequences also give off a feeling that the stakes can get really high. There's one part in the game where you have to hide from one of Lazarevic's tanks that's destroying a Tibetan village. The game ends with a fight between Drake and Lazarevic as the city of Shamahla is pretty much falling apart. The game starts with Drake in a train wreck in the Tibetan mountains. Naughty Dog really knocked it out of the park when it came to level design.

The new characters this game introduces are also really cool. Lazarevic is a cold and calculating war criminal whose intimidation you feel every moment he's on screen. Harry Flynn takes a page out of Neyla's playbook and is quick to backstab Nathan Drake early on in the game, though at least he has some respect as he doesn't intend on turning on Lazarevic…whether that's because he actually respects him or he's afraid he'd kill him if he tried you be the judge. Chloe Frazer is the double agent who chooses to help Drake and company, while pretending to be on Lazarevic's side. And there's also Tenzin, the leader of a Tibetan village who helps Nathan Drake in his quest.

Gameplay is simple, yet effective for the game Uncharted 2 is. You see an enemy, you shoot him with whatever weapon you have. On that note, Uncharted 2 has a pretty good collection of weapons at your disposal. Contemporary weapons, explosive weapons, all for the sole purpose of stop Lazarevic's plans. Furthermore, on the subject of the enemies, fighting them feels more fair when compared to the first game. In the first game, they had perfect aim and there was so many of them. Here they don't hit you as often or as hard, most likely due to the improved cover system, and there's not as many enemies to take out in a single area.

To wrap this up, by adding new and more interesting characters, creating bigger and more beautiful set pieces and story, upgrading the gameplay, and giving us the best graphics the PS3 could muster, Uncharted 2 Among Thieves is among the best PS3 games and my second favorite Uncharted game.