PlayStation Community Reflects on Iconic Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for 15th Anniversary

Sorry, but I find this game overrated. Gameplay mechanics are nice and presentation is bombastic, but the story is total bollocks. I played it in 2022 for the first time and forgot about it after finishing. However, Uncharted 4 is so much better in EVERY aspect.

@Max_the_German I agree. This was arguably the beginning of "OMG it's like I'm playing a movie" presentation overriding games being games. The presentation was amazing at the time but the gameplay was repetitive and bland and the story started great, then went way off the rails and the ending was bizarre. The tibetan backdrop was great though.

People rave about this one but I've always felt 3 was actually a much more cohesive, and therefore, better game of the original trilogy.

Edit: But Chloe/Claudia Black really stole the whole show. But then she did it again in 3 and 4 lol 😂

Great game and back then this game was one of the reason to own a PS3.

I have very special memories with this game as it got me back into gaming. I just got my first salary. Having that amount of money at once was tempting, so I bought a PS3 because why not, you got to treat yourself, right? I liked playing on PlayStation 1 and 2 although I hadn't done so in maybe 2 years, so what could go wrong? What ended up happening was I used my PS3 primarily as a Bluray player and didn't really game on it. Some day, I saw a very brief snippet of Uncharted 2 and thought: I loved Tomb Raider back in the day, so that looks fun, pre-ordered it on Amazon and forgot about it for months. Later that year, I had knee surgery and was released home. The doctors said I need to rest the leg for another 10 days, so: Just chill and don't move unless you absolutely have to. But man was I bored. The next day my grilfriend came home with an Amazon package and I absolutely didn't know what it was since I hadn't ordered anything. Obviously, it was my Uncharted 2 copy. Although I was so done with gaming at the time, the boredom took over, so I popped it in and started playing. The game reignited my love for the art form, so it holds a very special place in my heart. Uncharted is one of my favorite franchises until today.

@NEStalgia I Think you mean Lost Legacy she wasn't in 4.

What an era! My favourite by far.
GTA IV, Uncharted games, GOW3, Killzone 2, MW1/2, BFBC2, TLOU, RDR, etc.

The era where everything had grit. The writing, the visuals, the physics, the gameplay. Everything had weight and they weren't afraid to offend.

Modern gaming is like that SpongeBob episode where he lost his personality and shape

@dschons
Love the story man

@Derbiss Appreciated. Love me some gaming nostalgia memories myself.

I don't love that so many games have followed that formula, but, Uncharted 2 is phenomenal. Some of my favorite setpiece moments in gaming, even today. A great story, colorful cast of characters, fun combat sequences. And visually was a treat at that time. Easily was my Game of the Year pick in 2009.

@McTwist spot on man. There was something about almost every game, the physics, the story, the visuals (though not crisp), even smaller games had so much more weight and personality compared to many AAA games in the modern age. Hopefully after this graphics craze phase is over we go back to that innovation and wonder we had in the PS3/X360 generation.

This series is greatly missed. They need tocmake a new one ASAP and INCLUDE a multiplayer

@Max_the_German "I played it in 2022 for the first time"

I mean that says it all.

@dschons
yeah.. i've got a ton of stories (i.e. God Of War was my best friend while my wife and first born were sleeping.. Kratos helped me through some though nights but those are the things you would like to tell while drinking something

@TheArt Yes, without sweet nostalgia

@Max_the_German "but the story is total bollocks"

Can you tell me what exactly your problem with the story to the point you think it's 'total bollocks'?

Some dreadful takes in these comments.

@PuppetMaster This video reflects my views pretty well:
https://youtu.be/V3OzuGcRa4Q?si=bkBm9B9_a98R5TGN

Was only really a fan of sports games until I played this. Played GTA 4 around the same time too. Both stunning games for their era. Great memories

Easily one of the best opening scenes ever in gaming history.

@Max_the_German "Yes, without sweet nostalgia"

Bingo. The most passionate defenders of games that have aged like milk are people who played them when they were younger. The nights were long, the summers warm, and their favourite game with their favourite mates was on their monitor. Everything looks better through that lens (which is why Remasters aren't a bad thing if done correctly).

A review for a product from someone fresh rather than someone who has played it forever is always likely to be more objective.

My favourite game in the series one of the very few games that when I re play it I still get the thrills of the first time I played it

An absolute masterpiece as far as I'm concerned. The single player was fantastic in just about every single way and still holds up very well today.

And that multiplayer. Ohh that multiplayer was sublime! This and AC Brotherhood were all I played for like two years until Uncharted 3 came out!

This time was the peak of gaming as a whole for me. Games had awesome single players and experimented in interesting ways with multiplayer. I do miss when not every single multiplayer game had to be a big giant GaaS game. Good times.

@Max_the_German I'm asking your opinion, not what some youtubers thinks / feel about the game. Oh well, just forget it.

@PuppetMaster Hey, don’t get rude. The plot has many holes and is as kitschy as Amy Hennig could make it. I am mature enough to expect some art, i.e. some insight into the human nature. In my opinion, Neil Druckmann could deliver that with Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us, Ami Hennig with Uncharted 1 and 2 not.

Uncharted 2 among thieves.is a masterpiece.easily one of the best video games ever made.word up son

@Max_the_German LOL

Uncharted 4 might be better in gameplay terms, but NEVER story wise.

Uncharted 4 is just a Neil Druckman TLOUist game, not a good Uncharted game. Such a forgettable game.

Uncharted 1 - 3 are fun to play, really what videogame needs to be. Uncharted 4? Just an interactive movie.

@Max_the_German Nothing to do with nostalgia. You just wouldn't feel the same impact it had on the industry, playing it in 2022.

That train chapter was the best thing I ever saw in a videogame at the time. Awesome stuff

Still one of my all-time favorites. It, along with the rest of the series, is also why I'm primarily a PlayStation gamer. Special times back then.

It's too bad PlayStation was too busy remastering and remaking games that are less than 10 years old. Remastering the first 3 games to at least put them on the level of 4 and Lost Legacy would've been great, and even updating the gameplay a bit to the more modern level of them too. So I guess in the end remaking. I'd happily pay for that and play the collection all over again.

I hated Uncharted 2 back when it came out. It represented everything I didn't like about 7th generation gaming.

I've since lightened up, and can appreciate it for what it is. But it was still one of the weaker "masterpieces" from the generation. Gunplay was Gears without impact. In-combat traversal was interesting, but underutilized. Story was decent for a game at the time, but mediocre compared to the blockbusters it mimicked. Storytelling was "listen to this good dialogue while playing boring, nothing gameplay." Platforming was on-rails. Puzzles were stupidly simple (they actually had a genius mechanic with Drake's journal, but it just spelled out exactly what you had to do instead of something more like Tunic).

Music was good. Presentation was good. Writing was good (not plot, writing). Visuals were good. Combat was okay. Egregiously overrated game, if you ask me. But I see why people love it. I'd still take inFamous or Resistance above it any day. Or Gears of War. Or Super Mario Galaxy.

@Max_the_German Yeah playing the game completely out of context will do that.

I thought Pac-Man was kinda meh too, when I first played it in 1995.

@Areus Whoops, yeah, 4, lost legacy, kind of part of 4...technically a stand alone expansion, lol.

Uncharted 2, definitely a favorite of mine. This game here is the main reason why I like the series so much.

Such an amazing game, with such a horrendously awful trophy list. As someone with less than no interest in multiplayer who bought this for more of the same single player epicness the first game brought, slogging through those god awful online trophies was an infinite chore. Then they repeated the mistake with 3, and made it even worse with 4’s tacked on horde mode trash. All multiplayer trophies should have been in a separate list so as not to ruin the experience for everyone who didn’t want to be bothered by that slop. Makes me shudder to think what sorts of trophies the game director will allow them to shoehorn into Uncharted 5.

I'm replaying the series this year (just finished U3 this week), and those games holds up so well. The simple and elegant gameplay is so addicting and compact. Uncharted 2 has the best setpieces of the franchise in my opinion, with the best story in U4. A great franchise, so proud of having the Playstation consoles to play this!!

I love the entire series. Uncharted 1 was the first game that made me feel like I was playing an interactive movie (not a negative term in my book) and its visuals, animation and set pieces blew me away in 2007. Uncharted 2 was great, but I found Lazarevic to be an uninteresting antagonist. The gameplay, graphics and the other characters were all highlights, though and I replay the entire series come summer every year. It just feels like watching an entire series of perfect summer flicks. Imagine that ND released 4 games over PS3’s lifespan and zero for PS5 through 4 years of its existence (remakes and remasters don’t count for me)… Depressing.

Not much argument to say that "Among Thieves" is better than "Drake's Fortune" but I think "on the map in a way that the first game didn't quite manage" is a bit of a stretch.

Uncharted 1 was the first "OMG, PS2 couldn't do this!" event of the PS3/X360 era.

Shame the PS5 hasn't had a similar title.

@sanderson72 the loading times in Spider-Man 2 or Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, please let me know which other PS3 or PS4 title could do the same

@Skeletor85 PS4 Pro with a 6GB/s SSD counteracts much of the loading time issues?

Nothing on the PS5 has wow-ed me in the way that Uncharted: Drake's Fortune did back in the PS3 days. You knew we were in a new generation whereas this one has been a bit 'meh'.

@NEStalgia I played the trilogy in order not too long ago and just felt like the story of 1 and 2 are basically the same. Antagonist has unlimited number of goons willing to die for them, they always manage to stay 1 step ahead of Drake & friends, they find the mythical object/place but turns out it comes with strings attached that happen to be supernatural in nature, boss fight, antagonist dies, Drake walks away with nothing.

It baffles me why Uncharted 2 specifically gets all the praise.

Uncharted's sequels were much more improved upon and played better than the first game but Drake's Fortune will always be my favourite.

@Cry_Zero its not really a secret , but wasn't the last word that the new studio based out of san degio was working on the next uncharted game? not sure why they haven't announced these games yet.

@Max_the_German it's not about nostalgia, it's about time and place. Uncharted 2 is not some powerhouse game compared to what we get today, but back then it was revolutionary in many ways. A totally impressive, amazing spectacle that was a must play

@twitchtvpat yeah thats been reported a while ago :/ hope that turns out to be true

@Max_the_German don’t let the nostalgic fanboys get to you. Yes, the visuals and set pieces were impressive back in the day, but the story was a boring cliché and I really disliked the supernatural elements in the last levels. And don’t get me started on that final boss fight…

@Korgon I'd play the Uncharted 2 multi player and the Assassin's Creed multi player if they relaunched it now, not all these live service ones!

@sanderson72 when you pressed O to roll through the water and his shirt would get wet and dry in real time.

@ryanburnsred That‘s actually a great comprehensive description of the plot structure! There are reasons why Amy Hennig was dismissed in 2014.

@Cry_Zero hopefully we will hear soon. it would be a great way to promote the pro to announce what their studios are working on.

@ryanburnsred "Drake walks away with nothing"

Actually. The 1st game has Drake, Sully, and Elena walks away with a bunch of treasure chest from El Dorado. For the 2nd game, Drake walks away with Elena which the lesson behind the story about the person who cares and love you is more precious than real treasure.

And while 1st and 2nd game story beat looks similar which is pretty much the standard that you will found in most sequels in entertainment medium, both story is still interesting and enjoyable to follow while provide some nice twist about legends like El Dorado and Cintamani Stone.

But the reasons why many people prefer UC2 than UC1 or why UC2 got more praise than UC1 is because it has better graphics, better set piece, better pace, better writing, more replay value with very fun co-op and multiplayer mode, and memorable new characters like Chloe and Tenzin that became fans favorites.

@ryanburnsred @Max_the_German actually the Uncharted series captures the story structure of serial films from the 20s to 50s and pulp magazines. Where Indiana Jones kept in that era, uncharted imo translated that style successfully to a contemporary setting. Amy Henning is a competent storyteller and that slander concerning her departure is way out of place, especially if you judge the story without understanding (or disregarding) what it's based on.

@ryanburnsred I think it's because its presentation was such a wow factor at the time. Uncharted 1 was samey and shades of brown, but 2 had that "Hollywood" look to it with interesting setpieces and all. It's a fun time, it's popcorn entertainment, but it's nothing particularly special outside how impressive it's presentation was for its time. The gunfights were all protracted and very arcade shooting gallery-esque in 1 and 2 as well.

Is there news of any ps5 remaster of the 1st 3 games?
It could be cool with newest engine tech, and remake some parts maybe, especially 1st game

@NEStalgia Uncharted 2 was my first entry into the series, mainly because even at the time it was really talked about fondly so I got off Amazon but couldn’t get into it back then and so I didn’t play it properly until the remastered collection came out on PS4. I enjoyed my time with it but going from 1-2-3 I can see the refinements Naughty Dog made and so Uncharted 3 ended up being my favorite one.

@tameshiyaku that makes sense. Thanks for the context. I could tell they definitely were going for a certain style which wasn't a problem to me. I still enjoyed the games, I just couldn’t really understand the immense fondness for Uncharted 2 specifically. Reading through the comments tho puts a lot of it into perspective. I guess for me my Uncharted 2 is GTA 4 so I understand.

@Vault_Mcfly agree! Druckman, talented as he may be, didn't understand the project assignment (and Max neither). Still liked the game, but it missed the fun and the momentum of the first three. Putting an entire high quality trilogy on one system is an amazing feat. Those games should rather be remade than tlou over and over again.

I remember, it had pacing that made me excited to play, fun treasures in good spots to find them, it had good puzzles, fair shooting segments/mechanics that improved per game, grenade improvements in 3 I can take or leave, it was clear what to do (3 I needed the guide for the knight puzzle or some others though the late game ones in 2 do stump me but I eventually work it out),

the balance between puzzles, shooting, platforming, walking around to take it in (when they have calmer moments i don't look around I like to play the game not take in the art because I already see it I don't care to stare at things like some devs would like us to I don't care about that), location details were fair, it was good linear design that balanced itself well, dialogue/humour, and more.

Uncharted to me was an action adventure movie sure but still a game I wanted to play and enjoy, later games PS4 era unless Knack or Gravity Rush or odd other stuff most I don't like on the PS4 at all it's my least favourite PlayStation of all of them and PS5 even more so. they are so differently paced and for such a different audience, and systems I don't like, level design I find boring and the dialogue/audience demographic or focus on story I don't find engaging then other stories.

I just have no interest in them at all. So I don't mind Uncharted or some other PS3 era IPs cinematic or not if they are FUN TO PLAY or found Primal, 24 The Game to be fine, I think The Getaway or Jet Li or others are probably fair too (don't own) for that before Uncharted type of approach.

Pushing things a bit of cinematic or teen/mature audience focus more then they have now as their players have grown up or to appeal to a casual audience.

Nobody gonna talk about the awesome multiplayer on Uncharted 2? Common guys!!

Part 2:
But now it's too much and I don't like any of the 1st party at all anymore, I won't touch the PS5 family have so I don't even have to spend money and still don't want to use the console, eh groups then folders, eh navigation, no games of worth (not as in the PC side of things I don't think about PC I don't mind them being on PC at all)

Or there isn't any 3rd parties I even want to play on it either, racing..... platformers..... shooters..... anything Indie or AA/AAA that isn't trend following, empty feeling of mechanics and other game design priorities instead in their games so why would I play them yeah that's my problem with them the level design/movesets/mechanics are so boring and dull. Presentation means nothing to me of art assets or scale/illusion when linear. Pacing in linear, less boring quests in open worlds or more playground level design.

If the structure or inputs/mechanics are bland, boring and not exciting. It's like with music I don't care what lyrics you have unless they put a spin on it or the sounds/structure of using the instruments/electronic sampling is enjoyable otherwise it's just forgettable, structure first not simple and boring and pushing lyrics/human element I don't care I don't like singing I like instruments/sampling and sound design.

I want gameplay not basic gameplay and boring level design/pushing visuals and boring to play characters that have boring stories and boring abilities (don't have to be a super hero just have some moves or some items that are fun to use to navigate or combat).

Besides what Space Marine 2 and it's fine of PS3/360 design campaign and fair MP modes but no MP features to prep in campaign. It will be a fine game even if obvious what structure it follows of new/samey in the first one.

Unless Bluepoint or Bend offer something worth while (doubt it with Bend as will like Days Gone while cool with the swarms no interest in that game and Bluepoint it's different times then their remasters/remakes or their first original game I don't think they will have anything that exciting either but I hope they do) or even Media Molecule's next game I'm passing on 1st party.

Astro isn't for me Astrobot is not the way I want games to be while Rescue Mission/Playroom were better games in certain aspects.

Sackboy was a 3D World clone with ok ideas but not that great.

Rift Apart is just too safe of Tools of Destruction and just too much marketing or safe/alternate elements of the world. It's so safe and boring.

GT7 is just GT5 and FM6 levels of boring, it has it's moments but is just not the set from GT Sport that I came around to slightly same as GT5 & 6 but 7 just digs it deeper with parts of GT5 and FM6 I didn't like besides it's new ideas and eh it's awful. It has more variety then competing racing games that are even blander of modes/event types or fun factor (Wreckfest is fine but a sofa/bus to drive and wow races/derbies.....

Very light there even with no licenses at all, very light on content, I know was a kickstarter but even still even Flatout had that bit more to it let alone Juiced or other games with like 3+ drift modes, most games nowadays have 1 drift mode and it's so basic game design I can't even be bothered with racing games unless they are 5-6th gen only) but it's just as disappointing too.

@Wallace80 I enjoyed the MP chapters of Uncharted 3 more.

Never played online MP of 2 or 3 really just more so 3 wave after wave or the story chapter scenarios I found those fun. It's why I keep my PS3 copy as PS4 version doesn't offer it.

A time when you got a fully fleshed out single player game and a multiplayer component that wasn't designed to just keep milking you for money.

@NEStalgia Chloe isn't even in 4.

Uncharted 2 blew me away in 2009 and it's a game that will always stick with me and have a special nostalgia to it. This mario 64, ocarina of time, metal gear solid, soul reaver, the last of us, halo 1, god of war 2018. Arkham asylum, bioshock are all there too.

A masterpiece can get a little dated but if you played it when it was in it's prime you will always remember it

@rusty82 Yeah, I meant Lost Legacy which is technically 4 standalone DLC.

@NEStalgia yeah suppose you're right lol