107retrostationQIs there a better opening level on PS3? Hell no. QNate and Chloe make quite the sarky, sexy duo. QTen years on, the train shootout is still incredible.
ow, this is what we call
trainspotting. Forget
fawning over timetables
for the Caledonian Sleeper
from London to Inverness
or Ewan McGregor
flushing himself down theloo; when it comes to electrifying choo-
choo antics, Nathan Drake’s first sequel
is king. From an instantly iconic opening
where Nate scampers up a suspended
carriage to an astonishing locomotive
shootout, Naughty Dog serves up all
the train thrills.
Thanks to these riveting railway
sections and another dozen incredible
set-pieces, Uncharted 2: Among
Thieves has a strong claim to being
the best action adventure of all time.
Following Nathan and a ragtag band of
scoundrels – including the acid-tongued,
awesome Chloe Fisher – as the fortune
hunter searches for the mystic city
of Shangri-La, this sequel set an
impossibly high bar no subsequent PS3
game could quite vault over.
Not only does Drake’s Nepalese
thrill-ride boast the tightest pacing of
any entry in the swashbuckling series,
it serves up a chapter so exciting, not
even Uncharted 4’s most epic action
sequences can match it. You may have a
soft spot for Nate and Sully’s mad-dash
jeep chase through King’s Bay, but even
that bombastic joy ride can’t compete
with Among Thieves’ 13th chapter.
With ‘Locomotion’, Naughty Dog
arguably created the most exciting level
in PlayStation history. If that statement
makes it sound like we’ve just boarded
the Hyperbole Express, we’re fine with
it. A breathless, sustained firefight
that sees Drake battling gun-toting
goons across the carriage roofs of the
world’s longest locomotive, it plays out
like an interactive version of Indiana
Jones And The Last Crusade’s first ten
minutes... minus the deadly pythons.
Uncharted 2 is more than one iconic
set-piece, though. Over the course of12 to 14 hours, Naughty Dog takes you
on an amazing globe-hopping adventure.
Be it battling pirates in the sweltering
jungles of Peru with Sully in tow to
crack wise (“You brought a hooker to
church?”), barely surviving as Drake
enters into a cat-and-mouse chase
with a brassed-off tank, or fighting
feral yetis with new pal Tenzin, Among
Thieves has more killer moments than
any other PlayStation title we can name.
Want a perfect example of the series’
intoxicating blend of bantering moments
followed by ludicrous set-pieces? Just
take a couple of early chapters that see
Nate and Chloe sauntering and shooting
their way through a war-torn Nepalese
city. One second they’re flirting among
the wreckage, prayer flags fluttering
overhead, the next they’re scrambling
across balconies and falling through
crumbling buildings trying to escape
a homicidally committed helicopter.
The moment after that? Why, they’re
playing Marco Polo in a hotel’s rooftop
swimming pool. Obviously. When it
comes to subversive, constantly playful
pacing, Naughty Dog is the master.KING OF THIEVES
Though the series would continue
to deliver even grander set-pieces- Uncharted 3’s cargo plane fight,
anyone? – Among Thieves remains
Nathan Drake’s finest moment.
Combining an exhilarating single-
player campaign with addictive online
shootouts, Uncharted 2 might just be
the most perfectly balanced package
in PlayStation history. Can The Last Of
Us Part II dethrone it as Naughty Dog’s
best game? Cross everything.
Every month we celebrate the most important,
innovative, or just plain great games from
PlayStation’s past. This month we hop aboard
the most exciting sequel in PlayStation history
courtesy of Nathan Drake.
Great Drake off
Uncharted 2:
Among Thieves
CLASSIC GAMEDRAKE’S NEPALESE
THRILL RIDE HAS THE
TIGHTEST PACING OF
ANY UNCHARTED.