Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)

The roguish fortune-hunter hero Nathan Drake returns in Among Thieves, a high-adventure follow-up to the original Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. In action, Drake employs a movie-set worthy of the most daring video game tomb raiders and relic hunters, with agile running and jumping, light hand-to-hand combat, and a noteworthy talent with small arms. These skills are put to use as the hero once again finds himself adventuring in the wilderness, facing a tricky location-based platform puzzles or vastly outnumbered by bands of violent, heartless bandits. The game runs on the developer's own engine. The character is designed to move with a smooth, realistic flow as he runs, sneaks, climbs, and fires his weapon from nearly any position -- behind makeshift cover, or even while hanging by his fingertips from high on a cliff face or treetop vine. The action shifts seamlessly from one scene to the next, with no loading screens.

In this adventure, Drake seeks answers to the mystery of Marco Polo's lost fleet. Great riches and wisdom are tied to the fate of ships and treasure that left China with the famous explorer at the end of the 13th century, but did not arrive with him back home at his final destination. Although Marco Polo took the secrets of the lost ships and crew to his grave, Drake seeks answers on a journey through history, to the fabled Himalayan valley of Shangri-La. The key to the mystery may be a legendary sapphire, known as the "wish-fulfilling jewel." Magical properties or no, the billions of dollars the stone would be worth in modern markets should be enough to make nearly any wish come true. In addition to the main single-player story, the game features cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. Among Thieves was developed by Naughty Dog, the studio that created the original Uncharted as well as other successful Sony-system exclusives. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide