The Lab (Among Thieves)

The Lab was a selectable competitive multiplayergamemode in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. It was run by Naughty Dog.

Overview[]

Each edition of The Lab featured a variation on the standard competitive gametypes from Uncharted 2s multiplayer. The Lab was usually run for two weekends every month, once every fortnight. On October 16th 2010 an extra episode of The Lab was run to celebrate the first anniversary of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The Lab often coincided with cash multiplier events.

The Lab gametypes[]

Gametype	Date	Description	Available Maps	Cash Multiplier
2 vs. 2 Team Deathmatch	May 28 – June 1, 2010	Grab a partner for this small- to medium-size map mow-down. You've got 15 minutes to rack up 25 kills, or more than the other team, to prove your small-team superiority.	The Temple, The Ice Cave, The Plaza, The Village	2x
Shotguns & Pistole Only	June 11 – 14 2010	It's short-range mayhem as all players and maps spawn with Moss - 12 and Pistole only. Oh, and NO grenades.	The Temple, The Village, The Train Wreck, The Ice Cave	None
Sniper Extermination	June 25 – 28 2010	Two teams. Dragon Sniper rifles. One life per round. Best of 5 rounds takes the match win. Absolutely tense, totally tactical.	Unknown	Unknown
Plunder - Pistols Only	July 9–12, 2010	Plunder. But with Pistols only, no rifles, no power weapons. This should even the odds between the treasure bearer and his assailants as all will be equipped with the relative high-rate of fire and excellent accuracy of the 92FS - 9mm pistol.	The Plaza, The Sanctuary, The Train Wreck, The Lost City	None
Grenades Only	July 23 – 26 2010	Boom...	The Plaza, The Sanctuary, The Train Wreck, The Village	None
Co-Op Crushing	August 6 – 9 2010	Think you've mastered all of the Co-op modes? Give this episode of The Lab a try – health has been lowered to Crushing levels in a selection of Co-op Arena maps. This episode of The Lab was originally meant to feature Co-op Objective maps as well, however Naughty Dog announced that there was an issue that would prevent them from adding those maps.	The Plaza – Gold Rush, The Village – Gold Rush, The Lost City – Survival	None
No Power Weapons	August 20 – 23 2010	Can you still dominate with the basic tools of Uncharted 2 multiplayer? During this weekend of “The Lab” the only tools left in your arsenal are the AK-47, FAL, 92FS - 9mm, Micro - 9mm and the Mk-NDI grenades.	The Plaza, The Train Wreck, The Village	None
3 vs 3 Deathmatch	September 3–7, 2010	3 vs. 3 team deathmatch, with NO boosters.	The Sanctuary, The Train Wreck, The Temple	2x
Desert - 5 Shootout	September 17–20, 2010	In this episode of The Lab, you've only got your trusty eight-shooter, the Desert - 5, to rely on against your opponents. Players spawn with only one grenade, and no further grenades can be found in the maps. There are No Boosters in this episode of The Lab.	The Sanctuary, The Temple, The Train Wreck	None
3 vs 3 Plunder	October 1–4, 2010	Plunder is one of those gametypes where things start to get really interesting when you have less teammates to assert your domination over the maps. The tide can turn quickly and a lucky lone wolf can get the opening needed to take the treasure all the way to score.	The Plaza, The Sanctuary, The Temple, The Train Wreck	None
Best of...	October 16, 2010	As part of the one year anniversary celebration of Among Thieves, Naughty Dog are ran a very special, one-day only playlist rotating through your favorite episodes of The Lab – as voted for through monthly NaughtyDog.com polls. The gameplay variations available were: Shotguns Only, Plunder - Pistols Only, No Power Weapons, Desert - 5 Shootout, and Deathmatch – No Boosters.	The Plaza, The Sanctuary, The Temple, The Train Wreck	5x
2 vs 2 Elimination	October 29 – November 1, 2010	How do you make Elimination even more tactical? Reduce the maximum number of players on each team down to two. Teamwork, good communication and a sound strategy are absolutely necessary if you want to win rounds and matches. No Boosters, No Power Weapons.	The Ice Cave, The Plaza, The Temple, The Train Wreck	2x
M32-Hammers Only	November 12–15, 2010	You've experienced The Lab episode of Grenades Only to get your fill of explosives-only action in multiplayer. In that vein, Naughty Dog have focused one power weapon for this episode of The Lab, the M32-Hammer. Players spawn with 8 shots in their M32-Hammer, and some ammo can be found scattered throughout the maps. All other weapons, including grenades are disabled.	The Plaza, The Sanctuary, The Temple, The Train Wreck	None
Plunder - Snipers Only	November 24–29, 2010	A Thanksgiving special episode of The Lab featuring Doughnut Drake and Doughnut Lazarevic skins, and double cash! Starting from this weekend of The Lab, the cash cap was removed permanently from multiplayer.	The Lost City, The Plaza, The Train Wreck, The Sanctuary	2x
Best of...	December 22, 2010 - January 3, 2011	Same as previous "Best of..." playlist	The Plaza, The Sanctuary, The Temple, The Lost City	4x
No Power Weapons	January 14 – 18 2011	Due to the primary focus of developing Drake's Deception, from this date onwards the most popular old Lab playlists will be reused.	The Lost City, The Plaza, The Sanctuary, The Temple	3x
Sniper Extermination	January 28–31, 2011	Elimination – you're out for the round as soon as you've been taken out by the other team – but with Sniper rifles only.	The Lost City, The Plaza, The Temple, The Train Wreck	None
Shotguns & Pistole Only	February 10 – 14 2011	This episode of The Lab favors short range battles as all players are equipped with only a Moss - 12 shotgun and Pistole. There are no grenades and no other weapons available for pickup on the map, although you can still rock the riot shields and use propane tanks.	The Ice Cave, The Temple, The Train Wreck, The Village	None
RPG-7s Only	February 25–28, 2011	Normally only found within the All Competitive Modes playlist or within custom games, Naughty Dog decided to give "RPG-7s Only" it's day in The Lab. Following this Lab weekend, RPG-7s only was removed from the All Competitive Modes playlist.	The Ice Cave, The Lost City, The Plaza, The Village	None
Deathmatch - No Boosters	March 11–14, 2011	It's normal weapons, but no boosters in this edition of the Lab.	Unknown	Unknown
Snipers & Pistole	March 25–28, 2011	After removing Snipers and Pistoles from All Competitive Modes, Naughty Dog brought it back for its own Lab.	The Ice Cave, The Lost City, The Sanctuary, The Village	None
Deathmatch - Crushing	April 8, 2011 - TBA	Originally meant to end on April 11, 2011, this playlist is still running, and was never taken down by Naughty Dog following the 2011 PlayStation Network outage. A hardcore gametype variation of Team Deathmatch. The Crushing option sets player health at 80% of normal health - which means you and all your opponents are going to go down that much quicker when being shot at.	Unknown	None

Cancelled/Postponed Labs[]

Gametype	Planned Date	Description
M32-Hammers Only	April 29 - May 2, 2011	This playlist was postponed due to the widespread PSN outages. It was due to be run with a triple cash weekend. Following the restoration of the PSN, Naughty Dog have posted no further updates on the status of this Lab.