Uncharted 3

This game is draw first when it comes to games i am most looking forward to this year. I was pretty surprised to hear that there would be another Uncharted game so soon.


AAG's Uncharted 3 Info

Being one that gets bored with games too quickly, Uncharted 2 is one game that I couldn't put down and looked forward to playing each time I picked up the controller.

If Gears 3 wasn't coming out this year, Uncharted 3 would be by far number 1 on my most wanted list.

Yeah, I wasnt expecting it so soon either, but they cant do up the graphics much more than they already are so they dont have to spend too much time reworking the engine, just making some kick ass levels and great cinematic moments. Cant wait for this!

Uncharted and I have an unusual understanding. I don't like the protoganist, Nathan Drake, at all, yet I love the experience of feeling like an action hero. Call it a bizarre love/hate relationship leaning on a bit more on the hate but I still invite it into my home every now and then.

Darth Rahu wrote:

Uncharted and I have an unusual understanding. I don't like the protoganist, Nathan Drake, at all, yet I love the experience of feeling like an action hero. Call it a bizarre love/hate relationship leaning on a bit more on the hate but I still invite it into my home every now and then.

I love Nathan Drake. I wish i was as quick thinking and charming as he was

I think he's a stupid character. I mean, I love the idea of him, and some of his witty one liners, but all up, they tried to hard to make a character that young teens would be impressed by. For an MA game, he really is a M rated character. More like a horny teenager and someone thinking he's in a 90's action movie than an actual person. Not very believeable.

Who else could he be though? a manly guy like marcus fenix?
I dont think the game would be the same without him.

PureAussieGamer wrote:

Who else could he be though? a manly guy like marcus fenix?
I dont think the game would be the same without him.

Personally, something that humanizes him. As Drake stands now, he just comes off as a shallow action hero archetype. Sure he has some good one liners and he gives the impression of being a cool guy in cutscenes, then when you get to him saying one liners while killing a bunch of guys it makes him come off as psychotic. We know he's the descendent of Francis Drake, but what else about him? When did he start treasure hunting? Why does he have such a gleeful disposition when it comes to murder? What kind of tragedies did he have to suffer in order to grow into the rugged action hero we see him as? I'm not asking the series to go down Gritty Avenue, but something that makes Drake approachable would be nice.

Gordan Freeman in Half Life 2 is approachable, not just because he doesn't benchpress 450 and doesn't have regenerating health, but because he is a human character going against an inhuman enemy, The Combine. The Combine have taken over the world and have reduced it to an Orwellian fascist state. So what does he, or you as the character, naturally do? REVOLUTION!!! Bioshock's protagonist was approachable mostly due to it being a Blank Slate character, but also it's something to grasp onto when compared to the Splicers or the Big Daddies. Gears of War has you fighting against a slew of giant armored dinosaurs and alien fodder all to defend your lands. Basic, understandable relatability to the protagonists through gameplay and structure. Uncharted, when taken out of its Action Movie universe, is basically the story about a thief and murderer killing a bunch of thieves and murderers for a magic MacGuffin. Nathan Drake is the protagonist only by the virtue of there needing to be a protagonist, therefore making him appear to be likeable and relatable when in reality, he'd probably steal your car after shooting your dog if he heard that the dog's collar was a treasure map.

There is the excuse that the Uncharted franchise doesn't want to do this because it would probably lead to something dark and depressing. That the very appeal of the games is that it is a throwback to the Golden Age of cinema where everything was black and white, cops and robbers kind of a thing. Problem I have with that is Indiana Jones did this just as well, but didn't skimp on making Indy likeable and flawed. He's an archeologist, he has a rationale for protecting antiquities, namely for preservation and for getting some cash for doing so, it's WWII and he doesn't want the Nazis to get a hold of an ancient superweapon, etc. Nathan Drake by comparison, is out for money for its own sake, probably sells the treasure he finds on an open market, or black market, whichever pays better, saves the world and beats the big bad because he's not above slaughtering 600 men to get to a paycheck but when it comes to an ancient curse he must have the moral high ground.

I could go on but the point is, the Golden Age is past, I need more incentive to like a character in a video game other than him being the protagonist. The games are still fun and I will be playing Uncharted 3, but only as a time waster. The series has already shown it's not really going to revolutionize anything and is just focused on being entertainment, which I'm fine with, but please give me anything to rationalize Nathan Drake.

Darth Rahu.. That was immaculately spoken. Bravo.

Laxman wrote:

Darth Rahu.. That was immaculately spoken. Bravo.

Imagine if I had my own weekly column, lol! Seriously, though thanks.

wow thats deep darth, I never really gave much thought into what Drake does with his findings,

I gota hurry up and play the second before this bad boy is out!!!!

G_SE7EN7 wrote:

wow thats deep darth, I never really gave much thought into what Drake does with his findings,

I gota hurry up and play the second before this bad boy is out!!!!

Im sure darth could keep going for years.

I've never liked the Uncharted series, despite it's adequate game-play, for one simple reason. Drake is a douche. If I'm supposed to be the main character in the game, I refuse to be a jerk who kills people who want to steal an artifact to sell for a lot of money so that he can steal an artifact to sell it for a lot of money. Laura Croft didn't get away with that for long with fans, and she had the power of boobs. What does Drake have? The power of bad one liners that any hack can write? The power of the mullet like do of his? It's bad style waves seem to enable him to survive multiple bullet wounds, so it must have some power. I give the game-play but I give Drake

That and maybe TIGER GENOCIDE!

Drake kills people who try to kill him first.......

PureAussieGamer wrote:

Drake kills people who try to kill him first.......

Ah yes of course, that makes sense. As there is nobody to enforce the laws to protect Drake and arrest the criminals, you obviously have no recourse but to kill them personally. After all that's how EVERY hero solves their problems, with bullets. Just look at Spider-man and how he deals with psychopaths that threaten his life as long as they are alive, he ALWYAS kills them while spouting his famous one-liners.

Well i think drake is pretty cool. He gets the l-l-l-l-ladies

PureAussieGamer wrote:

Well i think drake is pretty cool. He gets the l-l-l-l-ladies

....granted. Isn't it fun to share opinions? ^_^

Well im t uhe lucky one. Because while the rest of you arnt enjoying the game to its full extent because of drake i am loving the game more because of drake.

PureAussieGamer wrote:

Well im t uhe lucky one. Because while the rest of you arnt enjoying the game to its full extent because of drake i am loving the game more because of drake.

Like I said, I can ignore Drake and enjoy the games, but in the long term of the medium's growth into an artform it just feels so insubstantial. It's like eating popcorn without salt or butter. Sure it isn't bad for you and there's enough to keep you busy but at the end of the night you aren't giving your compliments to the chef.

PureAussieGamer wrote:

Well im t uhe lucky one. Because while the rest of you arnt enjoying the game to its full extent because of drake i am loving the game more because of drake.

And there is the rub. If a character doesn't click with the player, the game isn't as good. If the player HATES the character (which has only happened to me a couple times) then the game suffers. However, if they players like the character, the game isn't negatively impacted, and if they love him, flaws will be overlooked. All in all it really depends on if you like the character or not, and that comes down to personal taste and interpretation of nebulous facts. If they fleshed out Drake a lot more and explained why he is the way he is, and does so in a way that makes him easier to support, I'd probably 180 my opinion of him. I want a character with depth. This isn't a blank slate 'player made' guy, Drake has a back-story, motive, and predetermined narrative. Can we get something to flesh him out? Please?