Last Christmas I went and bought myself a Playstation 4, along with Spider-Man and Uncharted 4. My experience with gaming prior to this had been sporadic at best (a little bit of Kinect Sports, Just Dance and Mario Kart really) but over these past 7 or so months I have really enjoyed immersing myself in the world of PS4 gaming. As a complete newbie, I thought I would write about my experience with the games I have been playing and where better to start than with arguably the best Playstation exclusive franchise: Uncharted.
Before deciding to buy Uncharted 4, I watched a few cut-scenes on Youtube and was immediately struck by the likeability of the characters, the witty writing and the sense of old fashioned Hollywood adventure. I played the last game in the series before playing any of the others so the learning curve was very steep (I couldn't even shoot without lock-on aiming and struggled to find my way through the climbing levels).
Despite this, I was amazed at how much Uncharted 4 felt like a big budget Hollywood movie, and to be honest, better. I knew nothing about Nathan, Elena and Sully and yet by the end of the game I felt incredibly nostalgic about something I had not even grown up playing. When Playstation gave out the first three games for free as part of their quarantine game giveaway I knew I had to go back and play them all...
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is definitely dated, especially coming off the back of the fourth game, but I was still impressed by the PS4 remaster- the jungles looked lush and the character motion capture and voice acting still shone through as the highlight of this game.
We are introduced to Nathan Drake who is on a quest to find El Dorado. With Drake stuck on an island, the game mainly consists of climbing and killing a never ending flow of bad guys. The shooting sections definitely dragged, not specifically because of how many there were, but because the game doesn't set up who the villain is and what the stakes are. Luckily, actors Nolan North (Nathan) and Emily Rose (Elena) are charismatic enough presences to carry even the most repetitive of shooting levels.
The third act took a wild turn that really felt like it came out of left field. The hilariously dubbed 'slippery naked men' creatures were low-key terrifying and walking through underground hallways in the dark was so stressful. I definitely died a lot during this section, which was frustrating, and the controller was more than a little sweaty by the end.
All in all, the first of the franchise might hold up as the weakest but its introduction of Nathan Drake feels instantly iconic. He's a modern day Indiana Jones/John McClane hybrid- the swashbuckling yet every-man adventurer.
Uncharted 2: Honor Among Thieves
By the time I reached Uncharted 2, I had been watching Nolan North's YouTube channel Retro Replay alongside my progress. I was becoming more aware of the context of the games, and specifically how popular they were. Hence, my expectations for Uncharted 2 were sky high, since the game has often been dubbed one of the best action video games of all time.
Uncharted 2 definitely has the tightest pacing of all four games. No section drags on for too long and the story is always moving forward to a particular destination, in this case the quest to find the lost city of Shambhala.
Everything feels like a step up from Drake's Fortune- the graphics, plot and action all are noticeably improved. The highlight of the game comes in the form of a shootout on a moving train, a level that barely feels dated at all. Much has also been said about the 'in medias res' opening of the game, where Nathan wakes up in a train wreck, suspended over the edge of a cliff, with the audience having no idea how he got there. The way the game kept flashing forward to this was compelling and provided a nice change of pace compared to the narratively linear first game.
Much like the first Uncharted, I was not a fan of the random supernatural creature reveal in the third act- it just felt like an excuse to have opponents who were harder to kill and shooting dozens of bullets into one enemy felt ridiculous.
Having said that, the final scene of the game, a conversation between Elena and Nate, is one of my favourite endings ever. Their improvised dialogue is so charming and makes me smile every time I see it; the characters are definitely the highlight of the entire franchise.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Much has been said about the drop in quality from the second to the third in the franchise, and whilst I can now recognise the issues with pacing, I didn't feel that whilst playing it. My main gripes were with some frustrating combat sections where I found myself dying again and again, unable to kill the bad guys (who sometimes take what feels like hundreds of bullets without faltering!) and also the plot, which didn't feel nearly as gripping as Uncharted 2 or 4.
The following complaint will apply to all Uncharted games, and that is that the game didn't have enough Elena! Elena Fischer is one of my favourite characters now, and I love it when Nate is paired with her and Sully. Having said that, I really liked the beginning of the game, where we get to see Uncharted 2's Chloe again as well as the new addition of Charlie Cutter, who I thought was a really likeable addition to the crew.
The action set pieces of the game is where Uncharted 3 stands out- 'bigger and better' seems to be the motto here. We have a plane crash, a horseback chase, a sinking ship and several foot chases all of which were incredibly thrilling to play. I was particularly delighted when I discovered I would be able to chase a convoy of vehicles on horseback, just like Indiana Jones or Lawrence of Arabia. All of this is set to Greg Edmonson's incredible score which has made so many moments in the trilogy so epic.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Revisited)
I am now in the middle of a replay of the fourth game, now equipped with a knowledge of both the gameplay (no lock on aiming for me, sir!) and the character history. And all I can say is that I am even more blown away by this game. It takes its time with longer cutscenes which can slow the pacing, but this really sets the emotional stakes for the relationship between Nate and his brother, Sam (played by veteran motion capture actor, Troy Baker).
From the beginning, it felt like I was at the helm of a Hollywood action flick, set to a rousing score by one of my favourite film composers, Henry Jackman. The pacing isn't quite as tight as the second game (there are stretches of exploration that go on for too long) and I can now recognise how much of the action has its roots in the previous three games but the attention to detail here is breathtaking resulting in an incredibly polished game.
The jump forward in motion capture is mind blowing. Due to the addition of facial capture, we now get to see micro-changes in expression, all beautifully performed by the main cast. As one of the first games I ever played on the Playstation, it set the bar unattainably high for everything else in terms of performances.
All in all, Uncharted 4 isn't just a world spanning quest to find pirate treasure; it's also a story about two brothers and growing up. The action is epic, the characters lovable and the graphics are insanely stunning. It's one of my favourite video game experiences so far.
It's insane that seven months ago I had no idea what Uncharted really was and now here I am worrying about the upcoming Tom Holland Hollywood adaptation, wishing they could just make a motion capture feature with the original cast. The writing across all four games is so witty (there are so many quips that I adore), the performances are brilliant and the action set pieces are thrilling. As a lover of adventure movies, I am so glad I gave Uncharted a go because each game was a genuine blast.
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