All Things UNCHARTED

UNCHARTED; Drake’s Fortune through the eyes of a newbie

UNCHARTED; Drake’s Fortune through the eyes of a newbie

September 20th, 2012

Do you remember the first time you fired up your PS3 with UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune inside? No, neither do I. I remember how I felt at certain section and moments, but that’s about it.

Drake’s Fortune came bundled with the PS3 that my husband and I bought together. It was in the days before considering children, and a dog was out of the question as we lived in a flat. I was in the “do we *really* need a PS3, dearest?” camp. He was firmly in the “yes we do” camp. But he found the perfect way to persuade me; the Drake’s Fortune trailer. SOLD.

But that was five years ago. I’ve long since wondered what it would be like to come to the game with fresh eyes. The other day, a tweeter named Sarah Anderson came to my attention. She had very recently acquired a PS3, for the first time, and guess how she took its cherry? Yeah;

I thought it would be interesting to keep a record of some of the ensuing tweets, as they have been both witty and insightful. I approached her to ask if she would mind after she completed Drake’s Fortune, and she was happy to let her ‘ramblings’ be made into a piece for All Things UNCHARTED. Reading the tweets as they were posted was fascinating. Sarah’s responses were eerily similar to some of my own. Here is her story:

Which is a comparison that has oft been made by many. (For those not in the know; ‘Captain Tightpants’ refers to Mal Reynolds of Firefly; played by Nathan Fillion.)  

It is tempting to respond; “Get used to it!” It there is one thing Nate consistently takes with him it is lazy companions. There is one notable exception, of course, but in the interests of keeping this as spoiler free as possible; I won’t mention who. You lot all know, anyway, I suspect. There is a moment in the early stages of Among Thieves in which Nathan suggests that his buddy might like to switch a particular object off, and the buddy in question responds merely with a raised eyebrow. Of course; the game is making the player do all the work, not Nathan; it would take away player fun if the AI was too helpful.

It doesn’t matter how often this game gets played;that view *has* to be admired. And the fact that Nate is sitting down tells me that Sarah had been admiring for a little while, too.

Just need to take a moment here…

Funny; the chemistry between Nate and Elena is strong… but… I’m gonna say it… at this point I thought… Nate was too much of a dick for Elena to be interested. True story. It didn’t take long for that perception to change, but I didn’t always like him. Something about the way he spoke to her while they were digging up the coffin didn’t sit well.I thought she could do better. Turns out he was just crap at flirting.

I think we all do that. And you’ll soon find it hard to say “yeahhhhh….” in any other way than the exasperated tone of a woman who has been frequently told that someone “didn’t think that far ahead!”

“I am getting good at this!”

It’s a great game for that. The controls put the player with Nathan, rather than have them simply move an avatar on screen. It feels natural. They are also designed to be a little forgiving. You don’t *have* to time your jumps perfectly in the same way that you might with Tomb Raider, for example. This was a design decision made in order to keep the immersion unbroken as much as possible. It’s as much about the story as it is about getting from ‘a’ to ‘b’.

Another product of how natural the game feels. I talk to Nate. I also argue with him, and tell him off.

She knows how to take care of herself. (See the punch to the face in the preceding scene!) That punch was in fact an ad lib, or rather a suggestion made by Emily Rose. “I feel like I would want to hit him there…” And so it came to be. Not that hitting people in the face is the only measure of how capable someone is, I think it is fairly obvious that Elena is not your average girl-to-save. It is a nice detail that Nate needs her along at the start in order to essentially fund his project; she is there for a reason, and Nate needs her. And she was not going to step aside and let him just get on with stuff; she will stick her elbows out until she gets what she wants. So much respect.

There’ve been a few times that I felt a little bad about throwing him off a cliff. Seems a shame. Nolan North tells a funny story about how following a disagreement with him, his wife sticks Uncharted in their PS3 and repeatedly hurls him to his doom. Pretty cool way of releasing some anger.

Elena rules. Kudos to Naughty Dog for making such an awesome and strong female character without being all “THIS IS A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER! (TM)” about it. They just got on and did it. And as a result Elena is brilliant.

“I said ‘mind the cliff!!!'” “I see it!!!”

Hmm; jetski sections. They divided the audience, didn’t they!? They give a nice variety, but there are bits where you can only creep forward (“creep and peep” as my driving instructor would say) and blow stuff up. And that isn’t as fun as going at top speed all. The. Way.

Love ’em or hate ’em the jetski sections brole up the game effectively

One thing Nate isn’t good at is romance. I am pretty sure he is good in the sack (he’s had enough bloody practice) but is seemingly unaware when a ‘suitable’ woman comes along. Bless him. Actually; there’s an entire thesis waiting to be written on Nate’s inability to read ‘the signs’. He has already admitted to Sully that he finds Elena attractive, however much he might have blown his chances with her.

The scene that Sarah is referring to here, in case you can’t place it, is that moment when Nate and Elena find the shipping manifest. Nate touches Sir Francis’ ring that he wears around his neck, and Elena asks if it is “somebody special?” Nate responds “you could say that” and procedes to tell the story and explain the significance. This is one of the many times that we are shown just what his heritage means to him. His chest puffs out, and he smiles a very proud smile. It’s a significant moment in Uncharted history.

Heh. Can’t imagine Nate beating the crap out of Sully.

I may have warmed to Nate over the course of the game but this point is the moment that I fell irrevocably for Nathan. It is a predictable and old joke, but Nolan North’s delivery makes it stand out.

A pack? In a moment it’ll be a few more than a pack… This is another aspect that has divided fans; some felt ill-equipped and unprepared for the sudden change in playstyle. The Spaniombies (which is the preferred term amongst their kind) put me off for quite some time. I almost rage-quit for good. Eventually I came back to the game and completed and the rest is history. It seems Sarah got through a lot quicker! They are pretty scary…

I think that *was* the joke. Or at least the best he could do at that point. Cut the guy some slack, Sarah. Sheesh.

I may not remember what I felt when I first put Drake’s Fortune in, but I sure as hell remember *this* feeling!  


Nathan has nothing. Atoq Navarro has everything.

Reading Sarah’s tweets was like reading my own mind. That. Reaper. Battle was infuriating. As were parts of the battle with Navarro. My gosh, just wait till you try it on Crushing difficulty, Sarah…


Subverting the genre, or denying us what we want? The BBC’s 1995 version of Pride & Prejudice (with Colin Firth) invented and wrote in the entire wedding scene and carriage snog just for the viewers; satisfaction. Naughty Dog wrote in an interruption from Victor Sullivan. Grr.

And I’ll leave you with my favourite tweet of all;

Sarah has just begun her playthrough of UNCHARTED: Among Thieves. I will almost certainly document those tweets, too, assuming they are of the same calibre.

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