The Uncharted Short Film Might Just Be The Best Video Game Adaptation Ever!

It’s rather comforting to know that the universe’s perverse and quirky ways are sometimes capable of espousing genuine moments of delight. In this case its the somewhat belated image of seeing Nathan Fillion effortlessly portraying everyone’s favourite buckler of swash and perennially accident prone scoundrel, Nathan Drake. His long prophesied arrival has been heralded to such a venerated standard that his eventual, albeit brief portrayal as Drake is almost like the second coming for his fervent acolytes. And I have to concede that they may have been right.

If anything this fan made short has the potential to be the manifestation of the symbolic proverb etched onto Nate’s ring “sic parvis magna”, roughly translated as “greatness from small beginnings”. It’s doubtful however that Sony will view this as anything other than a curiosity, not vindication that the talent used to create this is in any position to influence a franchise. Which is a shame when you consider the passion evidenced here.

Stephan Lang as Sully was an inspired decision, certainly not an actor I’d considered before, having championed Bruce Campbell for the role. But the mannerisms and gravely cadence was so accurate that you can only assume that he played, or at least watched clips to accurately depict Sully, moustache and all! Some of the shots used here are also lifted straight from the game. There’s one moment in this where Drake launches himself through a second story window, remarking with a familiar Nathan Drake line, with camera panning round as if it were the interjection between the end of the cut scene and the start of the Gameplay. I audibly gasped at that! The pre-game camera angle is so explicitly evocative of the game that I almost reached for the controller to prepare for the inevitable conflict?! These kind of directorial nuances have clearly been developed by people with a passionate affinity for Uncharted, and Allan Ungar must take credit for this as he is clearly a fan of the series.

It’s a passionate effort, executed with all the charm and reverence you’d want from an Uncharted adaptation. It’s a little too goofy at times, with Fillion sprinting as though his got a turtle head poking out his butt and the joke’s sometimes land about as well as the punches, but the tone is so on point you could balance it on a pin. Nathan Fillion proves what many fans have expressed so vehemently for years: that Nate 1 and Nate 2 are almost interchangeable. You can tell by his performance that Fillion has wanted to do this for years.

The “Be careful what you wish for” warning is a trite proverb often expressed as a cautious deterrent to the folly of one’s proclivities to possess something they may later regret. But this was always an adage I’d firmly applied to Nathan Fillion’s casting as Nathan Drake, and despite such a commendable effort here I’m still of the opinion that Nathan Fillion, though more than capable of delivering those acerbic comedic lines is just too old to portray Nathan Drake for more than one movie. And let’s be honest Sony isn’t going to endorse such a product if it only has limited, finite appeal and can’t be marketed as a series. I still maintain that opinion, though I’ll admit that his age, physicality and humour certainly fits the Nathan Drake we see in “A Thief’s End”. To me his casting is 10 years too late, with this 15 minute short demonstrating what could have been, not what could be.

Still I’m not sure it really matters. The intention here wasn’t some passive coercive attempt to force Sony into making a Nathan Fillion Uncharted movie, but to scratch an itch that has irritated many of us. It’s fair to say that this particular itch has been well and truly scratched. I think we all feel better for having seen it.

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What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below. Cheers.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. My First Impressions.

You maybe surprised to learn that I’ve been playing “Uncharted:The Lost Legacy”. As if a connoisseur of this franchise wouldn’t be engaged in another exhilarating exhibition of wilful genocide?! The provocateur of many dangerous expeditions, demolisher of precariously constructed structures, eradicator of rare mythological antiquities and hoarder of every Uncharted Platinum. It’s good to be back! Espousing the wretched deeds of a man with the sheer tenacity and fortuity to destroy every last archeological city/ruin/ship he’s ever discovered. Despite this concentrated level of callous destruction Nathan Drake remains an endearing, if accident prone rogue with all the charismatic distinction that made Nate him such an affable protagonist. Sadly with the retirement of Drake into matrimonial domesticity the Uncharted franchise has pandered to the aspirations of feminist vocation, further diminishing the influence of modern masculinity by replacing Nathan Drake with Chloe Frazer. A women. The inferior gender with none of the rugged strength, intelligence or flatulence that makes man a much more viable option for heroism. And it’s glorious!
I’ll miss Drake, of course I will but Chloe isn’t merely a replacement but a necessity. She has always been one of my favourite supporting players so to see her in a more prominent role is deeply gratifying. Her omission in “A Thief’s End” may have been necessary, but it was a glaring absence that betrayed her more illustrious presence in Uncharted 2. Here she’s as sharp as she is wryly. Focused and unyielding yet compassionate and vulnerable. The abrasive dynamic between Chloe and Nadine infuses their tentative relationship with a fluctuant chemistry never explored in the series before. They argue and bicker yet support one another to achieve their mutually independent goals. I’ve yet to finish Lost Legacy, so I’m reserving further analysis until then. But for my money, not that I have any, this could be the start of something new. Nathan Drakes tenure as Uncharted’s chief architect is over, his personal fortune found. But Uncharted itself may have discovered a whole new legacy to commence.

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What do you think of “The Lost Legacy”? Let me know in the comments below. Cheers.

Uncharted 4: Survival Review.

Uncharted’s multiplayer has always been flaunted as a rather enigmatic expansion to the series more provocative singular presentation. A curiosity promoted to distract rather than attract. I was always more concerned with delving into the main campaigns story first and maintaining a consistency within its confines that would help me complete the game on it’s more challenging settings. I’d engage in an occasional flourish in team death-match, but nothing more than a periodic flutter. Only once I’d concluded Drakes story could I dedicate all my attention on maintaining a reasonable kill/death ratio in deathmatch, shouting and hollowing like a banshee that had stubbed their toe on a table leg every time someone got the better of me, which was a lot – with impunity. Chiefly though I prioritized Co op as I gained far more satisfaction from downing hordes of enemies when part of a small contingent. I relished exerting dominance over the artificial subordinates by collaborating with a formidable group that endeavoured to preserve the integrity of our assembled party. Whether it was healing downed confederates or providing covering fire to assist an infiltration of enemy resistance, I just couldn’t get enough. No two games were ever the same, especially if you yielded to the lottery of randomized partners. You had to gauge the temperament of your allotted team and either harness the awesome power of fidelity to ensnare the advances of opposing forces, or consolidate your position to prevent the less than proficient teammates from perishing. It was a delicate harmony that either endured or faltered, and I loved it. So you can imagine my disappointment when Uncharted 4 failed to incorporate a co-operative mode into its multiplayer…..until now.

It’s exclusion had been a lingering blight since its release so to finally play it felt a little daunting. You realise very quickly that this is a very different interpretation than what we’ve seen and played before. Primarily focused on wave based enemies – at least for the time being – the transition from Uncharted 3 to this are subtle, yet refined. Wave based Co operative play has always had its limitations in creative iteration, with many horde based multiplayer variations largely composed of similar, sometimes exact formulas. It’s not necessarily a criticism especially if you enjoy competing in progressively complicated duels, and it’s great that NaughtyDog has seen fit to at least engineer something slightly different from familiar mechanics. But it’s like favouring a stove to boil water as opposed to a kettle; in either case they both do the same thing. And even though Uncharted Co op veers off to separate tangent it ultimately leads to the same destination in the end.

The goal is simple; survive a varied range of tasks over the course of 5 waves, on 10 different maps, with increasing difficulty in the quickest time possible. You’ll be rewarded with a star rating ranging from zero (slow) to 3 (perfect) which you’ll need if you want to progress to the more difficult settings. You’ll also gain experience that will help improve gun and mystic efficiency as well as increase defensive capabilities. The waves themselves consist of a variety of tasks, most notably survival; killing a specified number of targets within a time limit. Siege; whereby a set number of enemy deaths will only register if you reside in a designated area on the map. As well as less exposed modes like treasure hunt; collect 100 treasures while also avoiding the deluge of aggressors spawned to prevent you. Marked Man, which is self-explanatory really; kill the marked man. Some arbitrary tasks are spiced up by applying specific regulatory compliances, such as only being able to use pistols or melee to vanquish foes. But by far the most exciting as well as challenging features is the boss battles. For me, this is the highlight.

“The Boss battles can get quite intense, so you’d best be prepared!”

They are intense and easily the most fitting boss battles the series has ever had. It’s strange that despite the series conceptual prowess and scripted cinematic fluency it has always struggled to incorporate boss battles that don’t feel forced. Perhaps it’s the contemporary setting and the way in which conventual villains are dispatched with succinct ease that makes a traditional boss battle feel out-of-place (much like the bullet sponge militant you come across on the train in Uncharted 2), yet here it fits perfectly. Watching the health bar appear, subsequently dominating the top of the screen and slowly diminish as you fire round after round into them gives the player an indication of the severity of the situation, creating an intense frenetic encounter that engages the participants to actively work together to overcome the skeletal remains of Uncharted’s most prestigious pirate colonists, and the duplicitous founding originators of libertalia. Though I should mention that not every level concludes with a boss battle which does detract from the overall challenge of some of the stages. Even so each individual must rely of aggression and evasion as well as skill and inventory to succeed, the latter of which can be altered at select caches across the 10 distinct maps. Ammunition is scarce so you have to choose your ballistics carefully, adapting weaponry to deal with the increasing severity of enemies.

The medium setting, which is the lowest viable setting you can have if you want to team up with other players comes courtesy with automatic aim assist, which helps isolate targets with expedient efficiency. Potential targets will be automatically highlighted when you aim, and as long as the camera is pointed in a vague direction you should easily despatch the hordes of enemies rallying against you. The problem now though is that your ability to effectively neutralise enemies with headshots will be greatly diminished as you now have to forcibly manoeuvre the reticule with sustained firing to stand any chance of successfully puncturing their temples. You can turn the auto aim function off – and on more difficult settings it’s required – but you become less effective as a result. It’s a vexing anomaly that irritates rather than ruin, but still an irritation that would’ve been easily avoided. The pursuit for 3 stars can be an exercise in futility too. It only takes one error, one misplaced jump, targeting the wrong adversary and your quick time is compromised. You have to make split second decisions that could increase or expedite the time. Say for instance you’ve run out of bullets for your preferred gun; do you circle round to the nearest convenient cache and restock, wasting valuable seconds. Or take whatever gun is available in your immediate vicinity but sacrifice the comfort you’d have from retaining your preferred weapon? It’s a difficult choice to make, and one that could inhibit that near perfect score you so desperately crave.

Most games would rest on their laurels, snuggle with them like a comfort blanket and just pass out, proud of their glowing achievement. NaughtyDog however seem motivated to reward the loyalty of its community and provide free updates that benefit them. You could argue that the Survival Co op should have been a day one inclusion rather than a later addition, and if it had come at a cost I’d probably agree. The lack of local Co op may irk some, but considering that I don’t actually have any friends (is that a violin I hear?) kinda negates its inclusion. Overall Uncharted 4’s Co op is a sturdy, if at times repetitive addition. It differs greatly from what I was anticipating, which on balance is probably a good thing. It may not necessarily be what I wanted, but it may very well what we needed.

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Uncharted 4’s “Survival” mode is available now as a free update.

What do you make of the new Co-op mode? Let me know in the comments below. Cheers.

Not All Gaming Moments Are Created Equally.

Some moments in gaming are so iconic that they become part of the cultural heritage, enriched by the verve of the participants who experienced it. It could be the death of a character, the defeat of an enemy or that hard fought victory you remember with distinct clarity. At times many of these pivotal instances are significantly personal, a subjective view and an attribution to you’re own individual preferences. Something benign, subtle or perhaps even marginalised by the conventions of more ostentatious moments. For you, despite the inert dynamics it imparts something more refined, more identifiable, more you. Nothing illustrates this point better than one of the less dramatic scenes in Uncharted 4. It’s not a relevant plot point, it doesn’t advance the story, it isn’t even that important. Hell it’s only an optional conversation that can easily be missed. But to me this innocuous scene of brotherly companionship is one of the more endearing moments of the game. It’s just two brothers taking a brief rest to reflect on what they’ve achieved, what they still have to accomplish and just how similar, yet different they are as siblings. Though the entirety of the conversation transpires in a long since absent tavern on a deserted, Utopian pirate island (yes I’ve just realised how absurd that sounds) the discussion they’re having is so disarming, so mundane that you could almost imagine it occurring in a pub garden on a tranquil Sunday afternoon or at the end of a family Barbecue. NaughtyDog realise the futility of generating repeated interference’s of hostility. That the continued escalation of danger can sometimes have the opposite effect on the player. They understand the limitations of the violent conduct perpetrated by the ensemble cast of murderous psychopaths can be offset by customary bouts of tranquillity, and that articulation can be just as potent as any deadly conflict. Of course that’s just my opinion. If you haven’t played Uncharted 4 (quite frankly I think it’s time you left if you haven’t?) then this short segment probably isn’t going to make much sense. But I guess you’re here now so you may as well take a look while I make you a drink. Is a beer OK?

Uncharted 4…..Finally!

I’ve been patient. Very patient as it happens. Applying a rigorous discipline to my naturally agitated mindset. Enduring years of resigned vacuity, two delays and possessing enough games in my library to play so I wouldn’t be thinking about so much until finally, FINALLY, Uncharted 4 was mine! But I’ll admit that’s it’s release coincides with my own self doubt about its credentials. I’ve been complacent with my quality control before when it comes to purchasing new games, estimating something great and getting Destiny. Anticipating a unique new IP and getting Watchdog’s, taking a metaphorical dump in my PS4. There are multiple considerations that go into concluding whether or not to purchase a game. Stylistically does it meet you’re specific requirements? Is it a genre you’d feel comfortable participating in? Does the developer have a good track record of producing exciting, compelling games? Is it developed by EA or Ubisoft? In which case let’s mock and jape their squandered self respect. But from a consumer perspective you don’t want to have to research every conceivable facet. Posturing the distinguishing characteristics, calculating the differentiating variables that roughly determine the ratio of good and bad. If we did that then buying games would become more convoluted than the previous sentence! It’s difficult to evaluate a games quality without diminishing the mystique of an unreleased game. The unknown variables that determine whether or not a game is a good, surely that’s part of being a gamer?

Uncharted 4 is a game I would’ve purchased regardless of general critical consensus. It could’ve been lambasted to the seven circles of Hell and it still would have received my financial backing. It’s a pretty ignorant (and hypocritical) philosophy to have I realise, to buy something regardless of it quality. It’s the one issue I believe consolidates all of the acrimony distributed by major developers, who fail to produce worthwhile content because people such as myself will routinely buy it despite everything to the contrary advising you not too. This kind of preferential prejudice is indicative of people who just want to play something good, something they hope a developer has dedicated time an effort to coordinate a game of substance. And you can’t blame gamers for being passionate and wanting a game to be good. But developers ignorance is a discussion for another time, this is about my fears for Uncharted.

I deliberately initiated a separation between myself and any commercial endorsements, trailer’s, previews, reviews, fan speculation or coverage of any kind as much as I possibly could. Not easy when so many people are discussing it. I’ve had exposure to very non specific sequences that really only clarify how exhilarating the games excerpts are, the overall structure of the narrative and the tension the game is looking to evoke. At the same time I’ve derived my own conjectural theories, constructing inaccurate hypothesis concerning the recipient of the suggestive “Thief’s End” title for one (I’m hoping its still a reference to Drakes ancestor, Sir Francis. But now that I’ve played it, or at least a portion of it I can say with absolute certainty that my fears were completely baseless. From the diverse environments, the rich engaging dialogue, the self referential nostalgia, characterisations and even a very unexpected, inception like reference to Crash Bandicoot, or “Drakeception” if you will–that had me cackling like my drunk mother at a family barbecue, Uncharted 4 is everything I could’ve wanted. The game is a little more mature than previous instalments, yet retaining much of the levity and gratuitous cinematic fluency that has made it so endearing to fans. The thing is is that I’m invested, I’m concerned and I truly care about these characters. I’m always concerned for their welfare. The anxiety I felt was so potent though that it prevented me from playing it for a whole 5 hours after obtaining it! Which really is a credit to the creators for constructing a game series of such immeasurable pleasure, that I genuinely feared that I was going to lose some of my best friends. I’m only about half way through, currently pillaging a Scottish cemetery but can already tell this is going to be one emotional journey, one that I know I’ll finish and go right back to the start to play all over again.