Uncharted Charm

Maybe it’s because I can’t stand to play game sequels without playing originals, but after hearing about the success that Uncharted 2 is getting on the store shelves, I had to Gamefly it up with the first game in the series.

I’ve heard a lot of comparisons to the witty dialog of “most cancelled” show Firefly with this game. Naturally, as a Firefly fan I really had no choice but to check it out, and the comparisons are spot-on. The hero with the whipsmart humor is there, the moments of seriousness coupled by hilarity are present, and the whole idea that the entire adventure is a random stumbling moreso than a grandiose epic is also felt. You combine this with a healthy dose of Indiana Jones and you get Nathan Drake.

Action heroes are things that I grew up watching, but they always seem to turn out the same in the end – decently good guy-ish (even the anti-heroes), noble, and most certainly a bit bland because of it. Action games, by comparison, are not quite my cup of tea all the time because of this – playing the popular ones such as Gears of War and Halo, among others, was more of a “brain turn off, kill things” pastime rather than me paying attention.

Uncharted seems to change that perception with Nathan Drake’s whimsical journey to track down the treasure sought by his ancestor, the famous Sir Francis Drake. The remarks that Nathan makes, even in the midst of a firefight, add flavor and humor to my overall experience, and his penchant for artifacts is coupled only by his equal tendency to get into a load of trouble. It made what could have been a standard action game much better, and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something different on the PS3.