Emotional Contagion: Part 2...

The Road to El Dorado

Uncharted is a fantastic action-adventure platformer that charts the journey of Nathan Drake, the descendant of the explorer Sir Francis Drake, as he seeks out the lost treasure of El Dorado with the help of journalist Elena Fisher and his good friend Victor Sullivan. The protagonist is voiced by none other than Nolan North who brings Drake to life as he traverses dense jungles, decrepit caverns and dangerous waters in an attempt to find Sir Francis Drake's long lost treasure. The action is captivating, the world is beautiful and the story gets you hooked from the moment you sit down to listen. 

What got to me most about this game is how well it is structured to be an adventure for the player. I was still a teenager when I got my hands on it and as soon as I began playing I felt as if I was meant to be in the shoes of Indiana Jones. At no point did the action let up and as the gameplay progressed and the story continued to take me through multiple twists and turns, there was never point that I felt bored. I was rooting for Nate the whole time which lead me to believe that it was my responsibility to find Drake's Fortune and solve the mystery surrounding this treasure.

For those of you who have never played Uncharted before, here's a quick trailer of the events that take place as Nathan Drake hunts down the lost treasure of El Dorado.

Please fasten your seat belts, we're about to take off.

Taking names

Right from the get go you automatically know that Nathan Drake is a bonified badass. He's the epitomy of who every 12-year-old wants to be and every 20-something geek tries to be. He's athletic, can hold his own in a gunfight, talented, smart and has a tuft of hair that makes ladies swoon. When I first played Uncharted, for a few moments I could forget about who I was and step into the shoes of Nathan Drake the charismatic treasure hunter who isn't afraid of cracking a few skulls to get to where he needs to be. The game world itself looks amazing and Nathan Drake is nothing shy of a beautiful man. I say this because a lot of games that were popular at the time had the main protagonist as an unbelievably strong entity with incomprehensible powers and weapons that were imaginary to say the least. While this was all fun and games, Drake's Fortune was an adventure waiting to be had and I wan't going to be one to disappoint.

As the game begins, you are immediately thrown into the thick of the action fending off pirates trying to takeover your boat and Sir Francis Drake's journal with it. The player is almost immediately introduced to the gameplay mechanics having to fight for your life, taking cover and shooting at the so-called "bad guys". The way the enemies dress helps you differentiate them from those who are on your side. Even later in the game when the militant enemies are introduced, it is clear that their choice of attire is meant to outline them in the field of battle. Whether they're wearing loose tanks with khakis and flip-flops or military-grade uniforms with camo and combat boots - anyone with a gun is usually not your friend. The enemy AI is pretty good in Uncharted and made me feel like they were determined to get rid off me and have the treasure for themselves. This grew into motivation to play well and use the cover and shoot system in an effective manner in order to survive the pirates gunning to shoot me down. This was especially apparent as the enemies got smarter later on in the game to the point where I would fin myself dying repeatedly because I didn't play the game the way the designers meant it to be played. 

Personally, I'm the kind of player that runs out guns blazing and make a huge scene letting everybody know who I am and where I'm from. This strategy helps me gauge how large the playing field is, where I can hide, where the enemies are hiding, how long do I have before they shoot me down and what enemy types am I dealing with. In Uncharted this strategy seemed to work for the first half of the game, but as it progressively got difficult, I knew that I couldn't always use this strategy. Many times I would run through with the intention of dying just so I could figure out what I needed to know. Yes, the game can be difficult but it flows smoothly and is at no point impossible. It made me feel like a strong challenge was present and that a lot of people were relying on me to be smart and not head-in with brute force. I enjoyed the feeling of tension present in most battles and also liked that these moments were well balanced out with platforming and easier enemy groups that restored my confidence in my abilities. 

Thrill Seeker

So, apparently, Nathan Drake is invincible and has the dexterity and flexibility of the world's greatest gymnasts. I'm not trying to bash the game, I'm just suggesting that although Drake is the closest I've come to playing a human in a video game, he does have those "talents" that are unbelievably impressive and make the game feel a little unreal at times. Now I'm used to the protagonist being able to do a lot more then swing on vines, make incredible jumps and roll land without a scratch on him, but when Drake did so it seemed as though there were times when he was struggling too - whether by the grunting noises or the time it took to scale the face of a cliff. It is clear that he is human but surprisingly agile; I suppose most treasure hunters have to be. Still, there were times when Drake would fall off the edge and I would quite literally hold my breath hoping he was still alive. There were a lot of times when I completely forgot that I was only playing a game and that I could simply restart at the very next checkpoint. 

With that said, I was often tense to get from one checkpoint to the next and make sure that I did so with my health in tact and a sufficient amount of bullets at hand. The ammo can be considered plentiful in the game but the realism is really portrayed in the manner Drake picks up the enemy's weapons in order to reload and stock up. This adds fluidity to the pace of the game and make it feel like a real adventure where you must salvage your supplies and make sure you plan well before you decide to engage 10-15 enemies in combat. I was impressed by the realistic lack of guns you could carry and how scarce ammunition could be at times forcing me to make smart use of what bullets I had left or to think on my feet when I was out of ammo and had only my fists and the element of surprise to engage an enemy.

One of my favorite mechanics of the game's AI is the way in which they call out to where you are so that everyone will turn and shoot at you as soon as you've been detected. This pushed me to the edge of my seat and had me extra cautious when turning the corner or preparing to stealth attack an enemy at the off chance that I may be seen and the alarm bells would go off. There was many a time when frustration with the game set in after I would spend stretched of time stealthily making my way through the level to take down an enemy and a slight movement or glitch would let them know exactly where I was leading to my inevitable death. The idea of the colors fading out as you're losing health is a photo-realistic effect that held great value for me as I could at any point tell what my health was and knew whether to back away and hide or push forward to kill the final enemy before I could take a breather.  

Mastermind & Platformer

As with any adventure, Uncharted is littered with puzzles here and there that need to be solved with the help of Sir Francis Drake's trusty journal which will unlock a door, swivel a platform and lower you to the next step in your journey to finding the lost treasure. These puzzles are never really too challenging but need a good amount of thought to figure out, especially if you're like me and are well aware that puzzling is not one of your strong suits. I would get stuck once in a while especially because the puzzles are not in small contained areas but span large halls and abandon rooms requiring you to jump from one area to the next to turn a lever or push a pedestal in order to open the door. The challenge that comes from figuring out how to interpret the journal is even more rewarding. Once that finally piece clicks into place and the floor rotates descending into the abyss of mystery, there is nothing more righteous in the world.

I remember feeling the huge amount of satisfaction and pride in being able to navigate through a puzzle and unlock where I needed to go. Even at times when trying to figure out where to go can be a bit of a task, it was gratifying to figure it all out and get to where I needed to be. Yes, there were times when I wasn't sure that I had gone the right way, but that's the beauty of linear games - they're designed so that even veering off the path will bring you back sooner or later and the level designers of Uncharted did a fantastic job of making sure that players either knew where to go or were brought back to any fork in the road where a wrong turn was made. 

The platforming is smooth and responsive and it it usually very clear where to go. The designers do a good job of pointing out the boundaries of the level or restricting access to make sure a player doesn't go somewhere he isn't supposed to. Scripted events were some of the most exciting parts of Uncharted and is where the game's movie-like feel really shone. When things a rolling boulder is chasing you down or when you need to get out of a room before it collapses there's a really tension in the air and the soundtrack does an amazing job of reflecting the mood and tone of the action. Many a time I would be genuinely nervous to push a button or get to the other side of a bridge because I had no idea what was waiting. However, it was this feeling of unknown and the need to know how the story unravels that lead me to keep going and find out whether Drake would ever discover the treasure.

Twists, turns and complications

The story behind Uncharted is captivating, enthralling and had me wanting more by the end of it. There was many a time when, like most gamers, I would try to predict what would happen based on my experience with game stories in the past. Unfortunately, I was usually wrong and had no problem with this at all. One of the most shocking moments is when Drake discovers the mutated descendants of the Spanish people who came into contact with the giant gold statue and has to escape before they tear him to pieces. I did not see that coming at all and was pleasantly surprised that the game took a turn for the worse. Even when Navarro was able to steal the statue and kidnapped Elena, I wasn't sure what was going to happen or what Drake could do to stop him. But I kept playing and knew that the game had to end on a good note - I just didn't know what note that would be. 

Of course there were times when I knew exactly what was going to happen, but even then the writers didn't portray it in a cheesy or corny manner - instead they depicted well and treated the plot point in a manner in which they knew the player would be able to predict the outcome. This was quite impressive to me and kept me playing to find out more and see where it all came together. The gameplay complements the story and sequences such as the speedboat race to the end was well scripted and had me engaged at all times. I grew quite fond of the characters, especially Sully who seemed like he knew what he was doing and was always there to back up Drake if he ever got into trouble. Eddy, Elena, Navarro and Roman were all casted very well and made me feel like these were real personalities with whom Drake was interacting.

In Conclusion

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a whirlwind of an adventure that took me through jungles, caverns, old dilapidated Spanish ruins and the deep dark underground in the search to find the lost treasure that Sir Francis Drake strived to keep hidden. This game made me want to be an explorer and go out seeing the world and all it had to offer. It made me want to dare to be great and regret nothing. Nathan Drake is an absolutely fascinating character with a lot of traits I wanted to have growing up and even though I saw the game through the eyes of a 15-year-old, it is still an impressive piece of art that is so well made that it combines great story-telling with immersive gameplay to form what looks like a movie and plays like a game. 

Uncharted was an amazing experience that still takes me back to my days of imagining I was more than I ever thought I could be - dressing up like a treasure hunter and running around the house jumping from couch to couch because the floor was hot lava. This game brought me back to my childhood and allowed me, for a brief 8 hours, to be the kind of person people make movies about.