If you haven’t figured it out by now from my constant reviews of superhero movies, I’m a bit of a nerd. This expands beyond caped crusaders and the daydream of jumping off a building, superhero landing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwUilIo036g), and saving the curvaceous damsel in distress. As far as I can cognitively remember, I’ve loved video games. I used to play the golden Zelda cartridge on the NES, take control of a speedy blue hedgehog on the Genesis, catch all da Pokémon on my Gameboy, overcome Sephiroth on PSOne, and yeah.. You get the picture. By the time my little brother was of age, I had someone to utterly dominate my gamer prowess over! Then he grew up and started beating me, but I’m convinced he cheats. With today’s technology, teaming up with the squad online or frustratingly cursing at inanimate objects as Baltimore Bob doesn’t get called for fouls on FIFA, there are plenty of games out there that captivate me even more with old school single player modes.
A series I was introduced to some years ago by one of my good friends, was PlayStation-exclusive Uncharted. In the vain of Lara Croft, the series chronicles the adventures of Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter full of the savvy of Indiana Jones and humorous charm of Johnny Knoxville. The games incorporate a heavy amount of parkour-like platforming as well challenging firefights, puzzles, and truly interesting storylines.
So the game was released this past Tuesday (May 10th, 2016), and unfortunately I didn’t get to play it that much during the week. But mark my words, when I set my mind to do something, I can do anything (kind of)! I really started to grind through the story mode Friday after work and with stoppages to sleep, eat, hang out with some company Saturday, and watch soccer (Come On You Gunners!), I found myself finishing the story Sunday afternoon on the normal difficulty. You can say I didn’t take advantage of the weekend, but I say I stand before you accomplished!
(Some spoilers ahead so tread carefully!)
What can’t I say about how awesome this game is? The first thing that jumps out at the perspective player is how damn beautiful the game is. This becomes very apparent when Nate is transferred through a Panamanian prison to a heavily forested area where he’s urged to find a missing piece of treasure. The forest is gorgeous, but the developers also present equally beautiful settings in Scotland and Madagascar (two of the main locations for action). The settings are but a backdrop to the main characters, of course. The expressions are perfect when they speak and interact with one another. You could mute the TV and be able to clearly understand what feeling the character is conveying in their expression. The ability to do so is nothing new, but few games have really been able to pull this off as seamlessly as this installment of Uncharted.
As aforementioned, the game play consists of a lot of parkour. It’s very common for our beloved titular character to scale dilapidated buildings, clock towers, or most common: mountains. This is a heavy party of the game and thanks to different sequences, settings, and built in cinematics, it never really gets old. Perhaps it’s been too long since I played the previous three installments, but the firefights got a lot more difficult. Let me first be honest in saying that ‘shooters’ are the type of games where I’m the most pathetic. I don’t do much Call of Duty, I play Halo for the story mode, and my gun slinging on The Division and Borderlands gave me false hope in my abilities. My lackluster shooting aside (which ended up at 32% when I finished the game), the gunfire/combat sequences were a lot harder this time round. One was urged to use stealthier strategies as improved AI prompted targets to rush, flank, and act a cohesive unit. In games past, I can remember just staying in cover and slowly picking off my adversaries. This is by no means a knock; I liked it when I was debating trading the game in out of poor bitterness. The only thing I did not like was the inability to stay in cover and move around the corner of cover whether it be a crate or door frame. It’s a minor qualm, however.
If the gameplay or beauty of the game doesn’t enthrall you, I promise the story will. It would help to play the previous installments prior to jumping into this game, but you wouldn’t be lost without it. Max Payne, DOOM, and Mario Bros all had embarrassing motion picture adaptations of them created. This game is like a movie in itself. You’ll feel emotional attached to the characters who have very human qualities. Nathan’s character design now has touches of grey as the years of perilous treasure hunting and adventures are starting to show. From the onset, we’re introduced to his internal struggle to lead mundane married life while the temptation to do what he loves still lingers. We’re introduced to a brother whose own misfortunates prompt Nathan Drake into a serious of decisions that could jeopardize his friendships, marriage, and life. It’s really riveting stuff, but do not fret! The classic one liners and subtle humor are sprinkled throughout. Maybe a movie will never be made for the series, but this game sure felt like one. One that would get a Gone With The Wind-esque rating from Ebert! (Maybe not that far, but who isn’t prone to hyperbole)
I haven’t gotten a chance to explore the multiplayer mode at the time of penning this, and I don’t need to. If anything, it’s just an extra cherry on top of a rich, exquisite cake of a game. It’s not my favorite game of all time as the sentimental value of Brys Shepard’s final voyage in Mass Effect 3 will be hard to top, but I’d be foolish to not acknowledge it as one of the best I’ve played. I hope there’s a lot of ton of juicy DLC to follow. Until then, go get this game. And if you haven’t played the prior installments, find a way to get your hands on those too. Perfection.
4 out 4 crabs!
For more from The Louisville Beat:
