I Need Bigger Pockets.

[rionaleonhart]

Uncharted 3 is tonally and thematically quite a weird game, compared to its predecessors. The first Uncharted is very much 'Whee! Treasure! Explosions! Adventure! Fighting bad guys!' The second game is similar in feel, but with some darkness beginning to creep in around the edges; we begin to see that innocent people can get caught up and hurt in the wake of the destruction that follows Nathan Drake around. And then the theme of the entire third game is 'Nate, what the hell are you doing? You need to reassess your life before your stupid hobby gets everyone you love killed.'

It feels like the Uncharted series got a bit older and began to question its own existence. I wonder whether the fact that the third game was in development at the same time as The Last of Us had anything to do with it.

So I find it very difficult to imagine the Uncharted game that's supposedly in development for the PS4. Will it follow Uncharted 3 chronologically? Can you follow a game with the main theme of 'Nate, you have to stop going off and getting yourself shot at by millions of dudes for the vague possibility of treasure' with a game in which Nate goes off and gets himself shot at by millions of dudes for the vague possibility of treasure? Probably not. So will it be a prequel? Will it be about someone other than Nate?

I hope it's not about some random new treasure hunter with no connection to Nate at all. Unless it's, say, alternate-universe treasure hunter Ellie from The Last of Us. I'd be able to live with that.

I suppose Naughty Dog will probably end up surprising me, whatever they do. They do like to surprise. Uncharted 3, the third title in their ridiculous explody action game series, has a startlingly emotionally complex story. Jak II: Renegade, the sequel to gentle platformer Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, is basically Grand Theft Auto. I'm expecting the rhythm action sequel to The Last of Us any day now.


I've been watching a playthrough of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, incidentally, in the absence of a Vita. Nate's amazing pep talk to his companion when they're climbing around on ancient masonry: 'It's like the playground! Except if you fall here, you'll probably die.'

(Also pretty great: 'There's no such thing as an easy charcoal rubbing. You rub too hard, you tear the paper! You can get charcoal dust in your eye!')


In The Last of Us replay news: I love that Joel picks up Savage Starlight comics for Ellie. (He said 'I bet Ellie would like this' the last time I picked one up, and it was so fond.) Space is possibly the most precious thing in their post-apocalyptic world; you only have room to carry seven rifle rounds, for goodness' sake. But Joel will pick up these comics whenever he finds them, purely for the sake of giving Ellie a fleeting moment of enjoyment. I think that's a really charming detail.

(For charming detail appreciation purposes, let's ignore the fact that, despite limited space for supplies and weapons, Joel perplexingly seems capable of carrying every scrap of paper and Firefly pendant he comes across.)

Comments

[kadrin]

Maybe - and I'm talking through my hat here - the next one will be "Nathan Drake, these millions of dudes and I will shoot at you if you don't go out for the vague possibility of this treasure we want", and then he has to balance the fact that he's having a lot of fun going out for the vague possibility of treasure with the whole under-duress and possibly-being-shot-at things. Then he will meet Joel and Sully will give Ellie a ride in a helicopter.

[rionaleonhart]

I cannot tell you how much I need to see Ellie having a ride in a helicopter. She'd be so excited. Fortunately I'm going to get to see it in Uncharted 4, because I am immediately adopting your suggestion as fact.

[thebaconfat]

I have been thinking about watching a Golden Abyss playthrough, but feel like I might just get mad at the lack of Elena.

Can you follow a game with the main theme of 'Nate, you have to stop going off and getting yourself shot at by millions of dudes for the vague possibility of treasure' with a game in which Nate goes off and gets himself shot at by millions of dudes for the vague possibility of treasure? Probably not.

hahahaha I'm really curious too. I am kind of hoping for a return to 'Whee! Treasure hunting!' -- Uncharted 2 is definitely my favourite -- but I have heard rumours that the plot for 4 involves

(feel free to not read the rest of this if you don't want to know anything, I'll leave a space here)






-- an old companion of Nate's being out for revenge because Nate left him for dead.

Which doesn't sound particularly whee! But the plot of Uncharted 2 doesn't sound particularly Whee! either, so I'm continuing to be hopeful.

I would also like a game that is basically a fusion of Red Dead Redemption and Uncharted, where charming but ridiculous bank robber Nate searches for treasure, steals horses, and tries to evade Sheriff Elena Fisher. I have a feeling that game is not going to be made anytime soon.

[rionaleonhart]

I'm not taking the lack of Elena terribly well, I'll admit. The Nate of Golden Abyss feels very much like the first-game Nate, which of course makes sense, and Elena has a positive effect not only on the Uncharted series in general but also on Nate as a character; I like him more after he gets to know her. (I can't work out any conceivable way in which I can shoehorn Elena into the Last of Us/Uncharted crossover I'm possibly writing, which makes me quite sad.)

If you do decide to watch a Golden Abyss playthrough, though, I can recommend this one. The player gets all the treasures and looks at them to get Nate's stupid little comments. Also they sometimes stick googly eyes on their finger, which makes the touchscreen bits ten times better.

I would also like a game that is basically a fusion of Red Dead Redemption and Uncharted, where charming but ridiculous bank robber Nate searches for treasure, steals horses, and tries to evade Sheriff Elena Fisher.

THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN IMMEDIATELY.

[thebaconfat]

I like him more after he gets to know her.

YES. Exactly.

crossover I'm possibly writing

yessssssss

And thank you for the pointing me at that playthrough!

[milliebee.livejournal.com]

I loved Jak and Daxter as a child, and I remember getting my hands on a friend's copy of Jack II and being TERRIFIED. "Why is Jak being so mean all of a sudden? Is Daxter swearing? I don't want to play anymore!"

[rionaleonhart]

Ha! I used to read a lot of videogame magazines in my teens, so I'd already seen a Jak II review before it came out and was therefore prepared for a drastic change in tone; I can't imagine how I'd have reacted if it had come as a complete surprise.

[milliebee.livejournal.com]

I was still a pre-teen when Jak II came out, and it definitely was not aimed at me. I remember being really disappointed that they'd made the game all dark and miserable. I never played more than a few minutes of it, and never bought a copy of my own. I actually haven't touched the series since, which is a shame because I might appreciate the darker tone more now -- although my 'dark phase' kind of ended when I hit my twenties. :)