In less than fifteen days, I will have died and gone to heaven. So long, folks. I bequeath my guitar to my brother, my bird to my sister, and my debt to my parents. Bury my PS4 with me; I'll need that.
In less than fifteen days, "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" finally gets released for the newest edition of Playstation consoles. For fans, it's been a long wait. The "Uncharted" series focuses on the adventures of Nathan Drake, an orphan with a biological connection to the legendary explorer Sir Francis Drake. Along the way, Nate is accompanied by his father/mentor Victor "Goddamn" Sullivan and his on-again off-again girl Elena Fisher. Together, they encounter cursed ancient treasures, diabolical warlords, and snappy one-liners. The third game in the series, "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception", was released in 2011-- which means it's been five years since our last adventure. Five long years of rewatching all the "Indiana Jones" movies, climbing on random pieces of furniture, and humming the theme to myself while silently crying.
That isn't to say that developer Naughty Dog hasn't been busy. In 2013, the company released the critical darling, "The Last of Us" (heretofore referred to as "TLOU"), a third person action horror game taking place in post-apocalyptic America. Joel, an older man, is charged with escorting a young girl named Ellie across the country to get to a militia group called the Fireflies. Joel has a bad case of murderous psychopathic tendencies, while Ellie is certainly more at ease when equipped with her joke book, "No Pun Intended". It's an interesting relationship between the two-- the stone cold killer with the light of the world (Literally. Ellie plays an extremely important role in the future of humanity). "Uncharted" and "TLOU" are radically different in terms of tone: "TLOU" is decidedly dark. When a game opens with a young girl dying in her father's arms, you know you're in for an emotional trainwreck. "TLOU" is some of the darkest material I've encountered, and it never stops the relentless torture of your heart. Joel is a fascinating anti-hero; the atrocities he commits are horrifying; yet I haven't met a single person who would do any differently. It's a testament to Naughty Dog's credibility to create a game with such well rounded gameplay and characters. The message of "TLOU" can be summarized Ellie's assertion that "after everything we've done, everything I've been through... it can't be for nothing." Without spoilers, the ending is polarizing. The player must decide whether to side with Joel's opinion or Ellie's, and there isn't one clear way to look at it. Ultimately, the game portrays a bleak picture of humanity, in which the horrific ends justify the means.
"Uncharted" has always been sunnier; that's why I'm so enthusiastic about the new installment. "Uncharted" is known for the glorious set pieces and fast paced adventure, but its strength is in the pure charity and greatness between Nathan Drake and his compatriots. "Uncharted" has always been about the conflict between the mundane that could have been and the extraordinary that is. Granted, Nathan Drake isn't exactly a poster-boy for sainthood-- he's a glorified tomb raider, for goodness sake. Nathan Drake isn't a man who should have a destiny but "real 'greatness' is what you do with the hand you're dealt." Every game in the series (so far) ends with the bad guys defeated and the hero reunited with his girl-- until the next villain comes along.
This isn't to say that one franchise is better than the other. Both "The Last of Us" and the "Uncharted" series are incredibly dear to my heart, but "TLOU" forces us to walk in the adult shoes for awhile. "Uncharted" lets us go barefoot, waving sticks and playing imaginary games because that's more fun. While Joel's story tugs at my heartstrings more, it's Nathan who I truly admire. He's the "everyman"; the guy you want at your back when times get difficult, who always lets the dirt get between his toes. Nate represents the part of us that never stopped chasing greatness. "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they act their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." This, he does.
"Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" releases on May 10, 2016.
