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Uncharted

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This article is about the video game series. For the first game of the series, see Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. For other uses, see Uncharted (disambiguation).
Uncharted
File:Uncharted Logo.PNG
The logo of Uncharted, all titles in the series use a similar logo.
Genre(s)Action-adventure,
Platformer,
Third-person shooter
Developer(s)Naughty Dog,
SCE Bend Studio
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s)PlayStation 3,
PlayStation Vita
First releaseUncharted: Drake's Fortune
November 19, 2007
Latest releaseUncharted 2: Among Thieves
October 15, 2009

Uncharted is an award-winning series of action-adventure/platforming/third-person shooter video games developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 3 video game console. The series follows modern-day treasure hunter Nathan "Nate" Drake as he travels around the world to uncover various historical mysteries. The series includes Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, its sequel Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, a motion comic prequel, Uncharted: Eye of Indra, as well as two upcoming games, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, and Uncharted: Golden Abyss for Sony's PlayStation Vita. A film adaptation was also announced.

Setting

The series takes place during modern day, and showcases a wide variety of locales around the world. Featured in the Uncharted series are lush tropical rainforests like the Amazon and Borneo,[1] snow-capped mountain landscapes like Tibet,[2] and urban landscapes like Nepal[3] and Istanbul.[2]

Gameplay

During combat, the player as Nate (left) can use corners and walls as cover, then use blind or aimed fire from cover against his opponents.

Gameplay in the Uncharted series is a combination of 3D platforming and third-person shooter gameplay elements. Platforming elements allow Nate to jump, swim, grab and move along ledges, climb and swing from ropes, and perform other acrobatic actions that allow players to make their way through the many challenges that 'Nate' Drake will have to face.[4] Although a wide variety of weapons are present in the game, the player can only carry a sidearm (pistols and the like), a primary weapon such as a rifle or shotgun, and a handful of grenades. These weapons are obtained by picking up weapons dropped by a downed foe or from those scattered around the various maps.

Multiplayer gameplay was introduced in the sequel, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, comprising both competitive and co-operative multiplayer. The co-op multiplayer allows a maximum of three players to take the roles of Drake and two other "hero" companions and features missions involving gunfights, platforming, and teamwork-based objectives.[5] Players can also assist their comrades if they become critically injured or if they are grabbed by an enemy.[5] The competitive multiplayer allows a maximum of ten players to play against each other in two teams of five. Six competitive modes are featured: Deathmatch, Plunder, Elimination, King of the Hill, Turf War and Chain Reaction.[6] Deathmatch features two teams of five, with one team acting as heroes and the other as villains. Players can choose their own appropriate character models (such as Drake, Sully, Elena, and new characters Tenzin and Chloe for the heroes team). As players accrue points and rank up, they can purchase more skins for both heroes and villains.[6]

Games

Main series

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Main article: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the first in the series, combines platform and third-person shooter elements to chart the journey of protagonist Nathan Drake, supposed descendant of the explorer Sir Francis Drake, as he seeks the lost treasure of El Dorado in South America with the help of friend Victor "Sully" Sullivan and journalist Elena Fisher.[7]

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Main article: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves takes Drake on a journey across Nepal and the Himalayas in a search for the lost city of Shambhala. It reunites most of the cast from the first game and introduces the stealth mechanic and new characters Chloe Frazer (a new love interest who has history with Drake), Harry Flynn (a shifty former partner of Drake's), and Zoran Lazarević, a Serbian war criminal and the game's primary antagonist. The second game also introduces a multiplayer mode to the series.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Main article: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

The co-game designer of Uncharted 2 confirmed that there will be a sequel.[8][9] In January 2010, actor Nolan North confirmed that he will reprise his role of Nathan Drake for a future Uncharted game which will begin production in 2010.[10] A rumor surfaced on October 24, 2010 where Amazon France had a listing called "Uncharted 3: World of Deceit", which indicated that this might have been the subtitle for Uncharted 3, as with Uncharted 2's Among Thieves. However, Arne Meyer, Senior Manager of Marketing Communications at Naughty Dog commented that the supposedly leaked subtitle and artwork were "totally fake" – both the artwork and subtitle were made by a fan (with no affiliation whatsoever to Naughty Dog) for his architecture class, despite many websites having considered his work as official.[11] The third installment was finally announced on December 10, 2010 being given the sub-title Drake's Deception.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is the third game in the series, and, like its previous installments, is a PlayStation 3 exclusive action/adventure video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is set to be released November 1, 2011. The story focuses on the hero’s relationship with his mentor and father figure, Victor “Sully” Sullivan, and has him searching for a legendary lost city that will ultimately take him to the Arabian Peninsula and the vast wasteland of the Rub' al Khali Desert, also known as the Empty Quarter (Said legendary lost city has been known by various names, including “Iram of the Pillars” and the “Atlantis of the Sands”). It will also include new features such as enhanced backward climbing and the ability to fight multiple enemies at once.

Other games

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Main article: Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Uncharted: Golden Abyss is an upcoming title for Sony's upcoming PlayStation Vita. It is currently being developed by SCE Bend Studio, with development being overseen by Naughty Dog. The release date has not yet been announced. The game's events will take place sometime before those of Drake's Fortune, though developers have stated that it is not a prequel to Drake's Fortune but rather a separate original story.[12]

Adaptations

Uncharted: Drake's Trail

Drake's Trail is a now defunct 2007 online web game. Consisting of ten chapters, the story, serving as a prequel to Drake's Fortune, recounts journalist Elena Fisher hiring a private detective to track down famous treasure hunter Nathan Drake believing he is onto something big.[13]

Uncharted: Eye of Indra

On October 22, 2009 Sony Computer Entertainment America released the first of a four part series adventure called Uncharted: Eye of Indra.[14] It is a prequel to Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. The second part was released on November 25, 2009, while the third and fourth parts released simultaneously on December 7, 2009.[15]

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (motion comic)

A motion comic adaptation of the prologue of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, starting with the discovery of Francis Drake's coffin and up to the first encounter with Gabriel Roman. Uses the same voice clips from the video game.[citation needed]

Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth

A novel based on Uncharted video games that is to be released during Q3/Q4 2011. The novel is written by Christopher Golden and published by Del Rey Books, and will supposedly follow the search for the Daedalus's Labyrinth, a maze used to hold the Minotaur, a monster from Greek mythology. Del Ray is the publisher of other Sony based novels, such as Resistance: The Gathering Storm (from the Resistance series), and the God of War novel.[16]

Comicbook

On July 19 2011, it was announced by Sony that an Uncharted Comic books would be relased by D.C. Comics around the time Uncharted 3 comes out. It will be written by Joshua Williamson, with art by Francesco Francavilla and covers by Adam Hughes [17]

Film

Film producer Avi Arad has stated that he is working with a division of Sony to develop the film adaptation of Uncharted.[18] In response to a question posed to Richard Lemarchand, lead game designer of Naughty Dog, on whether he would like to see a film adaptation of Uncharted, he replied "no comment".[19] Since then, Columbia Pictures has confirmed that an Uncharted film is being developed. It is to be written by Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Dean Donnelly and produced by Avi Arad, Charles Roven, and Alex Gartner.[20][21][22] As of June 30, 2009 it was confirmed that the Uncharted film has been in development for the last year-and-a-half.[23] Nathan Fillion has expressed interest in playing Nathan Drake, and started a campaign on Twitter to encourage fans to support him in this endeavour.[24] In a recent interview, Naughty Dog told PlayStation University how close they really are with the development of the movie and that they have trust with all who are working on it.[25]

UNCHARTED 2 On October 8 it was announced by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures that David O. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter) has been set to write and direct Columbia Pictures' Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, an action-adventure based upon the first game in the series. The film will be produced by Avi Arad (Spider-Man), Charles Roven (The Dark Knight), and Alex Gartner.[26] Following a screening of David O. Russell's film, The Fighter, he was approached by a fan of the Uncharted series who asked whether or not he had considered Nathan Fillion for the role of Nathan Drake for the upcoming film due to the high number of requests for him to fulfill the role. Russell was unaware of the interest in Fillion and who he was and seemed to quickly dismiss the idea.[27]

On the November 24, 2010 an interview with Mark Wahlberg was published by MTV with the actor discussing his involvement in the film adaptation of the popular franchise. He states that David O. Russell is currently writing the script and is excited for what he has in store, hoping to shoot in the middle of 2011: "I'm obviously in whatever David wants to do but the idea of it is so off the charts: De Niro being my father, Pesci being my uncle. It's not going to be the watered-down version, that's for sure."[28]

On May 26, 2011, it was reported that David O. Russell had dropped out from directing the video game film, with a new screenwriter being sought by Columbia Pictures. [29] On July 6, Variety reports that Neil Burger (Limitless, The Illusionist) is stepping in for David O. Russell.

"Burger landed the offer after the studio and producers Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Charles Roven and Alex Gartner sparked to his new take on the pic. Burger spoke out about the film in July, saying the following: [30]

"We're re-writing the script from scratch, and I'm just jumping into that literally right now, about to close the deal and leap off. Until the screenplay is written you never know who's going to be acting in it or not. But there are a lot of good actors out that who even look like Nathan Drake and who could do it. I love the project, I think it's a great adventure and it's a wild insane ride...the game is and the movie will be. I mean it has pretty great character at its core, Nathan is a bit of a con man, a hustler...knows his stuff, ballsy..it's great. Absolutely. And then you know you have to do what a movie does best, as well...build on what's cool about the game and then make it into a movie. Yeah there will be (balance) in this one, this one is a very great adventure, and it's just a matter of pulling out the the very cool intense stuff that works for the film story, and making sure the story supports those elements and also makes us really connected to the character."

Characters

Main article: List of characters in the Uncharted series

Main series

Character Game
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Nathan Drake Nolan North
Elena Fisher Emily Rose
Victor "Sully" Sullivan Richard McGonagle
Gabriel Roman Simon Templeman  
Atoq Navarro Robin Atkin Downes  
Eddy Raja James Sie  
Chloe Frazer   Claudia Black
Karl Schafer   Rene Auberjonois  
Harry Flynn   Steve Valentine  
Tenzin   Robin Atkin Downes  
Zoran Lazarevic   Graham McTavish  
Katherine Marlowe   Rosalind Ayres
Cutter   Graham McTavish
Talbot   Robin Atkin Downes
Salim   TJ Ramini

Spin-offs

Other media, including a comic, have contributed to the Uncharted series. A handheld game and a film adaptation is also in production, the cast of which is not yet known though three actors are in talks to playing certain characters.[31]

Character Media
Uncharted: Eye of Indra Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Nathan Drake Nolan North
Elena Fisher Emily Rose  
Victor "Sully" Sullivan Richard McGonagle  
Eddy Raja James Sie  
Daniel Pinkerton Fred Tatasciore  
Rika Raja Gwendoline Yeo  
Jason Dante   Jason Spisak
Marisa Chase   Christine Lakin

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of May 2, 2011.
Game GameRankings Metacritic
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 89.70%[32] 88[33]
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 96.41%[34] 96[35]
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception -[36] -[37]

The Uncharted series has been well received by reviewers. The first game in the series, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune received numerous positive reviews from critics with a total of 89.70% on GameRankings and 88/100 on Metacritic. The second title in the series, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has been met with much higher acclaim than the first title in the series, it garnered a total score of 96.41% on GameRankings and 96/100 on Metacritic. The second title has also received numerous awards such as Overall Game of the Year of 2009 from IGN[38] as well as Overall Game of the Year from the Spike Video Game Awards 2009.[39] The Uncharted series has sold nearly 8 million copies Worldwide.[40][41][42]

References

  1. ^ "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 52 'Borneo' screenshots (chapter 3)". GamesWire. October 17, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2010. [dead link]
  2. ^ a b Chris Thornton (October 16, 2009). "Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)". GameStyle. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  3. ^ "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – The Fight in the Streets of Nepal". Just Push Start. October 5, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  4. ^ Ford, Greg (2007-11-14). "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)". 1UP. Retrieved 2008-08-003. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ a b Nelson, Randy (2009-04-27). "Joystiq hands-on: Uncharted 2 co-op multiplayer". Joystiq. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  6. ^ a b Kelly, Kevin (2009-04-27). "Joystiq hands-on: Uncharted 2's Deathmatch and Plunder multiplayer". Joystiq. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  7. ^ Helgeson, Matt (2007). "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Review". Game Informer (176). Cathy Preston: 149. Retrieved 2008-11-24. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) [dead link]
  8. ^ Reuben Gan (December 26, 2009). "NPD: Uncharted 3 will be graphically superior to Uncharted 2". {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  9. ^ Carless, Simon (November 12, 2009). "NPD: Uncharted 2 Heads October 2009 U.S. Game Sales". psxextreme. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  10. ^ "Nolan North Spills on Uncharted 3". IGN.
  11. ^ "Naughty Dog comment on Uncharted 3: World of Deceit .seventeen of Bungie employees are joining the fray,Sony personally asked for Bungie to assist in the project rumours". Gamerzines.
  12. ^ Brian Crecente (June 2, 2011). "Uncharted Golden Abyss Delivers a Home Console Experience". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  13. ^ http://uncharted.wikia.com/wiki/Uncharted:_Drake's_Trail
  14. ^ Neil Druckmann (October 22, 2009). "UNCHARTED: Eye of Indra – First Episode on PSN Today". PlayStation Blog. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  15. ^ Mick Perona (December 4, 2009). "UNCHARTED: Eye of Indra Motion Comic Episodes 3 and 4 Available Today on PSN". PlayStation Blog. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  16. ^ "Original Uncharted novel in the works from Del Rey Books". Joystiq. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
  17. ^ http://comics.ign.com/articles/118/1182576p1.html
  18. ^ "The Man Behind Marvel Movie Magic Hopes To Do the Same For Gaming". Kotaku. 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  19. ^ "Naughty Dog, The Making of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune". 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  20. ^ "'Drake's Fortune' set for big screen". 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2009-06-26. [dead link]
  21. ^ "'Sahara' scribes pen 'Uncharted'". 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  22. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (3 March 2010). "Spanking the 'Drake'? David O. Russell on producers' list for popular video game adaptation". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles: Tribune Company. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  23. ^ Hennig, Amy (30 June 2009). "Uncharted 2 Live Chat with Naughty Dog". The PlayStation Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment America. Retrieved 30 July 2009. We're really excited about the development of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune as a movie -- we've been working with Arad Productions for the last year-and-a-half or so
  24. ^ "Nathan Fillion urges Twitter fans to make him Nathan Drake". The Independent. London. October 16, 2010.
  25. ^ http://www.playstationuniversity.com/naughty-dog-talks-with-playstation-university-part-2-4278/3//
  26. ^ http://au.movies.ign.com/articles/112/1126924p1.html
  27. ^ http://filmonic.com/david-o-russell-asked-to-cast-nathan-fillion-in-uncharted
  28. ^ http://kotaku.com/5698269/mark-wahlberg-will-be-nathan-drake-deniro-could-be-drakes-dad
  29. ^ Sneider, Jeff (May 26, 2011). "David O. Russell ankles 'Uncharted'". Variety.
  30. ^ Neil Burger Hopes To Please Uncharted Fans
  31. ^ http://kotaku.com/5698269/mark-wahlberg-will-be-nathan-drake-deniro-could-be-drakes-dad
  32. ^ "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 2, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  33. ^ "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 2, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  34. ^ "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 2, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  35. ^ "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 2, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  36. ^ "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 2, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  37. ^ "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 2, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  38. ^ "PS3 Game of the Year Uncharted 2: Among Thieves". IGN. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  39. ^ "Game of the Year". GameTrailers. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  40. ^ http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2010/12/09/uncover-the-truth-in-uncharted-3-drakes-deception/
  41. ^ PS3 motion controller revealed, God of War III due in March "[11:20] Uncharted sold over 2.6 million units globally, and is a huge hit."
  42. ^ Rohde, Scott (February 19, 2010). "make.believe: From Programmer to Naughty Dog Co-President". Sony. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
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