Could someone summarize Uncharted for me?

[Aussie2B]

This is a weird request, I know, but I have a reason for needing this. I have never played any of the Uncharted games, so I know next to nothing about them. I looked into it on Wikipedia and such, but it's not quite the information I need. Basically, I want a general idea of what the universe is like, what the atmosphere is like, what kind of characters it has, what the cinematics are like, what kind of locations you visit, what kind of enemies you encounter, and if there is any kind of supernatural aspect. Doesn't need to be long, just a short summary. If anyone could help me out or provide a good link, I'd be immensely grateful.

[kupomogli]

Think Indiana Jones meets Tomb Raider meets Gears of War.

The storyline is good and only gets better with each new game. Well done third person shooter gameplay with action scenes, puzzle solving, story, and climbing from one area to another to break up the monotony. As a comparison, Vanquish is a great game, but it's non stop shooting all the way through which really left something to be desired.

The games are like movies with really good gameplay. This commercial kind of sums it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaVsmnpEtE0

[goatdan]

Basically, I want a general idea of what the universe is like, what the atmosphere is like, what kind of characters it has, what the cinematics are like, what kind of locations you visit, what kind of enemies you encounter, and if there is any kind of supernatural aspect.

It's like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Indiana-Jones-Complete-Adventure-Collection/dp/B001E75QH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321976487&sr=8-1

But the main character is named Nathan.

It's a great series. But seriously, it apes *everything* from the Indiana Jones series.

[Imstarryeyed]

I am certainly not trying to flame anyone who enjoyed the games as I respect any game that people find to thier liking... but,

For me I found the Uncharted games to be summarized as:

Terrible cliche, poor writing and acted rip off of terrible Hollywood cliche action movies.

I mean, for me I found, these games are so unorginal that it is amazing how you can think they can find more cliches to add into every new game, but somehow they do. The script is so predictable its painful. I honestly dare to you play this game and not think of some terrible action movie cliche that is not in this movie, it would be difficult at best I would imagine.

I found the game is good as giving the world a glimpse on what interactive movies could be like, but it fails in that it fills the game with rediculously too long gun fights to be an interactive movie.

There is real good reason they threw in so many long gun fights, as I think the game is way way way to easy.. even when you set games to their hardest settings I found this game to be easily beaten in 1 or 2 days with occational play. We rented the games when they came out and from like 8 pm to like midnight and would get to the 50% of the game to finish it. Puzzles that you can figure out in less than 30 seconds, ugh.. so painful, at least for me.

I have not had a chance to play the 3rd one but I have been holding off because I am just so sure that I have seen this stuff over the last two games but I will most likely get around to playing it in a hope that its more original.

I dont hate the games, the gameplay is a little like the Prince of Persia games, but for me I found the terrible story, acting and overly simplistic game to not be my taste.

This of course it just my opinion, and I certainly respect anyone elses opion, as I know I am in the minority here thinking these games are terribly cliche.

[Robocop2]

The first one was excellent and to me on par with a good treasure hunting adventure movie. The second was just so meh to me that I never finished it

[Aussie2B]

Heh, that's not particularly helpful to me, Imstarryeyed. Good game or bad game, it doesn't matter to me, I just need to know a bit about the story and overall atmosphere for a project I'm working on.

Thanks kupomogli and goatdan, that helps a bit.

Anybody willing to get a little more specific in terms of the stuff I listed off? Like is there gravitas to the story, or is it light? Is it a realistic game, or is there magical/supernatural type stuff?

[kupomogli]

Thought I might go a little bit more in detail about the games.

Each game is based on a single priceless treasure that Drake is going after, or the third, a city. If you're speaking supernatural as in what you'd find in the first three Indiana Jones movies, then yes, although on the original game it's a bit more, it'd ruin a bit of the story describing it.

Character development in each game is well done ally and enemy alike. Sully for example, is a pervert and always has a story to tell about some woman he's been with. Sully is the best and there's no character I like more than him, but character personalities like this makes the characters more realistic and likeable. On top of that, I don't think there's any game where the voice work is better than the Uncharted series, and that adds to the experience. As good, maybe, but not better.

Eye of Indra is a digital comic that can be purchased on PSN as DLC, but has since been uploaded to Youtube. It takes place before the original so no story ruining moments and isn't too long so you can watch it in a single sitting. Watching that might give you an idea on how well done the storyline is to the games.

Finally. Like I said previously, each game's story only gets better with each release. One thing is that, even though an amazing game, the third is far more cinematic than the other two, involving less shooting gameplay with more story and more big action sequences throughout the game. Melee combat was even altered to have a more cinematic feel with more than one scene being strictly melee only, but those scenes are also the most enoyable gameplay moments in the game as well. In those melee scenes, while some of the stuff is scripted at times, other stuff is unscripted so you can grab a beer bottle on a counter and smash it over someones head, or even throw an enemy out of the window.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I would say that while the Uncharted games clearly do aesthetically, stylistically and in their narrative emulate big-budget treasure-hunting action/adventure films like Indiana Jones, they do have plenty of "gravitas" thanks mostly to the way that the characters are portrayed, mo-capped voiced and acted by the performers involved. There are some goofy moments, but there's plenty of mortality and a few moments of sacrifice that give it some healthy gra-vee-tas where it needs it.

In comparison to something like Heavy Rain which is visually stunning and has a similar "Hollywood" quality (something along the lines of Se7en or Silence of the Lambs) gritty serial killer narrative-story-driven-plot, unfortunately I found that Heavy Rain hits the wall HARD when it becomes PAINFULLY obvious that the voice actors aren't speaking in their native language and don't always emote the way that a natural English speaker would when delivering dialog in their native tongue.

Uncharted never ever suffers from this problem and thanks to the quality of its perforers has very likable, believable, affable characters that, much like those found in the Indy films are very easy to like in a very short period of time.

Regarding the supernatural/sci-fi elements of the stories, much like those found in the Indy films, they're packed pretty neatly into the last moments and often serve to keep the McGuffin from falling into the wrong hands or being kept for monetary gain.

And, I know this is pretty obvious, but there are some pretty substantial Wikis that can give you the Cliff-Notes versions of the plots:

http://uncharted.wikia.com/wiki/Uncharted_Wiki

[duffmanth]

It's basically Indiana Jones in video game form. Like people previously mentioned, Nathan Drake is after some valuable treasure and some ancient lost city in each game. A lot of the plots are very cliche, but the solid gameplay, controls, voice acting, and beautiful visuals make up for that.

[eskobar]

As a game, it is very entertaining; it is a shooter with a cover system similar to gears of war and the action is very well scripted in the first game and is fairly linear. It is very easy to play and the control is good, unlike many other action games that make you return a few minutes, in Uncharted most of the time you respawn right before you died.

Drake at first looks very generic, so the game .... but as you advance and taste more of the characters, the game comes alive. It is very well written, very simple and understandable, but very powerful when it mixes reality with the game's world.

I highly recommend it !

[Aussie2B]

I just wanted to say thanks for the additional info, everyone. :)

[BHvrd]

The first one was excellent and to me on par with a good treasure hunting adventure movie. The second was just so meh to me that I never finished it

Wow, I 100% feel the complete opposite and thought the first game was generic, boring and just down right frustrating, where the second one was a roller coaster ride from beginning to end. I couldn't disagree more.

[Ryudo]

Tomb Raider with a penis