A Thief's End: Initial Thoughts

One Last Time.

After months of anticipation, speculation and uncertainty, Naughty Dog finally introduced us to the next game in the Uncharted series at this years E3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End looks to be Nathan Drake's most challenging adventure yet. 

Its the end of the Sony Playstation press conference: the lights dim, the Naughty Dog logo appears, and then, we're met with our hero. lying with his face in the sand, the level of detail on Nathan Drake's face is remarkable. Every pore, every hair is visible, grains of sand cling to his face, and  wrinkles can be seen under his eyes. Naughty Dog are already known for pushing the graphical capabilities of the Playstation 3, and this trailer (captured in engine on Playstation 4) demonstrates just what this studio is capable of on next-gen hardware. 

Nathan drake has aged since we last saw him, though perhaps not as much as people are claiming. Traditionally, Nate's timeline has run in parallel with the release of each game; with the two year gap between Uncharted one, two and three. In Drake's Deception (released in 2011) it was revealed that he was 34 or 35 years old, making him around 38 or 39 during the time Uncharted 4 is due to be released, in 2015.

Back In The Game

Regardless of exactly how much time has passed, it becomes apparent that Nate has been out of action for a while. Over the visuals we hear a conversation between him and his close friend and mentor, Victor Sullivan. From their dialogue, it appears that Nate is asking Sully to help him with something, what exactly is not revealed. Sully seems reluctant to agree to the proposal, claiming that Nate has been "out of the game" for a long time. 

We can only guess, but after the ending of Uncharted 3, there's an implication that Nathan essentially gave up his treasure hunting lifestyle to 'settle down' with his wife Elena (he "found something better"). In fact, the official description of Uncharted 4 seems to support this theory:

"Several years after his last adventure, retired fortune hunter, Nathan Drake, is forced back into the world of thieves. With the stakes much more personal, Drake embarks on a globe-trotting journey in pursuit of a historical conspiracy behind a fabled pirate treasure. His greatest adventure will test his physical limits, his resolve, and ultimately what he’s willing to sacrifice to save the ones he loves."

This, in addition to the first teaser trailer released back in November, indicates that someone is returning from Nate's sketchy past to turn his life upside down. With revenge as his goal, this villain could be targeting everything (and everyone) dear to him.    

The Thief's Story

What does this mean for Drake and his crew? well, whatever happens, this story is going to be a personal one. It's clear that the tone of A Thief's End will be much darker than the lighthearted adventures we're used to, and that's by no means a bad thing. The studio has learned a lot about emotional, meaningful storytelling from making The Last of Us, and it seems that they are eager to use those skills in the new Uncharted (especially as the leads of the game have taken over on this project).    

Does this mean a super gritty, bleak, M-rated Uncharted? of course not. Naughty Dog are well aware that the two IP's are very different, with Co President Evan Wells stating that Uncharted 4 will be an "evolution people will be comfortable with", and not a massive departure from what we know and love. We can still expect humour, we can still expect witty dialogue and crazy over the top set pieces.   

That being said, there is definitely a sense that this game is going to pack an emotional punch. Could someone die? well, the title is enough to make you think that, it may well be the case that this is "Nathan Drake's End". That's something I'll discuss in detail in a future post. 

The Reward Of Our Deeds 

As Nate ominously walks off into the dark jungle gun in hand, with the camera panning over the menacing view of skeletons suspended in gibbets (I had to google it) I had one thought going through my head:

 I CANNOT WAIT TO PLAY THIS GAME!

That trailer may have been short and sweet, but it sure as hell made me want more, and when this game finally ships next year, we can expect a true masterpiece. 

*Just to clarify, I am not an expert on game development or the gaming industry. I get my information from multiple reliable sources, but I may sometimes get things wrong or be inaccurate. If you do spot something such as a piece of information that is inaccurate please let me know and I'll correct myself.  

*All images/screenshots are under the copyright of their respective owner. I do not intend to distribute my blog for profit and will gladly remove any images if asked to.

I Hope You've enjoyed this post, I'm new to blogging and feedback is always appreciated :-)

Undiscovered Adventure