The new game is set to be released in March 2016, so now is the right time to catch up on the series. Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 2 and 3 (released for the PlayStation) were huge hits (IGN 10/10) with their iconic cinematic clips defining each of them. The game follows Nathan ‘Nate’ Drake in a third person action/adventure genre, where he attempts solve mysteries in the path of a slightly more violent and hardcore Indiana Jones. Against the backdrop of console games which ‘level up’ on an event and task-fulfilling basis, this game is perceived as a refreshing change.
According to Ajmal Mohamed, “the best part about the game is that it is not purely shooting, escaping, and car (or train) chases. It has a large share of puzzle solving in uncharted historical locations.” The ‘Path of Light’ is an elaborate puzzle in an ancient temple, where you must use mirrors to direct the light which leads them to the map of Shambhala.
There is a sequence that explicates the brilliance of the story of ‘Drake’s Deception’. Nate, in his (your) attempt to find the lost Atlantis, crashes the plane in the middle of a desert. There are a couple of minutes of game time in which he (you) covers the desert on foot, going in circles with nothing to live on, hallucinating — as a haunting voice covers it.
The forced character movement brings character progression and a unified gaming experience. Though this appears to be trifling, these sequences have an impact in bringing you closer to the story. There’s an abandoned desert village that Nate scrounges in for resources (only to be found by the enemies later, of course!), and the music in the background encapsulates these moments. The graphics are breathtaking. Uncharted 2 and 3 are currently available for the PS3 from `750.
(The writer is an economics graduate who spends her leisure time in front of a screen, preparing for the zombie apocalypse).