Samuel Watts Unit 3 - Research Techniques For The Creative Media Industry: Task 3

Script

Let intro song play

Ahhhhh Uncharted, Uncharted, Uncharted. Just listen to that music, its amazing isn’t it and it comes from one of the greatest game franchises ever. Uncharted

Uncharted is a game developed by this little company known as naughty dog *naughty dog symbol appears* after having successful titles on the ps1 and ps2 including crash bandicoot and Jak and Daxter *show both characters*. However, naughty dog wanted to move away from what both of these titles had. Unrealism, they wanted to move away from the cartoon stylised graphics *show crash bandicoot level* and create a game that seemed more realistic and humanised to the player and one that would make a great impression on the new ps3 console. Thus we were blessed and Uncharted was bestowed upon the world in all its magnificence. *have angels dropped uncharted down*

Why is this game so good? Just look at it, naughty dog wanted to create a vibrant game *show clip of cliff*. One that kept people entranced, not only in the plot or characters or enemies. They wanted people to be interested heavily in the environment. To do this they created rich and vibrant areas that made the player explore. They also wanted to move away from the dark and dreary environments that other developers were aiming for. They even made a subtle reference in the bonus menu; if you clicked next gen then the entire environment would turn dark and dreary. Oh those sly dogs, or should I say those naughty dogs *Show dog meme*

*show footage of E3* When they first presented the project at E3 the reviews weren’t all that great since people knew that naughty dog were developers of crazy games. So people weren’t expecting high hopes from it especially since they had transitioned a lot such as moving to a new console, trying a new franchise, trying it in a different style etc. It got bad reviews; it didn’t just get bad reviews for this though as many people compared the game to tomb raider as it looked like a gender swapped version of one of her games with gameplay and story seeming quite similar. *show lara and drake arguing* This got the game the title ‘dude raider’ and I’m not really sure I would have played the game either with a nickname like that.

However, Naughty dog saw fit to continue development and I’m glad they did as it brought one of my favourite game franchises ever. Where do I start? It wasn’t an original idea but it was unique with many elements that made it fantastic. Let’s start with the visuals, they were outstanding. I recorded all of my gameplay on the ps4 (Uncharted had an upgrade from ps3 with all 3 games in one package for a piece range of £30-£40. That’s pretty good considering how much content is included and I’d highly recommend picking it up whether you’ve played the games or not.) Anyway, due to this being on ps4 the visuals and mechanics in the game have been upgraded compared to the ps3, however, the ps3 version wasn’t that far off matching the ps4’s.

The gameplay and mechanics also worked very smoothly with combat being fast paced and never dull, the enemies were smart. Nauhty dog devised a nice little system that made it entertaining to play. Since the character Drake can’t hold more than two weapons naughty dog made sure that when weapons were picked it up they would replace a weapon that was in your holster leading upto different ways that people could tackle gun fights, they also includd a cover system such as the one used in gears of war to perfect the combat. This also helped to define the difference between tomb raider and uncharted as naughty dog aimed away from auto aim gun play that was lara croft and aimed towards cover based run and gun combat.

The platforming was entirely smooth with the player have full control over the free run style of levels, players had to find out where to go, what ledges to shimmy along, what vines to swing from, the platforms to jump to and got to experience a great environment as they climb, explore and run through areas filled with temples, mountains and rundown buildings. The camera angle also gives the game justice as in certain areas it will zoom out or be zoomed out to reveal a jungle that runs for miles as you climb up a fort 1000ft from the ground. As each game went along the platforming became smoother across each game and naughty dog made sure it was upgraded each time.

Anyway let’s move onto the first game. Uncharted 1 had a simple objective, to give a game that was realistic (to a point), begin a new franchise, and show the power of the ps3 and to give players the game that they want. It was a fantastic start to the franchise and highly commendable for what it did with a great story being told, the most amazing characters and their personalities being the best to show communication and feeling with sarcastic comments being thrown back and forth, the graphics were amazing for its time and it just felt amazing. As for the story, Drake is looking for the coffin of is presumed ancestor Sir Francis Drake who was buried at sea. He uses a news team to get his funding for the expedition and they find the coffin. However, inside is just a journal with no body, the journal points Drake and the journalist (Elena Fisher) towards something known as El Dorado, the mythical city of gold. Just as they find the journal however, they are attacked by a band of pirates (how coincidental right?) So Drake’s protégé and best friend Victor God-damn Sullivan saves the day and the three head out to find the treasure.

In the end it sold over 4 million dollars. I think that Naughty Dog got enough money to jump straight into the creation of Uncharted 2.

Uncharted 2 was where naughty dog showed their real potential. Everything about this game was made better than the first, it ran smoother. The graphics was upgraded; the main enemy was a force to be reckoned with (especially when versing him on crushing difficulty. All you’ll be able to hear are these lines *you will not stand in the way of destiny.) The platforming became smoother and was a lot bouncier for the player to feel freer and less restricted. It came back with the determination to be the sequel of dreams and it showed how Naughty dog improved in their games. The characters (new and old) came back greater than before and the actors made them come to life with bigger emotions and more involvement. It all just felt like there was more to it and the ratings of this game compared to the last one supports this with a 9.1/10 from IGN for the first game and a 9.5/10 for the second. Both are still very high and close when it comes to comparison but Uncharted 2 deserves that extra rating.

The difficulties were perfect for ever type of player, the linear platforming was appropriately smooth with a few glitches appearing once or twice and it all just came together so well that I loved every minute of controlling Drake. Even the running motion and turning was done with ease and the game was never stiff to play.

The story of the game is this Drake is hanging from a cliff in a train, he is wounded and bleeding badly, after just getting out of the situation he picks up a (what appears) to be special item, this sends the story into a flashback. An unknown client wants to find the city of Shamballa that Marco Polo had found (another use of fiction into non-fiction) he hires Harry and Chloe to help find it who then ask Drake to help them as they wish to cheat the client out of the treasure. As Drake finds the first clue he is betrayed by Harry who gets Drake arrested for three months. With the help of Chloe and Victor God damn sullivan to get him freed from jail they inform him that the client is none other than a soviet warlord after something known as the Cintamani stone. So Drake, Sully and Chloe go out to find the city of Shamballa themselves.

In the end it sold 6.89 million copies and set naughty dog up to create a third game. *show money bags* and got a 9.5/10 rating from IGN

Uncharted 3 wasn’t better than Uncharted 2 in my opinion. The mechanics were improved; the graphics looked immensely better, the voice acting was at its highest. But the story was where I found it to lack and become as stale as left out bread. *show bread* it just seemed dry and included information that just wasn’t explored enough like the flashback sequence.

The story of Uncharted 3 has Nate and Sully attempting to sell the ring worn around Nate’s neck to someone known as Talbot (Robin Atkin Downes). Nate calls out the money being offered as a fake and end up having to fight his way out of the pub (that the negotiation went on in) along with Victor god damn Sullivan. They become pinned and get confronted by the main antagonist Katherine Marlowe (Rosalind Ayres) who steals Nate’s ring. Charlie Cutter (Graham McTavish, the man played as Lazarevic) shoots Nate and Sully sending the game into a flash back about how Nate and sully first met and setting the objective of the story. The deal was a set up to lure Marlowe out of hiding so that they could claim an artefact that Nate saw 20 years ago (during the flashback) which will show them to the lost city of Ubar. During the present it is revealed that Charlie was a double agent working for Nate instead of Marlowe. The gang faked their deaths so that they could find the hang out for Marlowe and her crew, the gang then meet up with Chloe Frazer and the adventure begins.

In the end it sold 6.77 million copies, lower than Uncharted 2 but still enough to make those naughty dog get more money then this guy. *show money bags.* Overall along with the Uncharted collection naughty dog sold over 21 million units. Now that’s a lot of games sold, and with this success they are bringing out one more game on march 18^th 2016 where I will be able to see Nate and Victor god damn Sullivan one last time.

Now we’ve talked about my opinions but how about someone else’s *show jordan’s clips*

That concludes my video about the Uncharted series.

The script has been altered when recording so this will inculde or not include lines that are/are not in the video

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