Geeking Out Over Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/113/1139558p1.html
The cat's finally out of the bag -- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is real. So far, we know that the game is set on the Arabian Peninsula, it has Drake and Victor "Sully" Sullivan searching for the Atlantis of the Sand, and T.E. Lawrence is the inspiration of the tale.
Still, we want more.
IGN PlayStation Executive Editor Greg Miller and Guides Guru Colin Moriarty have already torn the 35-second teaser trailer apart in an IGN Rewind Theater and discovered references to Sir Francis Drake, the death of Lawrence, and a whole bunch more (and it'll be posted soon), but now's the time to dream about what the game is really about.
What do the office's two Uncharted experts think the third installment is all about? Are Nate and Elena married? Is Chloe a bad guy this time? Let's find out.
Greg Miller: OK, Colin. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is a go. We know it's happening in Arabia, it involves Sully and Nate's relationship, and there are some gameplay tweaks. 1) How excited are you? 2) Who's getting deceived -- Drake or the people working with Drake?
Colin Moriarty: Well Greg, I'm pretty damn excited. This was an expected announcement, as we spoke about some time ago. But how you can you not be excited about a new Uncharted game? And I imagine Drake is the one getting deceived. How about you? What are your thoughts?
Greg Miller: The fact that they're making a big deal out of it being about Drake and Sully's relationship, I imagine Drake's been deceived or is being deceived by Sully -- although I totally expect and hope Victor redeems himself at the end. Maybe it'll just be one of those turns where it only looks like Sully was a bad guy at one point.
Honestly, and I know this is a long shot, I'd love it if Chloe came back and was the main villain this time around. You figure, as I imagine it stands, her role is pretty much done. Drake's in love with Elena, so Chloe's role in his story is done. Bring her back as the villain this time and give a cool twist and a cool deception. She was always toeing the line in the last game.
Colin Moriarty: That would be a wild twist, and a welcome one. But what if the deception is even closer to home? You suggested Sully possibly deceiving Drake. But heck, it could even be Elena that deceives him. But I don't think either of us are right. The deception comes from someone else, someone new... perhaps a THIRD love interest of Drake's? Who knows.
Greg Miller: YOU SHUT YOUR FACE, MORIATRY! ELENA'S A SAINT! IF THEY DO THAT TO HER CHARACTER, I'LL DO BAD THINGS TO REAL PEOPLE!
OK. Sorry. I lost my cool there. Let me breathe.
See, that's something I really hope they don't do -- don't break up Nate and Elena. You did that last time, they got back together, and everyone's happy. Let's move on from there; and I think they have. Did you notice anything interesting about the images of Nate from today's onslaught, Colin?
Colin Moriarty: I noticed a lot of things, Greg. A lot of things. What specifically are you referring to?
Greg Miller: There's not one shot of his left hand straight on. Nathan Drake is right-handed: why carry his gun in his left hand? When he's shielding his eyes from the sun, why is his left pinky so perfectly lined up? Why, Colin? Because Naughty Dog is hiding his ring finger. He and Elena are married now.
I'll give you a minute to get your jaw off the floor... and I only pray there isn't a kid yet.
Colin Moriarty: That's a possibility, for sure. But just how much time is taking place between this game and Among Thieves? Do adventurers and journalists really have the time to marry each other, what with the traveling and whatnot?
I fear you may be looking into things a little too much.
Greg Miller: Colin, we just recorded an 8-minute video going over the same 35 seconds of a teaser trailer and bringing in historical documents about a guy I knew nothing about this morning. It's our job to look into things too much.
Colin Moriarty: But let's get to the heart of the matter, Greg. Gameplay. What does this game have in store for us? To be honest, the desert environment seems like a pretty drab place, and yet, I know Naughty Dog has something awesome up its sleeve for us.
Greg Miller: You're crazy! The desert is a perfect place for this game. When you think of Uncharted, you think of platforming and gunplay. Look at the screens that have been released today -- you have eroded landscapes and rock masses that Nate will be crawling all over, you have broken down cities to explore, and you have a lost city that I'm sure will be rickety and set to fall apart as soon as Nate jumps on it.
Colin Moriarty: I have to be honest -- when it comes to desert environments, I'd be much more fascinated if this took place in, say, Egypt. Then again, that's such an obvious locale when you're talking about deserts, so I appreciate that they went in a different direction. What puzzles me is how they're going to get around the monotony of the desert. It was easy to avoid monotony in the jungles of South America and in the mountains of Tibet. It will be a new challenge for Naughty Dog, I think, to give us something fresh and interesting. And yet, I have no doubt that they'll do just that.
But tell me this, Greg. Do you think we're going to get a similar game to Among Thieves? A robust single-player game with some multiplayer options to keep people coming back? Or do you think we could possibly get something new, like a co-op campaign?
Greg Miller: Realistically? I think it'll be very similar. Personally? I hope for a fatter co-op option. Don't get wrong -- I want Uncharted 3 to have the same awesome solo campaign we know from the previous games, but I want more co-op options. I loved the co-op missions in Uncharted 2, but I really feel like they were overlooked by most in favor of the equally awesome competitive multiplayer. If I had to guess, I'd say we get something very similar, but I really hope for some co-op stuff. What's your feeling?
Colin Moriarty: Well I agree that part of what makes Drake's Fortune and Among Thieves so great was the man-versus-the-world feeling of the single player campaigns (granted, that's all Drake's Fortune had). And I'm one to always rail about how weak a game like Resident Evil 5 was because of the forced co-op, even if you were playing single player.
With that said, I think there's potential to elaborate on Among Thieves' robust multiplayer options so that you can play co-op in a more story-based way, as opposed to on random stages with no real story. If you could play through the same game, or a similar game, with a friend (either via the PSN, or locally), I'd really dig that. But I wouldn't want it to take away from the feeling of the campaign with Drake by himself.
Greg Miller: Agreed -- although I think that I'd hate local co-op as the game's too pretty to split-screen. I guess we'll just have to wait and see on that front. What's your take on the new stealth moves and Drake's ability to fight multiple enemies at once?
Colin Moriarty: The potential for those new features could be cool, but what they mean, exactly, is still nebulous to me. As we mentioned on Beyond, Drake fights multiple enemies at once constantly. Is he going to start wielding two guns, each aimed at different people? Is he going to start using some advanced melee moves? I hope it's nothing too over the top, honestly. While Drake has proven how capable of a fighter and adventurer he is, he isn't a Navy SEAL, you know what I mean?
Do you have any specific thoughts on those alluded-to gameplay features?
Greg Miller: Eh, not really. I'm excited for more moves than just a sleeper hold from behind, but other than that, I trust in Naughty Dog. What do you think of all the stuff we found in the Rewind Theater today? Is this all about T.E. Lawrence? Is Naughty Dog going to make his motorcycle death part of the story?
Colin Moriarty: The research we did for that Rewind Theater definitely netted us a lot of information. I'll be honest -- and I know you feel the same way -- that when we were going to do that Rewind Theater, there was little expectation that the 15 seconds of footage would give us much. But boy, were we wrong.
I think that what Naughty Dog was trying to do was point us in a specific direction. The abundance of T.E. Lawrence references is supposed to direct us towards that one myth, that one lost city, and perhaps the archaeologists of the time (pre-Saudi Arabia) that were closest to perhaps finding it. But I'm not sure T.E. Lawrence is going to be part of the story itself, beyond those hints.
Greg Miller: I think he will be. I think he's the new Sir Francis Drake -- a guy who popped up in the teaser again via the quote "Greatness From Small Beginnings."
Colin Moriarty: That's a good point, though I admit that I don't see T.E. Lawrence having the same draw as Sir Francis Drake. They were both bona fide adventurers in their own right, however.
Greg Miller: I'm way more interested Lawrence than I am Drake. Lawrence lived closer to our time, he died a hero by swerving to avoid those kids. I want to see what Naughty Dog does with that.
Colin Moriarty: So what do you think we'll see on Saturday? Where is this all leading? Will we see some gameplay, some character teases, or what?
Greg Miller:I think we're going to get a big trailer on Saturday. Lots of explosions, gunfire, etc. It'll be quick -- remember how brief the Uncharted 2 trailer was at the Spike Awards a couple of years ago was -- but I expect action. Then, Sunday, Sony has that "exclusive reveal" event. It's obvious that Uncharted 3 is that event, and I think we're going to see a lot of gameplay and at least one new character -- maybe the villain of this story. Nate will be with Sully, and we'll go from there. I'm already steeling myself and recognizing that I won't see my true love, Elena, but I think it'll be a good show.
Colin Moriarty: You're probably right. If this is going to be one of Sony's big PS3 exclusives for the fall of 2011, then they need to get everyone's attention. Other titles will be on PS3 at that time, too, including The Last Guardian. Drawing Uncharted 3's differences out from other titles that will be around it can start now, in earnest. I, too, am expecting an explosion-filled, gun-battle heavy trailer, but again, I hope we see some characters too. Maybe even a new character? All I know is that Naughty Dog better not have a last boss battle in Uncharted 3, because that fight with Lazarevic at the end of Uncharted 2 left a bad taste in my mouth. But that's for another time, Greg.
Greg Miller: Yeah, after two misses, I'm ready for a really cool boss battle -- but that's beside the point. Colin, Uncharted's back, and that most likely means the bar for visuals and storytelling is about to get raised one more time. I can't wait -- just don't screw up Elena.
Colin Moriarty: Agreed. I'm anticipating this weekend's festivities, to be sure.
