In the Spotlight: Nathan Drake
- Posted December 5th, 2009 at 19:28 EDT by Mike Harradence
- 32 Comments
Welcome to the inaugural entry in our ‘In the Spotlight’ feature, where PSU subjects some of the most memorable heroes and villains to have graced a Sony platform under the microscope, extolling their roles as iconic titans of modern day gaming, plucking some of our favourite quotes/moments and generally heaping praise on their sheer awesomeness.
To kick things off, we here at PSU Towers decided to dissect one of the PlayStation 3’s most iconic protagonists, namely Uncharted’s wisecracking treasure hunter, Nathan Drake. This was far from an arbitrary choice; after all, Drake has firmly imprinted himself on the public consciousness after launching on to our screens in 2007 with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, before further establishing himself with the utterly brilliant Uncharted 2: Among Thieves back in October of this year.
With that said, if you’ve got a particular character in mind that you feel deserves a shot in the spotlight, feel free to post some suggestions in the comments section below – we’ll have a gander at them and consider it for future articles. Until then, take a look at what we have to say on Drake below. Enjoy.
Name: Nathan "Nate" Drake
Game(s): Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Platform(s): PlayStation 3
Nathan Drake’s appeal as a videogame protagonist lies in the fact he’s just a regular bloke thrust in to extraordinary situations. Over the years, videogames have churned out a worrying chunk of intrinsically one-dimensional types endowed with unbelievable dexterity and strength – ideal for dispatching hordes of foes in high-octane fashion, but inherently useless from an emotional point of view. Not so with Drake. Throughout his adventures, our loveable treasure hunter displays on ample occasions that he is – as daft as the notion sounds – human; he’s not a near-invulnerable killing machine, and he certainly doesn’t always make the right judgment call. These factors alone facilitate Nate's universal appeal as a character whom anyone can relate to, and one that players can instantly embrace.
While the brash young chap is proficient in numerous skills – including firearms and daring acrobatics – the PS3's pushing power injects such a welcome degree of realism and fluidity that they don't for one second feel contrived or outrageously inappropriate. Nate's physical combat is sloppy but efficient, climbing segments are precarious yet fairly believable, and gun fights are punctuated by numerous cries, gasps and the occasional curse word from Drake as he ducks, dives and narrowly dodges enemy projectiles. Ultimately, you feel as though you are controlling a flesh and blood hero. Elsewhere, Drake’s penchant for uttering witty one-liners combined with his unshakable sense of humour lend our hero a sense of charm which gamers can easily warm to, and path the way for some of Uncharted's lighter moments, from Nate's friendly banter with pal Sully to his tempestuous relationship with his female compatriots. Essentially, you could liken him to that of a modern day, albeit digitalized incarnation of Indiana Jones. Needless to say, we here at PSU Towers can’t wait to see what Drake gets up to next – bring on Uncharted 3.
Magic Moments
- Drake nervously demonstrates how to leap from a burning plane and parachute to safety. In his own words, “you just pull the cord and count to five – how hard can that be?” A few seconds later: “Oh Crap! 12345!” (From Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune)
- Nate and his arch nemesis Eddy team up against hordes of mutated humans after stumbling across Sir Francis Drake’s corpse, but still have time to exchange a few pleasantries: Eddy - “Drake, if we don’t make it out of here, I just want you to know one thing – I hate your guts.” Drake - “Yeah, likewise, pal.” (From Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune)
- After spending virtually the entire game fighting alongside each other, Nate and Elena finally decide it’s time to lock lips – only Sully muscles in on their tender moment disrupting any potential romance. (From Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune)
- Drake runs and guns his way through the dilapidated carriages of a speeding train while under fire from tenacious choppers and armed goons in one of the most spectacular set-pieces we’ve clapped eyes on this year. (From Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)
- Drake is a daring sort of chap who has braved danger on numerous occasions; however, he still shares one fundamental element in common with the rest of us: Fear. Apparently, 'ol Nate is scared of the following: Clowns, slippery naked guys and, bizarrely, Sully's moustache. (From Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)
Be sure to post your favorite Drake moments in the comments section below!
Email
Related Content
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
Chaozhoutiger
- 2:54pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 5
Drake is a great character. He's like the modern day Indiana Jones. If the future Uncharted movie is anything like the game, move over Indiana and Lara Croft, there's a new adventure hero in town.
-
-
-
Oatmeal
- 4:31pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 8
when in the hotel and the elevator get stuck. Drake "leave the girl behind swear the God if theres a zombie around the corner."
i think thats what he say and when that happen that part came to my mind. when he had to leave Elena to turn the power on in Unc: DF
-
daniel_s_02
- 4:49pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 9
Why do people feel they have to type that they're "first".... like it means anything. You would think that common sense would tell you that people are going to know your first when they read the comment and realize.."hey this is the first comment". It's like blasting the radio in your car thinking that all the chica's are going to think your cool when in all actuallity you look like a moron. If you think about it who's like "oh Pikely your so cool, i wish i could be first like you"... NO! people actually type how much of a moron you are
-
thekingtut
- 4:50pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 10
You should do Solid Snake next.
I can't say I ever thought of Drake as an everyman. Bionic fingertips anyone?
-
jakster123x
- 5:01pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 11
Nate really is a great character and i also really enjoyed Nepal, it was just action sequence after awesome action sequence, absolutely amazing, great write up PSU and you should talk about Jak or Daxter next :p
-
residentevilrocks91
- 5:33pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 12
Elena- "On a scale of 1-10 how close were you to being scared I was gonna die
Nate- "A four.Elena-"A four?!?! You were at least an eight
Nate-"An eight those guardian things were an eight"
Elena-Are you kidding? Whats a 10?
Nate-"clowns I hate clowns
Elena-"clowns over my death?! Clowns?!?
Nate-"I'll bump you up to a 5 hows that?
LOL love that part.
-
-
-
FUZZY_LLAMA
- 8:33pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 15
Like some of the people that have already posted, my favorite Uncharted moment is the ending chat with Elena and Drake on Uncharted 2.
-
Aramil_Caelan
- 8:55pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 16
do these characters:
Ratchet
Kratos
JC Denton
Colonel Cartwright
-
serial_kicker
- 9:03pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 17
one of the things that made me pick uncharted 2 as GOTY was not actually the graphical prowess it enjoyed, for me it was the never heard before voice acting, the way charcters teased each other, how you could feel the hesitation tone in thier voices every now & then and even making pranks sometimes :)
I really liked when nate was trying to grab a box from a skeleton ..
chloe: careful ..
nate was slowly trying to pull the box from the skeleton's hands and all of a sudden it "appeared" that the skeleton was pulling nate back and nate went "aaaaaaaaaaah .... hahaha"
sully: you'll gimme a goddam heart attack nate,
nate: just kidding :)
nate is THE best character in video games in my opinion.
-
Girugamesh
- 9:29pm EST - December 5th, 2009
- 18
@1
You can't wait for the movie????
I can't wait for the movie to be CANNED
I swear, if they go through with this and make what will undoubtedly be a huge mockery to the franchise, I'm going to be pissed.
-
-
Petra_Kalbrain1
- 12:02am EST - December 6th, 2009
- 20
Nathan Drake is the first video game character that I have ever "looked up to" in the same way I've looked up to film characters throughout my life.
This will permanently ban this user and delete all associated comments. This action is irreversible, are you SURE you want to do this?!
