Naughty Dog’s Uncharted franchise is renowned for its technical wizardry and eye-popping set pieces over the years, offering some of the most visually striking spectacles on Sony’s black powerhouse to date. Since its inception in 2007, the series’ combination of meticulously-realized visuals, witty banter and pulse-pounding combat has cemented hero Nathan Drake’s antics on par with the very best of Hollywood’s annual summer blockbusters. Sure, there are more cerebral adventure games out there, but Uncharted’s polished paradigm of platforming, scrapping and mild puzzle solving has ensured gamers have gravitated to the series in droves. And with a third PlayStation 3-entry on the horizon, Drake’s adventures only look set to fatten Naughty Dog’s wallets and deprive us of more hours of sleep.
In anticipation of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (and because we’re bored of sitting on our arses, and we love an excuse to wax lyrically about the cheeky treasure hunter’s exploits), PSU has decided to list five stunning Uncharted moments that slammed our jaws to the floors, representing the standout scenes that will forever remain embedded on our consciousness.
Join us now as we extol our five stunning Uncharted moments. Spoilers abound, so don’t look unless you’ve played the games or don’t mind an advanced viewing of some of the series’ highlights.
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1 – TRAIN DERAILMENT
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from spending copious amounts of time in the Uncharted universe, it’s that trains (or any form of transport for that matter) and Drake do not mix. In fact, they’re a recipe for disaster—and some eye-popping set pieces to boot. Here we find our cocky hero clambering over train carriages in an attempt to corner bald baddie Zoran Lazarveric, only to be set upon by legions of trigger-happy goons and a tenacious attack chopper. It’s a long slog too, with a seemingly endless barrage of cars separating Drake from his quarry—but boy, is it an eye-opener. Highlights include a mighty explosion causing one of the carriages to flip up and grind along the tracks, wrecking a bridge in the process, to Drake getting his mitts on a meaty Gatling gun, which he then uses to destroy the pursuing chopper. If that wasn’t enough, our hero’s journey culminates in a colossal train wreck—both literally and figuratively in this case—as a grenade blows the locomotive off its tracks, sending it hurtling down the mountain side. And Drake? He ends up in one of the train cars dangling precariously off the edge of a cliff. “Oh, crap,” indeed!
2 – MOUNTAIN CHASE
Our next pick comes once again from sumptuous sequel Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, focusing on Drake and Fisher’s high-speed mountain chase as the duo pursues Lazaveric’s military convey en route to an old Monastery. Naughty Dog’s lauded adventurer is jam-packed with awesome vehicle chase scenes, and this one doesn’t disappoint. A quintessentially Indiana Jones-style eye-opener filled to the rafters with ‘OMG’ moments, the sequence ping-pong’s Drake between the safety of Elena’s truck and the backs of enemy trucks, bumping off baddies before returning to Fisher after his current ride is compromised – and by that, we mean being set on fire before exploding in a hail of debris. Dexterous jump work is required here as our hero precariously hops back and forth between his ride and enemy trucks, occasionally blowing his adversaries off the road with a quick volley of a grenade launcher. Brimming with tons of explosions and gunfire mixed with a healthy dose of Drake’s razor-sharp witticisms, this is one set-piece that makes some of Hollywood’s finest sit-up and take notice. Gripping stuff.
3– JUNGLE JEEP JAUNT
After being banged up by Eddie’s flunkies while snooping around the ruins of a fort, Nate makes a sensational escape from his cell after spunky sidekick Elena Fisher busts the wall open and the pair absconds through the jungle via jeep. What follows is an adrenaline-fueled segment as Drake and his lady friend are pursued by Eddie and co through lush greenery and skidding around perilous cliff tops. Fortunately, our cheeky chappie isn’t completely helpless, and makes fine use of the jeep’s grenade launcher to dispose of the pesky pirates. Things get pretty hectic as Elena puts the pedal to the metal though, narrowly missing barreling over the edge and smacking into tree trucks among other things. Hit any such obstacles and it’s an explosive end for our heroic duo.
4 – BUILDING COLLAPSE
Sagaciously chosen by Sony to flex Uncharted 2’s ample visual pulling power at its E3 2009 conference, Drake’s traversing of rickety rooftops during a stint in Nepal has become a staple showcase of Among Thieves’ ability to effortlessly floor jaws across the globe. Again, the sequence isn’t just limited to one show-stopper, and combines a myriad of frantic, scripted spectacles that ensure Nate keeps on his toes throughout. Specifically, our hero is again molested by armed guards, accompanied by an attack chopper that attempts to cut the cheeky chappie down as Drake makes some daring leaps across the rooftops. At one point, the chopper’s mini-gun chews through a flimsy wooden structure, leaving Drake the task of navigating his way across the skyline via a series of mangled support pillars. Cue more sweat-inducing gun fights, which culminates in a scrap with a couple of baddies inside a wonky house ravaged by chopper fire. Drake and Chloe emerge victorious, but not before the whole place spectacularly crumbles under their feet and nearly squashes them as it slides off its foundation and plummets to the ground below. As Drake acutely points out, “We were almost in that!”
5 – “THAT’S MY BLOOD…THAT’S A LOT OF MY BLOOD”
An extension to the beautifully-realized train wreck detailed elsewhere in this article, our final pick highlights Drake’s frantic effort to extricate himself from a crashed train carriage perched over a cliff edge. Interestingly, you actually play through this sequence twice – once at the beginning prologue section, and again later on after the narrative catches up following its flashback style storytelling. To describe this sequence as tense would be an understatement of gross proportions. Needless to say, we felt the need to fetch a fresh pair of undercrackers, so lord only knows how Drake must have felt as he clambered his way up and out of the car knowing that one false move would seal his doom. A strike contrast to our previous picks, this moment is all about stomach-knotting dread; a slow, unnerving chunk of gameplay that makes it abundantly clear there’s no room for hiccups – miss your footing, and Drake’s going the way of the Dodo. Superbly scripted for maximum tension, it’s gripping stuff as Drake fumbles around to get a grip on something while precariously and methodically winding his way up the car, as debris falls inches from his head and bits of machinery bend and break under his weight. Several times you think you’ve had it until Drake’s acute reaction time spares you a messy end, as our hero leaps from one makeshift platform to the next. Finally, he reaches the top, only to make one last leap of faith as his would-be metal coffin plummets into the abyss. Phew.
Got any standout Uncharted moments you’d like to share with us? Let us know by posting in the comments section below or by visting our forums.