Nathan Drake; The Key To Uncharted’s Success

Nathan Drake embodies everything that most red-blooded male’s would aspire to be, charismatic, witty and unashamedly handsome, he is the very definition of cool. I mean come on, who wouldn’t want to travel to various exotic locations, have the uncanny ability to leap great distances nimbly from one wall to another before desperately clutching on to a loose stone pillar with one hand, and firing rounds into an enemy combatants torso with the other, and all that without messing up your hair (which is impressive). Collectively us males should hate the git, just for seemingly being perfect, but its his charm and the underlying fact that Drake is essentially a flawed individual that helps us to befriend him, and is integral to Uncharted’s continuous ascension.

Nate is a strangely sympathetic character, which is a benefit considering he’s sometimes reckless approach to situations leads to you hanging precariously off the side of a cliff or plummeting towards earth after the plane you occupied implode’s, but because it’s Nate, these perilous situations seem somehow justified. You become sucked into his world and your there with him through all of his dangerous endeavors, through every gun fight, through every narrow escape, through every excruciating fall, you’re taking the punches with him, and its this sympathetic inclination that wills you and Nate on to succeed, despite the astronomical odds. Uncharted itself is an anomaly, from the huge set pieces that evoke moments of awe as well as terror, to the intricately woven narratives that help the game become so much more than just another action adventure, these qualities and many more besides would be more than sufficient to heighten Uncharted to worldwide praise, but its Nathan Drake and the constantly evolving cast that elevate’s Uncharted to even greater heights.

Victor Sullivan, Elena Fisher, Chloe Frazer and more besides all assist in adding further depth and weight to an already impressive story, each with their own unique personalities, and although they can be perceived as slightly exaggerated individuals they are still very much believable, which in a game as varied and explosive as Uncharted is both difficult to achieve, but also essential when attempting to maintain the gamers attention and trust when a fictitious château deep in the jungles of France (yes I know how that sounds) is suddenly incinerated, with you still trapped inside. Keeping gamers entertained is one thing, but making it seem genuinely believable is almost impossible, unless your Naughty Dog apparently.

Ok, so I’ve gone a little off topic from my initial point I was trying to convey, by stating matter-of-factly, that Nathan Drake is key to Uncharted’s overwhelming acclaim, and I stick by this statement, but without the incredible array of characters for Nate to bounce off, the increasingly mature and sophisticated narratives and dialogue which helps the embellished occurrences seem legitimate, as well as giving video game narratives an element of credibility, not to mention the epic set-pieces which make Michael Bay movies seem mundane and amateurish (although Bay needs little assistance for this), all culminate to form one of the most mature games ever assembled. As for Drake, well I think it’s fair to say that he and to a certain degree Nolan North, have had a positive affect on the way I perceive my life, and I hope to one day express my appreciation to Naughty Dog and North for creating the greatest game protagonist, Nathan Drake. Just don’t get in a train with him…..or a car, or boat, or plane, actually you probably better off just going down the pub for a few bevvies…….all though come to think of it? No, you probably shouldn’t venture out at all.

How important do you think Nathan Drake is to the Uncharted series? Let me know your thoughts, cheers.