120°

Matter Of Perspective: Nathan Drake From Treasure Hunter To Mass Murderer

There’s no doubt that Nathan Drake is one of the most popular game characters to emerge this generation. After all he is a 21st century Indiana Jones, with a lot of charm and wit. He seems like someone you’d love to hang around with, and someone who just takes life as it comes, even though most of his time is spent looking down the barrel of a gun. However, behind this exterior of a charming guy lies the mind of a cunning, ruthless, secretive mass murderer.

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thesixthaxis.com
GalacticEmpire3998d ago

This again, I'm pretty sure it's not murder if you kill people who are trying to kill you and/or destroy/take over the world. Why is it that Drake always gets this weird criticism and all other protagonists are immune?

Gimmemorebubblez3998d ago

Its just Drake's bad Fortune that he gets weird criticism.

minimur123998d ago

I see what you did there ;)

TopDudeMan3998d ago

Yeah, Lazarevic makes that very point in uncharted 2.

He says "You think I am a monster. But you're no different from me, Drake. How many men have you killed? How many... just today?"

And that's where the whole morality gets interesting because in reality, drake has probably killed WAY more people than lazarevic has. I think that was a very interesting line of dialogue because he is the villain, yet he has less blood on his hands.

Hydralysk3998d ago (Edited 3998d ago )

Probably because most other popular mass murdering protagonists are soldiers or warriors of some kind.

Nathan Drake is some treasure hunter/thief who rushes off to seek fame and fortune while killing dozens of men and making upbeat quips. There's usually some "Save the world" element that gets revealed near the end, but the games all start with Drake chasing it for the money.

It's the same problem people had with the old Lara Croft. She's already rich and raids tombs for priceless artifacts not because she wants to preserve them, but because of the thrill, and woe to any people or animals that get in the way of her adrenaline rush.

People complain about this but I think it's a good sign. We're now starting to ask the question "Is my character justified in killing these people?" even if it's usually in jest, rather than going "This is a video game, and in video games killing dudes is just what you do". This kind of thought process is what leads to games like Spec Ops, and I'm all for that.

-Gespenst-3998d ago

So his enemies somehow become inhuman or non-human because of their motives? He's still killing hundreds of people. Why can't he just incapacitate them? It makes him just as bad as them if he kills them.

Drake is so righteous that he's allowed to kill them? You've gotta get this eye for an eye idea out of your head. No one actually has the right to kill another person- that's an illusion ideologues like to spread. You shouldn't see these heroes somehow warranted in how much they kill people. Drake's not a likable hero, he's a d!ck.

dp2774073998d ago

Honestly most of the time these people are chasing him or he's running away from something lol, remember when he was a kid in three and multiple other times lol.

Irishguy953998d ago (Edited 3998d ago )

Drake is a likable dick/

That doesn't sound too nice when you just hear the words...but it covers the character as an entertaining/likable psychopath.

Really, your not supposed to judge the game based on realistic morals. The game doesn't want or try to cover this type of thing, wait for TloU, that title is more ambitious that Uncharted ever was.

GalacticEmpire3998d ago

"So his enemies somehow become inhuman or non-human because of their motives?"

WHAT!? I Never said that.

Yeah he can incapacitate them sure, which he does with the 'innocent' parties i.e. the sleep darts in the musuem (Among Thieves). My point was that he only ever kills people who are trying to kill him, which is kind of justified.

Wintersun6163998d ago

"No one actually has the right to kill another person"

Dude, you're so wrong. Never heard of James Bond?

Also following your faulty logic, all these people are dicks:
Altaïr, CJ, Jason Brody, Wei Shen, John Marston, Cole McGrath, Adam Jensen.

Also if we extend this logic to aliens and animals, these people are dicks too:
Master Chief, Mario, Link, Kratos, Snake...

3998d ago
Inception3998d ago

"Why can't he just incapacitate them? It makes him just as bad as them if he kills them."

Emm, Drake only one ordinary man vs tons of enemies with full weapons, tanks, and helicopters that want his head as a reward. If Drake like spiderman or superman, maybe he can incapacitate the enemies one by one with a blink on an eye.

But, even the legendary hero like solid snake need to kill tons of enemies to completed his mission, even though his boss command him to sneak past the enemies. So yeah, it's kill or to be kill.

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BlackPrince 423998d ago

It's always brought up because it's cognitively dissonant for charming Nathan Drake to also be a murder machine.

For most people, it's only something they think about in retrospect. Our ability to suspend disbelief carries us through the game most of the time.

And it really only comes up with Drake (and now DeWitt, and reboot Lara Croft) because those characters are so much more fleshed out than say, the Doom marine, and they're not trained assassins like Solid Snake.

Truthfully it's a good problem. One that shows gaming is maturing.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3998d ago
miyamoto3998d ago

"How many did you kill just today?" This line from Lazaravich is still blown out of proportion and context just for clicks? and why Drake like the Dragon's Crown Sorceress so singled out with killing and everyone else gets a pass?

kneon3998d ago

I don't know why Drake gets all the grief for being a mass murderer. Mario is by far a more prolific killer than Drake, how many millions of goombas, koopas etc. has he killed over the decades?

Inception3998d ago

Lol, i just imagine Mario taught his descendant (Mario Jr 1, Mario Jr 2, etc) for 8th generation (of video game console) to always kill Goombas / Koopas family, even maybe one of Goombas / Koopas descendant are not as bad as their ancestor XD
Maybe i think it's safe to say Mario is the worst genocide & psychopath character in video game history XD

ceballos77mx3995d ago

Not to mention how many yoshis he sacrifices to save himself from falling to the pit.

o-Sunny-o3998d ago

Naughty Dawg should make a game where you play as a bandit and have a bandicoot partner. *_*

wishingW3L3998d ago (Edited 3998d ago )

is just gameplay, Drake really doesn't kill hundreds of people in the games just like Mario runs and jump for hours in his games and never gets tired. That's just how gaming is unless you want to go the David Cage's route when making games just to keep everything within context.

The only way to fix Uncharted would be by mirroring Mirror's Edge gameplay maybe? Instead of gunning down every-body it would be more about the chasing... Or maybe by putting more emphasis on stealth and less bullets?

TheGamingArt3998d ago

This discussion has already been done and overkilled.... Stop being cliche.

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50°

Celebrating Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune 15-Year Anniversary

November 19 marks 15 years since the release of the Uncharted game that started it all.

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naughtydog.com
Nyxus515d ago

I hope they make another Uncharted game some day.

MIDGETonSTILTS17514d ago

I hope they don’t make another until the end of the ps5 lifecycle…. Show us a better jungle

Minute Man 721514d ago

It's 15 years already....time flys

40°

The Inconsistent Harmony: 5 Examples of Ludonarrative Dissonance in Video Games

VGChartz's Issa Maki: "I finally have a proper designation akin to what I've always referred to internally as 'the line that must be crossed' or 'The Line', for short – ludonarrative dissonance – the separation from a video game's story in relation to its gameplay. Why isn't PETA all up in Mario's grill for jumping on turtles and killing fish, or charging Samus Aran with the extinction of the Metroid species? Ever notice how fire has that habit of making bosses in Resident Evil stronger? Read on my friend, for I endeavor to imbue you with the ability to engage in basic queries concerning the concept."

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vgchartz.com
0hMyGandhi663d ago

I absolutely loved this article! well done.

MadLad663d ago

Nathan Drake is a monster.

150°

10 Years Later — 'Uncharted: Golden Abyss' Deserved a Better Fortune

A relic of its time or a buried treasure from the past?

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goombastomp.com
darthv72791d ago

I was really hoping this would have made it into one of the collections. Like how they did with the GoW PSP games.

VenomUK791d ago

I recall just playing the start on PS Vita but not much more and many Uncharted fans wouldn't have played it either so this 'unknown' chapter could be ripe for an expanded version for PS5.

TiredGamer790d ago

Agreed here. Played it back on the Vita years ago, but never finished. The cramped Vita controls and the tiny analog sticks just didn't gel with me in a game where precise headshots are half the fun. It's the first Uncharted game that I haven't completed/Platinumed, and I think much of it is control related. Really wish it was PS TV compatible (natively).

I would definitely buy it if it were released as a PS4/PS5 version.

YoungKingDoran790d ago

If you ever play it again on Vita definitely turn on the gyro aiming assist, made it alot more fun to play and i ended up getting all the headshot trophies thanks to this- super accurate

TheEnigma313791d ago

I loved this game. It was like an extension of the first one. Why haven't we gotten an HD release yet?

TiredGamer790d ago (Edited 790d ago )

Lack of available dev resources and lack of a lucrative ROI probably. I think Sony has an opportunity to sell it as a separate, standalone HD remaster for like $20. Otherwise, the effort to convert a PS Vita game to the PS4/5 won't be worth their while. Unfortunate, but that's probably the only way it'd make financial sense.

deleted790d ago (Edited 790d ago )

Some of the puzzles/interactivity would have to be completely reworked. I remember having to hold the camera to a bright light. (I remember being annoyed at that part bc I was playing in bed late night while my wife was asleep next to me. Ran to the kitchen at like 3am just to get past it lol)

Also the swipe battles. I absolutely couldn't stand the final boss because the swiping felt so inaccurate and it would constantly misread gestures.

I adored the rest of the game though, and even the story! It couldn't simply just be rereleased, it needs reworking for consoles. (same reason it didn't get PS Vita TV support) The rubbing parts could still work w Dualsense/DS4 though.

I'd gladly welcome it and do hope it happens eventually!

Muigi790d ago

Glad I still have my Oled Vita.

MadLad790d ago

Sony should have tried harder to support the Vita. It ended up just a solid emulation machine that happens to have a handful of classics.

Bigman4k790d ago (Edited 790d ago )

Yeah Sony gave up on the ps vita way too fast

Bigman4k790d ago (Edited 790d ago )

I really like Uncharted:Golden Abyss on ps vita it would be dope if they remaster it for PlayStation 5

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