Rule 32: Enjoy the little things in life.

Recently, I had the chance to finally sit down a play through the Uncharted games. For the uninitiated, the Uncharted series follows treasure hunter Nathan Drake on his wild and adrenaline-filled adventures. After seeing the reception Among Thieves had received (many, many game of the year lists), I was more than eager to play them, just finding time was tricky. And for once, the public was right. They were truly awesome games. A pinnacle of what gaming could be. I called Drake’s Fortune amazing. So when I finally beat Among Thieves, which blew it out of the water, I had to find a new word to describe it. So some friends on twitter and I coined the word ‘Drake-tastic’, that is, beyond amazing. But really, the music is fantastic, graphics are very impressive, the stories are extremely engaging and the manner they’re told in is top-notch.  The game play is fun, puzzles are clever but not too hard, and gunplay, while occasionally frustrating, is fun and checkpoints are frequent so even if you die fairly frequently (like I did at points) you never have a whole lot to replay. But most importantly, the characters are some of the best I’ve seen. I cannot praise the character work enough. But I will try.

Great, power’s out, and a girl’s trapped. I swear to God, if there’s a Zombie around the next corner… -Nathan Drake

I’m very much a character-oriented person. If a game or movie doesn’t have good or at least interesting characters, I’ll quit, regardless of the story. The converse is also true, if something’s generally mediocre, but the characters are cool, I’ll finish it regardless. Luckily, Uncharted is far from mediocre.  As stated before, the games follow Nathan Drake, a modern Indiana Jones and treasure hunter, on his adventures. Along for the ride are his buddy Victor ‘goddamn’ Sullivan and Elena Fisher, a reporter hoping to make it big with a feature on Drake’s adventures. The chemistry between these three characters is a joy to watch. Other characters they encounter are Harry Flynn, an old thieving partner of Drake’s, Chloe Frazer, the femme fatale of Among Thieves, and Tenzin, a Tibetan mountaineer that guides Drake and despite not knowing a common language, they end up saving each other’s lives multiple times. While all the character are very strong, I was most impressed the characterization of Drake and Elena. They’re both very real, they’re not perfect, they sometimes fail, but when push comes to shove, they show remarkable will and strength.

Y’know, people are always telling me how lucky I am. But the truth is, everything I touch turns to shit.-Nathan Drake

Nathan Drake is the protagonist of the series, a role which carries a great deal of weight. He needs to be interesting, but players also need to be able to relate to him. Sure and confident, but not overly cocky. Skilled and qualified, but not a total Superman. The protagonist’s job is to guide the player through the game, they are the vehicle through which the player experiences the events of the story. It is a role Drake succeeds in. Drake is your everyman, your very definition of the word average and normal. Apart from being in shape and some shooting experience, he has no super powers. He’s not invincible, nor super-strong, nor super quick. He’s just Drake. He’s a hero. He’s funny, charming, good-looking, very well-intentioned, willing to do what’s right, even at great risk to his own life and limb and loss of the treasure. In other words, he’s the kind of guy you’d be ok with dating your younger sister. But Drake’s far from perfect. He fails, he doubts, he makes mistakes. And it is through these mistakes that he learns and finds courage and will to grow and continue on. It is with great joy that the player watch Drake evolve from ‘just’ a treasure hunter to one of the greatest heroes gaming has seen. Making those tough decisions, trying his best to save everyone and ultimately coming out on top, but just barely.

Elena Fisher: Nate, please be careful… Nathan Drake: [chuckles] Arent I always? [bangs head on low celing] OWWW! I did NOT see that coming!

While there is certainly no lack of females in gaming, there is a great lack of actually interesting, strong and developed females. Women in games tend to be either damsels in distress, sex icons or some mix thereof. While there are a few notable exceptions, i.e. Terra from FFVI, Bastila from KoTR and Rinoa from FFVIII, gaming is still very much a male-dominated hobby. So when we meet a character like Elena Fisher, it comes as a huge breath of fresh air. Don’t get me wrong, Elena IS very attractive, but she’s also capable. During a firefight, you’ll find her right up front with Drake, not cowering away. Elena is the most dynamic of the cast. She starts off as a normal reporter, trying to make it. But through her encounters with Drake and the cast and her own stubborn will, she emerges as one of Drake’s most faithful and clever allies. During the times when Drake’s having a crisis of faith, it is Elena that spurs him on and helps get him through it, and reminds him of the good he’s done. The on-screen chemistry between Drake and Elena is absolutely fantastic, both during videos and normal gameplay. The way they banter back and forth is reminiscent of Castle and Beckitt or Booth and Bones. She accompanies Drake through most of his journeys and ultimately, he couldn’t have done it without her.

Drake and Elena are only two of the extremely strong cast of the Uncharted series. If you own a PS3 and enjoy good games, you owe it to yourself you play through them. If you don’t own a PS3, find someone who does and make a new best friend. They are fast-paced, fun, epic and very exciting games. And at the end of the day, what more to we want from a game?

–theindiegeek

theindiegeek on: Heat Wave by Richard Castle

I recently had the pleasure of reading Mr. Castle’s new book, entitled Heat Wave.  And I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Good to know that old Rick Castle hasn’t lost it.  Heat Wave is a very nice read.  Fast paced, flows very well,  just enough plot twists to have your head spinning and very likable characters;  it’s well worth reading, and perhaps then reading again.

I have to be honest, after offing Derrik Storm, I wondered if Castle’s future books could reclaim that sense of awe and trill that made him the Master of the Macabre.  But have no fear, my friends.  Nikki Heat’s just as thrilling as Derrik.  Different, perhaps, but still excellent.  She’s the kind of cop you want on your side, and really not the other way around.  Dangerous, smart, gorgeous, and relentless, she is a hound that sticks with the case until it’s solved.

Now I know that we all know that Castle’s been following (or is pestering perhaps the right word…) one of NYPD’s finest detectives.  Personally, I’m not sure what to think about having a writer on hand at crime scenes, mucking things up, but if this it what comes out of it, and as long as the bad guys still get behind bars, I’m all for it.  Still you have to admit it’s a bit odd.

One thing that’s always made me wonder about Mr. Castle, and that’s his uncanny resemblancethat one actor guy.  Y’know, the one in Firefly.  No, not Alan Tudyk.  Not Adam Baldwin.  Yes, Nathan Fillion. That’s him.  Always thought the similarities in appearance was a bit eerie.  Someday I’ll have to ask either of them about it.

But back to the book.  Please buy it, borrow it, steal it, whatever you have to do, just read it.  It’s well worth the time.

theindiegeek on:  Nathan Fillion/Castle

For those of you unfamiliar with Nathan Fillion, he’s kind of a big deal, at least in Geek and underdog circles.  He’s one of those guys who just can’t seem to get a break, despite how awesome he may be.  Fillion’s big break (in most people’s eyes) was on Joss Whedon’s Firefly, which shall be known hence forth as The Best Show That Never Was (TBSTNW).  Cancelled after only fourteen episodes, it was one of the greatest things on tv ever.  And Fox Network screwed it over.  Allow me to interrupt this blog post and say if you haven’t seen Firefly yet, stop reading to go hulu.com/firefly and watch it.  Don’t worry, the blog’ll be here.

Watching it? Good.  Now you know who Fillion is.  The enigmatic Captain Malcolm ‘tightpants’ Reynolds.  One other thing Firefly did, besides introduce Fillion to us geeks, is it inducted him into the ‘Cult of Whedon’.  Y’know, the group of actors and actresses that Joss Whedon puts in everything? i.e. David Boreanaz, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Eliza Dushku. (That’s a list of pretty awesome people, come to think of it…)  Despite only having a minuscule number of episodes, Firefly managed to spawn a movie Serenity which was made of win.  After Serenity and a few cameos and small movies, Fillion was to get another shot at playing lead, this time in a show called Drive.

Drive managed to have even worse luck than Firefly, being cancelled after six episodes.  Then, in 2008, genius happened.  Most people called it the writers strike.  During this time, Joss Whedon decided to try something different.  Different and legendary.  Using a crew of mainly his family and friends, Joss created a three part musical called Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog about an evil genius trying to a) get into the evil league of evil, b) defeat his nemesis, and c) win the heart of the girl of his dreams.  Filling these roles were Neil Patrick Harris (of Doogie Howser, and How I Met Your Mother fame) as the titular  Doctor Horrible, the aforementioned Felicia Day (of The Guild) as Penny, the love interest, and Fillion as Captain Hammer, the nemesis.  And it rocked.  Hardcore.  Despite being only 42 mins in length, it was very successful.

Then in 2009, something odd happened.  Fillion would once again get his own show.  Fearing a repeat, me and my friends decided to watch it, no matter what, in support of the late, great Mal Reynolds.  Having been a spaceship captain, a road racer, and a nemesis, naturally murder mystery writer came next.  A show about a writer who got bored with his bestselling character, Derrick Storm, and offs him prior to the first episode.  He then chooses a less than ideal time to get writer’s block.  To regain his inspiration, he follows around one of the men in blue, or in this case, women in blue, Detective Kate Beckett.  He follows her all throughout the day and her cases, much to her dismay.

So, will Castle follow the same fate as so many other of Fillion’s shows?  If history is any indication of the future, probably not.  While, it’s not the highest-grossing show on TV now, it has carved a nice niche.  The banter and relationship between Castle and Beckett is the highlight of the show, watching then banter, bicker and flirt, then come together to solve the case.  Fillion oozes charm, and Stana Katic plays Beckett excellently.  The rest of the cast also deserves props, from Castle’s family to the other cops at the station.  A truly remarkable cast.

Is it because he’s the underdog that people like myself keep a close eye on what Fillion’s doing?  Is it because he’s a witty, charming and intelligent guy?  Or is he just a damn fine actor who deserves better breaks?  The answer, my friend, is D) all the above.

–theindiegeek