Uncharted and Oban 14

Okay, starting a blog. In 2020. Why not? When you want to say something but you don\’t want to invest a fortune in a decent podcast or game-play recording setup, start a blog!

What do I write about? Good question. Kind of a big question when starting a site that is all about, you know, writing. I love video games, I\’ve been playing them pretty much my whole life and talk about them to a degree that borders on annoying for my wife some days. (As I am writing this my wife is nudging me that it definitely goes beyond bordering on annoying.)

I also love scotch. This is a relatively new interest of mine. But what I know about Scotch is that it tends to tell a story. I thought why not combine the flavor and story of Scotches I like with the story of games I also like? So that\’s what this blog will be about: reviewing the story mode of games and reviewing the flavor and story behind different scotches. Some of you might be saying: this just sounds like an excuse to drink and play video games (as if I need any more reason to do that!) And I would say yes, you are absolutely right!

Let\’s start with Uncharted: Drake\’s Fortune. Old game? You bet. Great game? Absolutely. And in terms of a story, it is one of the most cinematic gaming experiences you can have that makes you feel like a modern day Indiana Jones. The game does a great job introducing the character of Nathan Drake: wise cracking, acrobatic, history buff. He is on a quest to uncover the mysterious history of his supposed ancestor, Sir Francis Drake, and his search for the fabled El Dorado. He brings along his faithful mentor/companion, Victor Sullivan, as well as intrepid journalist Elena Fisher for the ride of a lifetime. Across from our heroes we have…decent villains? Look, I never said this game was perfect even when it comes to story components. The main villain, Gabriel Roman, is basically a standard smug and arrogant British villain. His second in command is Atoq Navarro, who is a little more interesting but still kind of a standard Peruvian/Hispanic villain. Then there\’s Eddy Raja, the leader of some hired muscle brought in to assist Roman and Navarro, and he is actually probably the most interesting of the villains because of the history he shares with Drake and the excellent slightly unhinged performance of his character. Really, the villains are not not what makes this game great or the story of the game, but it is the dynamic characters of the main heroes and the relationships they have with one another that comes across.

When this game was announced I had a subscription to Game Informer magazine (that should date this) and I remember being blown away by the graphics and the fact that it was being created by Naughty Dog, the game studio which created one of my favorite game series of all time Jak and Daxter. So, needless to say, I was absolutely hyped. Outside of my own personal hype, the industry at large was intrigued by a game that seemed to be breaking the mold of a market that was dominated by first and third person action shooters which featured relatively uniform and dull color pallets of grays, browns, blacks, and reds. Along comes Uncharted which is set in a vibrant jungle format with a charismatic main hero that is able to emote beyond yelling and swearing (though who doesn\’t love some yelling and swearing every now and then?) Uncharted was a huge step forward in video game story telling in the sense of how it bridges that gap between movie and game. It also provided a game that most non-gamers wouldn\’t roll their eyes at when they saw it.