After thoroughly enjoying The Mysteries of Monkey Island back in October last year, I thought I'd try another of the growing range to tomes from Third Editions, and since I've loved Uncharted since playing the first game on the PlayStation 3, this tome seemed like the natural choice.
A team effort by Nicolas Deneschau and Bruno Provezza, over the course of seven chapters they have delivered a highly detailed and interesting look at what the Uncharted series is, and why it became such a beloved series.
The coverage the book provides can be divided into four keys topics: the founding of Naughty Dog, the making of the main series entries and the spin offs, a retelling of the various narratives combined with deep dives into the inspirations for each of the stories, and then an analysis which, as you may have already guessed, covers Drake's reputation as a mass killer along side the more usual thematics arising from the nature of the games.
As befits the standard set by my experience with the Monkey Island volume, this is another well written tome, with a lightness of touch and a sense of humour running throughout the 230 pages. Illustrations are kept to maps at the beginning of each chapter, which match the style so familiar to fans of the games.
There is much on offer as far as learning about the series goes, and there's no sugar-coating the perils of video game development during the period the series established itself. As someone who detests the crunch culture and brazen unfairness of the current industry, it would be nice to see leadership types suffer the same pressures and worries as the devs/artists/writers/QA and many others involved in game creation. Sure, there's a "vision", but continuing to hear about long hours, people never going home, and mental and physical burnout, is that price worth it? Especially when it's those who suffer these conditions are usually the first to be kicked out the door in the name of streamlining and "agility'. No, corporate leadership, you made the decisions, you fall on your swords first. Anyhoo, rant over.
Taken as a whole, The Saga Uncharted is a great single volume focusing on a gaming series that has made countless fans over the years, as well as cementing Nolan North, Emily Rose and Richard McGonagle to name just three as brilliant actors within the video game art form. Video games are more than just interactive movies, but the quality of the performances within the Uncharted series are truly high points.
Checking Amazon recently, it seems the only version of this book is for the Kindle, and the hardback copy isn't showing on the publisher's website. That's a shame, though there do still seem to be copies available from other retailers, so an online search will sort you out. As for my copy, it will join its Monkey Island cousin as a go to future reference, for you never know if someday the Uncharted games will be no longer playable, so this excellent tome will remain as a highly regarded record of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment