*looks up* Dang that came out well...good thing I turned the heat of the fire down a smidge or I would have been sweltering...

Anyway...it's coming out soon! What? Well, one of the PS3's (...with the final...only on...PS4...yay), best adventure games! Every entry of this series, which harkens to epic treasure hunting experiences in remembrance of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft (Tomb Raider really), pushed to get the best out of the console system and delivers great characters, intriguing plot, decent gameplay, and an experience that'll leave you feeling like you've really gone through the amazing experience.

I actually got the Uncharted series when I was gifted my PS3 by someone on-ship. I was ecstatic of course to try it out, but due to many circumstances, I had to put a pause on it. Good thing too, as me and this person wanted to experience it together. Well...technically he beat them already, so I was trailing behind, but hey, I can be patient. It took awhile, a...long while...lots of explosions, killer experiments, a weird controlling thing, blah blah blah...but after all said and done I FINALLY got to dive into it. We're still working on it bit by bit. Still have Uncharted 3 to fully finish and, when I finally figure out how to get compatibility working, will be able to move on to Uncharted 4...which will hopefully be blind for both of us.

Anyway. Uncharted stars treasure hunter Nathan Drake, who, seemingly, is a descendant of Sir Francis Drake (save time, use google, there's a lot of history for ya), who's journal he uses to find "El Dorado", the city of gold. But...it's not exactly as people think it is. Joining him is, of course, a scoop reporter, Elena Fisher...who's not too bad with a gun as we find out in the shoot out opening! A little ahead, we meet Nathan's partner, Victor "Sully" Sullivan *glances Randall's way*....ok, I didn't say it loud enough....who is essentially your old-but-still-ok-timer. Needless to say, the aim for treasure has them ditching Elena....really funny heheh. From there, we follow Nathan's journey through an island in the pacific, facing a competitive treasure hunter and his cronies, Elena showing up again...and later on finding out just what El Dorado really is.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (not the missing honor, tahahah!), raised all the notches even higher. Nathan's not in good shape at the start...so we see the first few bits in flashbacks. After being approached by some old associates, Nathan is put into another treasure hunt, this time circling around Marco Polo, which begins the trail to a true prize, the Cintamani Stone, considered a wish-fulfilling jewel...something like the Philosopher's Stone for you FMA fans.
Naturally, when you have more than one thief, things get complicated. Not to mention when "the ex" Elena (lets face it, you KNOW they got together) shows up again. More dangers follow, and we're led on a harrowing chase to get to this legendary stone before the opposition does. It's a wild adventure, filled with some of the same...but the same was great to begin with, and it's a new story, so it keeps you hooked at nearly every turn.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, as I said, is unfinished by me...so NO SPOILERS! Anyway. The beginning of this one is probably the one I like best....bar fight! Oh that was fun. Anyway, we get flashbacks in this entry, when Nate was just 15-year old kid...looking for his (later) iconic ring from Sir Francis Drake. We see his early acrobatic skills, how he met Sully...it's a good establishment of how the two partners from the previous two games got to know each other. But, to make this short, the past and present collide a bit when facing this entry's antagonist, in a race to find the lost city of Ubar. There's probably more, but as said, not finished just yet, so leave to wonder.

Anyway, the Uncharted series is fantastic. Great characters, great settings, epic bits, lots of platforming finesse. It's everything you'd expect from a classic treasure hunting (albiet with some twists) experience. I thought it would be wrapped up in 3, given the flashbacks at the start and what not...but apparently there's a "brother" situation coming up.

All I know about Uncharted 4 really, cause I want to keep myself surprised and what not, is that Nathan's brother Sam comes into his life, just when it seems to be settling with Elena, to pull him back into the treasure hunting experience. Some of the trailers were quite...interesting in relation to this. Some take on the mood of how Nathan wonders how he'll be remembered...as a treasure hunter...or of someone who cares about the people closest to him. Or if sacrificing a normal life is worth the danger and loss with such a profession.
I think about the later a bit more. Normal life ain't exactly easy. It's difficult to pin down exactly what IS normal these days. Get up, have breakfast, go to work, eat lunch, work some more, come home, do a little something, dinner, sleep...repeat. Is that normal? Dunno. Seems routine don't it? The lure of more action, more adventure may seem more appealing to some. There's risk, sure, but that's part of the experience, or part of the fun if that's how you think of it.
Personally, don't consider my life normal for obvious reasons. I've had it, sorta, way back, and by comparison...I dunno. Would you take a normal life? Or one full of risk? Would you prefer routine, or the spontaneous? It's a difficult question really.

I think a little on Digimon Tri 2: Determination with Joe, and his struggle with trying to have a normal life compared to the destiny he was given. What's free will worth if you've got a destiny that keeps forcing itself on you?

Maybe sometimes we want adventure, but other times we just want to slow down. Being "normal" is so undefined these days (if ever), that maybe there isn't such a thing as it. For Nathan, I feel, it's part of what might tear him apart in this entry. Does he choose adventure with Sam? Or to settle with Elena? Is the call of treasure and obtaining it really so alluring? Or is staying with someone he loves more important? Well...that may be shown in this entry, and I for one and looking forward to how it turns out.

I really got thinking on the matter with the one trailer focusing on Nathan on what seems to be the innards of a ship full of treasure burning up, the "Heads or Tails" trailer. My take, it's a representation of "one way is home" "one way is adventure", a choice between continuing this life of being a treasure hunter and a calm life with Elena. Putting this on a coin flip is rather...dumb Drake. But hey, it KINDA lands on it's side (technically), so the coin's basically telling you "hey, get off your butt, it's not up to ME, I'm a piece of gold, now get the heck out, you're burning".
I'm guessing the game will receive great accolades just like it's predecessors...but I find it a bit annoying that it wasn't on the PS3. I just don't like it when games make transfers to new consoles like that. I mean this is supposedly the end for Uncharted's main series (...lets face it...when has a money-grabber series ever stopped), but it's just one game for the PS4, so you'll need both consoles if you don't have them already to get the whole experience.

Anyway! I've still got Uncharted 3 to finish with my associate, and when able to get things set up, on to Uncharted 4!.....hopefully no stupid shadow puzzles again....I say stupid, it was actually pretty cool...just didn't notice that spear at the front...dang spear...