I’ll just come right out and say it: I’m obsessed with the Uncharted franchise. Completely and utterly obsessed. I even printed out the treasure walkthroughs for both games so that once beaten, I could go back and find every single treasure I missed. And I may or may not have worn a red headlight while crossing each one out with a trusty purple marker.
Needless to say, I was quite disappointed when Sony did not announce plans to make Uncharted 3 at this year’s E3 conference. After all, I did spend my entire birthday weekend hauled up in my boyfriend’s house playing (and of course beating) Uncharted 2 and was really hoping for a repeat performance for my next birthday, which will be in March of 2011, in case anyone was wondering. Now, as you all probably know by now, Nolan North, the amazing voice-over actor who plays Nathan Drake, has been quoted as indirectly stating Uncharted 3 is in the works. And since there has been no official announcement as of late, I figured the least I could do is help the developers out on possible locations for this very highly anticipated game.
Atlantis
Explorers have been trying to discover this now-underwater island since Plato first wrote about it more than a millennium ago. His description of Atlantis’ location is descriptive enough to entice you to look for it, but not descriptive enough to let you know if you are on the right track. Even today, its location is hotly disputed. Some say it’s off the coast of Bimini, while others swear it’s in the waters surrounding Turkey. As far as treasures go, Atlantis was said to possess technology so advanced that ours would appear infantile by comparison. And if Naughty Dog wanted to really get creative, they could tie in the famed Bermuda triangle myth, perhaps focusing on the version that claims the triangle is a portal through time.
As I’m sure you are all aware, Naughty Dog is known for pushing the envelope and using an island as a primary location is not a new concept for them, considering that the entire Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune took place on an island. Granted it was a normal above-ground island as opposed to a sunken-underwater civilization, but a vast majority of the game would have to be played above ground, assuming they stick with their tried-and-true plot structure. Not to mention that Bioshock currently has the market on underwater civilization and any new games containing underwater civilization would inevitably be compared to it. Even so, the Atlantian myth is such a part of our psyche that the majority of the gamers would probably overlook these similarities and instead revel in the ingenuity that Naughty Dog would most likely bring to the table this time around.
The Great Pyramids of Egypt
What walks on 4 legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs at night? If you know the answer to this riddle (man) and its origin (the sphinx) then you are probably one of many who are on team Egypt. In fact, there’s so much treasure hidden below its sandy surface that there’s really no way to know which treasure they would focus on, I would personally love to see Nate and company discover Cleopatra’s tomb, leading them to Queen Sheba’s tomb and finally, the coup de gras, King’s Solomon’s mines.
Now, I know that some of you are probably thinking that this is a bit too similar to the Prince of Persia franchise. I thought of that as well. However, the Uncharted world is so far removed from that of PoP that any similarities would most likely be few and far between.
Stonehenge
The Uncharted franchise has virtually overlooked Europe until now, so what better location than a mysterious stone circle (or henge if you will) in the English countryside? And as far as legends go, this awe-inspiring monument is chock full of them. The legends of Merlin using his magic to move the stones from Ireland in order to create a portal in time and of aliens from outer space helping early humans build this stone structure for overall astrological purposes are two of my personal favorites.
Like the earlier Atlantis choice, this locale could bear a resemblance to Drake’s Fortune. But if done correctly, it could be quite amazing. Maybe they could focus on the Merlin myth and bring us back in time to watch it being built, possibly tying in other such stone monuments- Easter Island, anyone? Or better yet, Nate could search for (and obviously find) King Arthur’s sword, rumored to have magical powers. Sure, it’s a little far-fetched, but no more so than their version of Shangri-La. And what better place to search for treasure than a place built either by magic or aliens?
Antarctica
No discussion of possible Uncharted 3 location would be complete without at least a mention of Antarctica. The internet is, after all, filled with articles swearing this is the location of choice. And while finding the lost treasure of Ernest Shackleton, one of the first explorers to reach the South Pole, would be quite interesting given that his lost whiskey bottles have recently been discovered intact and thought to actually be drinkable, the location itself is just too similar to the Himalayan mountain used in Uncharted 2 for my liking. And when I first read about this location choice, the name Sam Whitwhicky quickly came to mind. Not the comparison Naughty Dog is going for.
http://www.allegedly-speaking.com/2010/07/articles/possible-locations-for-uncharted-3/
my vote is for antartica
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