Uncharted

YouTube Fan Film: Uncharted

Rated: NR

Genre: Comedy, Action, Video Game

Release Date: July 16th, 2018

Run Time: 15 minutes

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Stephen Lang, Geno Segers, Mircea Monroe, Ernie Reyes Jr

Director: Allan Ungar

Reason We’re Watching It: It’s no secret we’re gaming fans here at TrunkSpace. (See the Trunk Gaming section to verity our credentials!) Fans of the Uncharted gaming franchise have been wishing for a live action movie for years, but it appears to be stuck in Hollywood pre-production purgatory. Allan Ungar, a fan of the gaming series, took this short film on as a passion project along with Nathan Fillion, and we are so glad they did.

What It’s About: Nathan Drake, played masterfully by Fillion, is captured on purpose in the hopes of retrieving some historical documents from some very bad dudes. Of course, Sully is nearby to help pull Drake’s bacon out of the fire if things go sideways, which you know they always do.

Whoah! Rewind That!: During Drake’s big action scene, Ungar captured the exact way we would see the scene in video game format, and it came out so well that it brought a pixelated tear to our eyes.

Watercooler-Worthy Tidbit: Ungar is not the only one who thinks Fillion is the perfect casting for Drake. There are scads of petitions online from fans asking that they cast Nathan Fillion as the quick quipping Drake.

And that’s why we’re giving it…

Game Title: UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY

Platforms: PS4

Released: August 22nd, 2017

Trunk Gaming is coming back at you with an explosive review of Naughty Dog’s “Uncharted: The Lost Legacy,” published by Sony Entertainment. Remember the first time you saw Indiana Jones, and after the movie you find yourself humming the theme song and looking for a whip and fedora to dress up as Indy for next Halloween? Well, if you’ve played the Uncharted series before, you know that this series is the closest most of us will ever get to actually BEING Indiana Jones. If you haven’t played the series, you have some binge gaming to do! So, throw us the controller, and we’ll throw you the whip as we settle in to review the latest action-packed game in the Uncharted franchise.

The unique aspect to this installment of the series is that, for the first time, you are not playing as Nathan Drake. In fact, Nathan Drake is nowhere to be found, but his brother Sam does make an appearance to help out at one point. This time players get an opportunity to play as Chloe Frazer (Claudia Black), the sexy, care-free adventurer from the Uncharted series. She is paired with the contrasting, tough-as-nails ex-mercenary, Nadine Ross (Laura Bailey). The two must work together to retrieve the tusk of Ganesh. The only problem… you must do this in the midst of a civil war in India and while being stalked by the villainous Asav, voiced by the talented (and TrunkSpace Wingman) Usman Ally.

We know and love Chloe from Uncharted 2, 3 and 4. She is a funny risk taker of the Jack Sparrow variety but with a bit less rum… and obviously no beard… okay, so she is just fun and exciting to be around. One thing “The Lost Legacy” does very well is tell Chloe’s interesting backstory that has to do with her father. You are given a better insight into her knowledge as a treasure hunter and what drives her. Her partner, Nadine, we all remember from Uncharted 4… because she was always kicking Nathan Drake’s ass and blowing stuff up! Anytime her character showed up, you knew you were in for a fight. While she was a formidable opponent in the previous game, you don’t find out much about her. Lost Legacy is able to shed light on her character and actually make you like her character and enjoy being around her. You almost forget all those nasty right hooks to Nathan Drake’s jaw.

“The Lost Legacy” delivers on all fronts just as well as the previous installments. There are beautiful cinematic scenes that blend seamlessly with the actual gameplay. The environments are so gorgeous and immersive, you will find yourself just standing and looking around at the incredibly detailed world Naughty Dog has created. In fact, there are actual photo op areas in the game where you use your cell phone to capture the moment. There are plenty of gun fights, death defying climbs, off-roading, and (no spoilers) a jaw-dropping finale aboard a moving train that makes you feel like you literally just took part in an intense action movie. The game includes its signature puzzle solving and treasure hunting along the way as well as a unique lock picking portion that showcases Chloe’s skills. A nice detail to the game is the different fighting style Chloe and Nadine have. Naughty Dog did not just give her Drake’s moves. She has her own character, style and mannerisms. You have a chance to earn plenty of shiny, digital trophies along the way. The only drawback we could find… it’s a little on the short side. But don’t we feel that way about all Uncharted games? You just want to keep playing, exploring and having a blast. The good news is, this game has a ton of replay value. It’s always fun to go back through and unlock unlimited ammo, a cool costume, and sure, why not… let’s use that RPG on everything we see!

The big question on everyone’s mind was, could Uncharted continue churning out the adventurous hits without Nathan Drake? We can tell you that, after playing through “The Lost Legacy,” the answer is HELL YES! It did not feel like there was anything missing by not having Nathan Drake in the game. In fact, by the end, the game leaves you wanting to play more as Chloe and Nadine. “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” may have failed to deliver to us a new Indiana Jones to carry the torch, but Uncharted has succeeded in passing the grappling hook on to very charismatic and likeable characters.

AFTER YOU FINISHED GAMING, CHECK OUT OUR INTERVIEW WITH USMAN ALLY HERE!