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Uncharted 4: Sam Drake's Makeover, "Weird Changes."
- Thread starter mindsale
- Start date
Falchion
Member
I bet
Sam really betrayed Nate in the original version, like he was maliciously playing him from the start. Then they decided to go a different route where Sam is actually a good guy who just lies about helping Rafe even though he had good intentions foe doing it with his brother.
To be fair; I doubt if it was a big 'choice'. To me it sounds like that he put in his time and is glad that he did, but because of the changes his contract was nullified. They could have asked him to renew the deal; or maybe he already had jobs lining up so he could easily 'jump ship' now. Basically, he got paid, he went through new experiences, and he could walk away without any consequences.
I liked Rafe a lot, but in one of the more recent trailers they made him seem far more sympathetic. They edit as if to suggest he offers Nate a choice whether to continue or not ("Or we can just end it right here") and uses some other dialogue that was actually repurposed as a phone exchange with Nadine in the finished game.
He wound up being far more menacing and caricatural than the sympathetic antagonist I glimpsed in the trailer, and I thought the latter would be a refreshing change. Instead he's reductively psychotic
when threatening to kill Sullivan over making bids
Agree. The 15 years left rotting in that hell hole the narrator says looks to me the 15 years Sam was in prison. Then this version of Sam looks like a vengeful enemy.
CrichtonKicks
Member
Yep, I'm sure he isn't losing any sleep over the whole thing.
I'm sure the characters are totally different. Laura Bailey was already under contract for a totally different role as well. Druckmann came up with the Nadine Ross character and then decided to use Bailey because she was already attached to the game.
MegaSackman
Member
I agree.
No disrespect, but whatever Amy Henning had in mind for her version of Uncharted 4, I think I would have preferred the version we got regardless. The teaser trailer felt too dark and it certainly seemed like Sam was meant to be the villain. Like others have said, the final version of Sam is a good reflection of the obsessive treasure hunter Nate was in UC3 and it further shows how Nate evolved as a character. The game also mostly kept a light hearted theme throughout and overall I felt it was at most, as dark as Uncharted 3.
TheDarkKnight774
Member
I could see him voicing Rafe
Yeah, I could see that definitely being a possibility.
What I wouldn't give to read the original script for Uncharted 4.
Forgot all about that teaser. Hearing this after beating the game is kind of crazy. it looks like Sam was suppose to be a much darker character than he ended up being. Although, it does look like they kept his original back story... They just made him less bitter in the actual game. Gonna be real, I think a bitter Sam is a terrible idea but hindsight is 20/20 and if I only experience bitter Sam maybe I would have liked it? Idk... this whole situation is so interesting.
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
I think we got the better Uncharted 4 out of the change.
Some gritty vengeance sibling story is not the tone of Uncharted at all, and I kinda feel it was clear in 3 that Hennig no longer knew how to "Unchart" very well. This was always gonna be the final game, and it would have been very weird to end on another "Isn't Drake a piece of shit!" note.
Some gritty vengeance sibling story is not the tone of Uncharted at all, and I kinda feel it was clear in 3 that Hennig no longer knew how to "Unchart" very well. This was always gonna be the final game, and it would have been very weird to end on another "Isn't Drake a piece of shit!" note.
There's talk about how cliche the portrayal in that teaser seemingly is, but I did feel it was a bit odd how relatively well adjusted Sam was in UC4 after being trapped where he was for 15 years, and the circumstances that got him there. There was little there in terms of contempt, in terms of feeling vengeful, in terms of feeling betrayed. I don't think it would have been out of place.
Also unless the original Sam was a complete asshole from the beginning it would have been completely out of character for Nate to leave him "rotting in this hellhole for 15 years" The origin story between the brothers would have to be completely different, or they would leave a plothole.
Finale Fireworker
Member
What we really need is a more comprehensive explanation of how the original story was structured.
I have a hard time believing it would have been better than what we got.
The issue with Uncharted 3 is that there is no third act. The game ends at the end of act 2. It's so jarring and unfulfilling. Nothing gets wrapped up or brought to a meaningful conclusion. It's so bizarre.
If Uncharted 3 had 5 more chapters, we would be having a very different conversation after all these years.
I have a hard time believing it would have been better than what we got.
The issue with Uncharted 3 is that there is no third act. The game ends at the end of act 2. It's so jarring and unfulfilling. Nothing gets wrapped up or brought to a meaningful conclusion. It's so bizarre.
If Uncharted 3 had 5 more chapters, we would be having a very different conversation after all these years.
The story in Uncharted 4 doesn't make much sense the more you think about it. The actions of the characters aren't well justified, things just happen and are automatically solved because they had to.
It's much like Game of Thrones season 6. It's great and you love watching it, but you can help but know the original creator has a much better of understanding of the characters.
Sam is a good example, he lies to Nate in the beginning, he screws him over in the end and then it's just... "happy ending!". He adds nothing to Drake's character. Even the villain in Uncharted 3 (Marlowe) had more depth than that.
It's much like Game of Thrones season 6. It's great and you love watching it, but you can help but know the original creator has a much better of understanding of the characters.
assuming makes an ass out of you and me, but I can see Druckley pushing for a more layered narative (since that's what worked great in TLOU and set a new 'bar' for these type of games) for U4, and that the Hennig-'version' was a bit more tropey/cliché. I love all the Uncharted games, but plot-wise you could see everything coming from miles away. The characters themselves have always been great tho.
I kind of feel that the original trailer would've made for a more interesting game. The "lies collapsing around you" line could've alluded to not telling Elena about his brother because he WAS involved with his
; coupled with the falsified name and other aspects of Nate's past, Sam could've messed with Nate's marriage in addition to hindering his plundering efforts. I dunno, could've been neat, and would've been a far more believable reason to've not mentioned a sibling other than
imprisonment / shooting;
"I thought he was dead it's painful to speak about."
Derived from that teaser, I could easily see Nathan going "I tried to find you; I searched everywhere" exactly like he does in the game, but instead of Sam being understanding like he is, he would go, "Bullshit, you've lead your comfortable, free life; completely forgetting about me and everything I did for you."
There was a moment in UC4 where Sam was reminiscing about how it was in prison, where Nathan goes "Sam..." and Sam reassures him that he's not blaming him for what happened. I could see something like that easily being twisted based on how Sam internalized his time there.
You really think he cares? Just because this supposedly became the best Uncharted story yet doesn't mean he would like the direction Sam was taken in
Is that for sure a thing that's coming?
Yeah, this part specifically could have been more interesting, based on this teaser.
Yes, confirmed long ago, part of the season pass or whatever they call it. Triple Pack.
Finale Fireworker
Member
Huh, my memort failed me. I thought Kole was on board with Uncharted 4 since the beginning. He actually first revealed his involvement with ND in Sept 2014.
Lys Skygge
Member
What we got was so damn good, I don't even care what it could have been.
Amy is a good writer, but what we ended up with has far more depth than any of the previous Uncharteds that she's written.
Amy is a good writer, but what we ended up with has far more depth than any of the previous Uncharteds that she's written.
Weird in contrast with what it was originally like?
Honestly, it would have worked either way. Based on the Nathan Drake we meet at the beginning of Drake's Fortune, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a brother who he left to rot in a prison following a betrayal or general falling out. Could have been nice to show a darker/more senseless side of Nate.
Or it could have just been that
he didn't know Sam was alive in prison, as per Uncharted 4
Still, if you get to know a story one way, for more than a year, then suddenly it gets changed to be a very different kind of story, that is definitely 'weird'.
dr_rus
Member
Semantics. It certainly feels a lot darker than the first three games. UC2 was the perfect balance here and UC4 isn't hitting the same target.
SolidSnakex
Member
Sam shows just how much Nate has changed. He's what Nate was in the previous games. The guy that's out to get treasure above all else. No matter who he has to hurt or lie to to get to that end goal. So you get a "happy ending" because how can Nate be mad at him when that's who he was?
well, to be honest, actors sometime get recast while shooting has already begun, or their parts end up in the cutting room floor. But yeah, 'starting over' doesn't happen that much in movie-world; usually the thing gets cancelled, hehe.
also, having Sam not being the antagonist but the long lost but loved brother is the only reason why Nate even considers helping him out.
ProfessorMoran
Member
Sad to see Hennig go but it seems the story turned out really good, Druckmann and Straley made a name for themselves with TLOU and they didn't disappoint.
semiconscious
Member
would i have preferred sam as childhood friend/partner turned enemy/villain to sam as asshole bro? yes, i would've. sam's like a cross between a millstone & an albatross around the neck of uncharted 4 
...
...Alan Tudyk did not receive a proper paycheck.
Jawmuncher
Member
I would have been all for Sam seeking revenge. Would have been amazing.
TheOfficeMut
Unconfirmed Member
You're confusing me. You just said there was little of this, yet him being an evil brother wouldn't have been out of place? And wasn't he
out of prison for two years and roaming the world with Rafe prior to meeting up with Nate?
Zeouterlimits
Member
We really don't know what kind of game we would have gotten.
We'd need a BTS exposé, which we don't have and might not ever get.
We'd need a BTS exposé, which we don't have and might not ever get.
I'm saying that Sam feeling that way after being trapped for 15 years in that pitiful prison because of being betrayed by people he thought were his partners would not have been out of place.
Evidently,
Sam being with Rafe was a result of the change, not the initial story.
Oh shit. Wow. Nice find.
Uncharted 4 would have gone really dark I guess with Sam as the main antagonist. I'm dying to know what direction the game would have gone in. Would Sam and Nate have reconciled in the end anyway? Would they have worked together somehow? The "Pro Devs Qvod Licentia/For God & Liberty" tagline remained the same so the main goal of finding Libertalia would still exist. They both would have gunning for the same treasure I guess.
I loved, loved, loved Nate and Sam's bond in UC4 but still, I'm curious as to what Amy's portrayal of their relationship would have been.
EDIT: I'd also like to add that that voicework (by Troy Baker?) in that teaser is chillingly well-done.
Uncharted 4 would have gone really dark I guess with Sam as the main antagonist. I'm dying to know what direction the game would have gone in. Would Sam and Nate have reconciled in the end anyway? Would they have worked together somehow? The "Pro Devs Qvod Licentia/For God & Liberty" tagline remained the same so the main goal of finding Libertalia would still exist. They both would have gunning for the same treasure I guess.
I loved, loved, loved Nate and Sam's bond in UC4 but still, I'm curious as to what Amy's portrayal of their relationship would have been.
EDIT: I'd also like to add that that voicework (by Troy Baker?) in that teaser is chillingly well-done.
The Artisan
Member
Yeah I kind of agree. I didn't see the lying twist coming at all tbh, and once I realized that, I was thinking, "holy fuck Sam didn't even come clean when Elena showed up and his brother's marriage was almost wrecked?" Everyone got off the hook really easily in this game/story.
Night Angel
Member
Given that this uncharted had the best story of the series, coming off of the somewhat confusing and nonsensical third entry, I am perfectly happy with how this game turned out, Tudyk or no.
It would be interesting to learn more about what changes were made, but I doubt they were for the worse.
It would be interesting to learn more about what changes were made, but I doubt they were for the worse.
I'm not sure if this is the best place to argue about the storyline but
How the story and their origin was strucktured makes exactly sense that Sam acted how he did. Boys as Morgans clearly loved each other a lot and were very close after the loss of their parents. Both were driven by their mothers achievements and actions, Nate to treasure hunt, Sam not to give up in prison but study her big undiscovered mystery, not losing hope to someday uncover it. About your previous point that he is well adjusted. Well he is left the prison 2 years before he reached to Nate, didn't he? Seems like long enough to get acclimated to the outside world. We still gives those subtle hints that he spent 15 years of his life in prison like often praising the view, which I don't think is coincidence or a justification for all the exploration like some people like to insinuate.
Ohh they absolutely could have twisted it like that, I'd say that would have been the easy and expected way out, that's why people say it would have been a cliche character arc then.
Ohh they absolutely could have twisted it like that, I'd say that would have been the easy and expected way out, that's why people say it would have been a cliche character arc then.
Finale Fireworker
Member
would i have preferred sam as childhood friend/partner turned enemy/villain to sam as asshole bro? yes, i would've. sam's like a cross between a millstone & an albatross around the neck of uncharted 4
I don't know why anybody would want this, especially with how good and thoughtful of a villain Rafe is.
Rafe is basically the perfect Uncharted villain. You could even argue that he never did anything wrong and Sam is the villain in Rafe's story. Rafe feels entirely justified in everything he's ever done and, while you don't have to agree with them, his reasons are clear and valid.
The guy was on a self-funded mission to make a name for himself. He gets an old friend out of prison and works with him for two years on the straight and narrow in an attempt to find a treasure that has been his lifelong obsession. Like, he goes to an auction to
buy an artifact that Nate and Sam attend to steal
Rafe is just like Nate. Rafe IS the darker, meaner, Nathan Drake. Rafe is an excellent villain.
I really like the Sam now. Uncharted 4 is almost perfect for me. It's that it lost the supernatural elements of the previous games (not counting the Vita game).
What I don't like is how they portray Drake in Uncharted 3 to be this person who keeps on pursuing treasure or adventure. In the first game, he wanted to quit while Elena was the one pushing to get to the treasure. In the 2nd game, he also wanted to quit but was once again convinced by Elena to help Karl Schafer save the world.
What I don't like is how they portray Drake in Uncharted 3 to be this person who keeps on pursuing treasure or adventure. In the first game, he wanted to quit while Elena was the one pushing to get to the treasure. In the 2nd game, he also wanted to quit but was once again convinced by Elena to help Karl Schafer save the world.
CassidyIzABeast
Member
I mean working for Rafe and basically luring your brother to go on a treasure hunt by making up a story about some El Chapo dude busting you out of prison and giving you the ultimatum of find the treasure is a dick move. Hell Sam almost costs Nate his marriage and instead of coming clean he goes, "ehhhh, she'll get over it" when they're on the boat.
KingHenrik30
Member
I remember after this came out at the PS4 launch event there was speculation that either it took place in the past or Drake wasn't the main character
Can't imagine the story being better if they stuck with the og vision. We already have Kratos with brotherly issues and that idea just doesn't really interest me over and over again, to me its a last resort for a story idea if you can't come up with something better(like time travel), luckily Druckley did.