Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Following my series this week on scores recorded at Abbey Road, today's score comes from the popular PlayStation exclusive Uncharted 3. The Uncharted series is an epic adventure that follows Nathan Drake as he chases after the greatest treasures on earth. This is also the game that is known for consuming 24.2 TB of storage with all of its assets during development.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, the final chapter, is due for a release on May 10 of this year. According to soundtrack.net, the official release for the soundtrack is May 17, will be limited to 3,000 copies, and interestingly will see a change in composer. Henry Jackman will be replacing Greg Edmonson, who scored the first three games.

The third installment is what my main focus is on today. Greg Edmonson has spent a good amount of time with this series. This gave him time to evolve the main theme for Nathan Drake. The title for the theme in the second game in given a "2.0" tag at the end, and the third a "3.0". Although they tend to generally sound the same, there is definitely some uniqueness given to each take. In Nate's Theme 3.0, you really feel the epic adventure that is to come. The brass is more profound and the percussion has a "darker" sound to it in the beginning.

The score is not like any other game score that I have previously listened to. It has a more unique feel. I also love how there is a combination of a victorious sound (as heard in Nate's Theme), action, and other music that incorporates the style of music in the particular region that Nathan is in.

At certain parts it sounds quite like some traditional classical guitar, especially in Small Beginnings. The traditional orchestral sounds create an interesting Middle-Eastern style of music with the sharps planted to produce a sense of mystery. There are some Middle-Eastern vocalists and instruments as well that are heard occasionally.

I keep thinking of Jerry Goldsmith's score for The Mummy when I listen to this, just from the musical feel of the sandy places, not from copying. This is heard throughout the majority of the score. Now, if you are afraid of spiders, then Arachnophobia could make your skin crawl. Just imagine a bunch of spiders crawling up your body and across your face. Did you feel them?

Nearing the end, there is some brief and faint electric guitar heard in the background in Boarding Party. Second-Story Work introduces some Spanish sounding guitar. By this time, there is mostly action and intensity since the end and conclusion is finally nearing.

When the conclusion arrives, you get Something Better, a beautiful track that brings in the resolve and leaves you with that sense of victory and accomplishment on a massive scale, thanks to the strings. Just like the latest Uncharted, this score is limited in its CD release, so if you are fortunate enough to own it, kudos to you! The rest of us will have to settle with the digital copy.