UNCHARTED 3: Ed Zwick's Launch Documentary Celebrates the Action Adventure Genre

By Simon Gallagher / November 2, 2011

With today seeing the UK launch of Uncharted 3 - which looks set to compete for the highest gaming awards and accolades come year's end, Playstation three has unveiled a new documentary short celebrating the action adventure genre.€˜The Hero€™s Journey€™ which is directed by Ed Zwick inspired by Drake€™s Deception is available to view below or at www.youtube.com/playstation3. In exploring the genre, the short poses one key question €˜What does it mean to be a hero?€™ 'The Hero's Journey' was filmed in LA and features responses from a range of recognisable film and gaming faces, including Diane Kruger, Djimon Hounsou and Sam Rockwell, who were posed the a number of questions (listed below) to explore €˜What does the idea of the Hero in Action Adventure evoke?€™ Uncharted's Creative Director Amy Hennig, who also took part as a respondent, alongside Zwick, Michelle Rodriguez and Uncharted voice actor Nolan North, commented on the franchise, and its important standing within the genre:

The Uncharted Franchise is an exploration of what heroism means in the Action Adventure genre and it was interesting for us to explore these themes that we share across entertainment genres - as entertainers we are all posed with similar questions as to how to bring heroism to the fore in such a blockbuster category.

We'll see how those ideas translated into the gameplay experience when WhatCulture's review of Uncharted 3 lands in the next couple of days.

Questions posed:

What defines a true hero? Do you think heroes are born and not made? If so, what makes them? As an actor is it easier to play a hero/heroine than a villain? OR- As a director, is it important to make your hero sympathetic? Heroism consists of 'hanging on one minute longer'. Do you agree? Action movies used to mean adventure in the face of physical danger. Has that changed in today's CGI reliant Hollywood? What's changed in Hollywood's portrayal of what it means to be a hero? How do you feel about the evolution of the female action hero? Is the multi-layered, flawed anti-hero a more modern hero? Are the darker, more fallible heroes of today more realistic and psychologically rounded? How do you draw on strength, when the odds are against you? Does fantasy inform your reality Who are some of your personal heroes? So, without further ado, here's the featurette... Uncharted is available to buy on PS3 now.