There was some mention of "a forest world where the antagonists lived underground," but most telling is when he says, "It had elements of Tolkien in for sure." He explains, "Sony kept pushing for a more realistic game in all respects. The market had changed a lot by then. The demographic was older and gritty shooters were really dominating. Sony wanted very much to get into that market share, it pushed all of its developers in this direction."

So, the Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft hero we have now could have been very, very different. Poole continues, "We had a lot of internal grumbling about the realist bent. More of the old dogs were from the Crash and Jak era and preferred that more whimsical style. But alas, that was a losing battle."

Would Uncharted have been the incredible hit it was with a sillier style? I'd trust Naughty Dog to do a great job no matter what, but I'm happy they ultimately went with the movie-like style we have today.

This article originally appeared on GamePro.com as