"Amy [Hennig, Uncharted creator] has a name for this," explained lead designer Richard Lemarchand at the GameCity festival last year. "She calls it 'the uncanny valley of narrative'. Her theory is, because the acting performances have become so good, it makes this issue of the game parts stand out even more.
"In fact, if you play through to the end of Uncharted 2, Amy references this issue. At the climax, the main bad guy Lazarevic says to Drake, 'You're no different to me. How many lives have you taken today?' We do think about it and we're always looking for creative ways to address that issue."
So far, what the developer has tried to do is place Nathan in obvious and immediate peril at the beginning of every shoot-out. He never fires first, and even when he sneaks up on an enemy and snaps their neck, he's always in a situation of mortal danger. We must decide for ourselves if this "absolution by context" argument is adequate.