Game Reviews
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
13/10/15
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Playstation 4 Eighty percent of Playstation 4 owners have never played an Uncharted title. That's according to Naughty Dog, developer of the action adventure trilogy of games starring Indiana Jones wannabe, Nathan Drake. Attempting to redress the balance, the games have been remastered in 1080p HD and given a lovely lick of paint and a few gameplay tweaks by Bluepoint Games just in time for the release of Uncharted 4 next year. The trilogy begins with Drake's Fortune, which was arguably the title in most need of a polish, being originally released in 2007. The foundations of the series are somewhat on display, the hugely satisfying climbing and clambering set pieces being the stand out feature. An unusual positive is how strangely endearing the cheesy b-movie acting and one liners are, which really rather suits the light hearted adventure theme. The line "You gotta be kiddin' me!" makes more than one appearance and I'm sure I heard at least one "What the?!". It's age does show in places however, especially the cover shooting mechanics which are by now far beyond their sell by date. The less said about the frankly infuriating jet ski segment, the better. Which brings us to the stars of the show, Among Thieves and Drake's Deception. It's incredible to see just how many improvements were made for the second and third games. The action ebbs and flows beautifully between the many diverse locales, all with immaculate pacing and fantastically choreographed set pieces. The trainwreck sequence at the beginning of Uncharted 2, a truly gripping highlight along with the brilliantly designed Nepal section. Yes, the gunplay sequences are still the familiar, worn out cover shooting from the original but the locations these take place in are the standout feature this time around, keeping the sequels fresh and full of colour and life. Whether you are in the eighty percent or the twenty, these games are classics of the action adventure genre which were the building blocks for what was to come, the utterly outstanding apocalypse rollercoaster that is The Last Of Us would not have been possible without this trilogy. There is no higher praise than that. 9/10