REVIEW

Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection Review

by Rob Pritchard, October 15th, 2015

The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have seen some amazing games in their two years on the market, but their presence means that some of the later games on the previous consoles get lost in the new generation spotlight. In order to prepare us for the final game in the Uncharted series, A Thief’s End, Naughty Dog teamed up with BluePoint Games to bring us a PlayStation 4 port of the first three games named Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. So if you have never played Drake’s Fortune, Among Thieves or Drake’s Deception, or are simply wondering what kind of modifications have been made to these games, then you are definitely in for a fantastic experience, as well as a few unexpected surprises.

The main narrative of each Uncharted story has been entirely unchanged, including the exploits in El Dorado, the shenanigans in Shambhala and the incidents at the Iram of the Pillars. Each game follows the adventure templates as set by the legendary treasure hunting movies such as Indiana Jones, National Treasure, Romancing the Stone and The Da Vinci Code, with plenty of clichés and twists and turns shaking the foundations of each adventure. From the damsels in distress, the traitorous allies and the supernatural treasures that hold a dark secret, Uncharted has all of these in spades, as well as several moments which parody the conventions, such as when Elena first meets Nate and Chloe on the run in Uncharted 2.

All three of the original games ran at 720p and 30 frames a second. While this helped to emphasize the film look that Naughty Dog were going for, by the time that Drake’s Deception was released back in 2011, the development team confirmed that they were pushing the PlayStation 3 to its limits. As you might expect, this limitation is no longer present on the PlayStation 4, and now the Uncharted games are running at 1080p and twice the frame rate of its initial release. All of the character and location models and textures have also been upgraded, along with the lighting systems and the addition of ambient occlusion.

Quite simply, these modifications make each game look fantastic, in fact some of them are so dramatically different to their original version, it is like you are playing a game from the latest generation, rather than a previous generation port. The cut scenes have also been re-rendered using these engine modifications, which is a pleasant change, given the pixelated affairs that are present in some of the earlier remasters available. If you were interested in taking a screenshot of the locations you visit on your travels, the Photo Mode from The Last of Us Remastered has been included as an optional feature. It is possible to position the camera anywhere within the game world, activate additional filters and you can change a number of distinct settings such as contrast, focus and brightness to make each photo feel like your unique creation.

The gameplay has changed very little, but as the Uncharted series didn’t need much alteration, this is definitely a blessing rather than a curse. The only major change is how the grenade controls work in Drake’s Fortune, where they do not need to be re-equipped once a projectile has been thrown by the player. The gun controls have been swapped to the L2 and R2 triggers, but this can be changed in the main menu if you prefer the original method. Personally, I found the new controls much more comfortable to use for long periods of time, but it is nice to give players the choice, rather than forcing an unwelcome modification.

In order to cater for as many gamers as possible, two new difficulty settings have been introduced to this collection, along with a Speed Run mode to see how quickly you can progress through each of the chapters in the trilogy. If you are someone that is playing only for the story, then the Explorer mode will have minimal amounts of enemies to allow you to enjoy it without little complication. For these who want a slightly harder challenge, the Brutal difficulty mode will allow even the most confident Uncharted player to sweat, once it has been unlocked by completing any of the games on the Crushing difficulty.

If you were hoping to go online and play the multiplayer modes that were included in Among Thieves and Drake’s Deception, then I am afraid you will be disappointed as none of the multiplayer components have been brought across from the PlayStation 3 versions of the game. It is a disappointment that the modes have not come across the generational border, but they were likely removed to save time and resources for other projects. In case you need some online Uncharted action before next March, they are including access to the Uncharted 4 multiplayer beta, which will become active in early December. The Vita exclusive Golden Abyss is also nowhere to be found, but as the game was a prequel to the Uncharted trilogy and is never referenced in any of the remaster’s titles, the lack of its inclusion is more an annoyance, rather than a hole which can never be filled in. To replace the trophies that were multiplayer exclusive, all new achievements have been included, as well as a mixture of Among Thieves exclusive graphical and gameplay tweaks such as one shot kills, sepia filters and unlimited ammo for every weapon.

If you are wondering how the three adventures have aged in the eight years since the original game, then you might be pleasantly surprised. The graphical and gameplay changes to Drake’s Fortune have completely transformed the game, changing it from a technically inferior first instalment to a game that does not look out of place on next generation hardware. There are slight issues with the cover system and sometimes the lip-syncing in cut scenes is slightly desynchronised, but considering that it was originally released in 2007, this kind of transformation is no mean feat. The same care and attention have been applied to Among Thieves and Drake’s Deception, with the latter only needing a slight graphical upgrade unlike its predecessors.

The soundtrack of the trilogy has also been upgraded to the latest surround sound technology. While the original games sound fantastic, The Nathan Drake Collection adds a whole new layer of depth by bringing in new instruments and ambient sounds that were not present in the initial release, enhancing the previously available tracks and in cases, making them feel better than the original recording, such as the interlude track used in the game selection screen at the beginning of the collection.

Overall, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is a well-built remastering of a classic franchise, setting a benchmark that I highly recommend should followed by any future upgrades of a previously released game. The enhanced graphics and frame rate, along with the new bonuses and additional features are truly exceptional. The only small issue is the lack of the original title’s multiplayer modes, but as the single player content is the main focus of the collection, there is little reason to feel cheated by its outright omission.