Uncharted -The Nathan Drake Collection 3 in 1 (PS4)

This is my first time ever I have ever played an Uncharted game, having previously having an Xbox. The series reminds me of a mix of the exploration of Tomb Raider and the acrobatics of Prince of Persia all rolled into one game that resembles an Indiana Jones movie. I wanted to play these before purchasing Uncharted 4 so that I could get a better understanding of the character and the gameplay even though I understand this is not necessary. Each game has its own merits, and you can see from the series how the game has progressed over each episode.

Installation was quick, but did need an update before it could be played, this took longer than the install. When loaded, you can select which game to play and then the difficulty level.

Game 1: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. This is set against finding the treasure of Sir Francis Drake, a distant relative to the main character Nathan “Nate” Drake. The graphics are good – but you can tell they are last gen type (even though they have been enhanced for the PS4). The story is relatively short, you can finish it within a day or 2 of standard playing. I enjoyed this game, but some of the negatives were difficult camera angles at times, a lot of repetitive shooting, very easy challenges, many enemies took several hits before they were killed and a lack of true connection with the main character. I hated the pathetic attempt at the swimming animation. It reminded me of a wind up bath toy. Thankfully swimming is sparse.

Game 2: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. This is set at finding treasure from Marco Polo’s lost ships, and takes place over mountains, snow, buildings etc. Graphics have improved no end and could easily compare with some of this generation graphics. Details of backdrops are great, animation is better, camera angles are much improved. I liked this game a lot, even though there were still plenty to shoot at, there was a better diversity and more backdrops to make it feel better. I connected with the character better, and wanted to complete it. The interaction with the other main characters told a better story. There is a lot more gameplay time and even though the game engine is on rails, the cut scenes and the way it is played makes it so that you do not care, a great game.

Game 3: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. This is set against finding a lost city after following clues from Sir Francis Drake and T E Lawrence journals. This takes place over mountains, cityscapes, mansions, castles etc. This game seems to focus more on hand combat, many times you are forced to just use hand to hand combat and no weapons, usually when multiple assailants are fighting you. It is a case of hit, avoid, grapple, move etc. I liked this welcome change. The same characters are in the game, Nate, Sully, Chloe and Elena with a new addition. We get to see how Nate and Sully got together and you connect even more with the characters. The graphics have got better, the animation is better – rather than just go past people, you swerve your body to get through them. Gunfire is still a major way to kill enemies, as usual you can cover fire, blind fire, fire whilst moving or aim from scoped weapons. You can now jump onto enemies from above to knock them out. There is also more puzzling aspects with some harder puzzles to solve, but if you keep failing, it will give you hints or even tell you the answer. This is a longer story with more cut scenes, but it does piece together well and tells a good story. A great game to end the series.

All games play on rails, ie. you have to complete certain tasks to progress to the next level with cutscenes in between. Do not let this put you off, as a lot of games are like this. There is no loading times, so as the cutscene ends, you start playing the next segment. Graphics are crisp and sharp, backdrops are detailed and gameplay fluid. During gameplay there are hidden treasures to find, I have not found all of them so will continue to play over again to get them all. As you unlock trophies, you also unlock bonuses such as weapons (which are unlocked after you finish the game) and skins (to change your character’s appearance as you play). There are different levels of difficulty and you can mirror the gameplay to make it completely different. Any one of these games would be worthy of purchase, but having them all available in one game means it is a worthy purchase for all PS4 owners.

After playing, I am now convinced to purchase Uncharted 4 – will just wait a while for the price to drop first.

Dont think just buy and play

This is the remaster collection that most PlayStation gamers have been waiting for! Three games which with the exception of Metal Gear Solid Guns Of Patriots and possibly MotorStorm was the absolute pinnacle of the PS3 era for a great many, wall to wall 10/10 reviews at the time and still holds up extremely well to this day and at the time was simply ground breaking, now running at 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second and I have to tell you as any PC gamer will tell you that 1080p 60 frames per second is the gold standard of gaming for a reason. And it really is.

Truth be told I cannot say much about this remaster or these games that countless others have not also said – but I’ll give it a go anyhow and in saying that for me these Uncharted games as awesome as they are running at 1080p 60 frames it just doesn’t get any better than this! I’ll not make a better purchase all year and maybe not for as long as I own a PS4. Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection is to me the definition and symbol of single player gaming utopia.

Strong praise? Absolutely. Too strong? Not for me to decide. Biased opinion? Probably. I won’t lie, I love the Uncharted games and 60 fps gameplay as well what with being a PC gamer as well so the combination here is basically game porn to me!

If there are any blots on this trilogy collection though it is that more could have been done in terms of bonus material like behind the scenes interviews and concept art etc, and of course no multiplayer but you have to also consider that the original never had multiplayer to begin with and this is 3 awesome games on 1 disc. That’s pretty impressive to fit all of these on the one disc. Not to mention all the upgrades and three games for the price of one. But for those who game for multiplayer (I’m not one of those) that could well be a deal breaker. And has been for some, but others don’t give a hoot about it and that’s just the way of the world….

Regarding technical aspects, it’s not just the increase in resolution and frame rate – which alone make an absolute world of difference believe me! But they’ve also improved the lighting, shadows, textures and the controls….gone are the finicky sixaxis sections, they’ve improved the shooting in Uncharted 1 to be more in line with the sequels, they’ve added tessellation so that circular objects have a natural curve and appear circular not hexagonal, and they have also added Vsync to Uncharted Drake’s Fortune too so that the tearing which plagued only the first game originally is nowhere to be found here.

I strongly doubt that this will even qualify for GOTY due to it being a remaster collection and not a brand new PS4 game, but that doesn’t mean to say that it won’t be by far the best game that people will pick up this year. And with that this gets my highest recommendation, if you have a PlayStation 4 and you don’t pick this up then sorry but you’re doing it wrong.

Until Uncharted 4 and Rise Of The Tomb Raider hit the PS4 next year this trilogy sets the standard as far as I’m concerned.

If you play games for escapism and immersion not to mention movie-like experiences then it just doesn’t get any better than this!

Having played the second and third games in the series when they originally were released, I was on the edge about played the remastered collection. However I decided to go for it after the price had dropped and I’m so glad I did.
Naughty Dog, the developers of the original PS3 versions are one of the best developers in the business and these games have been faithfully remastered by Bluepoint Games, who have done an excellent job.
The story pacing, the set pieces, the humour between characters are all excellent, even though the first game is nearly 10 years old. Although the games show their age compared to games released recently, the gameplay has stood the test of time. Drakes Fortune, the first game does have quite clunky controls and I found myself dropping off cliff edges or rolling into a group of enemies more than I would have liked, but this doesn’t really matter when there are so many checkpoints to restart from. The second and third games improve the gameplay in nearly every way, introducing stealth elements and improving general gun play. Each game is easy to pick up and play, and they’re great to sit down for after a long day with the light hearted humour and summer blockbuster movie style set pieces, whether it’s fighting from carriage to carriage on a train or hanging onto cargo from the back of a plane above a desert.
All in all, these are some of the best games I’ve played in my 15 plus years of gaming, and in particular the second game, Among Thieves, is a masterpiece which I believe to be the best game that was released for PS3. I would urge anyone on the fence to just go for it and buy this. The games have great replay-ability and can be enjoyed by anyone.
For the price, you really won’t be disappointed and in hindsight I definitely would be happy to pay full price. Eagerly awaiting May 10th for the fourth and final instalment of the series.

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
PlayStation 4
Rated 16

HD 1080p
1 Player (Offline)
Requires 46GB minimum of free Hard Drive space.

Includes:
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Developed by Naughty Dog
Remastered by Bluepoint Games
Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

INTRODUCTION:
From the maker’s of Crash Bandicoot & Jak and Daxter, comes a tale about an average adventure guy named Nathan Drake as he goes searching for gold on uninhabited islands. Originally released in 2007; Drake’s Fortune was the PS3’s unsung hero at launch; however it wasn’t until its sequel arrived (Among Thieves) that people started noticing the series. Among Thieves in 2009 introduced fresh new character’s and an all new action gameplay; where things would happen around you as were playing, keeping you fully immersed the whole time. Uncharted 3 in 2011 introduces a female antagonist to the series as well as showing the capabilities of the PS3 hardware with big blockbuster sequences that would’ve made your jaw drop. The Uncharted series on a whole has become a staple in modern videogaming and no matter what other game I pick up, nothing compares to skill that Naughty Dog delivers in both story and visuals.

So it begs the question: Do these games look good on new hardware? The answer is… yes they do and that’s without Bluepoint adding stuff, because half the time you can’t really tell, you’ll have to really scrutinize every minor detail to pick out flaws.

UNCHARTED: DRAKE’S FORTUNE
This game has new lighting, added texture detail and various gameplay improvements. The over-exposure on the first game is gone along with screen tearing and the Sixaxis motion control gameplay elements. A new gameplay mode as been added with the addition of Explorer Mode, which is just basically a really easy mode if you just want to gun people down without distractions which allows you to ultimately keep the pace up the whole way through. Nathan is still flimsy when jumping platforms which is a shame; I just wish he was more grounded, because you still feel that he may just roll off the page, when you tilt it slightly. Another addition which makes it into this version of Uncharted, is the jet ski. This lousy transport allows you to pray for mercy as you wonder why the jet ski is travelling backwards up stream. I won’t be lying if I state… controlling the jet ski is the hardest part in the entire game. I don’t know what I was expecting, I was hoping the handling would be more straight-forward this time around. So Bluepoint kick out some nasty habits, but keeps the old ones in there to supposedly allow us to reminisce about the good old times.

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES
The improved details within this game are really hard to spot with a naked eye, except things like the lighting being toned down a bit making the scenes look subtle and chloe’s facial detail being improved slightly. Its evident though that Bluepoint had gotten it easy with Uncharted because the games were graphically good anyway. The major change to all three games is the gameplay, with button combination being swapped out in favor of the trigger buttons being used as actual gun trigger’s and the touchpad used to open Drake’s Diary. Combat has improved with more precise aiming, however overall its hard to tell with depth of field effects being in place which hamper getting up close and personal with a wall to notice any textural detail. In some cases textures looking really flat, sometimes looking blurred, so the only real textural impact I’ve noticed is on the face and clothes. The graphics overall still look good and could quite easily compete with other next gen titles.

UNCHARTED 3: DRAKE’S DECEPTION
This game has improved lighting and decreased depth of field effects; however they are still present, but this game’s overall quality hasn’t changed much from its original counterpart. Again the gameplay has minor tweaks, but nothing screams out at me; where I will spot an area done up and gaze at it in awe. The overall game, lacks that wow factor the original had and for me, it offer’s me nothing but an empty shell.

CONCLUSION:
It’s hard to say this to a series I truly love, but this remaster is lame compared to other remaster’s already on the market. It misses some stuff that really should be included with the game, such as bonus features, cast, director, interviews. Hell even a documentary highlighting what Uncharted brings to the videogame industry because there’s a lot I’ve seen in this series, that I’ve not seen in any other game. Basically I was hoping for a bit more song and dance, instead of a game representative of something being tossed a side or dismissed. This is a remaster that people have been craving for, so for that, you have to make it extra special, with new maps for multiplayer, increase number of player’s, new costumes etc and go full hog on the visuals to show why this is the enhanced version. By looking at this collection, its clear who has the passion for this series, the gamer’s; myself included.

# Uncharted 3:
Graphics – 6
It was probably excellent when it was launched, but in 2018 standard, it is not good.
Gameplay – 6
Game started off well with a good balance of puzzles and fights; as the game progressed, number of puzzles kept increasing in each chapter until there was a dedicated chapter. Although, fight scenes are good, but too much of it after chapter 10. Uncharted 3 needs better balance. (Fixed in Uncharted 4)

If you are really fen of uncharted games than its a good option to add in list.
Got timely deliverd, working fine.