Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection - Review

Looking forward to Uncharted 4: A Thief's End? So are we! That being said, this title has had a fair share of delays in regards to it's release date. Could it be due to the creative team changeover or the departure of Amy Hennig? We'll never know. That being said, while you're waiting to play the next narrative to the Uncharted series, Sony has released Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. In case you already didn't know…yes, you read "Collection". This bring back a remastered version of Uncharted 1, 2 and 3 which were released on the PS3.

Due to the PS4 not being backwards compatible due to…well…due to 'complicated tech stuff' as Sony had been trying to tell us, it's great to see players who have missed out on the Uncharted series so far able to jump onboard and play the amazing narrative it is.

Yes, it's a remastered version of the games, so if you're after something with amazing graphics, you might be out of luck. You can definitely see a difference from Uncharted 1 through to 3 progression in terms of it's visual refinement. Textures of buildings, character's skin, and even detail in the background and scenery dramatically changes. That being said, it's still a notable aged game if you're comparing them to what's available today. Nonetheless, even with the lack of graphics, the narrative, character development and mostly it's dialogue is still worth revisiting. For those of you that have not gotten around to any of the Uncharted games, this is definitely something you don't want to miss out on.

In regards to its gameplay and movement, in comparison to the more recent games released these days, the previous Uncharted games definitely feel sluggish. However, we have to remember that Uncharted 1 was first released back in 2007. So there has been an eight year difference and development in terms of games. The fighting mechanics have improved over time with more counters being frequently used by the 3rd game was released. If this is any indication as to the evolution in the Uncharted games, the 4th installation can surely only be good.

The Nathan Drake Collection has also added in a couple of new features, which doesn't come as a "must have", but more so a "nice to have". Photo Mode now lets you take pictures throughout the game (still frame) where you're able to add filtered, change your focal point and more. Plus with the PlayStation 4 now allowing for high resolution photo shares, it will be interesting to what shots people come up with. The game also supports a Speed Run mode, which as the name suggests allows you to attempt to complete the game in the fastest times possible, the online leaderboards will also give you a constant target to aim for, should that be something you want to do.

Explorer/Brutal mode are what they sound like…an extra easy version of the game where you have reduced enemies to encounter if your'e only after the narrative and dialogue of the game. On the other end of the scale Brutal mode can be unlocked, which is an extra hard (impossible) mode for fans who love a challenge, this mode however is only unlocked when you defeat the previously released challenging mode. It is important to note that the aiming and shooting mechanics have been replicated across all three of the games, the differences between Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 2 were quite noticeable previously, so now with the consistency it's a nice touch. Though these added features aren't the decider on whether to purchase the collection, it's still nice to know that the developers are doing what they can to try and improve an already awesome game.

As previously stated, if you haven't played the Uncharted games on the PS3, this is definitely worth purchasing. If you have previously played it, it's still worth grabbing your hands on it and revisiting Nathan Drake's story before Uncharted 4 is released. For those who haven't played it as yet, think of it as a modern day Indiana Jones story, where it plays on mythology.

Thanks to PlayStation Australia for supplying the game for review