Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Critic Reviews for PlayStation 4 - Metacritic
The original, Drake's Fortune, now enjoys the benefit of combat improvements seen in its sequels, so there's very little mechanical difference between the trio.<br><br>That said, there's only so much you can enhance an old game without completely remaking it, and there's no denying that Drake's Fortune has aged particularly badly. With its tedious climbing segments, repetitive ranged combat, and awful melee fighting - not to mention the dated animations and simplistic visuals - Nathan Drake's premiere leaves a lot to be desired.<br><br>Though a better game overall, Uncharted 2 still has its problems. Close combat is superior, but still quite sluggish and unsatisfying, while later levels are a grinding slog of the same old ranged gunfights against increasingly aggravating enemies. It's a game I could never quite bring myself to finish even back when it was released, though overall I'm glad I've had an excuse to go back and complete the job this time.<br><br>Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, however, is a dang good game, a leap of improvement over its predecessors. Melee battles are more frequent and upgraded significantly with a counter system and a useful dynamic camera. Environments are better designed, allowing for Nathan to climb, jump, and swing through the world more easily. Ranged combat is varied, with a variety of exciting locales that change the way a fight feels, as well as new enemy types to keep things interesting.<br><br>Each game goes for a consistent 60fps at 1080p, and I can't say I noticed any dip in performance as it aimed for that target. Drake's Deception looks especially beautiful and right at home on the PS4, putting even many current generation releases to shame with its inspiring vistas and gorgeously colorful scenes
<br>Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has the most to be thankful for, shedding its bothersome visual tearing in the bright glare of more sophisticated lighting effects. You're not likely to mistake it for a PlayStation 4 game, but at the same time it's hard to imagine a 2007 game ever looking this vibrant. Be sure to bust out the rich photo mode during Drake's memorable tour through a drowned city in Costa Rica.<br><br>The Nathan Drake collection wraps all three games in a neat menu, pinned to a convenient set of options that filter through to each game. It even indulges minor preferences, like whether you want a film-like motion blur applied to the whole scene or objects alone, and makes sensible adjustments to older games when newer mechanics just work better. The impact of firearms is wildly different in each Uncharted (and they get progressively louder), but for once the feel and responsiveness of aiming is consistent across all games. Rather than meddling or cutting, Bluepoint polishes and arranges elegantly.<br><br>Depending on your reasons for coming to Uncharted, you could criticize The Nathan Drake Collection for being an incomplete preservation of the PS3 trilogy - it drops the multiplayer components of Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3 entirely, the latter game's 3D mode is gone, and none of the behind-the-scenes videos make it over (likely to squeeze all three games onto a single disc). As a package of three single-player games, though, it still packs a cutting-edge wallop.<br>
<br>The most notable updates the Nathan Drake Collection has to offer are for the original game, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. As the first Uncharted served as the first PlayStation 3 game for Naughty Dog, the game still suffers from some obvious "transitional game" drawbacks, including animations that seem ripped from the Jak and Daxter series, but Bluepoint has managed to make the game look demonstrably better on the PlayStation 4. Drake's Fortune features updated models, improved lighting, and touched up effects that make the eight-year-old game look decent at its worst, and actually pretty impressive at its best.<br>Despite the noticeable visual upgrade, Drake's Fortune still manages to feel rather dated next to Among Thieves and Drake's Deception. <br>While the actual graphical upgrade is more minute, both Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception still stand as some of last generation's greatest.<br>But even without the multiplayer modes to keep the disc in your PlayStation 4 for an extended period of time, the Nathan Drake Collection is still a great value thanks to these three incredibly important works<br>
<br>THE GOOD<br> Vivid, sweeping stories with grand cinematic scope<br> Finer detail and smoother framerate make the series feel fresh<br> Endearing, versatile characters with complex relationships<br> Fine-tuned set pieces in vibrant locations across the world<br> Masterful pacing in Uncharted 2 and 3<br>THE BAD<br> Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has not aged well, making a third of the collection a slog<br> Disconnect between the gameplay and characters that, while not jarring, feels more pronounced by modern standards
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