WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
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[I'm reviewing the version from The Nathan Drake Collection, which also contains part two and three of the series. A standalone PS4 remaster of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was allegedly released in 2016. I don't yet know if it differs from this version.]
When Naughty Dog originally released Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for the PS3 in 2007, games suddenly started competing with a specific
movie genre: the action-adventure blockbuster. Why would we need cinema
anymore, when games could present well-directed cinematics with a charismatic cast of characters and fine voice acting? And above all, why did we need actors pretending
to be in danger when we could put the outcome of the action scenes into our
own hands?
Nowadays, Tom Cruise and his ilk have shown how to engage their audiences with
the return to dangerous stunts and practical effects, via brilliant movies like
Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible - Fallout. But back in
the aughties the doubts were valid, as movies started to rely increasingly on
computer-generated animations for action.
The movie magic was lost, because the illusion was so apparent and
unrelatable. No matter how realistic the VFX-crew made it look, they could
never use it sparingly enough. The more indifferent the audience got, the more
they cranked it up to grab our attention, and in so doing only bored us
further. We knew the heroes in action movies were never in danger, since the
actor obviously stood in front of a green screen. And how often has the hero
died in the middle of an intense action scene? The more violent the situation,
the less dangerous it was for the hero.
In stepped the gaming industry, with Sony and Uncharted at the forefront, to
demonstrate a different option for the audience. In the role of roguish action
hero Nathan Drake, a direct descendant of the explorer Francis Drake, you went
on an Indiana Jones-esque archaeological adventure in the jungle. By
your side you had a romantic interest and documentarian, Elena Fischer, and an
old buddy and father figure, Victor Sullivan. Your goal was to beat the crooks
to the location of the lost city of El Dorado.
Best of all was this: Contrary to movies, the more violent the situation, the
more danger you were in. It was atmospheric, adventurous and exciting, with
pretty visuals, a triumphant soundtrack and the soundscape of a humid jungle
all around. Waterfalls, cliffsides and ancient temples were all integral parts
of the gameplay as you scaled walls, jumped across deep ravines and took cover
from gunfire behind ancient stone structures. You had to solve simple
archaeological mysteries to proceed. Who needed boring, predictable adventure
movies anymore?
Prior to this playthrough, I had finished Uncharted once, and remembered it
quite fondly. But its legacy has been tarnished by frequent reports, from
different sources, about how poorly it has aged. Most of them revolve around
the repetitive nature of the gameplay loop; wave after wave of enemies
spawning from every corner, just out of view. They claim it grows
tiresome, and the controls don't respond as well as they
should.
After replaying Drake's Fortune on the PS4, I can see those flaws, but I
honestly don't care. Maybe it's just the skillful remastering done by Bluepoint Games, but to me the game feels about as slick as necessary. It strikes a
great balance between its combat scenarios, action set pieces, puzzle elements
and spirited cinematics. It's probably not as refined as the later entries
(we'll have to see when I replay them), but for me they are good and
challenging enough to entertain a solid 8-hour playthrough.
I admit it feels basic in the way it repeats familiar gameplay elements
like wall-climbing, cover-based shooting and lightweight puzzles. But the
familiarity makes it instantly accessible, as if designed according to a
modern gamer's instincts. It keeps the time commitment short and focused on the things that matter.
Nothing about Uncharted has ever felt unique or original. But through the
restrictive linear progression and standard third-person shooting mechanics,
it has a great sense of pacing. It has the flavor of a great, romantic
adventure. And the tension is real - the checkpoint system is restrictive
enough to make failure and death a real punishment. I constantly feel I'm
in the hands of great storytellers, who know how to direct the player's experience through the exact right involvement.
Combat is the main focus of the gameplay loop. It is the most prevalent and
challenging game mechanic. You quickly learn to read the situation ahead as an
upcoming combat scenario: First off, you find weapon and ammunition pickups.
The playing field opens up a bit to form an arena, and you detect a bunch of
strategically placed cover positions. You can see some more gleaming pickups
scattered all over the place, which often turn out to be more powerful
weapons. Maybe you even spot a turret on the opposite side of the arena.
That's when the enemies start swarming in, wave after wave, giving you a hard
time. I never grow tired of this loop, thanks to the delicate handling of the
difficulty curve. Early on, while my skills are rusty, the enemy is poorly
equipped. But in late-game scenarios, I have to constantly switch covers to avoid
hand grenades, all the while dodging some sniper's laser sights and incoming
grenade launcher fire. I remember many frustrating deaths in the original
PS3-release. For some reason, I fared much better this time around.
It's like a juggling act, trying to maintain awareness of all the enemies, item pickups and cover locations. It feels engaging all the way through, and it's with great enjoyment I see my improvised attack plans work as intended. I particularly liked to lob a few grenades behind enemy cover to make them expose themselves, and then blow them to kingdom come by shooting an explosive barrel in their escape path.
However, the game is not without its fair share of problems. My major gripes
are twofold:
First and foremost, the platforming is pretty bad. Even Lara Croft did
it better in the original Tomb Raider (1996). A jump you've failed
nine times might suddenly succeed on your tenth attempt, although you did
nothing remarkably different to make it across.
In one horrid segment, where I had to run and jump across a series of balconies, I
fell to my death so many times I even started doubting I was going the right
way. But since the game required me to shoot the lock off a door ahead of the
final jump, I knew I must be on the right track. And of course I was - the
game was just being super-particular about the positioning. You needed to be
right on the very edge of the platform to reach the final balcony.
Secondly, for a game from a studio venerated for their storytelling,
the story isn't really that special. The dialogue is good, and the interplay
between the main cast is brilliantly cheeky, but the hunt for El Dorado itself
lacks the mystery and fascination it should evoke. It's little more than a
vanilla MacGuffin. Also, Naughty Dog don't do a lot with Nathan's and Francis
Drake's kinship. I don't feel invested in the outcome of the treasure hunt
itself, only in the fate of the characters. Luckily, for me that's all that
matters.
Also, the villains are boring, evil archetypes. For unclear reasons, we get
three of them. Why so many? Sure, a classic adventure movie like Raiders of the Lost Ark also had three distinct villains, but they each added a little
something to the movie (well, at least they all got their own unforgettable
death scene). In Drake's Fortune, the trio could have been utilized as three
distinct boss fights, evenly distributed throughout the game, but this doesn't
happen. Instead, we only get a lacklustre final confrontation against the most
uncharismatic one.
The formulaic story and dull villains I can disregard, but it's hard to
overlook the frustrating platforming segments. The precision required can be
atrocious. The camera is often to blame, at least when it changes position to
give you a "better", distanced overview of the situation. This only makes it
harder, as you must steer the stick in the right angle to make it, otherwise
you might miss the platform entirely.
I also detect a certain lack of polish in the clumsy cover mechanic. Taking
cover shares button with the dodgeroll, which occasionally causes some
confusion. But this does not aggravate me as much as I remember from my time
with the PS3-version. On normal difficulty, the game lets you soak up a few
bullets before dying, which gives you time to adapt to the control scheme's
mischief. And the jet ski segments, that caused me so much grief in the original, I now cleared without a hassle.
I still sense a great triple-A game in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, but only by
early PS3 standards. Over time it has aged to remain a good experience, but in
most regards, it would no longer qualify as a blockbuster. It is too linear, too
unrefined, too short and too basic. It offers no side content. Nowadays, we
crave more, with no thoughts on whether we should just settle for
better. It's no wonder that the most celebrated triple-A games the last
couple of years have been refined remakes of - and sequels to - games that did
it right the first time around.
What remains of the gameplay part of Drake's Fortune is a good double-A
experience, well worth playing - at least in the shape of this skillful
remaster. And a few triple-A qualities still remain. The main trio of
characters, the dialogue, the cinematics, the voice acting, the flow and the
pacing of the storytelling are all top-notch, priceless milestones to hang on
to.
The gameplay tweaks and improvements secreted into this remaster eradicate
most of the frustrations I felt playing the PS3 original. That version can now
be retired, and this one should take its place. A solid framerate of 60 FPS,
along with the chance to control Drake with the DualShock 4 explains why I
felt so skilled this time around.
And when Bluepoint offers me a chance to shine, why should I not return the
favor with a favorable review? Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a fine appetizer
to a landmark series. I'm really stoked to experience how they handled even
better source material in the weeks to come.
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