Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (PS4) Review

Greatness from small beginnings.

 2007 was a great year for gaming. The 7th gen. was kicking off to a good start with some great games. Super Mario Galaxy, BioShock, Halo 3, and a certain game called Uncharted: Drake's Fortune were among the best games of that year. Also, it was also developer Naughty Dog's first PlayStation 3 outing. Packing high production values similar to that of Hollywood movies and a memorable cast of characters, Drake's Fortune was one of the reasons to consider owning a PS3 back then. After nearly 10 years, it has been bundled alongside its sequels as part of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, a remastered compilation for the PlayStation 4. Now remastered and improved, how does the game that started it all holds up today? We'll be finding out.


STORY- We follow our protagonist Nathan Drake, fortune hunter and a supposed descendant of explorer Sir Francis Drake. Accompanied him are his mentor, Victor Sullivan and journalist, Elena Fisher. Together, they search for "El Dorado", an ancient city made of gold that is located off the coast of Panama. Things aren't going to be that easy since a gang of pirates and mercenaries are also after El Dorado. Despite the one-dimensional villains, the story and atmosphere were engaging thanks to the trio that are Nate, Sully, and Elena. Each have their own distinct personalities and are memorable in their own way. However, the same can't be said for the villains, who are one-dimensional and are quite forgettable.

The story is absorbing thanks to its writing and main cast of characters. 

GAMEPLAY- Drake's Fortune is a third-person shooter with platforming elements. When up against enemies Drake'll often resort to gun and hand-to-hand combat. Drake can carry one main weapon, one sub-weapon, and four grenades. Scattered across the game are loads of different weapons to choose from, each ideal for different situations. Drake can also take cover or hang from ledges, both of which can be helpful when dealing with lots of enemies. In terms of hand combat, Drake can pull of combos that will reward you with extra gun ammunition if done correctly. Since there's no health bar, the screen color darkens each times Drake is hit by enemy damage. To heal, just stay in cover or retreat to a safe for a brief while. 

The gameplay is simple and fun.

 When Drake won't shooting enemies, he'll be doing some platforming. Drake can climb up areas, hang on to ledges, and swing on to ropes. The platforming elements surprisingly blend well with the game and the controls are responsive. I've found some of them to be pretty fun.  A cool feature in the collection is Speed Running mode. While nothing big, this feature has you completing the game as fast as possible. You can also share your records with friends. 

Get ready to do some monkeying around.

 Furthermore, there are vehicles sections. In the first one, Elena will be driving a jeep and Drake'll be shooting from a mounted turret at enemies. The second one has Drake driving a water ski and Elena shooting at enemies and explosive barrels coming their way. While they are short and meh, they do a good job of changing things up a bit.

The jeep and water ski sections keep things a bit fresh.

  With all the good said, let's get into some of my criticisms of the game. A weak aspect of the game is the poor stealth mechanics. In an early section of the game, stealth is encouraged. However, there are very little opportunities during the rest of the game. (there's even a silver trophy for silently killing enemies 50 times!) Additionally, and this pretty annoying, is the inability to throw back grenades at enemies. Sure, the main purpose of enemies using grenades is to flank you out, but on higher difficulties, you'll be wishing you had that feature.

 Scattered across the chapters are hidden treasures to collect. If you've managed to collect all 60 you can unlock character skins and unlock all weapons at any time. There are also some gallery items and behind the scenes bonuses too. Finally, you can tweaks to further add replay-value to the game. For example, there are tweaks that gives you unlimited ammo and can flip the game world to the other side. I found them to be pretty fun to mess with. Also take note that though tweaks require you to play on a certain difficulty setting to unlock them.


PRESENTATION- Drake's Fortune packed high production values that showcased the visual power of the PS3 great during its time. Most developers were having trouble programming games for the PS3 due to its complicated architecture, but Naughty Dog managed to prevail. The game is filled with lush, detailed environments and character models. For the PS4 remaster, 
the game is running at a smooth 60 fps and 1080p as opposed to the original's 30fps and 720p. Bluepoint Games did a fantastic work here. 

The game is still visually appealing after all these years.

 Moving on, Nolan North, Emily Rose, and Richard McGonagle provide superb performances as Nathan Drake, Elena Fisher, and Victor Sullivan, respectively. They're part of the reason why these characters are memorable and loved. Additionally, the soundtrack is commendable. It's packed with lots of great tracks that fit the adventurous tone of the game.

 A new feature in The Nathan Drake Collection is photo mode, which was introduced in Naughty Dog's The Last Of Us Remastered. Basically, by pressing down on the d-pad, you're able to take pictures during gameplay. You can add filters, change the contrast, and so on. It's a minor, yet nice feature to have.

OVERALL- For a nearly 10 year-old game, Drake's Fortune holds up surprisingly well, even in its original form. The story and main leads are memorable, the gameplay and presentation are appreciable. Naughty Dog did a commendable job with Drake's Fortune. Bluepoint Games also did an awesome job of polishing things up. If you're a newcomer to the series and would like to play the original games in their upgraded form, go ahead with The Nathan Drake Collection. 

EXCELLENT