Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Prime Day Deals
  • Superman
  • Donkey Kong Bananza
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Red Dead Redemption 2
Adventure Games 25 best adventure games to get swept up in right now
Mass Effect 2 - Garrus
Adventure Games The 25 best video game stories to play right now
A crop of the box art for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, showing Indiana Jones in front of the game's cast of characters mimicking the style of the movie posters - image sourced from Games Press
Games "Fate Of Atlantis felt like the movie we never got," says Indiana Jones and The Great Circle producer as devs reflect on the series' gaming legacy: "It really captured the spirit of the movies that came before it"
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle screenshot of Indiana and Satipo
Adventure Games It took 5 months but Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is finally on PS5, and I'm begging you to play the best Raiders of the Lost Ark sequel that never was
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle screenshot of Indiana dressed as priest, looking over a book
Adventure Games After playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5 for 12 hours, I'm convinced it's the small details that make this an adventure for the history books
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle screenshot of Indiana Jones in the darkness
Adventure Games Indiana Jones and the Great Circle reawakened a PS2-era phobia that made me quit survival horror in 2003, and I'm still recovering
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle screenshot of Indiana
Adventure Games Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has quickly become one of favorite adventure games of all-time, and the DLC promises to give me exactly what I want - more of it
  1. Games
  2. Action

Remember that time? Our favorite parts of The Uncharted Series

Features
By GamesRadar Staff published 5 October 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Make new friends but keep the old...

Make new friends but keep the old...

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is finally swinging into our lives with some witty banter and an "Oh crap!", and it's hard not to feel a little bit nostalgic. All those good times where Nate and Sully fought like a married couple, or Elena barely avoided driving off a cliff, or Cutter headbutted Nate right in his pretty face - aah, such good memories that always seem to stick around, no matter how many years and other games and delays to Uncharted 4 have passed.

But Uncharted isn't just the kind of series that you have fun playing in the moment - its best parts stay with you long after youve seen the credits roll. Now that the collection has brought Nate and the crew back into our lives, those memories are overwhelming: the rush of being sucked out of an airplane cockpit, the joy of not getting hit by a flying train car, the embarrassment of Chloe calling out Nate's old crush. It's a feeling so good it'd be cruel to keep it to ourselves, so let's go on this journey through our favorite Uncharted moments.

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
Nate abusing his authority to get to France (Anthony)

Nate abusing his authority to get to France (Anthony)

Uncharted 3 is actually my least favorite of the series, even more so than the limp Golden Abyss on PS Vita. The links between its mammoth set pieces are tenuous, the cover-based shooting somehow even sloppier than the 2007 original, and the constant presence of partner characters hints that Naughty Dog dreamed of making the whole story co-op, but failed to make it a reality. And yet theres a scene early on in the game that perfectly encapsulates everything the series does so well.

When Nate stumbles on information that will lead him and his posse either to France or Syria, Chloe pipes up to volunteer but Nate quickly cuts her off. Nope! She and Cutter have to go to Syria while Nate and Sully take in the lush French countryside. Theres an easy camaraderie between otherwise shallow, archetypal characters that is so believable and delivered so expertly after sequences of taut action that you cant help but be invested in everything going on. Funny, warm, and utterly magnetic. Its that Uncharted charm.

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Playing Marco Polo on top of Hotel Shangri-La (Connor)

Playing Marco Polo on top of Hotel Shangri-La (Connor)

No matter where he is in Uncharted 2, Nathan Drake desperately needs to be somewhere else. This keeps the game going with a near-flawless pace, always flinging you (sometimes literally) from one beautiful vista to the next, yet it can discourage you from admiring the view. Once Drake and Chloe climb to the roof of Hotel Shangri-La in Chapter 6, they really do need find a vantage point and scout out their next move before the bad guys beat them there. But that pristine swimming pool on the roof is so, so tempting.

Take a dip and Drake will try to play Marco Polo with Chloe, who hesitantly obliges before remarking on his lack of thief-y professionalism. Tempting as all those shiny, hidden treasures are, that unexpected exchange was easily the best reward Uncharted has ever given me for taking in its world.

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
The Collapsing Building (Susan)

The Collapsing Building (Susan)

Drake gets into a lot of shootouts - so many, in fact, that they begin to blend together into an endless montage of ducking, covering, and declarations of Crap! One of Uncharted 2s biggest setpieces remains memorable not just because it features a helicopter taking potshots at you, but because you suddenly find yourself on the wrong side of a shoddy building code.

As youre exchanging standard gunfire with a bunch of thugs, ducking behind desks and doorjambs, a helicopter blasts a hole in the wall. Oh, great, now you have to dodge rockets while taking out these last few bad guys, you think, but no, the pilot isnt thinking so small. Nah, hes going to take the entire building down, and you with it. Suddenly, the floor shifts violently and you find yourself sliding helplessly as the entire structure begins toppling to the ground. Youve got seconds to save yourself before the upper floors crush you. Are you ready? JUMP! Its a thrilling, unexpected setpiece that rattles your nerves and makes you feel good to be alive.

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
Elena and Drake flirting over Spanish gold (Ashley)

Elena and Drake flirting over Spanish gold (Ashley)

The whole Uncharted cast packs plenty of heartfelt moments into their treasure-hunting adventures, but in my heart of hearts I always go back to an earlier time, when Elena and Nate first used some ancient artifact as an excuse for shameless flirting. In the first game, after the two narrowly survive the world's worst jetski ride, Elena notices the ring Drake wears around his neck, giving her an opportunity to get right up in his personal space. The rest of their conversation is technically about the details of the artifact and old dead guys, but blatant sexual tension (not to mention Drake's self-aware preening) makes the whole scene embarrassingly cute.

It's not suave or particularly titillating for the audience, and it's not supposed to be - it's two nerds using archaeology as an excuse to almost-snuggle. That gives them infinitely more personality than if the whole sequence was meant to make them generically tantalizing, and makes me feel like I really know them as characters. These two are in no way smooth operators, and it's adorable.

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
The view from behind the waterfall in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Justin)

The view from behind the waterfall in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Justin)

You've just discovered a German U-Boat deep in the jungle and now you're trying to find your way onto it. There's better-than-Lara (at the time at least) climbing to be done, and eventually you get high enough to be able to look out across the jungle. And it's beautiful.

There are birds flying in the distance, the sun hangs low in the sky, and just for a moment, you simply have to pause and take in the incredible view. Just for a moment, this isn't a game. It's a real place with real rock and real beauty. It proved Naughty Dog and PS3 had something special going on. And even though I've played through that section several times since then, I always have to stop there and take it all in, and I can't wait to see it at 1080p.

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
Drake and Elena rate the scariness of death vs clowns (Sam)

Drake and Elena rate the scariness of death vs clowns (Sam)

It seems like such a weird, small moment to pull out of a game filled with exciting, thrill-a-minute chase scenes and larger than life locales to explore, but the Uncharted series has always been about fun, snappy dialogue - at least as much as it's also been about ancient tombs and scenic vistas.

It's only roughly a minute's worth of banter between the professional adventurer and his on-again, off-again love interest, but the two talking about how scared Nate was over possibly losing Elena is adorable, pitch-perfect in its delivery, and perfectly encapsulates their relationship. I can't re-experience the awe I felt witnessing the Uncharted series' setpieces for the first time, but I can always smile and feel all fuzzy inside at these two sarcastic lovebirds.

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
CATEGORIES
PlayStation PS4 Platforms
PRODUCTS
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
GamesRadar Staff
Social Links Navigation

GamesRadar+ was first founded in 1999, and since then has been dedicated to delivering video game-related news, reviews, previews, features, and more. Since late 2014, the website has been the online home of Total Film, SFX, Edge, and PLAY magazines, with comics site Newsarama joining the fold in 2020. Our aim as the global GamesRadar Staff team is to take you closer to the games, movies, TV shows, and comics that you love. We want to upgrade your downtime, and help you make the most of your time, money, and skills. We always aim to entertain, inform, and inspire through our mix of content - which includes news, reviews, features, tips, buying guides, and videos.

See more Playstation Features
Read more
Red Dead Redemption 2
25 best adventure games to get swept up in right now
Mass Effect 2 - Garrus
The 25 best video game stories to play right now
A crop of the box art for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, showing Indiana Jones in front of the game's cast of characters mimicking the style of the movie posters - image sourced from Games Press
"Fate Of Atlantis felt like the movie we never got," says Indiana Jones and The Great Circle producer as devs reflect on the series' gaming legacy: "It really captured the spirit of the movies that came before it"
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle screenshot of Indiana and Satipo
It took 5 months but Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is finally on PS5, and I'm begging you to play the best Raiders of the Lost Ark sequel that never was
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle screenshot of Indiana dressed as priest, looking over a book
After playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5 for 12 hours, I'm convinced it's the small details that make this an adventure for the history books
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle screenshot of Indiana Jones in the darkness
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle reawakened a PS2-era phobia that made me quit survival horror in 2003, and I'm still recovering
Latest in Action
Link points a finger at the stand, channelling Ace Attorney's stance, in a screenshot from the Hero of Law mod.
27 years later, this uncanny "Hero of Law" mod makes The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time the game it was always meant to be: Ace Attorney
Arthur Morgan and Sadie ride horses in Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar Games may have unintentionally confirmed Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 4 re-releases, fans theorize as mysterious new support options are discovered
Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot of Sam walking across a desert hillside with boxing trailing behind him
Death Stranding 2 players beg for a "filter" to stop player structures killing the vibe, but others theorize it's all part of Hideo Kojima's master plan: "Should we have connected?"
GTA Online Alien War
GTA 6 rumor suggests GTA Online server player capacity could double, even triple, and it's making me want to lock my doors and stockpile guns like I'm in a doomsday bunker
The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us Online lead and Uncharted veteran is opening a new studio in Japan after 10 years at PlayStation's Naughty Dog
Ghost of Yotei lead Atsu in straw hat
Dragon Age and Ghost of Yotei star is probably more excited for today's State of Play than you are – the actor's logged 80 hours to 100% Ghost of Tsushima
Latest in Features
David Corenswet as Superman with Krypto the dog and a robot in the Fortress of Solitude.
James Gunn's Superman has finally found the cure to superhero movie fatigue: just make them more like comics
Abraham's Boys: A Dracula Story
New indie horror Abraham's Boys: A Dracula Story is Frailty meets There Will Be Blood with a haunting focus on family – and I have no complaints
Superman shows off his strength on the cover of Superman Unlimited #2.
Here's how to start reading Superman comics once you've seen the new movie
David Corenswet as Superman in James Gunn's Superman
Superman ending explained: your biggest questions answered on Lex Luthor, the Justice Gang, and what it sets up for the DCU
The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature
After 16 years of The Sims 3, The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature might just be the whimsical expansion pack that pulls me away from EA's iconic 2009 life sim for good
Superman
Every comic book character in Superman, listed in order of appearance in James Gunn's new movie
  1. Zion Wright grinds along a wooden balustrade in in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4's San Francisco level
    1
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 review: "A nostalgic, must-play hit for fans"
  2. 2
    College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf”
  3. 3
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  4. 4
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  5. 5
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  1. David Corenswet as Superman inside the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's Superman.
    1
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  2. 2
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  3. 3
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  4. 4
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  5. 5
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...