While reviews for Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection are coming in very positively today ahead of its release on October 7, there’s apparently a minor issue with the game that is bugging many fans of the trilogy.
On the PS3, developers Naughty Dog made use of an adaptive soundtrack for many scenes across the second and third games, whereby certain sections from the game’s musical score would be triggered or altered by certain player actions, rather than simply being cued up in a normal fashion. However, according to a number of players, Bluepoint Games – the developer responsible for handling the port – have failed to integrate this dynamic audio correctly at a number of points, and it seems to be detracting from the overall atmosphere of those moments as a result.
The issue is highlighted by Reddit user ChickenBros, who uses Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’ iconic helicopter chase as an example. Greg Edmonson’s Cornered plays during that particular scene, but it’s integrated in such a way that it always marries with the on-screen action. As ChickenBros points out: “The section from 1:18-1:52 in the track plays from when the helicopter first shows up, through the first rooftop fight, and up through when you jump down the hole in the roof. If the song reaches 1:52 before you jump down the hole, the song will essentially fade to a pause until you jump down.
“1:53 begins as soon as you jump down the hole, and 1:55 hits as soon as the wall next to you explodes.”
The two videos embedded below illustrate the difference between the scene as it appeared on PS3 and how it plays out on the Nathan Drake Collection on PS4. While the original features the adaptive audio cues described above, the PS4 version is completely lacking, with the song not beginning until Drake jumps down the hole in the roof; even then, parts of the song that were tied to the wall exploding come in randomly later on at an inappropriate time.
According to anecdotal evidence, this isn’t an isolated instance, with several other chapters in Uncharted 2 also being affected. We have reached out to Bluepoint to Sony to find out the reasons for this omission, and whether or not it’s something that can be potentially patched into the collection in the future.