Collection Uncharted

Uncharted is Naughty Dog doing an adventure serial, and its main contribution to games was making the set piece a genuine craft. The train sequence, the collapsing building, the cargo plane - these are staged with a precision that most action films don't manage.

Nathan Drake works because he's not competent enough to be smug. He gets hurt, he panics, he makes bad jokes under pressure, and his banter with Sully and Elena does more characterisation than any cutscene. The performance-capture work here effectively set the standard the industry now uses.

The series is also honest about what it is. There is a treasure, there is a map, there is a rival, and something ancient will go wrong in the third act. The pleasure is in the execution, not the surprise.

A Thief's End gave the whole thing an unexpectedly mature ending about knowing when to stop, which is not a thing action franchises usually attempt.

This collection covers Drake and his gear.