STACK #208 Feb 2022

GAMING REVIEWS

visit stack.com.au

OUT NOW at

UNCHARTED: LEGACY OF THIEVES COLLECTION

ACTION ADVENTURE MULTIPLAYER

OUT NOW

When it comes to iconic PlayStation series, they don’t come much more iconic than the Uncharted games. Now, the single-player campaigns from two most recent entries are reborn in finely polished PlayStation 5 style. If you’ve never embarked upon an Uncharted jaunt, expect third-person action-

adventuring with a stealthy, puzzling slant – plus melee

combat and a veritable cavalcade of weaponry. Then there’s getting friendly with vehicles, and climbing – lots of climbing! Oh, and of course there’s plenty of treasure hunting – ooh, shiny! Original series star Nathan Drake returns in Uncharted: A Thief’s End . We find his adventuring amounting to mere salvage work, but with the carrot of going home and snuggling with the lovely Elena, to whom he’s now hitched. However, preventing this from being a domestic bliss simulator is Nate’s long thought dead big brother, Samuel, who returns owing megabucks to

IT’S ABOUT TIME The movie Uncharted , in cinemas this month, stars Tom Holland as Nathan Drake, and Mark Wahlberg as his mentor/ father figure Victor “Sully” Sullivan. It’s a prequel to the Uncharted games, despite us seeing (and playing) snippets of Nate’s younger days in A Thief’s End .

a drug lord, and begging his little bro for help. Itching for action, Nate agrees. Cue globetrotting adventure… In Uncharted: The Lost Legacy , Nate takes a break and leaves Chloe Frazer on heroic duties. She’s following in her daddy’s footsteps by travelling to India looking for booty, specifically the legendary tusk of Ganesh. She’s enlisted a familiar face in Nadine Ross to assist her and, once they procure a map, they’re on their way to adventure, treasure and... pursuit by a nasty militia leader. Hey, nobody said it would be easy! These two games were polished shinier than the shiniest of rare and valuable artefacts back on PS4, yet Naughty Dog have managed to up the ante with the extra oomph that the PS5 offers. Play in glorious 4K, at 60fps or 120fps depending upon mode, and gameplay is even more seamless than ever, even between cutscenes and gameplay. AF

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX EXTRACTION

SHOOTER MULTIPLAYER

OUT NOW

There hasn't been a new Rainbow Six game since 2015's Rainbow Six Siege , which remains one of the best PVP online shooters around. Now, Rainbow Six Extraction merges the gunplay and strategy of Siege with mechanics from the Left 4 Dead/Back 4 Blood games. Extraction basically provides a full version of 2018's Rainbow Six Siege

Operation Chimera limited-time event, Outbreak. As in that op, you and two partners move

KNOW YOUR ENEMY Enemies are similar to other horde shooters, but are also creative enough to be unique and stand out. Some explode if you shoot glowing portions on their backs, but take them out at the legs and they won't detonate. Others act like mini-bosses, rampaging through walls, cloaking nearby hostiles, or spawning nests once defeated.

has its own objective, and as you move into the next zone, difficulty ramps, the objective is harder, and resources get tighter. You need to pick an operator who'll support your team. However, if you take too much damage, you’ll be unable to use them, as they'll need a rest to recover some health. If your operator is killed, you won't be able to use them again until replaying that zone and extracting them. When each operator's health reaches zero, a protective foam encases their bodies (think Demolition Man ). If your team’s still alive, they can carry a downed operator to an extraction med bay, avoiding a return to rescue them later. Rainbow Six Extraction is made to be played with friends, and coordination and teamwork is a must, just like in Siege . However, best of all Extraction can also be played solo. AD

through infected zones, completing challenges in various locations. These may involve eliminating a high-level threat, extracting a fallen soldier, or defeating a challenging boss. Gunplay-wise, Extraction plays exactly like Siege , from which the operators are also pulled. So, if you were a Pulse or Lion player, you'll be able to pick these operators. Unlike Siege though, there's a level format and structure. Each city or state has three different locations and, in each location, there are three separate map zones. Each of these

14 FEBRUARY 2022

jbhifi.com.au