Uncharted: Golden Abyss (PS Vita)

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Tested and reviewed based on the PS Vita version.
Review by Ben Nacca
(Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BenNacca )
XBL GT: Darkeyes1991 PSN ID: Darkeyes2k11

After the success of the Uncharted series on the Playstation 3, it was a no-brainer that an Uncharted title would be heading to the Playstation Vita. Let’s clear up some issues that people have been curious about though – There is no multiplayer, it is a prequel (set before the first game on PS3) and it is pretty sweet.

Nathan Drake returns, daring charm and one liners a plenty to help his old friend, Dante, identify some relics in Central America. One thing leads to another and you are now searching for a lost civilisation.

Now this isn’t made by Naughty Dog – think of it Call of Duty with Treyarch and Infinity Ward. Uncharted is owned by Sony so they can get any developer to make it and they have chosen Sony Bend to do this. Traditionally the story telling and characters, their relationships and humour is what makes Uncharted so great and they act as core points too. Sony Bend have gone for gameplay as the major angle and while you can still make Drake roll around, climb stuff and fight as ever before, the additional extras thrown in make you much more involved.

The collectables found through puzzles and treasures make up the journal that Nate always opens in the original games, piecing some aspect of the heritage together and it doesn’t come easily either. You have to use the PS Vita’s features to grab these goodies whether it is the touch screen to drag objects or cleaning dirt to using the rear touchpad as well. All this can happen in cutscenes too which leave you on edge, wondering when your next collectable will appear and using the various features works really well in keeping you entertained.

Where it didn’t work is during fight scenes and other forced moments – sure it “worked” in terms of hardware but the actual inconvenience to use the touch screen in quick time events became rather dire. Having the option there is nice, like tapping an enemy makes you melee them or touching the gun reloads it. Neat tricks but optional.

You can use buttons if you prefer and you will realise it is easier, simpler and comfier to do so. To open doors however, you must use 3 forced swipes. To fist-fight, you have to swipe to counter the enemy attacks. To cut through vines in your way, a “Z” shape must be made on the touch screen. Yes these are novel and involving ideas but frankly become a pain to repeat over and over again.

Now it isn’t that you then die or you walk off home because the door doesn’t open…the action is turned off like a tap and these gigantic, horrid arrows come up telling you what to do. Ok, well thanks for ruining the immersive, cinematic experience I was just having – really, round of applause. The problem is that this hasn’t been a problem in the other Uncharted games and whoever decided that was a wise choice to include it needs to be punished severely like banging his head on a door 3 times…

Generally, the swipes that are forced aren’t along every step of the way though so it is occasional moments that are halted and you can’t throw grenades back like in Uncharted 3? Yet you have a touchscreen that I think would be perfect to swipe in the direction you want the grenade thrown back? Odd design choice there.

Enemy A.I. is surprisingly dumb though, boasting really good enemies in the console versions, Golden Abyss really has some numpties for enemies. The main issue here are that the story doesn’t sit still and focus and while Dante and the woman interest, Chase are well voiced and portrayed, with Nolan North as Drake, they don’t compare to Sully or Elena. The story falls short because there is no round the world ventures like previously, it is in the jungle in Central America and that is it, green, green and some more green. No snow, cities, mountains or that ilk. Just green plants and trees in a jungle with a river. Sure the graphics are great but when everything looks pretty “samey”, you aren’t really pushing the Vita too far.

Visuals 9/10

Incredible to think that it is coming from something you are holding in your hands – something really remarkable and demonstrates the power of the Vita – loses score for being quite bland in terms of palette with a lack of different locations aiding this. Generally on-par with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

Audio 9/10

Voice actors are superb , especially Nolan North as Drake and you can’t really fault the Uncharted soundtrack from the moment the game starts till it finishes.

Gameplay 8/10

The adventuring mix of running and shooting while jumping and climbing is all present. Touchscreen controls let you tap to complete your actions though these will be used sparingly. Shame they force some actions to be touch screen which become lame and tedious quickly. The touch controls are great for the most part but sometimes it is just too much.

Delivery 7/10

The story isn’t as engaging as you would hope from the series and the lack of multiplayer also questions the longevity of this game but it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience all the same if you are a fan of the series or a newcomer. 34 chapters will keep you busy but the sheer amount of collectables will keep the purists busy for a while.

Summary 8.4/10

Look, for Sony Bend’s first attempt at the series, Uncharted: Golden Abyss is pretty decent and a worthy title for anyone’s Vita collection but it lacks that charm and polished feeling. Sure it looks awesome and displays the power of the Vita really well, the story in Uncharted should never have to take the backseat but it does here and I think, as great as the gameplay is and the journal idea too, I have had to swipe one to many times now.

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