Nathan Drake likes to travel to exotic, interesting places. He enjoys meeting new interesting people, then he murders them. In Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Nathan Drake gets his “kill-on”, in a new way, the PS Vita. Released on Feb. 13, 2012, SCE Bend Studio picks up were Naughty Dog left off and now with dual analog sticks for easier mass killing to boot. As Drake we get to follow the trail of a mysterious ancient order and uncover what exactly happened to a failed expedition trying to uncover the order’s secrets. This Sony PS Vita exclusive will have you exploring jungles, ruins and other adventury type places that only a master climber and his geriatric old father figure friend can reach.

In order to avoid spoilers, I am going to break down the game into topics kinda like I do on GamersTransform, a podcast dedicated to one game at a time and available now on itunes (cheap plug and link). I’ll start of with graphics, gameplay, sound, controls, extras and finish off with the story (spoiler free) and a letter grade

So put on your bulletproof vest and hide your kids, hide your wife because Nathan Drake is killing people after the incredible jump.

 

 

Graphics: The PS Vita is a powerful machine, in order to display near console graphics on a portable handheld you gotta have some serious horsepower under that Vita hood, and they do. Graphically no other game that I have ever played on a handhelp looks this good. It’s almost hypnotizing watching Nathan Drake traverse a level with the same amount of detail you have come to expect from a console version. There are a few noticable issues, for example the character models for the enemy A.I. are recycled greatly during the game and the sharpness of the characters suffers a bit when moving about the screen. There are some jaggies here and there and it the in game animations for climbing or fighting are reused almost to a comedic level. The cut scenes blend perfectly into gameplay like all Uncharted games do and ultimately it is the graphics that are the biggest draw in this game.

 

GamePlay: You played one Uncharted game you’ve played them all right? Not so fast! I mean you still climb, run, jump, hang, fall and shoot (kill) your way across the game’s levels. But now thanks to the PS Vita you can touch, lean, swipe, tilt and rub your way across the brand new gameplay elements introduced in this Uncharted game. First thing you will notice is that the gunplay and the parkour still feel the way they would in an Uncharted console game, that’s a good thing. Now with the added features of a Vita you can swipe your way across ledges, use the rear touch pad to rotate an object in your hands for a better look or use the front touch screen to make a charcoal rubbing of an ancient template. All this only adds to the Uncharted experience and for once in an Uncharted game you actually feel like an Archeologist.

 

Sound: The Uncharted series is known for its theatrical music and this smaller iteration has a cosole sized score. You will immediately know you are playing an Uncharted game. The score is truly epic and gives a sense of larger than life action that is about to be bestowed on the gamer. Nolan North gives another amazing performance as Nathan Drake and all the other voice actors you expect are along for the pocket-sized ride. This game must be played with headphones on to really enjoy the story and the little nuance sounds you will hear during the game.

 

Controls: If you are a fan of cheap deaths then this game is for you! It is amazing how my man Nathan can jump from a ledge 1,000 feet in the air and grab another ledge to safety a good 12 feet away, but fall 5 feet and die. Usually the controls are to blame, but some blame must also be passed on to the horrible game camera that wants to rotate the way you don’t want it to go while climbing the area. It seems that Bend was not ready to make full use of that right analog stick because plenty of areas are constructed as to not even allow use of it. Overall the shooting is responsive and other then the sniping weapon debacle you are sure to embark the controls are a little more than above average. There is a very simple melee system as well that gets the job done.

 

Extras: There are enough collectibles to keep you playing this game for months, Also introduced in this game is the ability to take pictures for your expedition collection. With Near, which is the PS Vita’s social network app you can trade items in the Black Market with other players. Trophy support is available and there are a few difficulty levels for you to try. This game has plenty of replay value.

 

Story: Not gonna go into too much detail here, let’s just say the story is not as epic as a console version but there are some awesome new characters introduced in this game and it paces pretty well. Just like other Uncharted games the dry humor is built into Nathan and Sully’s core making for very funny dialogue.

 

Overall I am extremely happy witht this title and would recommend it to any gamer, Bend left out any type of multi-player but that’s a good thing to me. Fan or not of the Uncharted series this game is exactly what handheld gaming should be.