So Uncharted Golden Abyss, what can we say ? First of all, the game certainly has its flaws, however, we should always keep in mind that they appear to us only as obvious as Naughty Dog almost reached perfection in crafting its franchise on home consoles. Unfortunately, having not yet had the opportunity to look into the third installment in the series, I can still say how the second one stands out to me as one of the most remarkable games I have played.
Being a highly awaited launch title having to showcase the potential power of the Vita, one has obviously very high expectations which could potentially undermine the objectivity of this review. I will thus knowingly try to provide an as much as unbiased opinion as possible discussing its qualities and weaknesses.
Like father, like son
Even if one would like to be judged by its own achievements, in the case of Golden Abyss comparison is inevitable. Nevertheless, this goes in favor of the youngest member of the Drake family which definitely is not to looked down upon.
First of all, technically, even if naysayers will always find something to pick on, do not forget that this game is released on a handheld which while holding considerable processing power, still cannot cope with the beasts hooked up to our televisions.
This power, Uncharted Golden Abyss manages to make a remarkable use of; the game is sublime, textures are thin, the AMOLED screen works wonders letting us enjoy one of the strengths of the series, colors literally exploding on-screen. Set pieces, even though they are less massive than on ps3, offer staggering polygonal structures never seen on a handheld before.
Animations are very smooth that makes us think without a doubt, that new developer Sony Bend, had access to all prior games’ assets, as the characters facial expressions are almost PS3-like and small details that made the strength of the series can be found here and there. For myself I keep being impressed by the degree the Drakes pants get wet according to the depth of water he has walked through.
All is not perfect though, smoke and flames in particular, even if their animations are spot on, pixelation and aliasing can be noticed. However these flaws, in my opinion, are largely due to the overwhelming legacy of the series and the fact that developers had to learn to fathom the hard- and software while producing the game.
A “U” like in adventure
Because yes, even if a fine connoisseur of poetry noticed that A and U do not rhyme, Uncharted Golden Abyss rhymes with Adventure with a capital A. It is probably not the greatest one but certainly a pleasant and fun one to follow. Drake finds himself caught up on a climbing trip with a certain Dante, who seems to pay way to much attention to his shoes, for my part I would start by worrying about his tanktop, but whaddayasay, to each his own. So Dante, whose company and projects would make any sane person think “no friggin way, I’m staying with that guy”, embarks Drake on an epic adventure where he will meet the drug-running hardnut General Guerro and the sexy side kick Marisa Chase who will accompany you during the majority of your journey.
About the screenplay, it is not the most convincing one. Maybe I was just too busy looking at the eye-popping scenery, but I didn’t quite get all the ins and outs of the underlying story of the Seven Cities of Gold. It feels more like a casual adventure, a more relaxing one we could say. Concerning the characters, while not quite up to the depth of previous episodes, they are still all endearing. The whole is enhanced by a tongue-in-cheek dialogue still as punchy as usual, letting us overlook certain inconsistencies in the psychology of the characters. I’m still dazzled about Drake’s moral dilemmas as he takes down waves of enemies.
The journey ahead of us is of quite acceptable length, I didn’t keep records but I think it takes about 7-10 hours to see the ending credits and much more if you want to unlock everything. Unlike the last two episodes, Golden Abyss limits us to South America where we trudge through the equatorial jungle, various ruins and mountains. After being juggled all around the world through the PS3 episodes, some redundancy can be felt here, despite attempts by developers to vary situations and gameplay.
In addition to the endless climbing and undercover shooting sessions, which define the core gameplay, you can also escape, enjoy kayaking, or even tobogganing (don’t ask me, you’ll see). These interesting attempts to vary the gamers experience, however cannot match the over-the-top action from previous episodes… who doesn’t remember the train part of Among Thieves? This portable version thus seems reminiscent of Drake’s Fortune which now, looking back seems a little more intimate than his illustrious successors. It undoubtedly has its charm but in terms of pure action the Among Thieves formula was much more effective. We might even never know where exactly Sony Bend has “failed” in order to deliver such intense feelings … lack of inspiration, time, power?
Back up, behind the front
It’s like everything, it takes all sorts to make a world as long as you have the choice! Because sometimes it can turn out to be quite unpleasant. Sony Bend has listened to the big boss and its developers have exploited all the features of the Vita, front touch screen, rear touch screen, camera and gyroscope. That said, if I’m not against adding options, some are mandatory and others are not, which obviously can’t appeal to everybody.
For standard moving and gunfight controls, Sony Bend was smart enough not to force the player to use the touch functions at all times and to let him choose at will. So you can play through climbing and shooting phases without ever having to use the… hum, “sensory” functions of the device. However if fiddling is right up your alley, you can always make use of the tactile surfaces and the gyroscope. You want Drake to climb a rope? Use the back touchpad. Do you want him to climb a wall? Nothing simpler, touch the edge you want to grip on. There are also some elements that add to the formula to make your shooting life much easier. The Vitas dual sticks have a little “drawback” that is being a bit harsh and you will most likely find it rather difficult to precisely adjust the cross hair right on the genital parts of your favorite villain for a nice clean ball-shot. (Ah, Metal Gear Dog Tags). The trick found by Sony Bend is to use the gyroscope (can be disabled) to give you a slight motion control-enabled aiming assist. This is so subtle that a friend had to point it out to me. Once mastered, this technique allows you to get this little chunk of increased precision to fine tune your aim and hit right where it hurts.
Even though “sensory” control elements are no too intrusive for the most part, there are still some parts in the game where touch controls are annoyingly mandatory. The most explicit example remains the close combat phases that make us systematically finish off the opponent with bare fists by swiping the screen, as we let go of the square button to perform the movement. Even if this action doesn’t need to be carried out precisely, a random swipe should do the job most of the time, it’s still a pain in the ass. Ironically, it breaks the flow when the objective was to strengthen the games immersion and I didn’t even talk about the bamboo cutting controls, that seem completely artificial. On the other hand you can still do the melee fighting entirely in a “touch style” way, choosing that path might actually increase Sony Bends intended immersion.
More generally, the controls perfectly carry over from the PS3 versions, so you will feel at home right off the bat. Also you will find the usual puzzles which the majority rely on touch controls. While being interesting, they are not the most remarkable sections of this portable outing as most of the exploration part of the game is centered around “archeology”.
Archeology for dummies
Uncharted, always had its tits and bits of archaeological objects to collect along our hero’s wanderings, but remained piled up in a list without really putting them into perspective by tying them up to do the background story. This is probably where this episode adds some new flavor to the Uncharted Series. So yes, this a small detail, but it might just be that small detail that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves lacked to be 100% perfect.
In Golden Abyss, objects are classified by themed charts making your exploration a little more compelling as you will learn more about characters and storyline with each discovery. In addition to this there are four gameplay elements that make use of the PS Vitas touch screen capabilities. The first one is the charcoal rubbing where you have to rub the touch screen with your chubby little fingers to reveal different patterns and drawings. The other element is also to uncover the invisible, but this time by removing the dirt from objects, the rear panel is also put to use by providing the ability to rotate objects, unveiling new parts to clean up.
The third element revolves around photography, not that you have to take pictures of stones in your garden, rather we stay in the game to immortalize the scenery. If you are allowed to take anything and everything to feed your holiday album, you are urged in some specific spots to capture set pieces with a precise length and angle. The exercise, if required during the tutorial, is not obligatory to keep progressing in the game. It is yet a nice way to take a break and admire the landscape. Breathing in a fast paced game is always welcome and adds to the “laid-back” atmosphere of this episode. The fourth and last is similar to the puzzle, you will have to pick up torn apart documents, and it’s up to you to reassemble them using the touchscreen.
I am sure I forgot a few things, but what stands out in this episode is that despite some shortcomings, a slightly far-fetched screenplay, the mandatory touch controls at times or a certain redundancy in the environments, it stays a technical tour de force for such a small device and simply a real fun and entertaining game. It continues a tradition of high standards and quality in the Uncharted legacy. The gameplay is, with few exceptions, identical to that of its elders and spot on, the pace is fast, and the writing just as meaningful. Often clever and sometimes failed attempts to exploit the PS Vitas capabilities is rather a good thing in my opinion.
In a nutshell, thanks to Sony Bend, Uncharted Golden Abyss lives up to its expectations, which proves the immense potential of this machine and gives us hope for future episodes, perhaps less spectacular, but still a hell lot of fun.
