Uncharted: Golden Abyss doesn't push the Uncharted series forward; it's a full-fledged Uncharted adventure that plays to the
formula a bit too much and leaves aside some of the charm from its console
iterations.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss doesn't dramatically alter the Uncharted formula, but plays it out almost exactly as expected. The series pattern of boy
meets girl, trouble ensues and grand finale among wondrous and legendary
antiquities holds true in this PlayStation Vita adventure. It doesn't rock the
boat, introduce new backstory elements or create a lasting story impact, but
it is a fun tale and thrilling adventure with Nathan Drake. This isn't Uncharted-lite
on the Vita, this is a full, 10 plus hour adventure that can stand alongside
the rest in the series for its epic scope.
The
game is a prequel, set before the events of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and, in a way, it feels like it design-wise. You'll find yourself in environments
very reminiscent of the original game - jungle, ruins and ruins in jungles make
up the majority of where you explore. Where Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception had you on a worldwide, whirlwind tour, Uncharted: Golden Abyss focuses
the adventure on one goal and one destination.
"Stop creeping and help!"
While
previous games in the series had you collect hidden treasure, Uncharted:
Golden Abyss ramps up the collectible hunt with several different types of
items at a much higher frequency. This time around, you'll use treasures,
artifacts, photos (taken by the player) and charcoal rubbings (created by
rubbing your finger across the screen) to solve the game's optional
"mysteries." When you collect the eight or so required items, you'll solve a
specific mystery and gain additional story elements to help fill in some gaps.
I never went out of my way to complete more than one mystery, and found that
there were just too many collectibles and collectible types to worry
about. I go to Uncharted for exploration and action and not for the
periphery elements, so I could play the game how I wanted to and ignore most of
the side stuff that completionists will go nuts over.
Bend Studios took over from series founders Naughty Dog and apply a degree of
polish that's expected from Uncharted; this game is stunning on the
Vita's screen, with gorgeous visuals and a natural flow to environments that
keeps action going. The game does suffer from a few bugs that I wouldn't have
expected from an Uncharted game. I had to restart my game from previous
checkpoints several times as my companion AI froze in place and prevented
progress. Luckily, the game checkpoints frequently, so if an incident popped up,
it was only a few minutes of lost play time. I expect few if any bugs from Uncharted,
so its a touch disappointing that this game struggles from time to time.
Enemy
AI can also be troubling at times. Slip into an enemy's blind spot and
sometimes they'll just stop shooting and stand there as fodder; on numerous
occasions enemies would freeze in places as I ran head long into an attack.
They would stand there, completely unaware of my presence and would only start
shooting right before I closed in on them. There were moments I
appreciated the enemy AI stupidity, but their semi-frequent breakdowns probably
made some segments far easier than they should have been.
I know what you're thinking: did he fire six shots or only 4,927?"
Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a showcase for Vita,
integrating its touch, tilt and the camera features right into gameplay. It can
get gimmicky at moments, but I enjoyed the way Bend Studio used the Vita's
features to enhance gameplay. Shooting, for instance, in Uncharted: Golden
Abyss might be the best in the series yet. You position your character with
the left stick, aim your reticule with the right stick and if you need to
finesse your reticule or nudge it a bit, you can tilt the system for the
perfect shot. It does wonders for sniping, and allows you to quickly aim,
adjust and take down multiple enemies in seconds; I loved the ability to swipe
the back touch pad to adjust the sniper scope zoom on the fly. The Vita's many
functions definitely bring more to the usual gameplay experience.
One
thing that I didn't like seeing was the log-balance segments return from the
first game. Every time you cross a beam or plank you're undoubtedly going to
have to do a few seconds of a balance mini-game where you lean the Vita back
and forth to regain your balance. In this case I felt the tilting was gimmicky,
distracting and a draw from the action. There's a reason that was dropped after
the first game.
I
found myself using a combination of standard controls and touch controls during
my review session. Using the touch options to navigate cliff-side handholds
freed me up from having to pay close attention to every bit of tricky
navigation. I've grown a bit tired of having to slowly navigate my way up
cliffs and across beams in the Uncharted series. Being able to quickly trace my
desired route and having the computer handle the heavy lifting was like a
dream. That said, I preferred using the manual method when it came to
traversing vines or ropes. I could have traced my finger up the rope to have
Drake climb or descend, but I preferred the traditional method in that case. My
whole play experience was a mix of using the traditional manual method and
using the swipe and touch functionality of the Vita. It's a bit awkward at
first, but it really makes the gameplay experience better. Plus, if
you hate touch controls, most of those touch features are optional, so you can
play it the standard way.
"Hmm, I thought I saw a man kill three of my friends, but maybe it was my imagination."
Amy
Hennig, creative director and head writer at Naughty Dog for the Uncharted series, may have been a story consultant on this game, but Uncharted: Golden
Abyss doesn't fully capture the dialogue and wit of previous Uncharted titles. The game's dialogue is a step down and it devolves into groan-inducing
quips and jokes by the back half of the game, like bad "that's what she said"
jokes - in fact, several of them.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss just can't reach the heights of previous Uncharted releases, but it should be commended for taking the experience and replicating it well on the PlayStation Vita handheld. It's a fun
adventure, but it's saddled with some conservative franchise choices that
prevent it from really pushing Uncharted forward.
