Uncharted: Golden Abyss Review (PlayStation Vita)
Uncharted: Golden Abyss Pros:
- Beautiful graphics.
- Platinum trophy.
- Action-adventure gameplay.
- A lovely-looking game that you come to expect from the Uncharted series.
- You have the ability to take in-game shots that look slick.
- Uses all the VITA capabilities and uses them well, Like for rubbings you run your finger over the screen.
- GYRO enabled.
- Powerful soundtrack.
- The lengthy campaign over 8 hours without looking for the collectibles.
- Excellent cover-based combat.
- Everything you know like the humor and banter from the series is still intact.
- Has the same polish levels as the console games.
- Big boss battles.
- A handful of QTE cutscenes.
- In-game cutscenes.
- Jaw-dropping vistas and locations to explore.
- Hidden collectibles.
- Strong aim assists and it is needed.
- The black market feature allows you to trade cards and coins with Near. You collect cards by killing HVT people through the campaign.
- Checkpoints aplenty.
- Controls are good and solid.
- A lot of environmental hazards.
- Markers like ledges are clearly shown to help with level traversal.
- Stealth mechanic whilst optional is another method.
- Varied locations set around the jungle to shanty towns to caves.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss Cons:
- Overuse of touch controls including using them on QTE.
- No online multiplayer or co-op.
- Very repetitive, Basically get to an area kill loads of enemies then go to another area and kill loads of enemies. Rinse and repeat 1000 times.
- All the enemies look the same with their stupid Hawaiian shirts.
- Black market features are not very clear and easy to use.
- The worst Uncharted boss fight ever resides within Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
- The story is a bit weak and near the end, you are just wanting the story to end.
- Chapters vary in size, One could be half-hour-long while another one could literally be a cut scene
- There are no “new” innovations in the campaign, Literally, just touch controls being the new way to do something that you have done a million times before with a controller.
- Annoying sub-section mini-game type things. One that sticks in my mind is where you use the tilt function to control drake as he goes down a fast water river avoiding rocks. Disgusting.
- Graphics - 9/109/10
- Sound - 9/109/10
- Accessibility - 8/108/10
- Length - 8/108/10
- Fun Factor - 7/107/10
Summary
In summary, if your a fan of the series you will love having a handheld version. You may well overlook a lot of its shortcomings but the game will get to you eventually! It has all the polish and fidelity of a console game and that in its self is an impressive feat. They implement the touch controls and for interacting with objects/treasures it’s top-notch and adds a lot but having it for QTE and boss fights is a right ball-ache. At times I got the feeling that this game exists to just act as a showpiece, A game that could tempt console players over with its graphics, character, and shoehorned in touchscreen. Either way, you fall on it, Uncharted Golden Abyss is a great game to play through at least once even if it does house the worst boss fight in the game’s history but you can’t have it all.
