Uncharted: Golden Abyss (PS Vita) review

Nathan Drake has become the poster child for PlayStation 3 – the exclusive Uncharted series has sold amazingly well, giving Sony the big-budget action game it needed to compete with Gears of War; as well as replacing Tomb Raider as the go to game of choice for would-be archaeologists and adventurers. Based on this pedigree, it comes as no surprise that Sony has released a slick, all-new handheld version of the franchise for the Vita; but Golden Abyss is still a shockingly impressive achievement for a handheld title.

As soon as you start climbing and shooting your way through the first level, it’s immediately obvious that very little has been lost in translation – all the action and exploration from the console games is present and correct, joined by several new features designed specifically for the Vita.

Set before the events of Drake’s Fortune, Golden Abyss explores Central America on a quest to uncover hidden Conquistador gold. In typical Uncharted fashion, there’s plenty of plot twists, a villain that’s determined to stop Drake’s progress and even a love interest, but the focus is still primarily on the action. With fewer spectacular set-pieces and location variety than the console games, it can feel a little constricted to the single setting, but the tight pacing and colourful characters are more than enough to drive you onward.

The first three Uncharted games made liberal use of every one of the PS3 controller’s inputs, so we were a little anxious to see how it would translate to the Vita. Thankfully, Golden Abyss has plenty of alternative input methods to take advantage of – primarily the front touchscreen, which is used extensively throughout the game. You use it to examine objects, rotating them with the rear touch panel and pinching to zoom. Context-sensitive arrows appear on-screen during fight sequences or when prying open doors, but thankfully these never result in instant death if you accidentally miss one. The touchscreen also makes climbing much smoother, as you can simply draw a line across the screen and Drake will take the appropriate actions.

Perhaps even better than the unobtrusive use of the touchscreen are the two analog nubs that make movement and aiming a breeze. They aren’t as accurate at the sticks on a PS3 controller, but they are a huge leap forward over the PSP’s single slider. Once you’ve adjusted to the small movements required to adjust your aim, you’ll soon be picking off enemies with precision.

Graphically, Golden Abyss is easily among the top three best-looking Vita games. Character models look stunning, levels stretch off into the distance and water effects glisten in the sunlight. There are a few noticeable gaps in the visual spectacle, most notably the static skyboxes and single-texture background landscapes, but for the most part it’s incredibly absorbing. This is an even bigger success than it initially appears, as it’s a launch title – usually it takes several development cycles to create something as visually impressive as this. We’ve got high hopes for the future of the console if this is what we can expect from developers on their first attempt.

We were also impressed with sound quality – each character has been fully voiced, including Nolan North’s perfect presentation of Drake, and the sound effects pop out of the Vita’s speakers. They sound even better through a decent pair of headphones, so we’d definitely recommend using some when playing.

It isn’t perfect – the newly introduced supporting characters aren’t quite as lovable (or evil) as in previous games, and there’s a much greater emphasis on collecting objects and taking pictures rather than purely focusing on a well-told story, but Golden Abyss is still a blast to play, either in short bursts or long sessions.

Considering how much of a spectacle the PS3 Uncharted games have become, it’s difficult not to want more from Golden Abyss. Even though it’s an impressive technical achievement to squeeze such a large adventure onto a handheld console, the lack of huge set-pieces feel more like a step back for the series. However, if you’re a die-hard fan of Nathan Drake, this is still going to top your list of must-have Vita games.