Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Hover mouse over screenshots for commentary.

March 2012

Not bad for a mobile game, eh?	Typical cover-based situation where you wait behind cover for the opportune moment.	As always, you play as treasure hunter Nathan Drake. He believes he is a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, and goes on many adventures. This game takes place before the current trilogy on PS3.
	Why must areas be fenced off?!
		Nate uses all sorts of climbing techniques to get around, including shimmying across narrow ledges.
A little rainbow from the waterfall mist.	Pretty much par for the course in Uncharted.	Again, this is on a 5-inch mobile device.
	Drake sometimes needs to improvise how he'll get across gaps.
For a while I became mildly obsessed with taking screenshots to use as wallpaper for my Vita.

		Seriously, how can some people not like video games?

Can you imagine trying to make that jump in real life? Sheesh!

	This is all still the first level, by the way.	In the middle of quite a big jump.
Escaping from a burning building does not sound like my idea of fun. In real life, that is.

I believe the Uncharted series popularized video game characters carrying a flashlight on their shoulder.		Real time shadows. Not bad.
	Going down a river with you're mentor and buddy, Sully.



	Take that, flowers!
Drake is hiding.



		Stuff falling to pieces right as you touch them? Classic Uncharted!
		Pretty good reflections for a mobile game. Or any game.
	I'm so glad I never had to climb a rope in gym class. . .



Milady doesn't want you to shoot anyone. This is unlikely.		Guerro, on the right, is the bad guy. He's a real poo poo head.
This game includes classic moves such as grabbing people from below and throwing them of ledges.

Uncharted involves not only combat and exploring, but puzzle solving as well.
		Of course . . .



The ol' slide tackle.	Stealth!
If using a gun isn't your cup of tea, feel free to push people around.



		The gold looks a little weird in screenshots, but looks pretty good in motion.

	Drake is pulling out the dagger, not stabbing a corpse.	See, I told you!


	Take that!

Oh Drake, how DO you get yourself in these situations?
All good games involve escaping from captivity. Right?
Step 1: Position yourself.	Step 2: Yank.





	This does not bode well . . .	Neither does this.
	Sorry, Sully.
		Obligatory Platinum Trophy screenshot.

This is a PS Vita game that came out when the system launched. It was also free on PS Plus for about 2 years, so if you have a Vita you've probably already played it. It was not developed by Naughty Dog (the studio that makes the Uncharted series), but the game is just about as good as it's PS3 cousins.

Uncharted is a third-person shooter with lots of exploring of uncharted(!) territory. This game also has quite a few collectibles to discover.

The Uncharted series is known for a few things, notably that the visuals are usually very impressive, the story is engaging, and it has a great sense of humor. Uncharted: Golden Abyss pretty much keeps in line with this set of expectations. As you look at the screenshots, keep in mind that these are from a mobile game released in early 2012. It looks great on the Vita's OLED screen. Uncharted has started to be characterized by having a variety of locales and massive set-pieces - these ingredients are not as present in this game as in the rest of the series.

The gameplay is solid and the dual analogue sticks of the Vita make the gameplay pretty much as good as on a console (it really is a well-designed machine). The gun play is programmed well and I really have nothing more to say other than everything just works.

When this game was announced in 2011 it was touted as a Triple-A console experience on-the-go. I would say that, with a few minor exceptions, PlayStation delivered on their promise. Incidentally, this is also the first game I played on the PS Vita and the game that started my love affair with taking screenshots!

The Therapist Gamer

Not bad for a mobile game, eh?

Typical cover-based situation where you wait behind cover for the opportune moment.

As always, you play as treasure hunter Nathan Drake. He believes he is a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, and goes on many adventures. This game takes place before the current trilogy on PS3.

Why must areas be fenced off?!

Nate uses all sorts of climbing techniques to get around, including shimmying across narrow ledges.

A little rainbow from the waterfall mist.

Pretty much par for the course in Uncharted.

Again, this is on a 5-inch mobile device.

Drake sometimes needs to improvise how he'll get across gaps.

For a while I became mildly obsessed with taking screenshots to use as wallpaper for my Vita.

Seriously, how can some people not like video games?

Can you imagine trying to make that jump in real life? Sheesh!

This is all still the first level, by the way.

In the middle of quite a big jump.

Escaping from a burning building does not sound like my idea of fun. In real life, that is.

I believe the Uncharted series popularized video game characters carrying a flashlight on their shoulder.

Real time shadows. Not bad.

Going down a river with you're mentor and buddy, Sully.

Take that, flowers!

Drake is hiding.

Stuff falling to pieces right as you touch them? Classic Uncharted!

Pretty good reflections for a mobile game. Or any game.

I'm so glad I never had to climb a rope in gym class. . .

Milady doesn't want you to shoot anyone. This is unlikely.

Guerro, on the right, is the bad guy. He's a real poo poo head.

This game includes classic moves such as grabbing people from below and throwing them of ledges.

Uncharted involves not only combat and exploring, but puzzle solving as well.

Of course . . .

The ol' slide tackle.

Stealth!

If using a gun isn't your cup of tea, feel free to push people around.

The gold looks a little weird in screenshots, but looks pretty good in motion.

Drake is pulling out the dagger, not stabbing a corpse.

See, I told you!

Take that!

Oh Drake, how DO you get yourself in these situations?

All good games involve escaping from captivity. Right?

Step 1: Position yourself.

Step 2: Yank.

This does not bode well . . .

Neither does this.

Sorry, Sully.

Obligatory Platinum Trophy screenshot.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss