• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss |OT| Drake arrives at a smaller screen near you!

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
I doubt anyone has tried this on their first playthrough, but if I go back to a previous chapter will that over write my progress or will I just have to restart the last chapter I made it up to?
 
I doubt anyone has tried this on their first playthrough, but if I go back to a previous chapter will that over write my progress or will I just have to restart the last chapter I made it up to?
If the saving works like the console versions, every time you choose chapter select or begin a new game, it asks you to create a save file. Overwriting your current save is up to you.

Although, I don't think you can chapter select on your first playthrough.
 
Although, I don't think you can chapter select on your first playthrough.

i did :) . replayed the first 4 chapters before moving on. once you've finished a chapter, it's available. & there's no need to ever create a new save using chapter replay - each just rolls into the next one, up to as far as you've progressed...
 

Grumbul

Member
i did :) . replayed the first 4 chapters before moving on. once you've finished a chapter, it's available. & there's no need to ever create a new save using chapter replay - each just rolls into the next one, up to as far as you've progressed...

Yes the save system is ideal in this. I played a few chapters before I realised just how many treasure types there were to pick up so I quit to the main menu and selected a previously completed chapter to get the treasures. I expected this to overwrite my actual progress but it doesn't.

You can choose any chapter in any order and go back and replay them, but if you choose "continue" from the main screen it will take you to the furthest checkpoint you have reached in the game on that save file.

Perfect.
 
Wow, game is awesome. First 4 chapters were a little bit slow. But after that the game picks up and only gets better. Chapter 22 now.

And the soundtrack is godly.
 

Reallink

Member
The aiming in this seem to suck because of ridiculously high levels of input lag. Has anyone estimated just how bad it is Killzone style with a high framerate camera?
 
played the game for a few minutes after thirsting for it since launch.......didnt like it at all. i couldnt see shit.

realized a few minutes later i had the brightness all the way down....now: I LOVE THIS GAME!!!
 

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
The aiming in this seem to suck because of ridiculously high levels of input lag. Has anyone estimated just how bad it is Killzone style with a high framerate camera?

I agree the sticks on their own are pretty awful.

But using a combination of the sticks + gyroscope and this is honestly the best shooter I've played on a handheld. Absolutely fell in love with the gyro controls.
 

Raine

Member
On my second playthrough on hard and this aiming is fucking killing me. Ugh, please patch this. So annoying
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
On my second playthrough on hard and this aiming is fucking killing me. Ugh, please patch this. So annoying
I recall a lot of complaints about this when the game was first released.

Now that I've played it myself, however, I'm not sure I understand why people are having such a hard time. What is it about the aiming that's causing you to struggle?

It's not the best aiming around, of course, but I've had no problems with accuracy and the gyro definitely adds a lot.
 

Oni Jazar

Member
I've been playing with stick aiming sensitivity very low and gyro aiming sensitivity to the max. That seems to get me by on hard difficulty with little problems. Mostly it's the framerate chugs during heavy firefights that get me.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
I've been playing with stick aiming sensitivity very low and gyro aiming sensitivity to the max. That seems to get me by on hard difficulty with little problems. Mostly it's the framerate chugs during heavy firefights that get me.
Yeah, the framerate dives pretty hard during large firefights.

I'm hoping this is a symptom of a first generation game. I would hope, with some additional work, they could pull a game like this off at native resolution with a more consistent framerate.
 
Picked up Uncharted when I bought my Vita a few weeks back and for the most part I'm enjoying it. It tells a fun story, has great graphics, and the fire fights can be fun and intense at times.

But playing through I realize why I enjoyed the first UC on the PS3 but that it didn't blow me away. There is little to no skill required for all the climbing/swinging/jumping sections. Everything is just too easy to pull off and it eliminates any sense of danger for Drake. I think I've fallen to my death maybe one time in the entire game. I wish they had made a game that actually required some skill on the players part to complete those sections.

I think the game would benefit from being more "open" if you will, giving us a sense of exploration. The character is one that is built up to be an explorer, but the paths that he has to follow are pretty well defined.

That said, this isn't a criticism of the Vita version of the game but the franchise itself. If you love UC, the Vita version is fantastic and there are times when I'm still amazed that I'm playing the game on a handheld. It especially gets better the further into the game you get. I believe I'm on Chapter 31 or 32 now.
 

alterno69

Banned
I'm just glad they cut back on the world traveling, feels much natural and realistic this way, just a couple of different locations like the first game.
 
I recall a lot of complaints about this when the game was first released.

Now that I've played it myself, however, I'm not sure I understand why people are having such a hard time. What is it about the aiming that's causing you to struggle?

It's not the best aiming around, of course, but I've had no problems with accuracy and the gyro definitely adds a lot.
Purely from a software and design perspective I think the aiming model in GA is actually quite good (and much better than what we originally got in Uncharted 3). In my experience with the game it seems like it is held back somewhat by the relatively limited movement range of the sticks. In other words it's quite easy to go from barely moving the reticule (or not moving it at all) to moving it at full speed. It took some getting used to and it never felt as good as a proper shooter with a DS3 controller but I was actually fairly satisfied with it overall. I even turned the gyro aiming off eventually.

I definitely didn't notice any input lag with the aiming.
 

Reallink

Member
I recall a lot of complaints about this when the game was first released.

Now that I've played it myself, however, I'm not sure I understand why people are having such a hard time. What is it about the aiming that's causing you to struggle?

It's not the best aiming around, of course, but I've had no problems with accuracy and the gyro definitely adds a lot.

I should have been more specific, I was referring to the stick based aiming--not gyro or a hybrid of the two. My guess is it either has enormous amounts of input lag, or the sensitivity/acceleration tunings are seriously fucked up. I don't think the stick range of motion is the problem, it definitely feels like lag or a calibration issue.
 
I should have been more specific, I was referring to the stick based aiming--not gyro or a hybrid of the two. My guess is it either has enormous amounts of input lag, or the sensitivity/acceleration tunings are seriously fucked up. I don't think the stick range of motion is the problem, it definitely feels like lag or a calibration issue.

Did you touch the options? I didn't touch the analog sensibility, but i enhanced a lot the gyro sensibility. Then, I used the analog only to put my target near the middle of the screen, but I did the real aiming with the gyro.


BTW, for the platinums... there is a easy way to do the "weak guys with gun and kill them with a fist, 10 consecutive times"?
 

jmro

Member
WTF is this? My game just hung on this screen and I can't get out. Is there a CCG in this game?

2012-03-05-210754.jpg
 

plasmasd

Member
Did you touch the options? I didn't touch the analog sensibility, but i enhanced a lot the gyro sensibility. Then, I used the analog only to put my target near the middle of the screen, but I did the real aiming with the gyro.


BTW, for the platinums... there is a easy way to do the "weak guys with gun and kill them with a fist, 10 consecutive times"?

Actually the input lag for this game is very close to the input lag for Playing Dead Space 2 via Remote Play
 

Lambtron

Unconfirmed Member
I finished this today. Really fun game. I enjoyed it more than Uncharted 3, actually. I loathed the screen rubbing & motion balancing, but I did like the fine-tuning you could do with aiming. I had a crash during chapter 33 which was sort of annoying, but I didn't really lose any progress since it was right after a checkpoint.
 

Flunkie

Banned
This game is amazing. I haven't had this much fun with the franchise since the first one. It's the first one that actually ventures out and does something neat and fun, aside from the platforming and killing and platforming and killing. They were great games with amazing setpieces that are only bested by movies, but too predictable I felt. This game feels refreshing. Yes, the tilt-balancing is stupid and the screen-rubbing is a bit superfluous, but it's not annoying by any means. Only halfway through but I'm loving it so far - definitely going to go back through and finish all the investigations. Bravo Bend. Can't wait to see what they do once devs can utilize this hardware even better.
 

SharkJAW

Member
Did you touch the options? I didn't touch the analog sensibility, but i enhanced a lot the gyro sensibility. Then, I used the analog only to put my target near the middle of the screen, but I did the real aiming with the gyro.


BTW, for the platinums... there is a easy way to do the "weak guys with gun and kill them with a fist, 10 consecutive times"?

I took care of that trophy in Chapter 2 on easy. There are 8 guys in the middle of the chapter (after some charcoal rubbing) then 4 or 5 more after some climbing and chase notices the radioactive sign in a cutscene.
 
I really like Golden Abyss because it knows it's a video game and doesn't try to be an "experience" or whatever the hell Naughty Dog likes to think they make. Bend is even self-aware enough to realize that the part where you shoot people in Uncharted isn't all that great and mitigated it as much as possible. There aren't seemingly endless waves of enemies, you get a ton of one hit kill weapons, and the game even has the generous Call of Duty "snapping" auto-aim. Even with all of these concessions, the gunplay feels thrilling because of how it's framed. You're constantly on the move, killing guys as fast as possible instead of hunkering down in an arena while an entire army streams in. As a result, they've finally made what I've wanted since the first Uncharted: a game where the shooting and platforming fits together in a way that feels correct instead of just segregating the two elements with the slightest of crossover.

That said, those touchscreen minigames are so dumb I can't believe they made it into the game. Also, holy shit, who thought up the grenades. What is wrong with you?
 
WTF is this? My game just hung on this screen and I can't get out. Is there a CCG in this game?

2012-03-05-210754.jpg

What the hell?? If this is real then.. I think you've just uncovered some kind of future DLC. There's your online competitive multiplayer, folks! lol

I never asked for this
 

Sendou

Member
I finally got Platinum Trophy yesterday and this is game is just great. I actually liked the touch screen elements only sometimes they felt little irritating. OST is also excellent! Really the only thing I didn't like was writing. I mean the new characters were unbelieveable poorly written and the script wasn't that great neither. Sometimes the voice-overs seemed little... off? I don't know how to explain it but they always didn't feel a part of the game.
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
But playing through I realize why I enjoyed the first UC on the PS3 but that it didn't blow me away. There is little to no skill required for all the climbing/swinging/jumping sections. Everything is just too easy to pull off and it eliminates any sense of danger for Drake. I think I've fallen to my death maybe one time in the entire game. I wish they had made a game that actually required some skill on the players part to complete those sections.

This is exactly what bugged me on GA :).
 

Sintoid

Member
Anyone can explain me how does the black market works? I don't understand how to trade collectlibles via Near and from what I can understand It's quite useful in order to obtain last trophies ^_^
 

Ran rp

Member
I finally got Platinum Trophy yesterday and this is game is just great. I actually liked the touch screen elements only sometimes they felt little irritating. OST is also excellent! Really the only thing I didn't like was writing. I mean the new characters were unbelieveable poorly written and the script wasn't that great neither. Sometimes the voice-overs seemed little... off? I don't know how to explain it but they always didn't feel a part of the game.
This game has the best writing and VA of the series, IMO. I blame the sometimes odd voice syncing on the stiff animations.
 

dallow_bg

nods at old men
Crazy bug discovered in that pic. Sure looks like some future DLC or unused code.

Anything think the deaths were pretty gruesome during
the fight with Dante? I died a few times because I was lazy with the swipes, but seeing Drake die as Dante would slowly push his knife into his body made me go... 'holy crap.....' no more laughs
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
The second half of this game really shines. Fantastic Uncharted action.

The game generally throws fewer enemies at you, which appears to be a limitation with their engine at the moment, but I've found that it actually has a very positive effect on the game. Uncharted 3 simply took things a bit too far and often flooded the player with enemies to the point that it became tedious. Here, that isn't possible, so fire fights are generally limited to fewer numbers overall making for more enjoyable battles.

It's just a shame the framerate seems to tank whenever enemies show up. Just as reviews suggested, performance really dips pretty often later in the game and it is directly tied to enemies appearing. Even when they are off screen, the second the game triggers a combat sequence you can see the framerate dip. When you finish off everyone, however, things speed up again. Seems like an optimization issue probably due to the fact that it's a launch title.
 

Corto

Member
Loving the game so far. 26th chapter and the visuals never cease to amaze me. The rubbing is getting a bit too much, but I guess even Bend acknowledge that in the title of the Trophy related to the rubbings and the Company Logo on start of the game. The aiming is just stellar with the gyroscope. I'm getting headshots left and right and never get tired of the motion controlled fine aiming mechanic.

There's only one thing that's a bit borked. It seems that the Black Market is not working properly. I open it and then I don't have any option to select one of my items to trade.
 
The second half of this game really shines. Fantastic Uncharted action.

The game generally throws fewer enemies at you, which appears to be a limitation with their engine at the moment, but I've found that it actually has a very positive effect on the game. Uncharted 3 simply took things a bit too far and often flooded the player with enemies to the point that it became tedious. Here, that isn't possible, so fire fights are generally limited to fewer numbers overall making for more enjoyable battles.

It's just a shame the framerate seems to tank whenever enemies show up. Just as reviews suggested, performance really dips pretty often later in the game and it is directly tied to enemies appearing. Even when they are off screen, the second the game triggers a combat sequence you can see the framerate dip. When you finish off everyone, however, things speed up again. Seems like an optimization issue probably due to the fact that it's a launch title.

Yeah, the pacing in general is really ...well just pleasant is how I would describe it and sure, I appreciate the collectathon (even if it's completely contrived) for the sake of validating portablility/burst gaming

That said, I REALLY wish this controlled like UNIT13.

If anything, the more I play it, the more I dislike the controls.

Drake's walking speed is way too fucking slow and the tweaking of the analogs in general feels really poor. Sometimes you move the stick halfway and he's still in a slow walk, while other times he go into a full sprint with just the slightest nudge. It's really inconsistant and feels poor.

Aiming is basically saved by Auto-aim enabling. Refuse to resort to Gyro as feel like that shouldn't be a means of making it acceptable.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Aiming is basically saved by Auto-aim enabling. Refuse to resort to Gyro as feel like that shouldn't be a means of making it acceptable.
It shouldn't be, but I actually find the gyro aiming to be pretty fun.

I kind of wish more PS3 games would offer that option. I know Killzone 2 used this for sniping, but I can't think of any other games that have tried it.
 

Binabik15

Member
Chapter 24 now. Sooo good. Dat GPS banter.

Just like the other UC games I really suck at not dying to stupid mistakes. I manage to fall of ledges when I want to walk up to them and press O, no, I dive right off it. Managed to ruin my 75 kills streak by jumping down something a bit after the 60 kill notification. Just like in DF. Urgh. Right now I killed the whole group of baddies and rolled off the
waterfall
after collecting jade stuff.

I admit that I started using the IGN treasure guide, I suck at finding the "objects", the precious stone stuff is somehow easier for me.
 
What the hell?? If this is real then.. I think you've just uncovered some kind of future DLC. There's your online competitive multiplayer, folks! lol

I never asked for this

why the lol? I would totally welcome a tcg game if it's good. with near for trading cards etc, it could be tons of fun.
 

Amory

Member
This is the first uncharted game I've played where I haven't allowed the endless search for hidden treasure after hidden treasure to distract me from the experience. Seriously, the series is all about the pacing mirroring an action adventure movie, and stopping to explore every nook of a given area absolutely kills that.

I pick up the ones I find right in plain sight, and have completely ignored the collect-a-thon shit in each level and just played the game. I feel liberated. Screw the trophies.
 

Cudder

Member
okay, so these Uncharted bounties, I feel stupid that I still can't figure it out:

I have a few people on my friends list that own Golden Abyss, yet I have yet to receive one bounty via near. Literally the only Game Goods I discover on near are song unlocks for Super Stardust. Do the other people have to go on near or the Black Market as well in order for you to get your stuff, or is being friends with other people who play the game enough to get bounties?

Basically, is it pointless to add people to your friends list who don't play the game anymore.

this is maddening
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
The only near stuff I've gotten for Uncharted is from my friends list. But it's random. And the time window to receive them is small (like 3 hours), not sure if that means you have to check near often but when an Uncharted one appears, you only have 3 hours to claim it in the game

And I think someone said they got stuff from me even though I don't play the game anymore




p.s. "that's what she said"....arghhghhfuahfa, that line was so annoying
 

Raine

Member
I recall a lot of complaints about this when the game was first released.

Now that I've played it myself, however, I'm not sure I understand why people are having such a hard time. What is it about the aiming that's causing you to struggle?

It's not the best aiming around, of course, but I've had no problems with accuracy and the gyro definitely adds a lot.

It's the input lag. It's not the sticks or anything like that. It really feels like a chore to shoot enemies.

These are two videos that show what I'm referring to:

http://youtu.be/FJm2s_9eEX8
http://youtu.be/xVa-dEb3p00

If you guys can deal with it, that's great. For me, it's hurting an otherwise enjoyable experience. :\
 

Reallink

Member
It's the input lag. It's not the sticks or anything like that. It really feels like a chore to shoot enemies.

These are two videos that show what I'm referring to:

http://youtu.be/FJm2s_9eEX8
http://youtu.be/xVa-dEb3p00

If you guys can deal with it, that's great. For me, it's hurting an otherwise enjoyable experience. :\

Thanks Raine, this is what I was looking for earlier and confirms my suspicions. Really a shame too, it destroys the fun factor of the gunplay unless you decide to rely on the gyro--which I'm not particularly fond of. Being the premier launch title, it also reflects badly on the Vita in general as a lot of people will blame the physical hardware before the software. Someone needs to get Digital Foundry on the case measuring the OS and several of the games.
 
Top Bottom