Some of it is definitely sofware-side. However I really need another shooter to compare it to.
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Uncharted: Golden Abyss |OT| Drake arrives at a smaller screen near you!
- Thread starter Pranay
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Some of it is definitely sofware-side. However I really need another shooter to compare it to.
Are the controls really that bad? I saw medhi_san playing on the stream and he didn't seem to have aiming issues for the most part.
You also seem overly negative in some aspects (characters looking worse than Uncharted PS3? Well, no shit, they still look better than anything on a handheld) considering that this is a handheld launch game and you want to compare it to the best on consoles.
Motion controls on the final boss sound bad though.
You also seem overly negative in some aspects (characters looking worse than Uncharted PS3? Well, no shit, they still look better than anything on a handheld) considering that this is a handheld launch game and you want to compare it to the best on consoles.
Motion controls on the final boss sound bad though.
Takamura-San
Member
Sounds pretty fair.
The control issues worry me since, as you mentioned, is really hard where to put the blame: The software of the hardware. Wonder if the game is going to be patched to alleviate these issues.
Might be the game I buy when i get the vita, unless rayman comes out before that.
Yea they're pretty bad. I got the hang of it to the point of getting the Survivor achievement(75 kills in a row without dying) but it really is a mess. I purposefully rushed into melee battles a few times because it would be easier than shooting.
What else am I supposed to compare it to? Saying it looks better than a 3DS game would also be a no shit observation as well. The character models seem to fall somewhere between the PSP and PS3 area.
For the first boss it was actually pretty cool as they did give you a little leeway and it didn't seem as long. The second one was pretty long and one strike and you're out.
Thanks for the review Jarmel. I noticed the issues in UC3 and its pretty saddening to hear about them here. Also, the story stuff is disappointing as I was hoping that another studio could do something a bit different.
I'll still pick it up but your review convinced me off of a day 1 impulse buy from the Vita and Uncharted that I've been having the past month.
I'll still pick it up but your review convinced me off of a day 1 impulse buy from the Vita and Uncharted that I've been having the past month.
Definitely closer to Uncharted 1. There is travelling but it's not to any extent similar to UC2.
Also forgot to mention that there's a first in the franchise in the game. You play a small segment as someone other than Drake.
Lifejumper
Member
Is it possible that the game will be improved for US/UK launch?
It's been done before on the 3DS, but yeah, it is pretty cool.
I see. I was expecting the sticks to take a bit to get used to because of the novelty of having them on a handheld.
And about the comparison, I don't know, if the game and the models look better than anything on a handheld device I think it deserves mentioning but not in a negative way.
Anyway, is it all jungle and the bit that was shown on the TGS demo or is there more? (Spoiler the answer)
Thanks! And if you took more pictures, please, share them.
Dash Kappei
Not actually that important
The hell? Thanks for the spoiler 
Dash Kappei
Not actually that important
OOT 3D.
Well it's just certain things visually in the game stick out as not to par as the rest. The animations and models are a key component to the Uncharted series mainly due to the focus on characters and sometimes the characters just look off. You can recognize them but the details aren't as good as say the texture work.
No there are some other parts
Underground city with nice lake and mainly ruins. You'll be spending most of your time in the jungle though.
I took a bunch more earlier. They're in the Japanese Vita launch thread and in the Vita OS screencap thread.
Jinfash
needs 2 extra inches
If I understand it correctly, Intu-aim combines gyros+analog aiming without sacrificing character movement thanks to the second stick.
AranhaHunter
Banned
Are the controls significantly changed from the demo? I had no problem aiming once I turned off motion for aiming. When it was on, even the slight move of my hands would throw the sight off line and get me frustrated.
I never played the demo so I can't compare against that. Yes the slight movement could throw me off as well but it was better than dealing with the sticks.
StevePharma
Member
Really nice overview and well written. Thanks. I was kinda expecting this though, but I'll still play it at launch.
I love the Uncharted Series, I've played through the first two games three times each, and just finished yesterday the third one on crushing difficulty. And I'm gonna buy a Vita on western day one.
After reading your review, and seeing an hour or so of various footage of GA, I'm thinking that maybe I'll skip it. It doesn't seem to me very Uncharted-ish, in the sense that visuals don't seem to produce a real sense of wonder, and gameplay seems not to be very solid and enjoyable. Am I misjudging it?
I'd say it's likely.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
I don't understand how in 2011 people can still release games with sluggish dual analog aiming. It's not like they don't have years and years and hundreds of games as frames of reference.
New teams can benefit from reference sure, but in the end it always comes down to learning through practice and mistakes.
Castor Krieg
Banned
They will tweak the camera and controls for sure. A lot of Japanese games in fact have much slower camera speed than the versions released in the west.
Don't think it can compensate for generic nature of the gameplay and plot. I guess it's one of these games which you buy, platinum in a week, sell for 80% of value.
If Naughty Dog still struggles, imagine how a studio who hasn't made a game on a platform with two analog sticks since like 2003 will manage!
Castor Krieg
Banned
The problem is not in sticks, but sensitivity. This can be patched.
StoppedInTracks
Member
Good stuff, Jarmel, but how can you say the controls are sooooo bad when you got the trophy for killing 75 dudes without dying? If the controls were really that bad you'd have problems with that, no?
BruiserBear
Banned
I've asked myself the same thing. Hell, even Uncharted 3 is a case study for that question. They release Uncharted 2 with great controls that no one complained about. So they decide to fuck with them for U3 and cause an uproar.
Nice review Jarmel. I like how many collectibles there are. Sounds cool. What exactly are bounties if you can say without spoiling something. Is it like kill a certain enemy with stealth? Or something along those lines? Also, can you check the save file to see if it has your playtime on there. I am kind of curious exactly how long it was.
funkystudent
Member
I need to get my hands on this.
the gyro aiming seems like it could be good.
I remember quite liking using the sixaxis in Killzone 2 to fine tune your sniper shots.
the gyro aiming seems like it could be good.
I remember quite liking using the sixaxis in Killzone 2 to fine tune your sniper shots.
It's not related to stealth. I also would like to note that the game has the best stealth segments of the franchise, much better than in 2 and 3. The bounties are that you kill a random enemy and sometimes they have a bounty attached to them that you get. You collect a certain number per chapter. It's really random and more like grinding it seems than anything else but it's something.
Crap I forgot to mention, the AI is also very poor in certain areas. Sometimes you will kill someone and they will see the body less than 5 feet in front of them and they will do nothing. You can actually see that in the first screenshot I posted. Another thing is I ran into either a few glitches or poor AI where enemy patrols were staring at walls for an extended period of time.
Not sure how to get into the save files on the memory card itself. In the application I don't see anything about playtime. Sorry.
I did. Alot of the stuff also came more naturally to me later such as the aiming with the gyroscope however I could still feel myself struggling with the controls even on the final levels such as the M4 which is such a pain in the ass to use.
Well it depends on what you're interested in. The visuals are for the most part very good for a handheld. We'll see about the gameplay as they might tweak it for the Western launch. Honestly the game doesn't really find its grove until around Chapter 18 but it's not that bad of a runthrough.
Ok then, thanks for the answer, I'll wait for the western edition.
I think that if they don't improve controls, we should get mentions of that in reviews before day one.
Yeah, I more meant if they required the bounties to be a certain kind of kill or something. Like stealth or headshot or by pistol, etc. I was just trying to guess what it was to be honest since I hadn't heard about that before. I get what you mean now though. Thanks for the info.
AranhaHunter
Banned
The sticks I could deal with, but it was definitely different. The sticks are definitely not DS3 or Xbox sticks, but they're not PSP and 3DS nubs either. Somewhere between the two, it does take some getting used to. If the aiming is anything like the demo then that's satisfactory to me.
I got to play Golden Abyss at the Vita Hill Social Club in San Fran and I didn't encounter any aiming issues. In fact, I was able to pull off 3 consecutive head shots with relative ease in the section I was playing. And I must say, the touch controls really felt good, and I vastly prefer them over standard controls when it comes to climbing.
I've only played a couple of chapters but I can tell that this game is decent. The graphics really do blow away any other handheld game that I've played. The screenshots don't do it justice. The frame rate isn't great but it's adequate so far. The controls are fine, though aiming could be a little smoother. I think turning off the motion sensor helps. The areas are quite large with short loading times in between them.
I was kind of worried that this would feel like a gimped console game, but it doesn't at all.
I was kind of worried that this would feel like a gimped console game, but it doesn't at all.
ss_lemonade
Member
I really want to like the visuals in this game but damn, those jaggies and the overall blurriness just blows. Hopefully these things become a non-issue once I see the game running on an actual vita
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
Yeah, that screenshot is badddd.
Killzone
DAMN! I wanted to post that.
Oh well, at least I know I'm not the only one that fondly remembers sixaxis-sniping in Killzone 2. Landing headshots was so quick and easy.
You're damn right
Just would like to emphasize that do not turn off the motion controls for aiming. It's a godsend when you finally get the hand of it. Tilting the console is so much easier and more precise than using the sticks. I usually find the general direction and just tilti away at the enemies. The sticks will become more comfortable the more you play but not dualshock level.
When I struggle, it is usually when an enemy gets close. I have difficulties in tracking and shooting, and blind-fire mechanisms is less powerful than other Uncharted's.
I think the game is consistently beautiful, especially later on. And I am in awe that this is on a handheld, so I disagree a bit about this being sometimes like "shit". Overall level is way beyond average to be called that. Compressing big brother Uncharted into a handheld is a task in which Bend has succeeded. It could be more varied and the controls could need a little tweaking, but it's very acceptable in its current state.
I still haven't finished this, but I am trying to savor it so that I don't overplay.
When I struggle, it is usually when an enemy gets close. I have difficulties in tracking and shooting, and blind-fire mechanisms is less powerful than other Uncharted's.
I think the game is consistently beautiful, especially later on. And I am in awe that this is on a handheld, so I disagree a bit about this being sometimes like "shit". Overall level is way beyond average to be called that. Compressing big brother Uncharted into a handheld is a task in which Bend has succeeded. It could be more varied and the controls could need a little tweaking, but it's very acceptable in its current state.
I still haven't finished this, but I am trying to savor it so that I don't overplay.