Uncharted: Golden Abyss has amazing and stunning visuals, this is definitely one of the best looking games on the Vita. Even more impressive is the fact that this was a launch game. While it is not on par with the PS3 visuals, it comes very close (the small screen helps). From the very first level, it hits you with the amount of details the jungle has, the patterns on the stones and the sun filtering through the canopy. There's even rocks and clouds of dust from Drake's feet as he traverse ledges. With that said, the character models have shimmering jagged edges and can look plasticky (as they lack the more subtle facial expressions). This stick out due to the high level of quality that oozes from the rest of the game.
I found the controls to feel duller compared to the PS3 counterparts. It feels as if it is not as responsive, or slower. While the shooting doesn't feel dramatically changed, the huge reticle makes it seem like your aiming isn't as accurate. Jumping, dodging and platforming lacks that adrenaline rush of the other Uncharted games thanks to the slower pace. A lot of alternate controls are present but thankfully, most of them are optional. These including tilting the Vita to swing on vines/ropes and tapping the screen to pick up weapons/ammo. One of the better touch controls is the fact that you can draw a path for Drake to climb, it makes it less tedious to jump from one ledge to another and speeds up the process (not to mention that it's pretty cool to see him going from point to point by himself).
The annoying mandatory alternate controls include tilting the Vita to balance on logs and swiping the screen to boost the AI up a ledge or move debris; these are annoying because they are too many scenarios in the game where you are forced to repeatedly do this. The story starts off a little bit slow but gains traction as the plot unfold and the typical treachery happens. In terms of scale, it's about on par with the first game. It's still impressive and engrossing with it's high quality. The ending is solid and you think that it is likely to have a sequel to this prequel as the bit at the end makes you wonder what happened next to make Drake be single again in Drake's Fortune. The final two boss fights are huge disappointments. They are one big long QTE which kills the challenge and satisfaction of these fights.
It doesn't help that they're not likeable antagonists (writers did a good job here) so you want something more substantial than what is basically a cutscene. The game is very linear with barely a side path (which is usually short in nature). They nailed the combination of platforming with puzzle solving (even more simplistic this time around, mainly involving finding stuff or using some of the Vita's gimmicks like wiping away dirt with the touchscreen) with gunfights. One of the more glaring aspects that stand out is that there are numerous cutscenes and some of them are long. At least we don't get outrageously long gunfights and there are no annoying sections of the game. That said the gunfights do get more numerous and seemingly endless waves of enemies come at you towards the last ten chapters or so (there are 34 chapters in the game).
Platforming still has the similar flaws of not knowing where you should go next as the environments are too detailed, making it hard to discern the next step. It's not a big issue here, just that sometimes Drake will die when you thought you can jump somewhere and you can't There's also some inaccuracies of the controls like when you want to jump onto a crate but Drake ends up circling it. Drake and other characters would often spout the same stuff that's going on through your head, like why are there so many of the same platforming 'tricks' that you have to perform and why are there so many enemies. The game feels long and not what you would expect of a portable game. You would expect something that you can play in sessions but Uncharted really needs to be played in long periods at a time so that you can enjoy the story and lengthy cutscenes.
The story can be finished in around eight to ten hours. It feels like there is way too many collectibles in this game and as they're in 'groups'. You tend to lose motivation as once you've passed the chapters a particular group is found in, then you'll be stuck with gaps until you've finished the game and replay the chapters. I found that the guns lacked uniqueness. In the PS3 Uncharted games, each gun feels different and you need to adjust your play pattern/aiming to compensate while in Golden Abyss, most of the guns you point and shoot in similar ways. There might be some subtle differences but on the whole, it's not truly noticeable. The music feels familiar. As you progress through the chapters, the soundtrack becomes better and more epic.
At the beginning, the music was generic but improves so much by the end that you can't help but get into the whole atmosphere the levels are bringing on. I loved how you can now skip all cutscenes, not just the chapter beginning or core story cutscenes in the PS3 Uncharted games. While it does use up all the Vita's gimmicks, Golden Abyss doesn't feel too compromised and the game still feels like Uncharted through and through. As it is a prequel, there are limited characters that you've seen before, only two (and no prizes for guessing who). All other characters are new which is a shame. It tells a great story, the visuals are amazing and game mechanics are solid. It's an epic tale fitted into a portable fashion. Overall, a fantastic game that's definitely worthwhile to play.
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