It's not as daring and bold as it's console brethren, yet it's an exciting and solid entry in the Uncharted Series.
Uncharted Golden Abyss is a prequel to Drake's Fortune, and plays largely the same as Uncharted 1 & 2. Thus having the same third person shooting mechanics and platforming we have grown to love over the years, and has added it's own platforming style sections and it's own puzzles that require you to use the Vita's capabilities, such as the touchscreen, Gyro and back panel. However some of these Vita specific adds ons aren't as good as they could be and feel like they hinder the pace of the game. Example that when you are crossing a panel, it sometimes makes drake fall over unless you steady the vita using the gyro, this is fine i guess but completely needless. However actions such as using the touchscreen to climb ledges feels great and using the touch screen for puzzles and so on do feel well done and polished.
Graphically Uncharted looks every bit as good as the console versions, the gorgeous colours, fluid animations and the rock solid framerate really do help bring this game alive on your Vita, and could easily be the best looking game so far on the vita and better than some console titles. However one fault I have with the game is that the game isn't very varied with it's locations, as good as the Jungle looks, it's only the Jungle you will ever see. unlike Uncharted on Ps3 which throws you from location to location and surprising you at every turn, it's somewhat disappointing to see that this didn't apply to Golden Abyss.
Unlike Uncharted 2 & 3, Golden Abyss doesn't feature Online Multiplayer or Co-Op, this is purely Single Player, which is good enough and long enough (8 or 9 hours) to stand by itself, but Multiplayer would of been welcome. Story wise Golden Abyss is pleasing and entertaining, with strong characters and great voice acting, it really does bring the single player together which makes it rather enjoyable.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a solid and entertaining launch title for the Vita, the omission of online and Co-op hinder it as an overall package, but what is here is very good and if you're a fan of the series you shouldn't hesitate.
Pros:
-Top Notch presentation
-Stellar Voice Acting
-Good Story
-Gorgeous Visuals and Animations
-Feels like a worthwhile addition to the Franchise
Cons:
-Some of the Vita specific add-ons don't work that well
-No Online of Co-op
-Lacks variety in locations compared to other Uncharted games