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Giant Bomb Review

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Uncharted: Golden Abyss Review

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Uncharted: Golden Abyss feels like a made-for-cable version of a proper, big-screen Uncharted adventure.

Many of the weapons found in the previous Uncharted games appear here, as well.
Many of the weapons found in the previous Uncharted games appear here, as well.

When you think about the various things that make up one of the games in the Uncharted series, what do you come up with? For me, the checklist includes the basics, like low-risk climbing sequences and standard cover-based gunplay. Then you've got Nathan Drake, lovable scamp that he is, cracking wise and such. Set him in a treasure hunting adventure with pseudo-historical references, surround him with a lady or two, and mix in at least two double-crosses because Drake can be a bit of a simp. Then, break up the climbing and shooting with a few puzzles. Oh, and don't forget to lay in a few huge, cinematic "set-piece" moments that are driven by the developer's technical mastery of the hardware at hand. That's sort of the thing that holds all the rest of it together, right?

Sony's Bend Studio gets its first crack at a portable Uncharted prequel with Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the Vita. It pulls together a lot of the things that you'd expect to see and hear in an Uncharted game, but it's missing the things that help set the franchise apart from other action games. In their place, the developers have inserted a bunch of mediocre minigames that have you touching or rubbing the screen or rear touch panel in various ways. If the goal was to use every single piece of functionality that the Vita has to offer, then the developers deserve a huge pat on the back. But the overall quality of the final product suffers as a result of these inclusions, leaving behind an Uncharted game that feels like a carbon copy of the genuine article.

The missing elements are noticeable ones, too. You won't see any huge, technical showpieces in Golden Abyss. Or, at least, none that resemble the insane scope found in the PlayStation 3 games. You won't find any sinking ships, speeding trains, or collapsing buildings here. The thing that's become something of a calling card for the Uncharted franchise is missing, and without those huge sequences, the game lacks punch. You'll occasionally see some pillars fall over or some other basic destruction, but it never quite feels like an Uncharted game. Instead it feels like Drake going through the motions, performing his base-level tasks under decidedly ordinary circumstances.

There are some majestic background images to see when you get up high, but tilting the Vita to stay balanced on logs is no fun.
There are some majestic background images to see when you get up high, but tilting the Vita to stay balanced on logs is no fun.

The game has Drake paired up with a woman named Marisa Chase as they stumble around South America in an adventure that eventually connects to Esteban the Moor, Marcos de Niza, and the Seven Cities of Gold. An ex-general attempting to lead a revolution and a greedy treasure hunter called Dante are also in the mix, with the former wanting to find the mythical gold to fund his revolution while the other is trying to get paid. Though the ruins change a bit over the course of the game, the vast majority of the action is set in jungles and caves.

By and large, the game controls like you'd expect an Uncharted game to control. When shooting, the left trigger aims and the right trigger fires. The analog sticks on the Vita are no surprise, either. For the most part, you can opt to play the game almost exactly like you'd play Uncharted on a PlayStation 3, at least whenever you're shooting people (and there are a ton of people that need shooting) or climbing around. Golden Abyss also offers a lot of optional ways to control the action. By default, for example, any time you zoom in with a sniper rifle, you can tilt the Vita to aim. Considering this asks you to occasionally tilt the system so far that you can't see the screen anymore, I turned that off pretty quickly. You'll tap the ammo counter in the upper-left to reload your weapons, and grenades are tossed by either tapping the touch screen or holding over the grenade icon and dragging them out to the center of the screen, which lets you aim your tosses a bit. Melee attacks can either be done via an on-screen icon or by tapping the enemies directly. Some melee sequences lead into a quick little screen-swiping sequence where you're forced to swipe in a specific direction to succeed. See a bit of bamboo blocking your path? A knife icon appears on-screen, and when you touch it you'll be asked to swipe the screen three times before Drake will begin cutting. The game's big boss fights are, essentially, touch-based Quick Time Events where you need to swipe the screen correctly to keep the momentum moving in your direction. Need to give your partner a boost up onto a ledge? Swipe the screen! None of these things are difficult, but they really pile up and take you out of the moment.

At some point, the action just begins to feel like a series of touch-based minigames with some shooting and climbing mixed in to break up the touches. In addition to swiping all over the place, you'll also have to rub the screen to take charcoal etchings of symbols or clean up skulls, helmets, swords, and other clues you find along the way. You'll even get to open combination locks with the touchscreen, after which your partner appears to be genuinely impressed by your ability to... work a combination lock, even though she just handed you the combination to the safe. That's just dumb. Optional "mysteries" can also be solved by taking photos. Whenever you end up in a spot where a key photo can be taken, a camera icon appears on-screen. Tap it, and you'll get a camera out and see a version of the photo you're supposed to be taking. It's up to you to maneuver yourself into position to take that exact photo in order to get credit. If you're too far off the mark, the game reports that your grade is 95 percent, but you need a full 100. This, too, feels like insanity. You'll also have to stop when crossing logs and narrow beams to "play" a bad balance sequence by tilting the Vita.

Again, no one touchscreen moment is awful (actually, the game encouraging you for doing something as dead simple as opening a combination lock is pretty close), but they add up to make the entire experience feel like it's half Uncharted, half lame iPhone compilation. The only genuinely cool moment I experienced that involved the Vita's additional control features was a bit where text was revealed on an otherwise-blank piece of paper by holding the Vita up to a light source. You can also optionally use the touchscreen to climb ledges by swiping along the path you want Drake to take, which is fine, but it's not like the existing control scheme for that is especially challenging or slow.

You can opt to use tilt and touch to climb around.
You can opt to use tilt and touch to climb around.

Perhaps looking for those huge, Uncharted moments on the Vita is a bit much to ask. It's hard to know where the system will ultimately fall with regards to technical strength and graphical capabilities, but for something that Sony has tried to compare to the PlayStation 3 on a technical level, it doesn't take long to see that this ain't no PlayStation 3 game. The lush jungle settings are vibrant and really sell the quality of the Vita's screen, though as you spend time with this full-length adventure, it's easy to pick out a flat-looking texture here and there. More damning, perhaps, is the game's unstable frame rate, which gets worse as you play deeper into the game and the game begins to throw larger environments at you with more frequency. It looks fine, and it's probably one of the more technically impressive games available at launch, but it certainly leaves room for improvement. Again, that's assuming that the Vita is capable of more than this.

The entire experience is anchored by Nolan North, who reprises his role as Nathan Drake. The writing isn't as sharp and the situation isn't as dire as some of the previous Uncharted games, but Drake's considerable charm is still on display and prepared to make fans of the series feel they're right at home. The supporting characters are also nicely done. The whole thing feels like a "B Team" sort of feel to it, but there's just enough Uncharted here to ensure that the experience isn't a total loss. It helps that there isn't any sort of other experience like this available on the Vita right now, though even that is tempered by the game's $50 retail price tag. It's not especially difficult to find a copy of Uncharted 3 for somewhere around that price these days, and paying a price so close to the full console experience to get something that feels watered down and rough around the edges doesn't feel like a particularly good deal. But if you're already sold on the Vita and you're in need of some games, Uncharted: Golden Abyss decently approximates many of the things that have made the franchise so successful in the past.

Jeff Gerstmann on Google+

136 Comments

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NTM

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Edited By NTM

Just beat it. Couldn't find the game when I got the Vita for my brother last year on his birthday, but he got it online. I just yesterday started it, and just now finished it; what good timing considering I am going to start Uncharted 4 later today. I tried to get four yesterday afternoon, but it wasn't available at the closest store that has games, which is Target. As for this game, I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It felt like the in between of Drake's Fortune and Among Thieves. I hope there'll be some kind of reference to this game in four, but I am doubting it.

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radion_null

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Edited By radion_null

I'll agree with Jeff in the following: -It is technically less impressive than PS3 versions -It has gimmicky controls -Lacks huge set pieces -(even though he doesn't say it outright) there is a cognitive disonence between the characters portrayal and your ability to kill armies. Still, the story was plenty engaging, at least for me, to want to see it through to the end, and it didn't feel broken like UC3 felt to me. The gameplay had a lot of arena encounters but they never felt overly abondant like, say, Uncharted 1. I did not feel confused, nor bored, or even feeling empty after the ending. I enjoyed it enough to give it a 4/5.

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sheldipez

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Edited By sheldipez

Just finished this and wasn't overly impressed, agree with the three star review. It's my first outing in the world of Uncharted and it hasn't sold me the others, for every bit I liked their is several I don't, the touch features are terrible (it's tiring having to let go of the Vita to rub the screen and then go holding it properly) and a lot of puzzles are nonsensical (escaping from a cave you stop to take a photo or find a ripped up poster and decide to put it back together or finding a dirty [modern] pick axe and choose to clean it down or when you find an identity card and instead of just rubbing it so it shows the photo the game insists you clean the whole thing down!). It was OK for a handheld title.

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Krakn3Dfx

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Edited By Krakn3Dfx

I'll still pick it up at some point I played a little of the demo at Gamestop, and felt a little giddy just being able to run around as Drake again, even in a subpar handheld version of the game :)

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edeo

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Edited By edeo

I'm not sure what to think about this review based on Jeff's apparent disdain for Uncharted on the Bombcast. As a hardcore Uncharted fan, it's probably at least a 3.5 or a 4 for me.

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AngelComa

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Edited By AngelComa

I'm a huge Uncharted fan. I think even a 'cable version' of the big brothers is OK for me. I heard the single player has actually more gameplay than the 3rd game... wow. Thats enough for me to buy it.

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Zelyre

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Edited By Zelyre

(Insert Vita Title here) is THE reason to own the PSVita! It's unbelievable how (Insert developer's name here) managed to pack the power of the Cell processor and the PS3 inside this portable system. While at first the touch portions of (Insert title here) are difficult to use, it quickly becomes second hand and intuitive. Look out iPad, Sony's bringing life back to hand held gaming and it's called the Vita! If you don't like hand held gaming, (insert title here) by (insert developer's name here) will change your mind. You'll be glad the Vita's battery lasts four hours, because it's the only way you'll be able to put (insert game title here) by (insert developer here) down! 7.93/5 stars -Sashimi X

Its a good review. A 3/5 is NOT a bad score. It's a good score. Giving a title that gives too many compromises to the console version an inflated score does the console version an injustice. If you feel like Jeff unfairly bashed the game because you bought a PS Vita and need to justify your purchase through the scores of media outlets, then read the above paragraph and hug your PSVita tight. If you're thinking about investing $400 into a Vita, the games, and the tax that goes with it, and Uncharted is -the- reason you're doing it, because you're expecting the PS3 experience in the palm of your hand? This review is for -those- folks.

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ShinjiEx

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Edited By ShinjiEx
@viiral said:

I'm not shocked by this score.. Its not made by Naughty Dogs.

That about sums it up!
 
Pack it up where going home boys!
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Boopie

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Edited By Boopie

who is allowing this guy to review these games? unconditional love is the key to writing a successful review of any Sony produced product and this guy clearly doesn't have the chops to pull it off

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sanzee

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Edited By sanzee

"[Uncharted: Golden Abyss] feels like a made-for-cable version of a proper, big-screen Uncharted adventure."

Your taglines are always really clever, and sum up the review(s) perfectly.

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the_OFFICIAL_jAPanese_teaBAG

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Why are people getting so mad....  What is he supposed to do?  Lie about what he thinks of the game so he could satisfy a minority on this site that takes review scores so seriously?

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mr_woo

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Edited By mr_woo

I wish Sony would stop treating Sony Bend like shit and let them make something other than a handheld game. They're a very talented bunch of developers (and I'd argue just as talented as Naughty Dog without the resources) being wasted on this franchise. I'd rather see them work on a new Syphon Filter on PS3, still my favourite Sony franchise by a long way. Give me another installment with Gabe, Lian and Theresa damnit. (or reboot with the same characters)

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deactivated-5d056614f191a

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I'm not shocked by this score.. Its not made by Naughty Dogs.

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m0rdr3d

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Edited By m0rdr3d

In case it hasn't been said yet: "Uncharted: Piss-filled Toilet"

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popmasterruler

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Edited By popmasterruler

"The missing elements are noticeable ones, too. You won't see any huge, technical showpieces in Golden Abyss."

That is quite honestly the best thing ever!I loved Uncharted 1 because the emphasis was on platforming and puzzles instead of combat and set-piece moments(until the second half that is).I liked Uncharted 2 but did not appreciate the slog of enemies they have you kill,the huge amount of set-piece moments,and that feeling that the platforming was only in there to get you from one fight or set-piece to the next.Haven't played 3 so I can't say anything.

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falling_fast

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Edited By falling_fast

so many delicious fanboy tears

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gesi1223

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Edited By gesi1223

Ever since I saw the preview demo for this a couple months back I knew this was coming. It looked like an unpolished mess then and it sounds like it hasn't changed much since then. I was just expecting too much out of it for a game not made by the original developers.

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014

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Edited By 014

It's too bad it's not an amazing score. I am a little disappointed now that I'm going to pay $50 for this game. I barely ever pay that much for games on any system (normally buy used or on sale). But the videos I've seen of the shooting action in Uncharted were a pretty big selling point of the Vita for me. I'm still going to get this game.

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IndoAssassin

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Edited By IndoAssassin

Seeing as Jeff never played Uncharted 3 to me that says he is not a fan of the series. But I as an uncharted fan would like to see what a fan (not fanboy) of the series thought of this game. That is why I would like to have Brad review it and read his thoughts. Jeff's review is good for people that are not fans of the uncharted series. To me a 3 on this game from Brad would have been more significant than a 3 from Jeff on this game because on this franchise I would have related more with Brad than Jeff's view on the franchise.

But the thing I like about these guys is you can really relate with them with their reviews because of how transparent they are with how they feel about certain genres, games, or hardware from listening to them on the podcasts.

So good on you Jeff for reviewing this even though Uncharted isn't really your franchise of choice.

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Rekt_Hed

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Edited By Rekt_Hed

Well I can't say I'm to surprised. Nothing I've seen of the title up to this review got me excited for it. And ffs why did they put balance mini games back into tree walking *facepalm*

I still think its a shame and hopefully this early stumble won't have to much of a negative effect on the Vita.

To the haters on Jeff for the review go and search for a different review somewhere else and don't keep looking for positive affirmation on everything you buy!

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trucksimulator

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Edited By trucksimulator

nice, duders raging for a 5 because they didn't get their purchase justification from giantbomb

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charliedown

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Edited By charliedown

@The_Nubster: Yeah man, Alexandruxx riggidity wrecked himself in this thread, if he had read to the end of Jeff's review he gives right props to the Uncharted series, and besides 3 out of 5 is solid...soliiiiid...outta sight....outta mind, i always say...quote me bitch...I'm sorry for this btw

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deactivated-6050ef4074a17

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I'm amazed by this notion that some people want the person most-friendly to a product to review said product. Why should that be the case? Irrationally hating something is one thing, and should obviously be avoided, but you should pass off a review to the most kind member of the crew just for the sake of better review scores? That is insane.
 
This is a very fair review and I didn't expect this game to blow the doors off anything at all.

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Doctorchimp

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Edited By Doctorchimp

@Nakiro said:

I don't understand why U3 is even compared to U:GA. One is a console game other one is a handheld. The only way comparison works is if I can take my PS3 on a car ride or a plane flight. They are two completely different things. You can compare to other games as far as story or gameplay goes but the markets are so different and if you want to play Uncharted on the go, you don't really have a choice between the two.

Hey guess what...

In that case a review doesn't matter does it?

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Doctorchimp

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Edited By Doctorchimp

@Alexandruxx said:

@CaLe said:

@Alexandruxx said:

I'll never get Giant Bomb's hate for handhelds. I don't want to seem like a raging fanboy, but Jeff was always against this Uncharted product, and considering how he never said ANYTHING about Uncharted 3, I believe he didn't like that one either.

So why in God's name do you make Jeff review this game when you know how he feels about the Uncharted series as a whole (even tho he liked 2) ?

Jeff made Jeff review this game. Don't get your panties in a bunch, he gave it a fair shot like he does with any game he reviews. I'd prefer that than someone coming at the game from a fanboy mindset.

And I'd prefer them to stick to their fucking rules. They always have games reviewed by the ones that are the most interested in them.

Arkham City got a 5 because Jeff reviewed it. Uncharted 3 got a 5 because Brad reviewed it. Replace the reviewers and both those games would have gotten 4s.

I am not pissed about the score. I don't even plan on buying the Vita anytime soon. It's just that whenever a big console release comes along, they send the fanboys to review them, but when this comes along they send a non-fanboy. Which is good I guess, but why the fuck don't they do that at all times then?

If you listened to Brad he would have also given Arkham City a 5 once he actually played the damn thing.

He loved it by the end when he stopped doing side missions.

Also why are you so obsessed with handhelds? Jeff's review says that it's an alright game but nothing to get a Vita for....

Sound like a fair shake to me.

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falling_fast

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Edited By falling_fast

" like a carbon copy of the genuine article." huh. I always thought that phrase meant "identical to"? weird.

not that I would be playing this, anyway, because I don't like portable systems, but I was curious.

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iamjohn

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Edited By iamjohn

@Alexandruxx said:

@Styl3s: This website's reviews are made on biased opinions. He talked bad about this game a long time ago. Games are reviewed either by fanboys or haters (Catherine) on this website.

Oh god. Sometimes people have a different opinion than you that has noting to do with bias or looking for reasons to hate something and it's just liking and disliking certain aspects of a game. Get over it.

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Spaceyoghurt

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Edited By Spaceyoghurt

Huh, why all the hurt over a 3 out of 5 review? Come on, putting "Uncharted" on the box doesn't make it awesome by default.

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solidejake

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Edited By solidejake

It's funny you mention the "it doesn't feel like a big screen movie" thing. Seeing as how it's not on a big screen, that makes total sense.

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Nakiro

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Edited By Nakiro
@dvorak

I wish I could just scroll down through the comments and put everyone saying that Jeff is "wrong" for whatever reason on ignore. Then maybe we could actually have real conversations. This community is going to shit real fast.

I guess that could work the other way too, anyone saying Jeff is "right" should also be put on the ignore list.

I don't know, we should probably just get rid of the comments in general.

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MrKlorox

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Edited By MrKlorox

The tagline is the perfect analogy. I'm going to use that more often myself.

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cavemantom

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Edited By cavemantom

@Pr1mus said:

Silly people getting mad at magical internet points.

I would propose a new feature for the comments section. Before being able to comment on a review you have to answer a series of 5 questions that would be impossible to answer without having read the review first. The questions would emphasize the most important points of the review, ensuring that you not only read it before posting but understood it, or at least made a minimum amount of effort in that direction.

Funnily enough, a couple days ago, a friend sent me a link to an article on MSNBC's site. When I opened the link, a little notice above the article offered me a link to the comment section below the article. It was as if they were saying, "Fuck it, we know you aren't going to read this. Just click here and skip straight to the baseless arguments with strangers."

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Stepside

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Edited By Stepside

Good review. I'm yet to try the game but based on the touch-screen gimmickry I think I'll pass on buying it. I'll end up renting it somewhere I'm sure.

Oh, and anybody accusing Jeff Gerstmann of any kind of bias should really get their head checked. GiantBomb exists because of his lack of bias, not to mention his integrity. Dude thought the game was okay. And that's fine...now move on.

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dvorak

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Edited By dvorak

I wish I could just scroll down through the comments and put everyone saying that Jeff is "wrong" for whatever reason on ignore. Then maybe we could actually have real conversations. This community is going to shit real fast.

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BitterAlmond

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Edited By BitterAlmond

@Alexandruxx said:

I'll never get Giant Bomb's hate for handhelds. I don't want to seem like a raging fanboy, but Jeff was always against this Uncharted product, and considering how he never said ANYTHING about Uncharted 3, I believe he didn't like that one either.

So why in God's name do you make Jeff review this game when you know how he feels about the Uncharted series as a whole (even tho he liked 2) ?

You're right! They ought to fire the guy for badmouthing a game that he doesn't think is all that great!

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Nakiro

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Edited By Nakiro
@The_Nubster

@Alexandruxx said:

@CaLe said:

@Alexandruxx said:

I'll never get Giant Bomb's hate for handhelds. I don't want to seem like a raging fanboy, but Jeff was always against this Uncharted product, and considering how he never said ANYTHING about Uncharted 3, I believe he didn't like that one either.

So why in God's name do you make Jeff review this game when you know how he feels about the Uncharted series as a whole (even tho he liked 2) ?

Jeff made Jeff review this game. Don't get your panties in a bunch, he gave it a fair shot like he does with any game he reviews. I'd prefer that than someone coming at the game from a fanboy mindset.

And I'd prefer them to stick to their fucking rules. They always have games reviewed by the ones that are the most interested in them.

Arkham City got a 5 because Jeff reviewed it. Uncharted 3 got a 5 because Brad reviewed it. Replace the reviewers and both those games would have gotten 4s.

I am not pissed about the score. I don't even plan on buying the Vita anytime soon. It's just that whenever a big console release comes along, they send the fanboys to review them, but when this comes along they send a non-fanboy. Which is good I guess, but why the fuck don't they do that at all times then?

Hey, maybe you missed it or weren't paying attention to the bombcast or something, but Brad was originally supposed to review Arkham, but he passed it off to Jeff because he wanted to enjoy it on his own time. And on your other post about Revelations, there was a time when brad was real warm on it and he was singing praises for it, but eventually grew cold on it.

Did you even read this review? He points out a multitude of reasons as to why Golden Abyss got the score it did, and one of the big ones is that Uncharted 3 (or Uncharted 2, even) could be found for the same price. So what do you want for $50: a shoddy handheld Uncharted with no big setpieces and shitty touch controls, or a full-fledged and beautiful console version?

His point is that it's a series known for beauty, technical prowess and eye-popping action sequences being shrunk onto a system that can't handle it, and then being used as a showpiece for technology which has no place in the game. His review is fair, his points are sound, and also fuck off.

I don't understand why U3 is even compared to U:GA.
One is a console game other one is a handheld.
The only way comparison works is if I can take my PS3 on a car ride or a plane flight.

They are two completely different things.
You can compare to other games as far as story or gameplay goes but the markets are so different and if you want to play Uncharted on the go, you don't really have a choice between the two.
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Maajin

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@Vinny_Says said:

@Alexandruxx: So if you know Brad would love this game then just imagine he wrote it and had a great time and now you can justify your purchase.

Can this guy be the president of the internet?

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pr1mus

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Silly people getting mad at magical internet points.

I would propose a new feature for the comments section. Before being able to comment on a review you have to answer a series of 5 questions that would be impossible to answer without having read the review first. The questions would emphasize the most important points of the review, ensuring that you not only read it before posting but understood it, or at least made a minimum amount of effort in that direction.

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cookiemonster

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@Alexandruxx said:

I'll never get Giant Bomb's hate for handhelds. I don't want to seem like a raging fanboy, but Jeff was always against this Uncharted product, and considering how he never said ANYTHING about Uncharted 3, I believe he didn't like that one either.

So why in God's name do you make Jeff review this game when you know how he feels about the Uncharted series as a whole (even tho he liked 2) ?

There are so many holes in this splurge of text that I'm not even going to bother to make an argument.

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The_Nubster

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@Alexandruxx said:

@CaLe said:

@Alexandruxx said:

I'll never get Giant Bomb's hate for handhelds. I don't want to seem like a raging fanboy, but Jeff was always against this Uncharted product, and considering how he never said ANYTHING about Uncharted 3, I believe he didn't like that one either.

So why in God's name do you make Jeff review this game when you know how he feels about the Uncharted series as a whole (even tho he liked 2) ?

Jeff made Jeff review this game. Don't get your panties in a bunch, he gave it a fair shot like he does with any game he reviews. I'd prefer that than someone coming at the game from a fanboy mindset.

And I'd prefer them to stick to their fucking rules. They always have games reviewed by the ones that are the most interested in them.

Arkham City got a 5 because Jeff reviewed it. Uncharted 3 got a 5 because Brad reviewed it. Replace the reviewers and both those games would have gotten 4s.

I am not pissed about the score. I don't even plan on buying the Vita anytime soon. It's just that whenever a big console release comes along, they send the fanboys to review them, but when this comes along they send a non-fanboy. Which is good I guess, but why the fuck don't they do that at all times then?

Hey, maybe you missed it or weren't paying attention to the bombcast or something, but Brad was originally supposed to review Arkham, but he passed it off to Jeff because he wanted to enjoy it on his own time. And on your other post about Revelations, there was a time when brad was real warm on it and he was singing praises for it, but eventually grew cold on it.

Did you even read this review? He points out a multitude of reasons as to why Golden Abyss got the score it did, and one of the big ones is that Uncharted 3 (or Uncharted 2, even) could be found for the same price. So what do you want for $50: a shoddy handheld Uncharted with no big setpieces and shitty touch controls, or a full-fledged and beautiful console version?

His point is that it's a series known for beauty, technical prowess and eye-popping action sequences being shrunk onto a system that can't handle it, and then being used as a showpiece for technology which has no place in the game. His review is fair, his points are sound, and also fuck off.

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shotgunsullivan

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is there multiplayer?

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P_Pigly_Hogswine

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Somehow, I imagine Jeff would rate life a 3/5.

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@ReyGitano

@Nakiro said:

@ReyGitano said:

Glad it sounds like I'm not missing out on much by not getting a Vita at launch then.

You can deduct that from one review?

It's not the same for everyone but Jeff is a pretty good measure for myself when it comes to video games, and even after reading other reviews, nothing is spelled out as a must need play for me. Also I am talking about getting a Vita at launch, and with my budget a console launch has to have something I really want if i'm going to shell out premium money. Doesn't mean I'm never going to get a Vita, or even that I'm not going to get one by the end of the year; it just means that I'm glad I'm not killing myself for paying $350+ to experience something right away.

Fair enough.
I actually think Gravity Rush will be a bigger system seller than Uncharted.
Uncharted sure has the name going for it, and who knows how the game would have done if it didn't have those expectations tied to it.
Gravity Rush looks really solid though and reviews seem to reflect that as well.
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AlphaJarmel

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Edited By AlphaJarmel

II'm surprised the reviewer didn't mention the loose controls as that is a SERIOUS fault on the higher difficulties. I agree on the rest of the review though.

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@Alexandruxx: So if you know Brad would love this game then just imagine he wrote it and had a great time and now you can justify your purchase.

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ReyGitano

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Edited By ReyGitano

@Nakiro said:

@ReyGitano said:

Glad it sounds like I'm not missing out on much by not getting a Vita at launch then.

You can deduct that from one review?

It's not the same for everyone but Jeff is a pretty good measure for myself when it comes to video games, and even after reading other reviews, nothing is spelled out as a must need play for me. Also I am talking about getting a Vita at launch, and with my budget a console launch has to have something I really want if i'm going to shell out premium money. Doesn't mean I'm never going to get a Vita, or even that I'm not going to get one by the end of the year; it just means that I'm glad I'm not killing myself for paying $350+ to experience something right away.

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IAmNotBatman

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@thornie: You really are stupid. Just leave this website.

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I can't believe people are accusing Jeff of being biased. From the sounds of it that game deserves a 3/5 because it lacks a lot of the things that make the Uncharted series worth playing like the wit, the charm and the set pieces. It tries to fill that gap with mediocre touch screen gimmicks. Naturally it is a 3/5. In fact 3/5 sounds really charitable to me.

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Scotto

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@thornie said:

Hey let's get a guy who doesn't like the Uncharted series or Sony handhelds to review a Sony handheld Uncharted game! Not saying the game isn't a 3 out of 5, just a bit confused as to why Jeff reviewed this game.

When has Jeff ever said he doesn't like Uncharted as a series, or the Sony handhelds? They've had long conversations about whether game-specific handhelds can still survive as a market, but I've never heard Jeff shit on the Vita as a thing - just whether or not it can succeed in today's marketplace filled with iPhones and iPads, and a 3DS that has already been out for a year.

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Luchalma

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I'm not saying this review is wrong, but I think I'll go somewhere else when looking for helpful Vita reviews. Giantbomb has shown me they aren't really giving this thing a chance.