Uncharted: Golden Abyss Message Board

Sony finally got around to announcing the inevitable move of PlayStation Plus onto Vita earlier this year, and it’ll finally go live on November 19 with a slew of free games to entice people onto it.

Those games, increasingly a huge incentive to pay up for Plus, are nothing to sniff at, either:

• Uncharted: Golden Abyss
• Jet Set Radio
• WipEout 2048
• Gravity Rush
• Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!
• Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (PSP)

The arrival of Plus on Sony’s portable comes alongside its big 2.0 firmware update, which introduces a slew of new features. The full list, courtesy of Sony:

• Send, read email from a Vita
• Wirelessly transfer content between a Vita and PC, browse folders on PS3/PC to copy them to a Vita
• Ability to assign controller buttons to touchscreen, rear touch pad and buttons "with select games," and a "custom screen mode" to adjust screen sizes
• Option to tweet web addresses

Plus is $17.99 for three months, and $49.99 for a full year. When and if your Plus subscription lapses, the free games you acquired during that time are no longer playable. If your account is activated again, they’ll come back online.

There are literally hundreds of treasures and artifacts in UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss that help tell the backstories of the game’s locations and characters, and all are tied to Trophies. To provide some extra incentive to explore every nook and cranny in the game, we added hidden paths throughout every level — finding everything will be a challenge! But we also decided to create Treasure Maps for those who want all the game’s Trophies but who aren’t keen on exploration, or just want a hint now and then.

Since UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss is a portable game, it’s not always easy to hop online and look up an FAQ. For that reason, we decided to offer DLC that integrates the Treasure Maps directly into Drake’s Journal.

When you buy and install the maps, a new Treasure Map Icon appears on the Chapter page for each level. Tap the icon to bring up the map.

You’ll be greeted with a full-screen image of the level showing all of its major landmarks and the locations of rubbings, photos, artifacts, treasures and Mysteries. And in case you were wondering, there are 34 maps — one for each level in the game.

We wanted to offer the convenience of having the maps just two clicks away while you’re exploring the level… without having to leave the game. We’ve added a purchase button to the UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss Live Area page which links directly to the PlayStation Store to make it easier to find.

Good luck, and happy treasure hunting!

As we get closer to the launch of PS Vita and UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss, the team at Bend Studios is getting amped! We’ve been working on this game for a long, long time, from early brainstorming sessions on the PS Vita beginning in 2008, through the production phase that wrapped up at the end of 2011. When given the opportunity to create a launch title for PlayStation’s new next-gen handheld, we jumped at the chance. When asked what game we’d like to make, we said UNCHARTED! Here’s why.

From the beginning, our goal was to create a great UNCHARTED game. We wanted to give players, including ourselves, more of what they love, but with the PS Vita’s unique spin. The cinematic experience, the gunplay and weapons, the compelling story and characters, the mystery and treasure hunting based on real history, the puzzles, the platforming, and of course, the colorful and detailed imagery… it’s all there. But it’s on a gorgeous five-inch screen that you can take with you.

If you’ve been following all the pre-release news, then you know that UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss also has a ton of collectibles — more than 300, in fact. We wanted to not only give the game some replayability with some additional exploration, but also to tell more backstory, which we do through the items you collect, locations you photograph, and other puzzles you solve. All of these are tied to Trophies that can be earned. We didn’t forget the gamer who prefers gunplay, either: one of the collectible types in UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss are the Bounties. These drop randomly from fallen enemies throughout the game and represent things that might have been found in the area you’re fighting in: old Spanish playing cards, gold and silver coins, and so forth. Many of these items are scarce, and some are really rare. You’re not going to collect all these on a single playthrough!

But we’re not cruel. To make it a little easier to collect all the Bounties, we created The Black Market. This is a near application that allows you select a Bounty type from your collection and send a request out to the Black Market. If any other PS Vita players out there (in the area where you made the request) have a Bounty that you’re missing, the Black Market will send you a copy of their Bounty, even the rarest collectibles. We even created a sixth Bounty type that you can obtain only through near: if you send a request to the Black Market and no one has what you need, the Black Market will send you a carved Fetish for you troubles. Again, all of these are tied to Trophies. If you want that Platinum, you’re going to want to take your PS Vita with you!

PS Vita’s launch is right around the corner. We can’t wait!

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.

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.

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.

The notion of Sony and participating publishers charging a bit less for digital purchases of PlayStation Vita titles than they would normally cost at retail has been kicked around for a while, especially given that such discounting was available right at launch when the Vita debuted in Japan. Still, Sony's American division had yet to confirm any digital discounts for the region...until today.

Shacknews' Andrew Yoon managed to get Sony to confirm once and for all that digital copies of Vita games will sport a 10% discount over their retail prices. Uncharted: Golden Abyss, for instance, will reportedly cost you $44.99 through the digital store, as opposed to $49.99 in physical form.

The discount theoretically should apply to all Vita games, since all Vita titles will be available in the online store--though some titles, like Escape Plan and Super Stardust Delta, will be download only, and thus there won't be anything to discount from.

Though Sony didn't confirm a uniform 10% discount for all titles, an intrepid NeoGAF user discovered that Best Buy will also be distributing purchasable codes for downloadable copies of Vita games, which are set at the discounted price.

While a 10% discount might not necessarily be a make-or-break for many players--especially given the not terribly inexpensive pricing of memory cards, which you'll need to store digital copies of games--it does lend some credence to the notion that hardware makers (or, specifically in this case, Sony) as well as third party publishers are very much planning on getting on board with this whole "digital revolution" we keep hearing about yet typically see no real progress on from anyone besides Valve and kinda sorta EA.

In other news, hey guys? The Vita is coming out soon. Like, really soon.

Here's that official list of launch titles, just in case you forgot.

Learning how to bring characters to life with all the nuances of personality, habits, quirks and mannerisms was really Sony Bend’s first and most important job when we started to work on Uncharted: Golden Abyss. We have an awesome example in the Uncharted series, and we wanted to give the characters a level of depth that transcends the screen. These videos shows just a glimpse of our process and how we worked with our eclectic cast of characters.

I’m no stranger to writing, having written all the Syphon Filter games, but this title taught me some new tricks. By the time we started shooting in February 2011, I had gone through over 40 revisions, changing everything from setting, characters, names, dialogue and action. If we count all the in-game VO dialogue, we ended up with over 400 pages of script for Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

Of course, writing and performance capture was just beginning. What followed was an intense year of motion capture clean-up, animation, camera work, set building, lip-synching, prop building, editing, sound and music, by a team of over 50 artists working across five different studios.

Yes, Uncharted’s stunning visuals require next-gen hardware, but in the end, Uncharted’s charm comes from its characters, their friendships and chemistry. The great thing about story is that it’s hardware independent. Players can tell a good story from a bad one, great production values from not-so-great. We knew that the end result – all of that effort by all those people – would pay off in an Uncharted experience that would lose nothing simply because it was on a portable console. It’s the main reason I was so excited to learn the Uncharted approach to cinematic storytelling. On February 22nd, you’ll be able to see for yourself.

Earlier this week we held a massive PlayStation Vita event in San Francisco, rife with new games, first hands-on time, and newly-debuted features. The Sony Bend Studios team working on Uncharted: Golden Abyss rolled into town touting something in that last category – the Vita-specific Intu-Aim feature. This “aiming modifier” allows gamers to combine the six-axis gyro features of the Vita to fine tune the shots you line up with the right analog stick for greater precision.

In this exclusive new video, producer Darren Yager shows Drake’s Intu-Aim aided gunning efficiency in action:

Also of note: Intu-aim is an optional feature; the team is committed to allowing you to play how you want to play. Having tried it out, I found that you’ll probably end up using it without even realizing you’re doing it.

It’s hard to believe Sony is just weeks away from launching its next-generation portable in Japan, and only months before the same thing happens everywhere else.

More details about Vita's initial offerings are coming out, including what we’ll be playing day one. The European branch of the PlayStation Blog has announced its launch lineup, and I’m waiting for word that we can expect something similar over here.

• Uncharted: Golden Abyss
• WipEout 2048
• Reality Fighters
• Little Deviants
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip
• Everybody’s Golf
• Escape Plan
• Gravity Rush
• Hustle Kings
• MotorStorm RC
• Top Darts
• Super StarDust Delta

Sony also announced two new first-party games, Unit 13 and MotorStorm RC, the latter available on both PlayStation 3 and Vita. The coolest hook for MotorStorm RC is that if you purchase the Vita version, you gain access to the PS3 version--and vice versa. Such a stance is commendable, and let’s hope that’s the gold standard for Sony’s games going forward!

It was also revealed that Flickr will be built-in to Vita, alongside Twitter, Facebook and FourSquare.

Vita launches in Japan on December 17, and February 22 almost everywhere else.

A little over two months after PS Vita launches in Japan, the rest of the world will have the chance to purchase Sony’s successor to the PSP.

Sony’s announced a February 22 launch date for the handheld.

This date applies to the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe, and there will be several Vita models at launch, including $249 for the standard Wi-Fi version and $299 with 3G support.

Nothing in today’s announcement suggests what kind of launch lineup we’ll be seeing for Vita, but Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a safe bet. So long as Sound Shapes is included, too, I’ll be happy.

I’m still on the fence about whether I want a Vita, but I do know I really, really want to play Sound Shapes.

Sony’s plans for Vita outside Japan remain a mystery, besides knowing we won’t be buying a Vita until next year. Vita releases December 17 in Japan, however, which means details are beginning to get locked down left and right for that region, including game pricing.

The discussion of game prices has flared up since the rise of mobile and social games, fueled by Facebook and iOS devices, which largely feature free or very cheap games. It’s been speculated that both new fronts have deeply affected the popularity of Nintendo’s 3DS handheld.

Do keep in mind these prices are for the Japanese market and will very likely change for everyone else. Japan tends to skew expensive.

Andriasang reports Uncharted: Golden Abyss is listed for retail at ¥5,980 (roughly $78) and digital for ¥4,900 (roughly $64). In the Namco Bandai camp, Ridge Racer will hit retail for ¥3,980 (roughly $52) and download for ¥3,580 (roughly $47). The download version will be on sale for ¥2,980 (roughly $39) until March 31, 2012. Katamari Damacy is in a similar spot, with retail for ¥4,980 (roughly $65), download for ¥4,480 (roughly $58), and the same limited sale for ¥3,980 (roughly $52).

It’s not common for PSP games to be cheaper when sold digitally over here, but it’s not unusual in Japan. Sony Computer Entertainment America has not made any comments about Vita game prices in North America or Europe, but Uncharted: Global Abyss is listed as $39.99 on both GameStop and Amazon.

By comparison, on PSP, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd retailed for ¥5,800 (roughly $75) and Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy retailed for ¥6,090 (roughly $79) in Japan. The latter came over here for just $29.99.

Hey everyone, this is John Garvin, writer and director of UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss. Today I’m here to run you through some of the highlights of the two levels we’re showcasing this week at the Tokyo Game Show. Watch the video and let us know what you think!

Hi everyone! I’m the the writer and director of UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss. We’ve just released a trailer that introduces a new and important character from our story. You met Jason Dante in our E3 demo and learned a little bit about him: that he and Drake have known each other a long time, that they each know Sully, that Drake taught Dante a lot about treasure hunting, that Dante can be a little, well, greedy.

This time we’re introducing Marisa Chase. But as she tells Drake at one point, call her “Chase,” only her grandfather calls her “Marisa.” I don’t want to give too much away at this point, but I can say this: once again Nathan Drake finds himself on a quest to solve a historical mystery which he hopes will lead to a fantastic treasure. The trick is staying alive long enough to get there. No easy task. And when Drake gets between Dante and Chase, events quickly spiral out of control.

We were lucky to get some really great talent to play our key characters. Nolan North, of course, reprises his role of Nathan Drake. Nolan brings more than just acting to the story, he helps make the dialogue his own, creates funny ad libs on the spot, and helps rework scenes that might be having problems. Chase is played by the talented Christine Laken, who you might remember as Al from the television show “Step by Step.” Dante is played by the amazing Jason Spisak, who’s played almost as many characters as Mr. North. Working with these guys and watching them bring our UNCHARTED world to life was amazing. I think Amy Hennig, the writer over at Naughty Dog, once told me that good actors can make even my bad dialogue sound good. Not that I have any… :)

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys the trailer. There’s more information on UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss coming soon.