*If there are spoilers they are very very light*
OK, I just beat Uncharted:GA today, here are my thoughts ( I'm a terrible writer so please forgive me ):
I just want everyone to know I am a huge Uncharted fan and I've not only beat 1-3 but I've got the platinums in all three games.
Game play / controls.
The first thing I will say about Uncharted:GA is the game engine feels like it was somewhere in between Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3 for features, but with some being specifically designed for the Vita experience. The first thing I was disappointed about having recently beat 3 was the lack of being able to throw back grenades. I personally thought this was a nice touch and it was one of the few things I felt GA could have easily implemented, especially with touch controls ( see the nade on your screen, touch it to throw it back ). Some of the touch/tilt controls were a nice addition to the game, specifically I enjoyed going down stream and having to use the sixaxis to navigate. Things like paddling with the rear touch pad weren't necessary but they didn't detract or add to the experience. I like that most games for Vita give you an option of how you want to control the game, whether it be touch or standard controls, but there were a couple of points I would have preferred the option to have standard controls. One example of this was the melee fighting. One thing Uncharted 3 also improved on greatly over u1 and u2 was the melee fighting. Uncharted 3 was by far the most enjoyable fighting in any uncharted, but in GA they opted to replace it was a unique vita one that involved a mix of standard buttons and eventually touch controls. It wasn't terrible, but it def was a step back from U3. I'm not against them trying to make use of Vita's features, but again I prefer being able to choose an alternative. Everything else seemed to carry over from Uncharted 2-3 besides those specific changes to the controls for Vita. The analog sticks worked well, but I would say it took some getting used to and it was more difficult to aim than the console versions, but not by much. I would say the action to exploring ratio in this game is most similar to U1, which I personally do not mind, I love killing pirates ect. People who preferred less shooting might be put off a little by the amount of fighting, but probably not by that much.
Graphics/Setting.
The graphics in GA look at times very flawed, but at times absolutely beautiful. Things like fire and shadows turned out terribly, but there are plenty of times the game looks crisp, and above all detailed. Sure the game may be slightly pixelated but the amount of detail in the stages is second to none in handheld gaming, even compared to any other Vita title to date. There are a couple other problems too like when the camera zooms out very far its probably when the game looks its worst, but that rarely happens so it wasn't a huge deal. The biggest wow factor is the scenery in this game, specifically certain acts of course. One example is the cliff where you can see the sun setting, and the entire landscape of the jungle, its absolutely gorgeous. It was such a good spot that Yanikun and I both took nearly identical screens of that spot unknownlingly just because it looked so nice. The Vita's 5 inch OLED screen looks wonderful in these jungle sections specifically
.
Sound/Music.
The Uncharted soundtracks have always been particularly great for the games, but GA actually happens to be my favorite. Once you dive into the later chapters the music goes from good to great. It basically sounds like an entire choir of monks are chanting to very spiritual but intense music, and it really fits the setting and pace of the game. As far as sound effects from in the game they are nothing spectacular, but they also aren't terrible. About what you'd expect from a portable experience.
Story/Characters.
To me this was the most enjoyable part of this game. I read reviews of this game from others who did not enjoy it, but for me I loved it to death, and was probably my favorite in the series ( maybe ). Not only does it have some reoccurring characters we all know and love, but this game does perhaps the best job of making you learn about and dislike your villain/s. I found the story between Drake and Dante to be a back and fourth smack talk fest that eventually becomes more serious and hostile over time. You can really sense people losing their nerves with one another in this game. The main female in the game is also perhaps a bigger player in one Uncharted game than any of the others, so you have a little bit more time to become attached to her, as well as learn about her. I found all the voice acting to be perfect and spot on as well. The ending of the game was wrapped up nicely, and the story although it didn't have any HUGE surprises it did have some. You learn a lot about who Nathan is in this game, just based off of his reactions and decisions in the game, and I found it very enjoyable. I also felt the game had the perfect amount of characters, not too many, but not too little. I would say that U1 had too little, U2 had the perfect amount, U3 had too many, and GA had the perfect amount.
Bottom line:
9.4 out of 10. I saw this quote in other reviews and it sums up my feelings about the game entirely "Can't believe this is on a portable".
My personal Uncharted favorite list goes like this:
1: Uncharted 2
2: Uncharted GA
3: Uncharted 1 + Uncharted 3
I will mention even though I have U1 and U3 at number 3 I still love them, and I'd give them both solid 9's.
As for the trophies in this game, I will already tell you that this will be the hardest platinum of all the Uncharteds. Not only do you have what seems like more collectibles, but you have different types you need to collect ( like pictures ). I usually spend a lot of time looking for them in my first play through, and this was no different. Yet,
no entire collections of the treasures from any chapter. I wouldn't say I was trying super hard, but I was trying. So don't expect to find most of the treasures on your first play through. I also wanted to mention that since there are no road maps for this on trophy sites yet, I would recommend playing your first game on hard for you platinum hunters, to save you a play through if you are going for a fast plat. No unlocking Crushing by beating normal like in uncharted 3, sadly. I played on normal, ah well just gotta beat it an extra time.
Still, for me, that's the white whale of this device.
