Hands-on with Uncharted: Golden Abyss for Vita

To pick one game that best flaunts the PS Vita's qualities - as Sony's PR reps had to at this year's Eurogamer Expo at Earl's Court - is no easy task.

Do you pick zippy racer WipEout 2048, which best advertises the built-in gyroscope? Or DIY game-maker LittleBigPlanet to tout the rear touchpad? Or Little Deviants, the hodge-podge patchwork of gimmicky AR toys and touch-sensitive games?

Or do you want to reveal the upcoming handheld's true visual grunt and the primal roar of its quad-core processor and ample quantity of RAM? If that is indeed your goal, look no further than Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

This pulpy action-adventure is about as close as you can get to squeezing the original PlayStation 3 shooter onto a portable console without resorting to black magic. From lighting to animation, Uncharted: Golden Abyss triumphantly apes its big-boy PS3 brethren, and does it with almost breathtaking efficiency.

The section we played - set on a tropical island, laden with ruins and drenched in twilight - showed off dense tufts of flora and gushing life-like rivers, as well as deep black skies. All of this visual detail is testament to the screen's epic contrast ratio and piercing lamps.

If you've never sampled an Uncharted game on console before, imagine a cross between Indiana Jones and Gears of War.

Wise-cracking explorer sort Nathan Drake clambers about ancient ruins and forgotten islands in search of loot, whilst demonstrating no hesitation in taking out baddies in punchy, unpredictable firefights when under duress.

The speed and fluidity of the combat - where Drake might dart into cover, leap up a wall, grab a handful of grenades, and then zig-zag his way to an entrenched foe before going toe-to-toe in a fist fight - wouldn't be possible without responsive analogue sticks. Luckily, Vita packs a pair.

To anyone who's held a DualShock controller for a length of time, the Vita will be a familiar experience. The thumbsticks are a little smaller (though raised and tactile, unlike the silly slippy nub of the PSP) and the shoulder buttons more clicky, but you can slip into a fast third-person shooter like Uncharted effortlessly. For those with recurring nightmares of using face buttons to position a camera on PSP, the second analogue stick is a true blessing.

Like most Vita games, Uncharted toys with the upcoming console's fleet of gimmicks and knobs. You can painstakingly pilot Drake from handhold to foothold with the thumbstick as you scamper up a mountainside, or simply draw a path with your finger to guide him automatically. You can aim a sniper rifle with the thumbstick, or use the gyroscope to wiggle your Vita into position.

These control methods look to be entirely optional, thankfully. Some work well (being able to tap on a gun to pick it up is a nice shortcut), while others are a little less welcome (we don't trust a gyroscope in a heated finale, especially on a bouncy British train).

Whatever the case, if you want to play Uncharted: Golden Abyss without ever touching or wiggling your Vita, the option is there.

We didn't get a chance to sample any of the game's cutscenes, so whether Golden Abyss's story will live up to its home console predecessors' tales or not remains to be seen.

But with motion capture taking place at Naughty Dog's studio, Nolan North voicing Drake once again, Uncharted story scribe Amy Hennig casting a watchful eye over Sony Bend, and a confirmed two hours of cutscenes, we reckon it's in safe hands.

In general, Sony Bend - the Oregon game factory responsible for the PSP editions of Syphon Filter and Resistance - is sticking close to the Uncharted formula, and that's no bad thing.

In just about every way imaginable, from gameplay to graphics, Golden Abyss feels like Uncharted on a handheld - a natural extension of the winning franchise now, for the first time, in the palm of your hands. What's not to like?

Uncharted: Golden Abyss will launch alongside the Vita when the console hits Europe in early 2012.