It may not have reached the heights of Drake’s Deception, but Uncharted’s Vita debut has been a landmark for portable gaming. The touch controls may have been hammy in places and the over-arching narrative a little out of place but intuitive gunplay, fantastic visuals, and dedication to Naughty Dog’s groundwork have paid off nicely for Bend Studio.
Something we particularly fell in love with was the game’s abundance of collectibles. In the form of clues, photographs, artefacts and bounties, they enrich the experience and pour on a good few hours of replay value. Aside from providing snippets of backstory, they also build towards some of Golden Abyss’ more taxing trophies.
[drop2]Bounties have been made less bewildering thanks to Bend’s implementation of the Black Market and so have the other collectibles, via a downloadable treasure available on the PlayStation Network. At 79p it’s a throwaway bite of content that we suspect many have bought on impulse, but for those who are still wondering whether to take the mini-plunge, we’ll take a look at what to expect.Once downloaded, the map will be available exclusively via Drake’s journal which can be opened using the select button, followed by an on-screen icon. Adorning the left hand side of the journal, there is a unique map for every stage in the game that can be expanded at the tap of a button.
The maps themselves are far from spectacular, lacking any sort of interactivity. Each one displays a lay out of an in-game stage, littered with icons and arrows that denote the locations of camera vantage points and pick-ups, as well as obstacles which need to be hewn away by Drake’s machete. The image quality is good, though navigating the maps won’t be plain sailing for everyone.
Working out where you are in correlation to the map can be tricky at times, even more so when in areas with multiple levels of elevation. At just under a pound it may be unreasonable to ask for a full 3D lay-out with video tutorials, but having a persistent location marker wouldn’t have been too much of a push. I’m currently on my second run-through, and admittedly I’m enjoying the game more when playing in this self-imposed treasure hunter mode.
The maps are basic, but with the only other alternative being smartphone/tablet guides, it’s the quickest way to unearth that coveted platinum trophy.
Youles
Nice read, I might buy it. Regarding the Platinum, don’t you have to trade items with other players to obtain all treasures, or can you just keep playing the game through multiple times and hope to collect all the treasures? (This is assuming what I read was correct, and that there are random treasure drops by enemies). Perhaps a guide on the whole treasure system and Near would be more appropriate for me :/
colmshan1990
The enemies drop bounties, rather than treasures, and they’re what the Black Market ‘trades’ (it actually copies them, rather than swaps).
Youles
Oh ok, thanks mate! So between a few mates (each doing a few playthroughs) you should be able to obtain them all. As I beleive the trading searches Near and your friends’ list
kjkg
The fact I can’t get the Black Market or Near to work pretty much scuppers me for that doesn’t it.
FalconRedux
Yeah this is right. If you have a couple of mates and you’re all playing through the game then using near is a quick way to get bounties. Getting the bounties yourself can take hours, but is the only option if your friends aren’t playing it.
Youles
Thanks. And since the bounties copy and doesn’t replace/swap, once 1 person has them all it should be pretty easy to pass them all on, surely?
Origami Killer
Still haven’t figured out how to use Black Market!
FalconRedux
Yeah, in principle you should be able to get the whole set from a person who has all of them. You just need to keep refreshing Near every hour and have your friend(s) do the same.
The Black Market definitely isn’t intuitive, but is basically the Golden Abyss implementation of ‘Game Goods’ – which are a feature of Near. If you keep updating Near as often as you can, and your friends do the same, you will eventually get ‘Game Goods’ for Uncharted. I’ve received loads of stuff for games I don’t have, but got a few bounties in the process.
colmshan1990
I have this, haven’t really used it though.
Still on my first playthrough, enjoying it a lot.
To be honest, I only bought this because of a glitch on the store 1st day that meant people could get the full game instead of the maps.
I either didn’t get to the store in time, or people were telling me fibs, but hey! It’s only 99c, so it’s probably worth it.
Taylor Made
its not worth buying, what they need is the black market help, cause of this i gave up on the game, i played it 5 times and still didnt manage find anymore droppings from the enemies
Forrest_01
You are looking for treasures, not poop!
Taylor Made
lol u know what yeh when I wrote that I knew someeone was going make a poo jokes
Forrest_01
Happy to oblige! :)
FalconRedux
I agree with you on this, I don’t like the Black Market at all. The more friends you have playing Uncharted the better it works. I got all but 9 of the bounties by grinding out kills in specific chapters. It takes hours to do it this way, however.
Origami Killer
Im not going to complain but when I bought the DLC Treasure Map I got the full game, would have been nice to have had the DLC too as it will come in handy. Now I have to use youtube clips!
Youles
You got the game for 0.79p, yet won’t pay a further 0.79p for this DLC? ;p
Origami Killer
Nope, Im a very cheap person ;)
Youles
Lol! Great mistake that was, the full game for 79p!!!
Origami Killer
Indeed! Loving it so far, on chapter 32 I think! :)
Youles
32 chapters!! I’ve not finished chapter 1 yet as I’m completing Escape Plan first, and did MotorStorm RC.
Forrest_01
Yeah, they do tend to go a bit overboard with their chapters! Whats wrong with 15-20 chapters eh??
It’s not an issue of course, it’s just by the time i am around chapter 15, i expect the game to be ending pretty soon & then it just… doesn’t!
Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing to be fair!
kjkg
34 I think which is crazy. I’m on 2 but too addicted to Wipeout now.
Origami Killer
Yeah there are 34 chapters, I just finished the game, ending was witty and fantastic as usual. I was expecting it to end at around 28. The first 10 chapters seem to fly past though. Good length to the game. I must add the best game I have played for value for money
Forrest_01
I expect it was for 79p!!
Youles
LOL – I should imagine it was!!!
PoorPaddy89
I hope the ending is better than UC3. That was the most dissapointing ending ever, especially since the last ten/twenty minutes of UC2 was an emotional rollercoaster.
Origami Killer
Its a good ending IMO, witty comment to finish it and the (may be a SPOILER) usual romantic bit ;)
SpikeyMikey23
I bought the map…… I wanted the full version of U:GA for 79p but ended up with the treasure map…..
Yet to use it
Origami Killer
I bought the map and got the game but wanted the map as well! Im a greedy bugger
TSBonyman
I bought the map – but i keep forgetting to check it as i play through.. :/
gaffers101
Me too, this post has reminded me to use it.
teflon
I loved how when we first heard about this we were all “Oh, that could be some cool little multiplayer challenge, or mini game quest!”
I laughed when it turned out with was literally just a treasure map, game guide kind of thing.
colmshan1990
So did I.
It really did show how the internet can get carried away with something- Bend studio must really have had a few laughs at our speculations- it was called ‘Treasure Map DLC.’
“Ronseal- does exactly what it says on the tin.”
kjkg
Was going to just use guides but this will be ideal for me going on holiday. No wifi on planes (yet).
Mickey2010
Best buy ever thanks to the quick forum thread by Mike i got it for 79p!
Bambo_19
I got the treasure map in pursuit of the whole game but its worth 79p. Im only on chapter 4 since iv been doin motorstorm, escape plan and loads of fifa which iv almost plated. Seems like a really good game so far but hope it doesnt drag on especially if i have to do it on crushing mode.