Gallery: Hands-On: Uncharted Maps Safe Route for Sony's Slick NGP Handheld
01uncharted-golden-abyss
Sony's new handheld gaming platform will be heavy on big franchises but light on new ideas when it debuts at the E3 Expo next week. Wired.com tested the new device, codenamed NGP for "next-generation portable," at an E3 preview event last month in Santa Monica, California. Boasting an array of [high-tech features centered on a gorgeous 5-inch OLED display](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gamelife/2011/03/sony-ngp-power/), the NGP is the Rolls-Royce of pocket game machines. Then again, many players are deciding they'd rather have the Honda Civic of game machines, which is why Sony is investing heavily in [PlayStation-branded cellphones](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/05/sony-xperia-play/) and tablets. With NGP, the company is going after the hard-core crowd that demands something like a tiny PlayStation 3 in their pocket. To that end, Sony is leading with a version of Uncharted, its blockbuster cinematic action game franchise, as well as other proven sellers like Wipeout and Hot Shots Golf for NGP. A surprisingly inventive music game from the creator of *Everyday Shooter* showed the most promise, but none of the demos felt truly new. While there were certainly some intriguing ideas on display, Sony's NGP lineup felt more like style over substance. Here are Wired.com's impressions of the games we tried out. __Above:__ Uncharted: Golden Abyss ----------------------- To drive home the point that NGP is like a game console that goes with you, what could be better than Sony's bombastic summer-blockbuster [action game series, Uncharted](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncharted)? In the continuing adventures of tomb raider Nathan Drake, he'll shoot it out with angry rivals and climb into, on and around ancient ruins in his quest for buried treasure. In Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a great deal of that will be done through the NGP's two touch interfaces, one on the OLED screen and one on the reverse of the unit. The demo included lots of touching. Things kicked off with a fistfight in which fist and arrow icons appeared on the screen, and I could tap the screen to punch an enemy or swipe upward to kick him in the crotch. Once that was over, it was time to explore. I could drag my finger across a set of bars to climb over them; swipe my fingers on the rear touchpad to hoist Nathan up over a rock wall; tilt the system to swing on a rope; swipe upward to vault over rocks; and on and on. None of this was strictly necessary, which is good, since touch controls that stand in for simple button-presses aren't really the way to do touchpad gaming. Golden Abyss has been designed so that everything you can do with touch you can also do with the NGP's joysticks and buttons. Uncharted is graphically impressive and plays well, but the touch controls as demonstrated didn't add anything.
02wipeout-2048
Wipeout 2048 ------------ Sony's futuristic hovercar racing series lent itself well to the launch of PSP, and there's little reason to doubt it will do the same for NGP (it will launch day-and-date with the hardware, a producer said). Although Wipeout 2048 is a fully original game with 10 new tracks and 20 new vehicles, it will also include a mode that will allow NGP players to race against PlayStation 3 owners in the game [Wipeout HD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wipeout_HD). If you've ever played an arcade-style racing game, you'll pick up 2048 with little learning curve; it's pretty much a matter of holding down the accelerator and not killing yourself. You can drive over icons on the track to pick up single-use weapons to use against your rivals; the trick to this version is that green pads represent defensive weapons and yellow offensive. If you're in the lead already, you'll want to aim at the green pads and pick up weapons that'll help you stay there. 2048 has a normal mode in which you can control everything using the joysticks and buttons, and a "motion mode" in which you use the NGP's new features. Holding your index finger on the right-hand side of the rear touch panel accelerates, and your left hand brakes. You tilt the system to steer and touch the right side of the screen to fire items. I found this mode to make a lot of sense: It's more comfortable to hold the screen and lightly tap with my index fingers to control the acceleration and braking. Having to tilt the system to steer wasn't quite as effective as using a joystick, so with any luck there will be a way to mix and match controls in the final product.
03sound-shapes
Sound Shapes ------------ Fans of the abstract, musical shooting game [Everyday Shooter](http://www.everydayshooter.com/) should be happy to hear that its creator, Jonathan Mak, is back with a clever NGP game. In Sound Shapes, you're a sticky little ball that must roll through a series of screens filled with obstacles. You can roll along, stick yourself to walls and unstick yourself, depending on where you want to be. Lasers, enemies and other hazards will try to attack you. This by itself would already be amusing, but the hook is that everything is connected to the soundtrack. As you collect the little dots scattered throughout the level, they add layers to the game's music. Lasers pulse to the beat of the song. As if this were not enough, the game also features a level creator that lets you build music pretty easily — placing things in physical space in the level is akin to placing them on a musical staff. When you place elements on the lower part of the screen they make lower notes and vice versa; the notes are played left to right. A novice could simply drop a bunch of random dots and it would sound musically interesting. But I'm much more intrigued to see what happens when the truly obsessed get hold of Sound Shapes. What sorts of intricate levels might they create? With its killer tunes and original gameplay concept, Sound Shapes was the undisputed hit of the pre-E3 preview event.
04super-stardust-delta
Super StarDust Delta -------------------- This [Geometry Wars-style shooter series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Stardust_HD) is one of the more popular on PlayStation Network, so it's easy to believe that this gorgeous NGP version will get a lot of playtime. As a tiny spaceship in a field of asteroids, you must blast rocks away without getting yourself killed. To do this most effectively, you'll want to match your ammo types to the rocks currently staring you down. The new "Delta" mode will include NGP features like tilting and touching, and the standard Arcade mode will be the regular game that you know and love.
05little-deviants
Little Deviants --------------- This collection of mini-games starring a bunch of tiny ruffians is clearly intended to show off NGP's various control features through bite-size contests. Four games were available in the demo. In the first, "Depth Charge," you lead a Deviant down into a twisting mine shaft, aiming him down the vertical tunnels by tilting the NGP from side to side. In another, Deviants attack from space, and you have to stand up, looking around the room with the NGP to find and shoot them, as in the 3DS game [Face Raiders](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gamelife/2011/03/nintendo-3ds-features/?pid=1017). Two more games in the demo used the NGP's touch functionality. In one, you roll a ball into a hole by running your finger on the bottom touchscreen, which causes a hill to rise up out of the ground. By moving the terrain around, you can roll the ball. In the fourth game, "Ball of Whacks" (pictured), you play whack-a-mole with a screen full of Deviants; if they're facing backward, you must tap them from behind instead of tapping the screen. The Little Deviants demo illustrated how the NGP's rear touchpad might be used to control games, but it also showed one of the problems with it: When you use the front touchscreen, you know exactly where you're aiming, but on the back you can't see your finger. Getting over this inability to know precisely where you're aiming might make for an interesting challenge, but in this demo it was more frustrating than fun. The rear touchpad seems better suited to gestural control than to this sort of pinpoint-precise input.
06reality-fighters
Reality Fighters ---------------- With front- and rear-facing cameras, the NGP is equipped to play the [same sort of augmented-reality games as Nintendo 3DS](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gamelife/2011/03/nintendo-3ds-features/?pid=1017). Leading the charge is Reality Fighters, a martial arts game that drops real people into real environments. Using the NGP's front camera, you take a picture of your face. The game will then map this 2-D image onto a 3-D polygonal fighter. The results look, and I am not exaggerating at all, very silly. The first time you try, you will probably look like an unhappy little troll. Embarrassed at how close this came to reality, I reshot myself, getting some better lighting, taking the picture from a more flattering angle and trying to think handsome thoughts. Once you have your doppelganger in place you can give him a fighting style (pictured above) and dress him up in all sorts of outfits. You can fight using any photograph in your NGP's memory as a background, or fight it out on a live feed of whatever happens to be in front of you. This didn't really work for me: The characters kept drifting off the table I'd chosen as their fighting ring (the Sony rep blamed bad lighting). I had to chase them around by moving the NGP and eventually ended up facing backward. The Sony representative said there will also be an AR Card mode in which players would be tethered to a special playing card placed in front of them.
07hustle-kings
Hustle Kings ------------ I apologize. With more games than time to play them at the Sony event, I passed on demoing billiards game Hustle Kings. In the spirit of fairness, I will note that Sony says the game's interface will use the NGP's front and back touch panels to let you perfectly align your shot. What I'm more interested in, though, is the promise of asynchronous gameplay — playing a game of pool with a friend, but being able to take as long as you like between turns. Should I have the occasion to play this on the E3 show floor, I will.
08hot-shots-golf
Hot Shots Golf -------------- I again beg your pardon. Sony showed a version of its adorable [Hot Shots Golf](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everybody%27s_Golf) at the preview event, but for reasons I do not understand have elected to not distribute screenshots of this game until next week. I have prepared a sketch of the game's major visual elements (above). I had not played any version of Hot Shots in a while before I tried this one, so the thing that struck me at first is how the traditional "power meters" of golf videogames have been more subtly integrated into the graphics. You set the power of your swing by tapping the button during your character's backswing, watching until they raise the club head up to the right height. A concentric circle converges on your ball, and if you tap the button just as the two converge, your shot will be aimed better. When you're aiming your shot you can move the NGP unit around to see the fairway from different angles. All these elements work together in perfect harmony. There is nothing quite like surveying the fairway, lining up your shot meticulously, stopping the power meters right at the mark and watching the ball sail through the air directly to some complete other random spot. Ah, *now* I remember why I don't play golf games.
