By Winda Benedetti

Sony has unveiled its forthcoming handheld game machine – PlayStation Vita. With its sprawling 5-inch OLED screen, dual thumbsticks and intriguing front and back-side touch screens, it is proving to be an impressive piece of game gadgetry.

But while Vita’s tech specs are wow-worthy, it’s really the games that matter when it comes to deciding whether you want to spend the $249 this thing will cost when it launches at the end of the year. And if there is one game that’s going to sell this gadget to gamers, it’s going to be "Uncharted: Golden Abyss."

Sony has been showing this title off at the Electronic Entertainment Expo taking place in L.A. this week. And having had a chance to spend some time playing it, I can say that "Golden Abyss" is looking excellent.

The game, developed by Sony’s Bend studio, takes place before "Drake’s Fortune" — the first game in the hit "Uncharted" franchise. And here once again our hero Nathan Drake is on a treasure hunting, jungle hopping adventure full of action, stealth and combat.

And one thing is for sure: The graphics — splashed across the Vita’s superb screen — look great. The jungle setting is lush and vibrant as you take swashbuckling hero Drake through his paces. His moves are fluid and swift and the landscape is full of eye-popping detail.

But what really stands out is the way Vita’s various control schemes have been implemented.

Yes, you can maneuver Drake using the usual method — the dual analog sticks and action buttons — but you can also control him with a mixture of front and back-screen touches and by tilting the device.

The dual thumb sticks are certainly a real treat here for those who’ve loved playing Uncharted games on their PS3 and don’t want to give them up for a portable game.

But the other new-school control options are pretty nifty, too. For example, tilt the Vita machine and Drake leans out over a crevasse, tap the screen and he jumps. You can also tap the front touchscreen and have him quickly and stealthily take out an enemy. In one part of a level I played, I was able to maneuver Drake as he scaled along a cliff face by simply tracing his path across the screen with my finger.

Climbing and swinging on vines is managed in a unique way too. To swing on a vine, you swing the Vita back and forth. And if you want to climb up, you’ll swipe the back touchpad with your fingers. It’s meant to be like you’re holding the vines right there in your own hands.

All in all, if "Golden Abyss" ultimately lives up to these initial impressions, it’s going to do a lot to send Vita sailing off shelves. Can you say "killer app"?

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Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter.

Winda Benedetti