Since modern-day treasure hunter Nathan Drake debuted on the PlayStation 3 back in 2007, many of us have grown rather fond of this everyman hero with the now famous half-tuck shirt and witty banter. In addition to being the lead role in the very polished, adventure-filled Uncharted series, he represented a new beginning for adventure games, a bar that developer Naughty Dog set very high in terms of storyline, graphics and cinematics, one that some may argue injected new life and inspiration into the videogame industry.

Fast forward a few years and millions of people around the world have enjoyed playing Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. And we’re all now eagerly awaiting the release of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception on the 1st of November 2011. Luckily for us Naughty Dog are happy to help us pass the time by keeping us enthralled with captivating trailers and detailed screenshots.

Even luckier that Naughty Dog were at the recently held PlayStation Experience in London where Community Strategist Arne Meyer gave a brief presentation, demonstrated the Chateau level of Uncharted 3 and showcased the debut trailer in stunning 3D.

Naughty Dog kicked the presentation off by reminding us how they’ve been bringing us interactive entertainment exclusively for the PS3 since 1996 with the popular Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter and Uncharted series. Together these series have sold over 45 million units of software amounting to well over $1.5 billion. With such successful franchises under their belt, the developers recently moved into a new office complete with an in-studio motion capture stage.

The developer revealed that the first Uncharted sold 3.8 million copies while Uncharted 2 sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Little wonder then that Uncharted 3 was revealed in December, much to the delight of many fans around the world, with the aim to expand the series to provide new content and experiences for gamers.

The new instalment will focus on Nathan Drake and Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan, a mentor and father figure of sorts to Drake. Sully was a popular character from the first game but didn’t feature prominently in Uncharted 2 and has been brought back to appease fans of the series. The story is once again inspired by a true story, that of T.E. Lawrence, and sees Drake travelling to different locations around the globe en-route to the Rub ‘Al-Khali desert in search of a city lost in time and sand. This legendary city is known as the Atlantis of the Sands – the City of Brass – and leads Drake into a battle against his toughest enemy yet, a sinister secret society.

Each Uncharted game has focused on different graphical and environmental challenges. In the first game it was water and jungle foliage, while in the second one it was snow and ice, and now we have sand and desert with all the heat effects, sandstorms and mirages that go along with this type of environment.

There’s a lot to absorb in terms of new gameplay features in Uncharted 3. Drake will be able to do more when balancing on beams, being able to climb up but backwards too if he reaches a ledge (as evidenced by the swaying chandelier scenario in the gameplay demo). You can also look forward to new contextual animations that allow Drake to interact more with his environment, for instance running his hand on a nearby wall for balance as he approaches it. The hand-to-hand combat options have also been expanded, resulting in a much more brutal brawl style combat with contextual melee attacks as well as stealth options if you attack an enemy from above.

You’ll see all of the above in action if you watch the Burning Chateau gameplay demo. Of course seeing it being played first-hand by Naughty Dog was a totally awesome experience, but if you haven’t yet seen it you can catch it in the video below. Drake and Sully find themselves in France after following clues to discover the hidden city. They’re ambushed at a dilapidated chateau and, being outnumbered, begin a desperate attempt to escape but, as we’ve come to expect with Drake, things go from bad to worse. Drake, searching for a way out, makes his way up pillars, jumping to a chandelier to get to the opposite wall. The ceiling begins to collapse, just as enemies start their assault from above.

Returning fire he continues to shimmy across ledges and make his way across hanging beams, while the bad guys douse the place in fuel and set it alight. You’ll see him take on two enemies at once, engaging in brutal melee combat while the burning building, floors and staircases included, starts to collapse around him. Then there’s a close-up of the burning inferno below him just before his foot gets stuck in a staircase, all the while the enemies continue their relentless pursuit and attack on him and Sully.

From what we’ve seen so far, you can look forward to enjoying authentic characters in beautifully created environments with explosive action sequences, blockbuster gameplay and yet another truly amazing interactive cinematic experience when Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception releases in November. Of course it will also include competitive and co-op multiplayer, not to mention that it will also be available in 3D, and after watching the debut trailer (included below) in 3D at the PlayStation Experience I can honestly say we’re all in for a treat!

You can look over El33tonline’s previous coverage of Uncharted 3 for more information, trailers and images, before enjoying the announcement trailer and Burning Chateau gameplay trailer below.

Announcement trailer

Burning Chateau Gameplay trailer

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