We wouldn’t want to be in Naughty Dog’s boots right now—having to squeeze out a worthy successor to last year’s globetrotting roller-coaster Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is one hell of a daunting task. After all, how does one trump what many consider to be unequivocally one of the greatest adventure romps of all time? Still, our unfaltering faith in the celebrated studio ensures we’ll be sleeping easy at night; the company’s pedigree speaks for itself, and we’ve no doubt they’ll somehow cobble together yet another exquisite marriage of baddie-bashing and platform-hopping. While a sizable chunk of Drake’s Deception currently remains under lock and key, Uncharted’s decidedly polished paradigm is as such that frothing punters at least get a whiff at what’s coming in advance; namely, eye-popping visuals, gripping gun play, and a nail-biting narrative. Nonetheless, the Dogs aren’t resting on their laurels, and have already teased plans to bring a myriad of fresh ideas to the table to for what is sure to be a thrilling third installment.
In recognition of these new-found ideas slated to beef up Drake’s sandy sequel, we’ve shed the spotlight on the five reasons we’re stoked for Uncharted 3.
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Reason 1: Sullivan’s back in the spotlight
Uncharted 2 was a positively scrumptious sequel in every right. If there’s one criticism we have, though, it’s the conspicuous absence of the legendary cigar munching Victor “Sully” Sullivan from much of Drake’s mercenary-mashing, cliff-hopping antics. Specifically, the old boy was neglected to a few opening chapters, before popping up at the end cut-scene for a comical chinwag with our cocky treasure hunter. Indeed, if Nate’s inaugural epic is a chap in a stuffy duffle coat and smoking hat, Among Thieves was unquestionably the glamorous darling of the family; it elbowed the last remnants of Drake’s Fortune’s “bloke raider” sensibilities out of the spotlight in favour of flirtatious sidekick Chloe Frazer and the no-nonsense, sharp-tongued tag-along, Elena Fisher.
They’re cracking characters in their own right, but enough with Girl Power thing already – time for a little good old-fashioned male bonding. And fortunately, that’s exactly what we’ll be getting when Uncharted 3 makes a running-jump to store shelves next winter. Yep, Naughty Dog’s confirmed Drake’s Deception will focus predominantly on the cheeky chappie’s ongoing relationship with his long time chum – and from the look of things, Sully and his meaty magnum will be tagging along for much of the action. Do we detect the faint aroma of co-op in the air? Watch this space.
[Editor’s Note: Minor Uncharted series spoilers ahead!]
Reason 2: Drake’s getting sand in between his toes
If there’s one thing to say about Drake, it’s that he likes to earn his air miles. Uncharted had us gallivanting around tropical jungles and crumbling forts, while the follow-up Among Thieves had Drake getting his passport stamped for a worldwide assault, taking the treasure hunter through a jungle jaunt in Borneo, a stealthy scout-out at a museum in Istanbul, braving a war-ravaged city in Nepal, to skulking around the sumptuously detailed, mythical kingdom of Shambala itself. Indeed, the sheer diversity of these locations is a testament to Naughty Dog’s ability to keep the action coming thick and fast, without a whiff of monotony throughout. And from the look of things, the Dogs are obviously keen to freshen things up for Drake’s Deception, confirming our hero will be clipping on his sandals for a trip to the sand-strewn deserts of Arabia. Frankly, we’re not surprised, as any fortune hunter worth their salt is almost contractually obliged to get sand in between their toes at some point (Lara Croft and Indiana Jones come to mind). From the look of things, Drake’s going to be in a bit of a pickle. The teaser depicts the aftermath of a plane crash. Nate finds himself stranded in the dunes, with only sweltering sun for company, as he embarks on an arduous trek through the desert. Any normal bloke would be well and truly buggered, but this is Drake after all – and we’re itching to see what miraculous escape plan he’ll have up his sleeves this time around.
Elsewhere, the prospect of our hero unearthing a legendary lost city has us giddy as a school girl, as Shambala was positively breathtaking, giving Naughty Dog ample room to stretch their arms in regards to the game’s visual showcase. As such, we’re expecting some impeccable architectural handiwork for the third entry. To top it all off, the press blurb describes Uncharted 3 taking us on a global journey, so it sounds like Nate will need to pack more than just a tube of sun block and shades for his latest gig. The teaser clearly shows British currency strewn about on the table, so perhaps we could be heading to London for a cuppa and a gander at the Natural History Museum? We can just see Drake scaling the rooftops of Romford now. Or perhaps not.
Reason 3: The multiplayer is being expanded upon
As delicious as Uncharted 2’s single-player pie might have been, we were thrilled at Naughty Dog’s decision to extend the seminal sequel’s shelf life with a spot of no-holds-barred, contention-fueled online multiplayer. The result? A competently crafted shooter with enough game modes to tuck in to that ensured Among Thieves became a regular staple in our optical disc drive to this day. Uncharted’s cover-based antics lends itself perfectly to the online landscape, bringing with it some seriously strategic bouts. The cooperative-based shenanigans are a particular highlight, allowing players to leap, shoot, roll and neck-snap their way to victory as Sully, Drake, Chloe and a host of other familiar faces from the Uncharted universe.
It all looks set to get even better, with Uncharted 3 poised to deliver an even meatier multiplayer offering. Quite how they intend to go about this remains a mystery, but we’ve heard murmurs of campaign co-op in the week or so since the game’s announcement. Our bet’s on a Modern Warfare 2-esque Special Ops co-op experience, however, combining Uncharted’s cinematic sensibilities with the dynamic duo of Drake and Sully working in unison to tackle heaps of bite-sized, objective-based missions. Sounds like a perfect match to us, though we’ll have to wait and see what the Dogs have been gnawing away at all this time in the coming months.
Reason 4: Drake’s a brutal brawler
Melee combat always remained one of Uncharted’s more conspicuous wrinkles, and although the sequel did well to iron out the majority of niggles – proximity battles became a decidedly more cohesive, strategic affair thanks to the improved combo system and stealth options, rather than boiling down to copious and uncoordinated button-mashing – it wasn’t quite as polished as it could have been. For starters, Drake wasn’t exactly much cop when faced with multiple foes, and we’ve lost count at the number of times we’ve engaged in a spot of fisticuffs with one enemy, only for his mate’s off-the-wall olfactory senses to sniff out trouble, filling the boyish treasure hunter with lead before he has a chance to snuff out his opponent. Needless to say, it’s a right pain in the jacksy.
Chuffed we are to learn, then, that Naughty Dog looks set to give the brawling mechanics a shot in the arm, augmenting Drake with some fresh manoeuvres allowing him to scrap with multiple foes at once and dish out even more satisfying, neck-snapping stealth kills. We’ve already seen the fruits of this during the live demo on Jimmy Fallon, with one scene depicting daring Drake reigning death from above, landing on top of some poor, unsuspecting military chap and silencing him in the blink of an eye. No messy on-screen prompts, just a quick, clean kill. Elsewhere, rudimentary brawling looks a far more fluid experience, with our hero unleashing a brutal barrage of flying fists and crushing kicks against one poor sap, while seamlessly engaging a second and taking him down just as efficiently as the first. Bloody fantastic.
Reason 5: It’s going to be in 3D
3D gaming adoptions rates are still very much in their infancy at present, especially in the UK, where technophobes are currently avoiding the latest 3D compatible TVs as if they represented a new strain of bubonic plague. Still, Sony’s keen on pushing the swanky tech as much as possible, and the best way to do that is obviously packing it in to as many triple-A PS3 games as they can muster – and Uncharted 3’s the latest to join the club. Frankly, even if you have no compunction abstaining from the whole 3D craze for the immediate future, we have a sneaky suspicion Drake’s latest globetrotting adventure will sway even the most obstinate of 3D nay-sayers, given that even in bog-standard 2D the franchise has delivered a selection of sumptuous set-pieces that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with even the very best of Hollywood’s latest endeavours.
Imagine clocking eyes on a scene on par with Uncharted 2’s terrific train crash in the third dimension, for example. As such, the fact Naughty Dog has decided to incorporate 3D in Uncharted 3 can only be a good thing in our eyes, especially as we’ll admit to not being entirely swayed by the savvy tech at present. Could this be the game to change our mind? We reckon so, and more pertinently, we want it to. And we’ll wager that you do too.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is due out exclusively on PS3 on November 1, 2011.