Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, It’s Official

So after a huge amount of nervous fidgeting and awkward conversation about how much ‘some people’ *cough* love Uncharted’s hero, Drake, and emerging slightly bruised from the fuss around the not-so-leaky FAN concept art, PS3 owners can get ready for the next game changer. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception has been confirmed as the official title for the next instalment, and it has also been acknowledged that this one will indeed be set amidst an expansive and dusty desert.

Everyone knew Naughty Dog was working on this, and 90% of us were making bold predictions just to tease ourselves about its hugely anticipated release. Creative director over at ND, Ann Hennig, says that the theme of ‘deception’ will be exploited on multiple layers in a whole variety of ways, and that the story for U3 is going to focus on the relationship between Drake and Sully. All sounds good to me; I just wonder whether there are going to be big twists and turns in the story, and enough new stuff to keep their shiny record unspoilt.

Apparently Drake is going in search of a mysterious city that has been lost in legend, located somewhere in the mind boggling vastness of the Rub’ al Khali Desert. One name for this lost city is the “Atlantis of the Sands”…very absorbing and interesting right? There are rumours circulating about the plot drawing from the experiences of historical figures, but as it stands, none of it is concrete so we’ll steer clear for now.

We’ve already mentioned that dual wielding, and vehicles are on our ‘want-list’ for U3, but this update on general setting and franchise direction is exciting enough. Many critics are waiting to see whether Naughty Dog can push the notch up even further and make the same technical and visionary leap Uncharted 2 made from Drake’s original adventure. I personally don’t doubt for a second that ND and Sony will deliver with this game. Ann Hennig says in jest that they settled on the idea of a desert, because sand is so technically difficult to render, and their team thrives on challenges. That doesn’t sound like they’re worried about second sequel syndrome to me.

*Word just in from Naughty Dog’s Arne Meyer*:

“Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception continues to evolve the all of the core principles we laid out for the Uncharted franchise, most important of which is creating a unmatched and extremely compelling interactive cinematic experience.

In addition to having a compelling story and authentic characters that all of our fans can relate to as key facets to creating this type of experience, we push ourselves and the capability of the PlayStation hardware through constantly refined gameplay mechanics and technology innovation.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception features the return of famed fortune hunter Nathan Drake and follows him through a gripping, action-packed storyline that will take you all over the world. In his search for the fabled “Atlantis of the Sands,” Nathan Drake and longtime friend and mentor Victor Sullivan set off on a daring trek into the heart of the Arabian Desert. But when terrible secrets of this lost city are uncovered, their journey becomes a desperate bid for survival that will force Drake to confront his deepest fears.

Throughout Uncharted 3, you’ll be taken to spectacular new locations around the globe, that will showcase all of the work we’ve taken on to take acclaimed physics, particle and visual effects to a new level.

Competitive and co-op multiplayer will return as a key ingredient to the Uncharted 3 package, where all of the new features we have planned will combine with our signature single-player cinematic gameplay to create a unique action-adventure multiplayer experience that can only be found in the Uncharted universe.

Oh, and there’s one more thing – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception fully supports high-resolution stereoscopic 3D”

From what we’ve gathered, it’s due to hit shelves around Q3-Q4 2011. That’s quite a wait, but the games coming out in between now and then certainly aren’t just fillers, it all starts with Dead Space 2. Stay tuned for the official trailer exploding on the Spike awards on Dec 11.

You can check out the teaser for the announcement here on the playstation blog.

Oh Drake…you’ve lost weight…and crashed a plane…what on earth..?