In UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune, a 400-year-old clue in the coffin of explorer Sir Francis Drake leads Nathan Drake on a wild adventure to a forgotten island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Here Drake hunts for the fabled treasure of El Dorado. Learn the backstory of the colorful cast of UNCHARTED characters and the ancient secrets El Dorado hides.

UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Game of the Year Edition is the winner of over 200 Game of the Year awards, and one of the most highly acclaimed video games of all time. In this sequel, Drake is drawn back into the treacherous world of thieves and treasure-seekers. A mystery artifact propels him to undertake an expedition to the legendary Himalayan valley of Shambhala where he finds himself embroiled in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse against a fugitive war criminal. Pushed to his limits, Drake is forced to risk everything.

Soon you can have two of Drake’s most epic adventures waiting on your PS3’s XMB, available at the tap of a button! Look for them on PlayStation Store June 26th.

UNCHARTED fans in the US might have noticed that all playable DLC for UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves is available for free. While we popped the cork a bit early in the States, this is indeed a celebration of the pending arrival of both of Drake’s adventures as downloadable digital titles. When the PS Store updates today, everyone worldwide will be able to download the following DLC content for UNCHARTED 2 absolutely free of charge:

• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves “Drake’s Fortune” MP Pack
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves “Golden Guns”
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves “PlayStation Heroes” Skin Pack
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves “Sidekick Skin Pack”
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves “Siege Expansion Pack”

This free UNCHARTED 2 DLC program will run until the digital launch of the two titles on June 26th. Once the PSN store updates on June 26th, all this DLC will only be available via purchase on the PS Store or when you buy the digital version of UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Game of the Year Edition. Mark your calendar for June 26th and be sure to practice your witty comebacks, daring leaps, and fortune hunting tactics as Nathan Drake’s first two blockbuster hits will be just a download and a button press away!

By now you’ve probably read the full details of what you’ll get with UNCHARTED 3’s upcoming multiplayer beta. Now, in our new video interview, Naughty Dog’s top developers reveal just how deep this rabbit hole goes. At a glance, UNCHARTED 3’s most obvious multiplayer enhancement lies in its sweeping character customization options in the form of weapon loadouts, gun mods and a wide selection of ability-enhancing Boosters. You’ll be able to modify your character’s appearance in almost every way, whether you want to slap some aviators on Nathan Drake or cobble together a custom hero or villain from scratch. “There are hundreds and hundreds of parts and every part has a customizable color,” Game Director Justin Richmond tells us. “You can look the way you want to look. We want it to feel personal.”

“Personal” is a theme that permeates every yawning nook and cavernous cranny of UNCHARTED 3’s redesigned multiplayer experience. Underneath the ultra-polished shooting mechanics and well-balanced arsenal of weapons lies a social media platform that is positively thrumming with potential. With UNCHARTED 3, community is finally a two-way street: You can tap into your Facebook friend list to recruit a Buddy, then fight by his side while earning rewards for coordinated kills — with a bonus for landing the obligatory post-kill high-five. Afterwards, you can upload your favorite video clips to Facebook and YouTube for sharing. Or, if you prefer, you can watch streaming community clips via UNCHARTED TV while you wait for the next match to begin.

You’ll get your hands on UNCHARTED 3’s new multiplayer modes when the beta begins on June 28th for PlayStation Plus subscribers and owners of specially marked copies of inFAMOUS 2; full access follows on July 5th for all PSN users. Watch the video and read on for more excerpts from our interview with Game Director Justin Richmond and Game Designer Roger Cogburn. And chime in with any questions in the comments!

You’ve already contributed to UNCHARTED 3’s multiplayer mode by playing The Lab.

“We’ve been running The Lab sessions for UNCHARTED 2,” UNCHARTED 3 Game Director Justin Richmond explained, “and we used that feedback to help design UNCHARTED 3.” With The Lab, Naughty Dog’s designers experimented with new modes using UNCHARTED 2’s sizeable multiplayer audience. “Plunder Pistols ended up being super popular,” Richmond said, “We knew it was fun internally, but being able to test it with the fans in The Lab verified that we thought was cool. We want to do even more of that with UNCHARTED 3. We have the ability to get feedback from the fans, and we want to maintain that dialog.”

UNCHARTED 3’s 3D technique paved the way for split-screen multiplayer support.

“There are a number of ways to implement 3D; some are more ‘fake’ than others,” Richmond explained. “We committed to using 3D early on, and we wanted to do it as real as possible because it allowed for splitscreen. 3D and splitscreen are kind of the same thing because the game is basically rendering each frame twice. As soon as we figured out how to do that with 3D, we knew we could handle splitscreen. Now, I am grossly oversimplifying that — the programmers would kill me for saying it was that easy! But basically, our 3D implementation allowed for splitscreen support.”

UNCHARTED 3’s splitscreen multiplayer enables dual PSN logins.
“You don’t have to be on some guest account,” Richmond said. “You and your friend can sit down in splitscreen and level up both of your characters. We support two different PSN ID logins.”

The dynamic multiplayer events were inspired by UNCHARTED 2.

“UNCHARTED 2’s Trainwreck multiplayer level that had an event where a cargo train fell down and revealed an RPG,” Game Designer Robert Cogburn explained. “We were surprised by how that resonated with people, so with UNCHARTED 3 we decided to swing for the fences and go as epic as we can.” Every level includes some sort of dynamic event: Airstrip’s opening truck chase ends in a finale at the airport; Chateau’s spreading fire slowly consumes the central floor and reveals a new area and weapons.

You’ll collect random loot in order to unlock new gear.

Fallen foes will occasionally drop randomized Treasures, and you’ll want to collect every piece you find. “The Treasures add a bit of an RPG element,” Cogburn said. “Every Treasure piece has a varying level of scarcity, and they fit into sets. Once a set is fully completed, you’ll earn an item: a gun, a custom part, an emblem, and so on.” What’s more, if you’re battling with a buddy, he or she can run over and grab Treasure for you. “We can update the Treasures dynamically, too,” Cogburn teased, “so we can add more later if we want to.”

You’re no longer helpless while climbing.

Back in UNCHARTED 2’s multiplayer, climbing left you high and dry — especially if you encountered another enemy. “It came down to who could hit the ground first and get his gun out,” Richmond said. “It kind of sucked — you could only climb or drop down.” Not so with UNCHARTED 3. “Now it’s more like a chess match. Should I edge over and try to kick him? Should I drop? Should I climb? If I do, will the other guy pull me down? It adds an extra dimension to the combat.”

UNCHARTED TV support supports uploads and downloads for YouTube and Facebook.

Plenty of games enable you to capture multiplayer footage and show it to your friends, but UNCHARTED 3 is transforming its multiplayer component into a full-blown video publishing platform. “We can not only upload your video clips to YouTube and Facebook, we can stream videos into the engine,” Richmond said. That means you’ll be able to watch Clips of the Week and community clips while you wait for that next multiplayer level to start. “And we will constantly update that content,” Richmond promised.

UNCHARTED 3 will give high-level players much, much more do.

“With UNCHARTED 2, high-level players would hit a point where they didn’t have anything to spend money on,” Cogburn said. “UNCHARTED 3 is much deeper.” Boosters, which enhance player abilities, can now be leveled up with use. And if the competition gets really tough, you can even buy pricey-but-potent Paid Boosters to temporarily even the odds. “The ranking system plays into that because the higher your rank, the more Paid Boosters will appear. It’s a far more interesting ranking system than in UNCHARTED 2.”

ModNation Racers
My choice would have to be ModNation Racers. I played that game all night long, collected all the outfits, stickers, and whatnot, and made a ton of characters. I also posted a few tracks online – “A Night On Bald Mountain” and “Alice In Wonderland.”
-Giac Veltri, Engine Programmer

Rock Band 3
I really enjoy the challenge of playing songs in pro mode. The new keyboard, cymbals, and pro guitar are great additions to a game that was already amazingly fun.
-Herman Miller, Senior Programmer

MineCraft
The experience it gives you, you can’t get anywhere else.
-Joe Valenzuela, Engine Programmer

Super Meat Boy
It is unforgiving, unrelenting and unapologetic. It’ll grind your nose to the ground and make you feel insignificant. It does all this while staying fair to the player, no cheap deaths, and the feedback system showing the player where they jumped, landed and were mutilated by massive-death-blades(TM) creates a comforting and addicting “no, I can do this” feeling in the player.

It not only revels in a past era of super hard games, it refines it to near perfection. Super Meat Boy is everything anyone could ask for from a pure run-and-jump platformer.
-Chaz Wilke, Scripter

Starcraft II
I’m kind of embarrassed that it’s so mainstream, but Starcraft II. This was a surprise for me, since I’d always considered myself no good at RTS games, but apparently that’s all changed as I continue to charge through the Platinum 2v2 league 6 months after its release. It’s definitely an intense yet enjoyable challenge for me, and I love playing Zerg! (I chose to play Zerg for a highly strategic reason: they are adorable.)
-Lisa Brown, Designer

Bejeweled Blitz
My favorite game of 2010 was Bejewelled Blitz on Facebook. Despite a weekly @$$ kicking by my wife I keep coming back for more. (Lead Designer Jake) Biegel bows before me.
-John Fiorito, Chief Operating Officer

Bayonetta
Bayonetta, easily. The game really surprised me with its amazingly fast combat and unique (and kickass) soundtrack. It also had some of the best boss battles I’ve seen this entire generation.
-Scott Michalek, Engine Support Technician

Heavy Rain
Although other games like Mass Effect 2 and Red Dead Redemption captured me for longer periods of time this year, Heavy Rain is the game that most stands out in my mind. I really loved its depiction of fatherhood, a rarity in games. Heavy Rain gave me a new type of experience I hadn’t had before in any other game, and it made me really excited about the possibilities for interactive fiction in future games.
-Joel Bartley, Gameplay Programmer

If you guessed that our writer’s favorite game from 2010 would be the game where you played a writer… well, you’d be right:

Alan Wake
My favorite game of 2010 was Alan Wake. It was dark, atmospheric, with a compelling narrative and a really unique combat mechanic. It also satisfied my insatiable hunger for lumber mill-centric gameplay. As an added bonus, Alan Wake brought to light the gritty truth about writers: that we are all badass action heroes you want to align yourself with should possessed beings ever invade your tranquil summer burg. Unless you’re married to one of us – then you should probably run.
-TJ Fixman, Senior Writer

Sometimes we don’t get to play new games during the holidays, and they slip to the next year. That’s the case with the next couple of selections:

Uncharted 2
I liked the platform/parkour aspects of the level design. If Uncharted 3 has more of the platforming and jumping around I’ll be calling in sick until I complete it.
-Frank Lafuente, Lead Programmer

Dragon Age: Origins
Primary reason is that on my list of favorite game titles it was one of the only new titles, the others being sequels/new installments of a previous franchise.

I think that Dragon Age is an excellent example of bringing old school DnD style RPGs into the current generation. It was refreshing to see them revamp many of the traditional RPG standards while maintaining many of the same themes. It’s also one of few games that really delivers on content and epic story telling.
-Josue Benavidez, Associate Designer

Despite the wide variety of selections, as the response continued to flow in, it was clear that a vast number of Insomniac’s favored one game above all others during 2010: Red Dead Redemption. As our own (in?)famous cos-playing Senior Animator Ben Van Dyken writes:

• It was an emotional experience. You had real empathy for the character over the course of the game…. And not just in the main storyline, but I also got very attached to my horse, and when he died, I felt real loss…had to go through almost a mourning period before getting another. And these were never ‘canned’ experiences either…they usually happened so dynamically, that it never felt like an event ‘forced’ upon me by the designer….which gave it that much more impact.
• I also remember back when the game came out, each morning people would gather in the kitchen and tell their “RDR stories” from the night before. “…and right after that, I was wrestling this bear with only my bare hands…when all of a sudden, a cougar jumped out and mauled my horse…” It was great.

-Ben Van Dyken, Senior Animator

Other praise for Red Dead Redemption:
As repetitive as many of the quests could be, they created a world I enjoyed being in. They nailed the visuals and sound design of the west, from the time crickets swap with grasshoppers as the primary insect noisemakers to the way dawn casts nearly white light over deserts. The Morricone-esque soundtrack made me feel like I was in a western movie; It just felt good to ride around and experience that world.

Add to that the sheer number of things to do (skill rankings, outfits, primary story missions, mini games, bounty quests, etc) and amazingly entertaining ambient behavior (watching people get mauled from their horses by mountain lions, hearing the prostitutes around town say things like, “I hate to see a dry pecker” and trying to line-up the perfect sniper shot when suddenly being attacked by a Grizzly…) and you had a game that truly defines an era. Would anyone even want to try to make another western game?

Oh, and their “Undead Nightmare” DLC kind of ruined DLC for the rest of us. Best $9.99 I’ve ever spent!
-Marcus Smith, Creative Director on Resistance 3

My love of Spaghetti Westerns was beautifully recreated in this game. I loved the story lines and the fire fights felt like a cross between the Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. John Marston, the main character is well defined and carries all the emotion needed to connect with him. Rockstar did an amazing job and they continue to set the bar for sandbox games.
-Carlos De La Torre Jr, Tester

From cattle rustling to coyote wrestling to bandit killing, this game really drew me into its world. Playing co-op with some fellow Insomniacs is also a blast.
-Chris Edwards, Engine Programmer

The level of difficulty in making a Western game of the year is epic – yet they managed to nail it. The level of immersion and gorgeous environments leaves me awestruck – it’s a world that I love just being in.
-Joel Goodsell, Senior Designer

My favorite game of 2010 would have to be Red Dead Redemption. I expected it to be GTA4 with horses, but it turned out to be a sprawling, profound, emotionally moving experience centered around one of the absolute best characters in video games (John Marston). Easily the greatest Western video game ever made, and possibly the greatest Western ever made, period.
-Josh Leman, Tester

Sounds trite, but I loved, loved, loved Red Dead Redemption. I love the desert. I love hiking in the desert, camping, and driving through it. I think the Red Dead team nailed the feeling of the lighting, the topography, and the natural plants and cacti. I’m also a huge fan of westerns, and to me, this was nothing less than the definitive western video game–besides Boot Hill, of course. :)

I’m not sure I’ve seen better looking horses in a game either. It’s the kind of game I like playing just so I can ride around watch the sunset… before I smoke some outlaw gang from their shack. It’s truly a world I feel like I can escape into.
-Steve Ratter, Environment Artist

I loved the openness and the fact that you could finally be a bad-ass gunslinger. First western game to really capture that and it was awesome. And let’s face it, who didn’t always want to skin a bunch of bears.
-Tim Salvitti, Web Developer

So Red Dead Redemption is definitely the favorite pick of Insomniac Games for 2010. Congrats to everyone at Rockstar: San Diego for making such a fantastic game, that sucked up so much of everyone’s time here at Insomniac Games. If you haven’t played it yet, we can’t highly recommend it enough.

Late, late last night, the PlayStation Store published a special update that was chock full of UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception content! Below is a rundown of everything that went up. Go grab it NOW – well, if you like the content that is.

• UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception worldwide reveal trailer



• UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception PS3 Wallpaper (above)



• UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Dynamic theme



• UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception PSN Avatar of Nathan Drake
• UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception – The Reveal, a behind-the-scenes video by 2 Player Productions

We’ve also got an UNCHARTED 3 PS3 Static Theme you can get for FREE – just head over to the UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Official Game Site and register for updates. Once you’ve registered, you’ll get an e-mail with a PSN voucher code you can redeem for the PS3 Static Theme.

We haven’t forgotten about UNCHARTED 2 yet either – we’ve put together a special sale of ALL UNCHARTED 2 multiplayer DLC bundles which will run for 3 weeks only! Call it a little holiday treat for our multiplayer community.

• PlayStation Heroes Pack? Boom. 50% off!
• UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune MP Pack (skins AND maps)? Boom. 50% off!
• Siege Expansion Pack? Boom. 50% off!
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Sidekick Skins Pack? Boom. Headshot! I mean, 50% off!

A few weeks ago we informally discussed with our community regarding putting up DLC that was previously offered as exclusive pre-order items, such as the Golden Guns. There were many, varied opinions and good points on all sides of the argument. Based on that forum thread, and other conversations elsewhere on the same topic, we’re glad to announce that we’ve made the previously exclusive Golden Guns multiplayer DLC available to everyone on the PSN Store for a mere $.99 $1.99! If you’re outside of the US, be sure to check your local PSN Store for exact pricing in your region.

Back to UNCHARTED 3 for a minute to close out this blog post… we’ve got a special treat for our community and UNCHARTED fans – below you’ll find a universal PSN voucher code that all our North American fans can redeem to get a limited-time-only UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception logo PSN Avatar, shown above! But act quickly: Once this voucher is tapped out, it’s gone forever.

F3E9-33NJ-JGCQ

We hope you enjoy this veritable cornucopia of UNCHARTED 2 and UNCHARTED 3 goodies on PSN!

Otherwise, it’s been a big week with the launch of God of War: Ghost of Sparta on PSP, plus MAG: Escalation and The Walking Dead debuting on PSN. Next week’s shaping up to be a real earth-shaker with The Fight: Lights Out hitting PlayStation Move and Call of Duty: Black Ops landing on PS3. What are you looking forward to?

• I’m playing: Fallout: New Vegas, Hoard
• I’m watching: The Walking Dead episode one, Fringe, Beware! The Blob (watch the first five minutes: OMG) on Netflix PS3 Watch Instantly
• I’m reading: A Theory of Fun by Ralph Koster

Courtesy of Jeremy Dunham

Courtesy of Arne Meyer

• I’m playing: Dead Nation, Time Crisis: Razing Storm, Costume Quest, Split/Second PSP
• I’m watching: Frontline: The Vaccine War, National Geographic: Inside North Korea on Netflix PS3 Watch Instantly
• I’m reading: The Famous Writing Advice That Could Seriously Mess Up Your Game on io9.com, Title Update 1.05 for Red Dead Redemption

Courtesy of Arne Meyer

We pulled a few amazing stats from the Anniversary Event we thought you’d like to know:

• We recorded over 2.5 man years of game time in a period of just 24 hours(1 game that lasts 20 minutes = 20 minutes, regardless of how many players in the game)
• Those 2.5 years came from 1,079,850 player games (10 players in a game = 10 player games)
• We also saw 12,376,755 kills during our Anniversary Event (that’s strictly pvp – NPC kills in co-op games aren’t recorded)
• Everyone benefited from the 5x cash bonus and no cash cap, accumulating a collective $49 BILLION in in-game cash – which would rank UNCHARTED 2 about #70 in the list of countries by GDP
• I only completed 66% of my 24 hour straight personal challenge (total #FAIL)

Last week also saw the release of the UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Game of the Year Edition (psst! you can order your copy here or visit your local brick and mortar), although a few of our eagle eyed community members noticed that our most recent DLC releases – the UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Sidekick Skins Pack and UNCHARTED 2 Dynamic Theme wasn’t included as part of the value-priced, DLC-packed retail release.

To rectify this, we’re going to hold a few giveaways really soon to give our fans – release-day veterans or GOTY Edition newbs – a shot at snagging both these DLC releases! Follow @PlayStation and @Naughty_Dog on Twitter and keep a close watch next week for more details!

Now that Jeff and Rey have returned from the community meetups in Toronto and New York City, much of next week will be spent with me distracting them as much as possible with work talk while secretly trying to suckle away as much of their sweet pilfered Canadian maple syrup as possible. Look for some cool game announcements, too.

• I’m playing: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (amazing first level!), Split/Second PSP, TRON: Evolution
• I’m watching: Fringe, The Power of Nightmares
• I’m reading: Not much, to be honest. Well, except this.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Beta Open to All PlayStation Plus Subscribers Today – What are you waiting for?

Courtesy of Jeremy Dunham

Courtesy of Arne Meyer

Along with the recent Top 10 PSP titles, we’ve got a look at why you should pre-order the upcoming God of War: Ghost of Sparta PSP game. Veronica Belmont also provides a preview of Qore’s October episode. And from the Video Store, we take a look at the new Karate Kid, The LXD, and Christina’s favorite movie of the Summer, Iron Man 2.

So, watch above! Or download to your PS3 in full HD after today’s regular PlayStation Store publish.

In other news, Jeff and Rey are preparing to propel themselves into the snowy utopia that is Toronto, Canada for Tuesday’s PlayStation Canada Meetup. Expect to play Killzone 3, Gran Turismo 5, LittleBigPlanet 2, and a host of other PS3 and PSP games, including guest appearances by games from EA, Konami, Activision, Ubisoft, and more. It’s a big venue (the Sony Centre in downtown Toronto) but be sure to RSVP now to ensure you can get in.

• I’m playing: Dead Rising 2, Outland and the upcoming Scott Pilgrim DLC
• I’m watching: Fringe: Season 3, The Room, really want to see The Social Network
• I’m reading: Wired: October 2010 (“Charge!”), A Way Forward: Solving the Challenges of the News Frontier

Courtesy of Jeremy Dunham

Courtesy of Arne Meyer