UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Gameplay Reveal

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UNCHARTED 3: LA Press Event

By now, you’ve no doubt seen the first UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception trailer (along with the 11-1-11 release date) at the Spike Video Game Awards. You might’ve even seen a bit of the game in action on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Today, even more came out about UNCHARTED 3, as Naughty Dog and SCEA hosted media in Hollywood for a more in-depth look at the game.

Worry not, those of you who feared the entirety of Drake’s Deception would take place in the swirling sands of the Rub’ al-Khali Desert. The scene we witnessed (demoed in real time) took place in a dilapidated French chateau. Nathan Drake and Sully are following the trail of T.E. Lawrence (you’ve likely heard of “Lawrence of Arabia”) to find a clue that’ll take them to the lost Arabian referred to as “The Atlantis of the Sands.”

Before reading on, take a look at this excerpt, which shows about a quarter of what was demoed.



Early on, we see some of the details that Game Director Justin Richmond tells us to keep an eye out for: Drake jumping onto, and then off of a swaying chandelier, climbing not only up, but backwards if he reaches a ledge, and new contextual animations that show Drake interacting more with his surroundings (e.g. placing your hand along a wall for balance as you approach it).

And here in a secluded corner of France, it quickly becomes clear that you’re not the only one on Lawrence’s trail. At this point it’s not clear exactly who’s standing in the way of our protagonists, but they’ve got guns… and really, that’s all that matters right now. Even worse, they’re pouring gasoline throughout the villa and lighting the place on fire.

UNCHARTED 3: LA Press Event

“It is important to mention that the fire is happening in-game (it’s not a cutscene) and it looks absolutely incredible. Panic sets in, so the goal of the rest of the demo is to get Drake and Sully out of the quickly burning chateau alive! You can only imagine how cool all of this is.“ – Chad Concelmo, Destructoid

Now that you’re not only escaping the fire, but fighting your way through enemies at the same time, more new features are demonstrated. When Drake happens upon an enemy below him, he can now take him down stealthily from above. Ezio Auditore would be proud. In one of the new “Brawl style” combat situations, one enemy held back Drake while another took a couple of jabs – then pulled a gun to try and cap him. He dodged, and the captor was more than a little worse for the wear.

“Even this early on in the game’s development, it feels that the combat will offer a robust, but logical set of surprises and “Oh, sh*t!” moments as the adventure progresses…” – Christopher Monfette, G4

The environment shown is incredibly dynamic; Drake isn’t climbing on a static, beautiful jungle gym, but rather a crumbling façade that seems as if it’s trying to kill him even more than the well-armed enemies in the mansion. At times it seems like Nathan Drake has the worst luck in the world, but always musters just enough to survive.

“The changing structure of the world was akin to the twisting suspended train car of Uncharted 2, which fell apart as Drake scaled it, only this level transformed more dramatically, more organically.” – Michael McWhertor, Kotaku

At one point, Drake gets his foot caught in a rotted staircase (not unlike Phil’s broken step from “Modern Family”). When an enemy tries to take advantage of the stumble, Drake shoots from the hip while Sully works to free him.

“Moments where you actually feel like a team are really cool, and I’m interested to see how Naughty Dog expands on them through the game.” – Greg Miller, IGN

Ascending through a crumbling building demonstrates not only the stellar, bleeding-edge visuals, but upgraded sound effects – the firing of the assault rifle just sounds more… real, and the punches thrown seem to carry even more weight this time out. Of course, the series’ trademark witty banter between Drake and Sully remains intact, lending a bit of levity to the serious situation.

“The action delivered on the cinematic thrill moments as huge chunks of the chateau caved in or shifted as Nate made his way to different potential escape routes. We were especially impressed by how smoothly the heart-stopping cinematics of a collapsing roof or floor would cut into the action just long enough to get you to jump without interrupting the flow of gameplay.” – Ricardo Torres, GameSpot

The scene ended not with a close shave and some relieved tension, but with things going from bad to worse as our heroes are engulfed in the conflagration. We’re not going to see how this one plays out until next November.

UNCHARTED 3: LA Press Event

After the demo, we had a chance to speak on camera with Creative Director Amy Hennig and Game Director Justin Richmond. You’ll see that later this month.

What to do until then? How about go behind the scenes of the making of that VGA’s trailer. Naughty Dog’s Arne Meyer sat down with the 2 Player Productions crew to get a more in-depth look at their influences, process and philosophy that drives their high-quality documentary work.

UNCHARTED 3: LA Press Event

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112 Comments

2 Author Replies

  • That Game of the Year song is awesome. Here’s a link to it: http://tinyurl.com/25sb5e6

  • Awe you didn’t take my comment claimering about how awesome UC3 is with one poor word choice that I used an * in. Such a shame.

    Ok here’s the clean version, even tho your censoring offends me:

    UC3 IS GONNA BE AWESOME. Take note Devs, this is how you sell a game, make it unbelievably good, great story, great gameplay, great graphics, not cheap tactics, poor pre-order crap, and shotty dlc.

    Score for NaughtyDog – this is one sold consumer :)

  • @Arcadian_Rebel

    You need to call your ISP and let them know you are having issues. As long as your internet connection is fast and your lag is low you are good to go. I would try that first.

    If my connection is strong I have no issues, but when connection drop so does performance in a game. That is expected. They can’t fix that, there is nothing they can do about that.

    Anyway looking forward to U3, this is First Game I finished 2 times, may have to go for it again. Been playing multiplayer online and I am looking forward to x4 bonus over next 12 days in the LAB. See you on line.

  • Oh I just can’t wait for this awesome game.

  • Cannot wait!!!!! Just started playing through a third time on U2’s campaign. Just amazing. If ND and Sony can top U2, then Uncharted will become a God of gaming.

  • OMG, quit teasing everyone! lol….this is definitely a day one buy for me XD 11-1-11 <–can't wait!!!!

  • Number one buy. Love this game, loved uncharted 1 and 2, and now 3?! THIS. IS. SO. FRICKING. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Naughty Dog, YOU GUYS ROCK!

  • Game of the Year 2011.

  • MODERN FAMILY FTW!!!

  • I have to say that this game has the best looking fire I’ve ever seen in a video game. Seriously, those fire looks amazing especially in-game!

  • GOTY 2011 !!

  • The visuals… the audio… the gameplay… oh my god. This game is already amazing.

    Loved the bit where Nate was forced to shoot the enemies while stuck.

  • Wow, Uncharted 3 looks great! So can’t wait for this game!

  • ND – Ditch the coop and the multiplayer and focus on making a great single player game – please.

  • Two things:

    1) Get this up on PSN in 1080P ASAP!

    2) Start blasting Nathan Drake’s Game of the Year Rap!

  • Uncharted 3 is gonna be Game of The Year i can just tell this is gonna be a great game

  • Hey Jeff,

    Is SCEA ever going to release Flight Control HD or do I have to create another acount to buy it from SCEE?

    Also my quests never seem to update no matter how many times I due the quest.

    This game is going to be awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Thanks Jeff,
    Sold

  • SONY ALWAYS WINS!!!!

  • I LOVE the constant animations. In Uncharted 2 they were mostly pretty static when you went into cover, or are standing still. But in Uncharted 3 the new constant animations make Drake seem much more alive. Fantastic job, Naughty Dog.

    I’ve loved you since Crash Bandicoot on the PSOne, and I love you even more because of the Uncharted series. Can’t wait for this one. By the way, I know you might not answer this, but you think you guys can do another “Tournament”/get-together style thing like you did with Uncharted 2 before it launched?

    I didn’t make it to the last one, but I DEFINITELY plan on going if there is another one for Uncharted 3.

  • Who cares, Uncharted series are overrated and garbage that only caters to the moronic HD 3d graphic-loving twits.

    When you finally get some REAL games like SNK’S King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, or Metal Slug (in which beats out Uncharted 1 and 2, Infamous, and God of War series) onto PSN, then I am interested.

    Until then, get this BS 3D “game” (more like interactive movie) out of my face.

  • One more thing, Nathan Drake is the worst character in video game history, ever. He looks like the retarted, queer, ugly son of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft that was aborted as a fetus and pushed down a flight of stairs lol.

  • Dude this game looks sick I watched the game play from the other night, and the fighting looks a lot more refined then in the other two and so does the climbing and well everything else looks just amazing day 1 buy for me

  • When they ram the door open, Sully is practically standing in the fire! Victor “The Dirty Old Immortal” Sullivan.

  • @estoc1: how in the world can you compare arcade games to this? wow you’re a troll.

  • All I can say is Hells yea for Uncharted 3!!!

  • This series is the defining one of all the new Game generation. Best story + best graphics + now 3D. You guys never stop amazing me! It will be Game of the Year again. No Doubt!

  • Well it looks like we already know what will won GOTY in 2011. The graphics in Uncharted 2 were absolutely the best Ive ever seen. How much better can they get? Ugh and I have to wait a year to find out :/

  • now i gotta go change my pants

  • So Uncharted did the best video game water.
    Uncharted 3 will deliver the best video game sand and fire.
    Lovely-Jubbly!

    Jeff. I love that the Uncharted games always have unlockable extras, but will there be a special edition that includes on the Blu-ray (not as dlc) a full-fat documentary or making of?

  • I’ve just been looking at some pictures of Nolan North. If he lost ten pounds he’d be perfect for Nathan Drake in the UNCHARTED MOVIE.

    You don’t need a big star, a great actor will make it big. Look at Sly Stallone, he was an unknown and it was a gamble to cast him as Rocky, and look how fantastic that first movie did. Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman would be good too.

    But not Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch? Do something Jeff. Ask Amy Hennig to stop this madness.

  • NEED’S MORE DEMO!

  • The Uncharted franchise is quickly move up the list of my favorites and it doesn’t look like they will be stopping anytime soon.

  • CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    PLEASE SONY AND NAUGHTY DOG HYPE IT UP A BIT BUT NOWHERE NEAR “CRAP OPS” LEVEL OF HYPE

    Look at GT5. Brilliant game but suffered from being hyped up too much.

  • ALSO, FIRE MARK “FRICKIN’ HELL” WAHLBERG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    GET NATHAN FILLION, DAVID O. RUSSELL, YOU MORON!!!!!!

  • Two things, Collector’s Edition (for sale in retail this time, pissed I couldn’t get the exclusive to lucky or rich people version), and please continue with the no online deathmatch needed type trophies [I know online gameplay trophies were on Uncharted 2 but I only needed to play one match, then I could play without trophy hunting] (and they’re horrible)…

  • Is this a blog post typo?
    […to find a clue that’ll take them to the lost Arabian referred to as “The Atlantis of the Sands.”]

    The lost Arabian what? Lost Arabian city? Casino? :)

    The demo was amazing. It was nice to see a little hand-to-hand on the Jimmy Fallon demo, but I’m wondering how someone who claims to have played UC2 would be so bad at the UC3 demo

  • in all honesty,will the graphical jump be as big as there was between the first and the second game?i know it’s been only a year since uncharted 2 but why does uncharted 3 look basically the same just with better fire effects?hope u answer

  • sgrtr | December 18th, 2010 at 8:17 am
    in all honesty,will the graphical jump be as big as there was between the first and the second game?i know it’s been only a year since uncharted 2 but why does uncharted 3 look basically the same just with better fire effects?hope u answer

    uncharted 2 is one of the best games in graphics so the game doesn’t any further improvment , however i think that there will be a great jump in the graphics of uncharted 3 but this is only my opinion

  • ^^ i certainly hope so,i think uncharted 2 still looks great but better graphics would only make the experience better for me

  • So sweet. But why the tease? 11 months to go… **sigh**

  • the animation improved!! love the jump melee!

    Cant wait to see more, btw arnie im having trouble on naughtydog.com

    i will sign in to my PSN account but cant still post on forums. it keeps saying that im not signed in which i did 5 times

  • We need more developers like Naughty Dog. So much progress in such little time. Some other devs announced their games years ago and they don’t even have a release date yet. Naughty Dog is made of pure talent.

  • I’d like to know if the DLC Map add-ons and character skins i have bought for Uncharted 2 will carry over?

    Now, I’m not calling out Sony’s games or 1st party titles for this but everytime a sequel comes along we never get to carry over anything, and DLC being the main issue so this is something that is really annoying a lot of people now.

    Its not like if we get to carry over map add-ons that we wont buy any new ones, and that would be rediculous to think that, but think of just how big the games would get, people are tired of garbage map rotations in multiplayer, and were always forced to wait months on new ones arriving. So carrying over your map add-ons from previous the title would be awesome.

    I’ll use PGA tour for a small example – every year EA spew out an updated version from the year before, and every year they expect people to make another new character, buy the same courses all because they added some more spectators or a new bunker feature, rather than update what you had previously to bring it all forward into the new game, they’d rather milk people for all their money, and people are starting to wake up to it.

  • Gunfights, which were a sticking point for many reviewers and gamers, look very similar to the previous game.
    In the early going of this demo, enemies still seem to take too many hits to go down.
    The weapon physics and moveset in Uncharted are not dynamic enough compared to top-of-the-line, pure shooters to sustain such long winded gunplay sequences over a 10 hour-campaign.

    When enemy spawns become more numerous, which will inevitably happen in later levels, the game is again at risk of turning into a sequence of plodding duck and shoot galleries like UC2 ended up being in the long haul.

  • Can not wait for this i even put it on my list of games i want this year but i said pre-order on the side of it haha

  • I wanna give Nolan North a hug and shake his hand.

  • NOT REALISTIC! A burning building with flames that huge would have way more smoke, and the characters wouldn’t be able to run around like that without coughing a lot more and succumbing to smoke inhalation. Not only that, but in the scene where he hangs on by the stair above the open pit of flame, there is SO MUCH fire directly beneath him that he’d be roasted to death, even at that height.

    Can you please get a firefighter as a consultant before you release this to the public?

  • @AltoBoy55,u must be playing gears orf war mate lool.uncharted 2 story mode was always one headshot kill.

  • When do we get to see the rest?!!

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