On the heels of Square Enix's announcement of the relaunch of fellow archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft, Nathan Drake, the hero of the most critically acclaimed game of 2009, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, is back.

And what irony is the fact that while the iconic treasure hunter of the 90s enters reboot mode, everybody's favorite treasure hunter of our time get ready for his third swashbuckling outing. And incidentally, third time could just be a charm, as Naughty Dog's Uncharted series enters yet another uncharted realm: Stereoscopic 3D.

On yesterday, Entertainment Weekly had the scoop, officially announcing the finalized title of the game, along with a couple of details:

According to Naughty Dog’s creative director Amy Hennig, the theme of deception plays out in multiple ways throughout the threequel, from Drake doing the deceiving to Drake being deceived to some mysterious deception about Drake’s very identity. The story focuses on the hero’s relationship with his mentor and father figure, fan fave Victor “Sully” Sullivan, and has him searching for a legendary lost city that will ultimately take him to the Arabian Peninsula and the vast wasteland of the Rub’ al Khali Desert, also known as the Empty Quarter. (Said legendary lost city has been known by various names, including “Iram of the Pillars” and the “Atlantis of the Sands”; click the link for more backstory.)

Drawing inspiration from the life of T.E. Lawrence's days as an archaeologist in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, the idea of a desert setting also serves fulfill Naughty Dog’s desire to take on the challenge of conceiving and building out gameplay scenarios within a desert locale with the difficulties of animating the fluid landscape.

Apart from the promise on delivering an "interactive cinematic experience", Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells has confirmed that the well-received online multiplayer and co-op capabilities will continue to be perfected, with more details to be announced in the coming months. Meanwhile, improved innovations like "enhanced backward climbing" and "the ability to fight multiple baddies at once" will be included.

Do check out the news for more details like the expansive use of motion-capture filmmaking techniques and Naughty Dog's ambition to "take on the big boys of the multi-player genre".

Here's a look at the desert setting of the sequel.


In a somewhat surprising development, Amazon has put up a listing for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception with a placeholder release date of December 1st, 2011. Let's keep our fingers crossed till then. In the meantime, check out the all-too-short trailer that would be leading into an official announcement trailer set to air during the Spike Videogame Awards on December 11st, along with the previously mentioned Batman: Arkham City footage. Those eager to check out the live demo of the game do remember to tune in to the "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on next Monday (Dec. 13) where the crew of Naughty Dog would be expected to demonstrate the game to show host and well-known gamer Fallon.



Here's a couple of promotional images and artworks released thus far, inclusive of an awesome panorama shot of Drake amid a plane crash site in the desert, and a cool-looking placeholder box art.









Source: Entertainment Weekly