Sony has unveiled a new Uncharted ahead of its big reveal at this weekend's VGA Awards, with first details confirming that Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception takes the wise-cracking hero to the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula.
Although the official reveal won't be coming until Saturday night's awards ceremony, Entertainment Weekly has gone live with its first impressions of the game, again developed by Naughty Dog.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is said to focus on the relationship between Sully and Drake as the pair search for a lost city in the Arabian Peninsula and across the Rub' al Khali Desert. T.E Lawrence is said to be an inspiration for the story and setting.
"When we first came up with the idea of sand, you see everyone's eyes light up here and go, 'Yeah, that's going to be really hard — let's do it!'" said the game's creative director Ann Henning.
"We're a bunch of nerds. We just look for something that will be a technical, artistic challenge, and allowed us to push into an area of the world and history we've never tapped into before," added Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception's new features include the ability to fight hand-to-hand with multiple enemies as well as 'enhanced backward climbing' – though quite how that pans out remains to be seen.
While no specifics were given, much attention is being paid to Uncharted 3's online and co-op features, which is said to bring over some of the cinematic elements of the single-player game.
Like recent PlayStation 3 exclusives Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will also support stereoscopic 3D.
A teaser trailer accompanying the reveal shows the new desert setting. "All men dream," says the Nolan North-voiced Nathan Drake, "but not equally".
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves proved to be one of the PlayStation 3's greatest games, earning IGN's Game of the Year in 2009.
Considering Uncharted 1 and 2 are two of the best games I've ever played, I can't wait for this game!!!
