Gameplay talks about the PS3's new action/adventure/shooter. You take the role as Nathan Drake and your on a adventure to find the lost treasure of your ancestor Sir Francis drake.

Let’s talk story. The Drake in the title refers to a Sir Francis Drake whom history buffs and insomniac purveyors of the History Channel will know as the celebrated 16th century Englishman who sailed around the globe pissing off Spaniards… among other things. Like most people from that era, he is dead now, and it is in his coffin that modern day fortune hunter Nathan Drake (is he/is he not a relative?) – or you - discovers a clue to the whereabouts of the fabled treasure of El Dorado. Turns out it’s dust gathering on a long lost island in the Pacific and when our hero and his companions find themselves stranded on said lump of rock they must ward off nasty mercenaries while trying to unravel their new home’s secrets.

Prior to our hands on time with the game, we were given a little showing of the cinematic cut-scenes, character development and dialogue that Uncharted will display. It all suggested that we’ll enjoy a very memorable gaming character in the form of Nathan Drake.

Environment: Uncharted is all about location, location, location! Even in this early build the island’s bush is looking as inviting as Paris Hilton stepping out of a car. The aesthetic is carried across with consummate ease and recalls the wonderful world’s found in Tomb Raider: Legend, Far Cry and (with all its 400 year old ruins) even Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb. On the subject of visuals, our stud-muffin lead moves about with some 3,000 animations (including Wrinkle Mapping Facial Animations – no joke – that ensures realistic cocking of eyeborws) and there are some pretty sweet looking water effects, too. In fact Sony are talking up not only their Wave Simulation technology, but also advanced features like Bump Mapping, High-Definition Range Lighting, Parallax Mapping, Blend Shaders, Global Illumination, Runtime Shadows and Real Time Shadows.

Now to decipher that for you, the bottom line is a paradise brought to life in your lounge-room and while it’s definitely still a little rough around the edges, the final product should be a visual orgy for your eyes.

As for the gameplay, the majority of what we experienced was frantic combat in the weed-infested vine-riddled ruins that cover the island. Our hero makes use of cover in much the same fashion as Gears of War or Rainbow Six: Vegas, leaning around corners while aiming down the barrel and picking off mercenaries as they peel out of the jungle. When close up, you can throw kicks and punches, and good timing allowed for some decent combos. In the early build the balancing was way off though, with a bloke wearing all the protection of a pair of boxer shorts and a bandana taking a clip or so of bullets to the head before going down, but we’re sure this will be addressed. Said bandana bandits did prove to be quite intelligent though, scurrying around behind cover, flanking at every opportunity and attempting to shoot at you from various angles, rather than predictably sticking their ugly mugs out right in your line-of-sight.

That said, Naughty Dog have proven themselves as a quality developer and there is a stack of hyped features – such as shooting foes off vehicles, SIXAXIS controls, zero loading times and your trusty companions –

Sayyed via gameplayer.com.au »