UNCHARTED @lj.com

Author's Disclaimer: I bring you a very interesting read for people who might not have gotten what Naughty Dog did with Uncharted 3. It's also a very strong reason as to why I love this game so much.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was, to put it mildly, pretty well-received. Less known for innovating and more known for wrapping all the elements of its gameplay and narrative into a sleek package, the title proved that on a purely technical level, being a master of all trades isn’t quite as important as bringing gameplay and narrative together in a seamless fashion. It was flawed, to be sure, but an impressive accomplishment.

So Naughty Dog had their work cut out for them with Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. It was a game with enough pre-release hype that it felt like the months leading up to Metal Gear Solid 2 all over again. Drake’s Deception couldn’t possibly live up to the hype. To many, it did. To others, not so much. Naughty Dog’s ability to tell a story while seamlessly weaving it in and out of gameplay is still unparalleled. But the toned down story of Drake’s Deception itself meant that series-defining traits stood at odds with the story that needed to be told, versus the story that the some of its audience expected.

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IGN's resident PlayStation experts dissect Naughty Dog's announcement.



he cat's finally out of the bag -- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is real. So far, we know that the game is set on the Arabian Peninsula, it has Drake and Victor "Sully" Sullivan searching for the Atlantis of the Sand, and T.E. Lawrence is the inspiration of the tale.

Still, we want more.

IGN PlayStation Executive Editor Greg Miller and Guides Guru Colin Moriarty have already torn the 35-second teaser trailer apart in an IGN Rewind Theater and discovered references to Sir Francis Drake, the death of Lawrence, and a whole bunch more (and it'll be posted soon), but now's the time to dream about what the game is really about.

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