Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Boxed - PS3

Drake's Deception is the third main game in the Uncharted series. For Nathan Drake, an Indiana Jones-style adventurer who keeps getting into trouble, a few years have passed. As always, he has his loyal friend and companion Sully in tow. The story takes the player back to Nathan's youth and how he met Sully, when the two of them were searching for a ring, before returning to the present day. The game immediately introduces a brand-new gameplay element focused on melee combat, consisting of kicks and dodging enemy hits, as well as a combination of both that can lead to certain special manoeuvres, in which Nate can also interact with objects in the environment to finish them off. Quick-time events are also used in melee combat to break free or to dodge incoming attacks.

The story eventually builds around the search for the legendary lost city of Iram, taking the player through various locations and environments, from the dark streets of England, through a hidden castle in France and a monastery in Syria, to the Rub' al Khali, one of the largest deserts in the world. The gameplay is very similar to the two predecessors, with plenty of context-sensitive movement and the newly added art of unarmed melee combat. A large part of the game still consists of climbing, acrobatic movements and shooting enemies with two weapon types, which can be swapped for those of fallen enemies. The cutscenes flow much more seamlessly into the actual gameplay. There is now also a bit more emphasis on stealth, encouraging the player to use cover and stealth abilities to avoid large fights. As is customary in the series, there are many optional artefacts that can be collected during the adventure, leading to trophies. At certain moments, larger puzzles must be solved by manipulating objects in the environment and consulting clues in Drake's notebook. If the player gets stuck for too long, hints are gradually displayed automatically.

Besides the story campaign, which is divided into 22 chapters, the game offers a cooperative and a competitive multiplayer mode.

Unlike the original PS3 release, the PS4 version only features single-player mode, not multiplayer mode. However, the PS4 version offers a photo mode, in which you can pause the game and make the current screen look like a photo.