Naughty Dog has always said that they were working on a sequel to Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and now thanks to the upcoming January 2009 edition of Game Informer magazine, we have loads to be excited about.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (working title) will have Drake stepping into the shoes of Marco Polo as he takes on a quest that has something to do with the legendary explorer. Not many details are known at this point, but the January issue of Game Informer promises to reveal more. What we do know is that the game contains a “free climbing mechanic” and will be more story driven than the last installment.

The official trailer is expected to debut on Spike TV’s 2008 Video Game Awards–Sunday, December 14. In the meantime, you can watch the announcement trailer below.

Back in August, Sony announced that in November they would be releasing a limited edition PS3 bundle that should make anyone with $499.99 to burn shaking with anticipation.

True to their word, this bundle has been spotted at a Best Buy and according to Engaget it includes Naughty Dog’s swashbuckling hit Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, a PlayStation Network voucher for PAIN, a DualShock 3 wireless controller and the big 160GB PS3 console. We assume that the 160GB console will be available separately from the bundle–but the catch is that it is NOT backwards compatible. Most people still own a PS2 anyway, so unless you are a stickler for that sort of thing it should not be that big of an issue if you really want one. If not, there is always the $399.99 80GB version if your local store had gotten new shipments of them in–the ones around me have not.

Most likely the bundles will be available at other retail stores as well, but to save on gas money you may wish to call around to make sure.  I would apologize about the blurry picture, but Engadget has already done so.

Trophies have been available on PS3 for a few weeks now, but it was only this past week, when PixelJunk Eden was released, when the second game to have trophy support came along. With a new update released in North America and Europe today, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune has become the first retail game with trophy support — and that also means you can finally earn yourself a platinum trophy! (For the naysayers, that was an exciting sentence for a few people out there, so stop looking at me like that.)

Including the platinum, there are 48 trophies in total, with hilarious names like “Dyno-Might!” and “Headshot Expert.”

Anyone who has played Uncharted knows that the game already had a built-in medals system, which Naughty Dog explained made the process of adding trophies very easy.

“[S]ince we had medals built into the existing game, the programming team could just tie the existing 47 medals into the Trophy award requirements,” wrote Arne Meyer on PlayStation.Blog. “Choosing 47 medals during our initial development worked better than imagined because the 47 Trophies, with the appropriate point values for Bronze, Silver and Gold Trophies, perfectly equaled the maximum number of trophies that can be awarded.

“Since medals and Trophies are essentially the same, anyone who has played Uncharted already knows what they have to do to get any one Trophy. If you’re a better gamer than I am and worked to get all the medals before, then you already know what all of the hidden Trophies are.”

Of course, anyone who has already played through the game or, like me, have a save somewhere in the middle of the game won’t be able to retroactively earn trophies, nor will they be able to by continuing to play the game. You’ll have to start over from scratch with no medals or rewards unlocked in order to earn trophies.

David Cage, founder of French studio Quantic Dream, talked about the upcoming PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain. in a recent interview. The development studio has given gamers Omikron: The Nomad Soul co-starring David Bowie and Indigo Prophecy or Fahrenheit in Europe.

The article has some very straight talk about the challenges faced in designing games today. Cage discusses using ultra realistic characters in fantastic settings without breaking the suspension of disbelief. He also compares basic video game structure, such as that used in Uncharted, to porn films, revealing that Heavy Rain will break that mold using interactive story telling.

The big difference between Uncharted and what we’re doing here is that Uncharted was still structured like a video game. It gives you a bit of story, then action, then a bit of story, then action – like porn movies, when you think about it.

Porn movies are structured in exactly the same way, except that the action is not the same (laughter), but it’s the same structure. Most video games are done like that. It’s one thing to do a great cutscene, even if it’s real time. It’s another thing to try to tell the story as you play, so the story’s not told through cutscenes — it’s told through gameplay. So you don’t need acting performance in cutscenes. You need interactive performance.

The Ban Hammer is brought up as Cage talks about decapitation being more acceptable than revealing a woman’s breasts in video games.

The article’s length is daunting, but it’s an entertaining, worthwhile read for anyone interested in Heavy Rain or video game development.
via Gamasutra

Burda:ic is calling all adventurers to come play the open beta for its Florensia MMO. The free-to-play MMORPG is in development under Japan’s NETTS studio.

Florensia is set in a swords and sorcerers world, which will allow players to adventure both over sea and under stone with a mixture of sailing and dungeon crawling. It’s not high fantasy so you won’t find any races to choose from. Players pick from four main character classes with second classes soon to come.

The world of Florensia includes:

• Vibrant, pastel-shaded 3D graphics
• Four entirely unique character classes: the Explorer, the Noble, the Mercenary, and the Elementalist
• An large variety of frightening monsters to battle
• Upgradeable equipment sets which are more powerful when worn together
• Uncharted islands, dungeons, and treasures waiting to be discovered by daring captains
• In-depth tutorial quests to help welcome new players
• Well-balanced solo and party-based gameplay
• Immersive PvP with everything from one-on-one fights to massive fleet battles
• Five basic ship classes, each one completely customizable

Gamers can sign up for the Florensia open beta, and get a feel for the art style and game mechanics on the official Florensia website.

via Press Release

Eric Lempel, Sony’s PSN director of operations, has stated to Next-Gen that Sony will fully support any developers who want to patch trophies into games that have already been released.

“Right off the bat when the firmware update goes live we’ll be patching Super Stardust HD, so that game will include Trophies from Wednesday. We’re also patching Warhawk and PAIN, while Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, a completely offline title, will also be patched over the network, so it’s definitely an option for developers and we’re fully supporting first and third parties that want to patch, and of course those that want to implement this system going forward with new titles.”

Lempel also went on to mention that for now, PSN will remain free:

“We’re happy with what we’re doing right now and we’re going to stick with it. I think being free is always an advantage. The fact that it’s free is nice for consumers who want to try out the online experience, those who may be new to it and may not be ready to commit to spending dollars, and that’s a really good message for us. Being free also gives them the opportunity to spend the money that they may have spent on a subscription on online items or online games instead. We have a ton of games for the price of a subscription and offer a significant amount of great original content that you can’t get anywhere else.”

If the news that Uncharted will eventually have trophies is good news to you, Super Stardust HD has trophies now available for the taking. You can get the full list of trophies available here. Meanwhile, the first Blu-ray game to offer Trophy support will be Buzz! Quiz TV, which will be released on September 23rd and Burnout Paradise will supposedly be getting them soon as well.

Via: CVG

BioShock for the PS3 may be great news for some people and a testament to how well the game was received, but it is a while off and these for BioWare news that we can actually “use” look no further that the release of Mass Effect for the PC.

Having arrived in stores yesterday, Mass Effect is also available for purchase online and can be downloaded from major digital distribution sites. Including a new tactical heads-up display, higher resolution visuals, an enhanced inventory system, fully optimized controls designed specifically for the PC, individual squad control and a new decryption mini-game.

“Bring Down the Sky,” already available for the Xbox 360, is just the first in a series of planned downloadable content that will further expand the Mass Effect story and universe for the PC and will soon be available free of charge for registered BioWare community members to download. “Bring Down the Sky” contains an uncharted world that introduces the deadly Batarian alien race, and is approximately 90 minutes of additional gameplay.

When Mass Effect came out, I was really wanting to play it but had so many unfinished games going on my 360 that I decided to put off purchasing it until I could devote the time needed to such a game. Then when the news broke that it would be coming to the PC, I was even more excited because I would actually rather play it on the PC. I guess what this means is that I finally have something new and cool for my PC that will give me a much needed break from MMOs.

Via: Press Release

SCE has told GamesIndustry.biz that it is very unhappy with the retailer who is selling air guns that use branding from the PS3 game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.King of Swords is currently advertising the ‘PS3 Uncharted Drake’s Fortune Full Metal M92 Airsoft Gun’ and is also using screenshots from the game to advertise it.

When GamesIndustry contacted Sony, the company stated that gun is not “officially endorsed” and they are going to pursue action against any retailers linking it to Uncharted and stated:

“The Drake’s Gun is not licensed or in any way sanctioned by SCE and one we certainly do not condone. We are investigating the source of this product and will proceed with the most appropriate action”

If you mosey on over to the King of Swords site you will find the weapon listed as such:

Full Metal Heavy Weight M92 Gas Gun With Real Wood Grips, Gas-Powered Blowback and Full-Auto / Semi-Auto Selection. Includes Free Aluminum Case!

Length: 216 m/m
Width: 39 m/m
Height: 139 m/m
Hop Up: Yes
Weight: Approximately 2.25 lbs
Auto/Semi Auto: Yes / Yes
Capacity: 25 rds.
Velocity: 300-320 FPS
Blowback: Yes
Power Source: Green Gas / C02
Material: Full Metal
Price: $169.88

“Uncharted was received well by many game critics with an average score of 90/100[4] on Gamerankings with the story and the presentation cited as strong factors. Official PlayStation Magazine Australia gave the game a 10/10, calling the game the “greatest PlayStation exclusive game to hit the market.” Blast Magazine named Uncharted the #1 PlayStation 3 game of 2007″

It’s not a bad looking gun in my opinion, and it is indeed a real gun and you can get it at any gun store- and while most come with the standard black grip, the wooden one shown here is just considered and accessory like with any pistol. All that aside though, a business cannot go around advertising this pistol as King of Sowrds has unless given permission, signing a contract, or getting an endorsement from Sony to use Uncharted’s image. Do these people know about copyrights and the like? If not, they need to fire their lawyer and get a good one soon.

Thanks: GamesIndustry.biz

Activision has announced a new Pitfall game for the Wii is set to hit store shelves sometime in the Fall. “Pitfall: The Big Adventure,” as it is being called, will of course feature the series’ protagonist, Pitfall Harry, as he goes in search of more lost treasure. Once again, he’ll be making his way through all types of exotic locales while dodging enemies and swinging over caverns. And as can be expected, the whole game will take advantage of the Wii’s motion-sensitive controls:

“Pitfall is one of the most legendary franchises in the history of videogames, so we look forward to releasing a new version exclusively for Wii,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “What could be more fun than using the Wii Remote™ to swing on a vine over blood thirsty crocodiles as retro-cool Pitfall Harry?!”

See, this is what I would call an example of nostalgia being a bad thing. Yes, Pitfall was a great game…back in the Atari 2600 days. Since then, just about every other Pitfall game has been a poor update trying to capitalize on gamers’ nostalgia. By now, the whole “jungle adventure” game has been taken to a much higher level with the likes of Uncharted and even Tomb Raider. Yeah, my “shovelware” meter is going pretty wild right about now.

Via Press Release

The beginning of the trailer you see above certainly looks like it’s for Killzone, but if you wait it out you’ll see the super-cool outfits that have been designed for the little sack guys to make them look like they came straight out of Killzone. Presumably they were only able to do it since it’s a first party game, but imagine the possibilities — Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, or any of the other PS3 exclusives that could have a sack version made for LBP.

Aside from that, I didn’t find anything else particularly interesting. That’s not to say it doesn’t look good; it looks phenomenal, but I already came to that conclusion the first time I saw the game.

If you could have any character made into a sack boy or girl, who would you most like to see?