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Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is a 2011 action-adventure third-person shooter platform video game developed by Naughty Dog. It is the sequel to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and the third game in the Uncharted series. The game was published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, in North America on November 1, 2011, Europe on November 2, 2011, and Australia on November 3, 2011. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception HD was a re-release included as part of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection.
The game follows Nathan Drake as he searches for Iram of the Pillars, competing against a British occult organization run by a long-time enemy.
Gameplay[ | ]
Drake's Deception is an action-adventure platform video game played from a third-person perspective, with the player in control of Nathan Drake. Drake has a large number of different animation sets, enabling him to react according to his surroundings. Drake is physically adept and is able to jump, sprint, climb, swim, scale narrow ledges and wall-faces to get between points, and perform other acrobatic actions. Drake can now take on opponents in more ways than before: hand-to-hand combat with multiple opponents, contextual melee attacks, and new stealth options. Uncharted 3 also features expanded and diverse traversal moves with deep gunplay. Drake can be equipped with up to two firearms – one single-handed and one two-handed – and four grenades. Drake can pick up weapons, automatically replacing the existing weapon he was using, and additional ammunition from downed enemies.
Plot[ | ]
Twenty years earlier, a teenage Nathan Nate" Drake locates the ring of Sir Francis Drake (whom Nate claims is his ancestor) in a museum in Cartagena, Columbia. Noticing a man getting the shape of the lock to make a duplicate key, he follows the man and takes his wallet. Nate is caught and forced to return the wallet, but he swipes the key undetected. Returning to the museum and taking the ring, he notices that the ring functions as a key to an astrolabe-like cipher device in the exhibit. He is suddenly cornered by a group of agents, led by the man's employer, Katherine Marlowe. Nathan relinquishes the astrolabe, but is attacked by Marlowe when he refuses to give up the ring. A chase ensues, ending with Nathan being saved by the man, who reveals himself as Victor "Sully" Sullivan. At a tavern, Nate shares his theory that Drake was on a secret mission from Elizabeth I during his voyage around the world, and the astrolabe is a decoder for a message Drake left. Promising to teach him a few things, Sully takes him under his wing.
In the present, Nate and Sully go to a London pub to meet a man named Talbot, who is interested in purchasing Drake's ring. A brawl begins when the two accuse Talbot of using counterfeit bills, ending with them being subdued by Talbot's cohort Charlie Cutter. Marlowe arrives and steals Drake's ring, fleeing with Talbot when Cutter shoots Nate and Sully, seemingly fatally. Once Marlowe is gone, it is revealed that Cutter is in fact working with Nate and Sully to locate Marlowe, and the ring Marlowe took was fake. The unharmed Nate and Sully, along with Cutter and fellow treasure hunter Chloe Frazer, track Marlowe to an underground base connected to London's subway system. Inside a library within the base, Nate retrieves the astrolabe, a book belonging to T.E. Lawrence, and a map hidden in the figurehead of Drake's ship.
After fleeing the base, Nate confirms that Drake was on a secret mission to Arabia, having been sent by Elizabeth I to find Iram of the Pillars, a fabled lost city of brass located somewhere in the Rub' al Khali desert. Seeing that Lawrence was also searching for Iram, he determines that the next pointers to Iram's location will be found in two Crusader sites: one in France, the other in Syria. Nate and Sully head to France, while Cutter and Chloe make their way to Syria. Nate and Sully find half of an amulet in the French crypt, but are ambushed by Talbot and his men, who set the château on fire. Barely escaping the blaze, Nate and Sully head to Syria to aid Chloe and Cutter. Cutter confirms that Marlowe's group is the same secret society Francis Drake was a part of, and the four locate the second amulet half, pointing them to Yemen. However, Marlowe's group attacks them again: Cutter is forced to abandon the quest when he breaks his leg during the escape, and Chloe backs out soon after.
Nate and Sully arrive in Yemen, where they meet with Elena Fisher, Nate's estranged wife. Elena helps them locate a tomb, which contains both a star map pointing to Iram and a warning not to venture further, left behind by Francis Drake. As they leave, Nate is shot by a hallucinogenic dart, leading to his capture by Marlowe and Talbot. Marlowe interrogates Nate about Sully's location (as Sully was the one to memorize the map), goading him with knowledge of his past (including Nate's adoption of the surname Drake) until Talbot learns of Sully's location on his own. Nate chases after Talbot, but is attacked by Rameses, a pirate working for Marlowe. Rather than kill Nate as ordered, Rameses kidnaps Nate to get Iram's location for himself. Rejecting Nate's claim of ignorance, Rameses claims that he has Sully and leaves to interrogate him. Nate fights his way to Rameses' ship, where he learns Rameses lied about Sully. Nate escapes the ship, accidentally sinking it in the process. Washing ashore in Yemen, Nate stumbles to Elena, who confirms Sully's capture by Marlowe.
With Elena's help, Nate sneaks onto a cargo plane bringing supplies to Marlowe's canvoy, but is discovered. The resulting shootout destroys the plane, but Nate manages to grab a parachute and land in the desert. He wanders the desert until he is rescued by a Bedouin tribe dedicated to protecting the secret of Iram.
Development[ | ]
Reception[ | ]
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception received positive reviews from critics, although it was viewed less favourably than its predecessor.