It’s apparent that Uncharted 3 continues Naughty Dog’s incredible ability to produce games that look jaw-droppingly stunning. The quality of graphics and technical prowess on show is just amazing. My in-game stats showed that I spent over 1:30 hours standing still out of the 9:30 hours I took to complete the whole game. I’m surprised the figure is so low as I must have stopped at least 3-4 times per chapter simply to gaze at the beautiful graphics.

It’s not just the level of graphical detail and the lighting effects that are so impressive but also the variety of environments. You have hot, dusty, crowded Syrian levels with their bustling bazaars, a tropical and fiery (literally) French Château and dark and gloomy London amongst the places that you get to explore.

I don’t want to spoil bits of the game for you, so I will just say that the water effects are the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in a videogame. From a technical, graphical and gameplay point of view, Naughty Dog have modelled and harnessed the power of water in a way unrivalled by any other developer. You’re probably thinking what the hell is he talking about, but once you’ve played the game you’ll see what I mean. Trust me. You are in for quite a ride.

One of the many strengths of the Uncharted series is its ability to make you feel like you are taking part in an epic adventure, particularly through the use of cut scenes to develop the plot. In Uncharted 3 these are better than ever. The motion capture, facial detail and animation on show is utterly fantastic and it is complemented nicely by the acting.

You can clearly see the familiarity, companionship and rapport between all the characters. Moments of sadness, pain, tenderness and playfulness are apparent from the way they act. In the case of the main roles, these are actors that have been working together off and on for nearly 4 years and it shows on screen. Especially with Nathan and Sully. Here is a father-son relationship that has been developed over the previous two games and takes centre stage in this third adventure. In stark contrast to the abject tedium of Metal Gear Solid’s cut scenes, Uncharted’s sequences are always engaging and beautiful to watch.

The gameplay on offer is the same shoot, run, cover, avoid grenades, locate hidden switches/items from the previous games. The only major change is to the hand to hand combat system. Drake is now a lot more punchy. Right from the start Drake has to fight his way out of trouble. I would often kick the crap out of enemies if I was running low on ammo or running straight at them with fists flying just for the hell of it. It is incredibly satisfying to punch the lights out of a guy whilst at the same time stealing his gun.

One of the new enemies is called The Brawler. His name is a bit of a giveaway as he can only be defeated by punching and kicking him into unconsciousness. Even with all the fights and brazen gun battles – of which there are many – there is scope for the occasional stealth take down. It’s not quite Metal Gear Drake but it makes a welcome distraction.

Uncharted 3 is not a perfect game by any means. The overall pacing of the game is terribly inconsistent, ranging from fire-fights that made me want to throw my controller across the room in frustration to some seriously dull moments. I can think of one entire chapter that should have been a cut scene rather than some aimless walking from A to B with the occasional button press.

The reliance on trial and error to progress through certain areas was another annoyance. The nature of these particular sequences pressure you into making split-second decisions which most of the time will result in you falling off a ledge, missing a hand hold or jumping into an abyss. It was almost as bad as playing the Amiga game Another World in parts.

The game also suffers from being too over the top – much more so than in previous games. Whilst spectacular, the various environmental effects interfere badly with the game. At times Uncharted 3 was like trying to play a Michael Bay movie. The massive explosions and shaky camera played havoc with my aiming and after a while got quite annoying. Fortunately, these moments were short lived as the relentless fast-paced nature of the game meant I didn’t have time to dwell for long in any particular location.

Uncharted 3 is a without doubt a technical and cinematic masterpiece. I never ceased to be amazed by the graphics, the amount of action on screen and movie-quality cut scenes. This is the best looking PlayStation 3 game ever. The major set pieces – cruise liner, cargo plane – are truly spectacular but even with all this action, at its core Uncharted 3 can’t match the quality of gameplay found in Uncharted 2. The game feels unbalanced as you are hustled through an array of stunning locations and set pieces. I simply wanted more time to explore and enjoy the world that Naughty Dog have expertly brought to life rather than being yelled at my companions to get a move on.

The single-player campaign is a breathless adventure full of action that never lets up until the end credits are rolling. It is great fun to play and even with its flaws, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is a game that should be in every PlayStation 3 owners collection.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is released on the 2nd Nov 2011 on PlayStation 3.

The Wii U won’t be launched before 1st April 2012, according to recent Forbes interview with Reggie Fils-Aime. Reggie has this to say:

This is a device that will launch in 2012, after April 1st, so we will deal with that situation at the appropriate time. What I can tell you is when we launched the original Wii, there was an overlap with Gamecube. When we launched the original DS there was an overlap with the Gameboy Advance. I actually think maybe that one is more applicable, because Gameboy Advance was a tremendous, tremendous platform in its own right, and yet it sold side by side to the original DS, at least here in the US, for almost two full years.

David M Ewalt, What Is Nintendo Planning With The Wii U? Reggie Fils-Aime Explains It All

There’s more news of the upcoming adventure update to Minecraft. Stuff like NPC villages, randomly generated dungeons and more farming options are in the works. This update may very well give me a reason to play Minecraft.

What happens when you cross Call of Duty 4 with Star Wars? Star Wars Mod: Galactic Warfare that’s what. Now you can wander round places like Moss Eisly and Bespin shooting first! Check out the trailer for the mod. If that doesn’t get you excited, nothing will.

You can now buy lots of limited-edition mechanise for your favourite Ubisoft games via the UbiCollectables range which was launched today. T-shirts and figurines are available to buy and pre-order for games like Assassin’s Creed, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, Just Dance 2 and Raving Rabbids. Some of the limited-edition figurines carry some serious price tags, like this Ezio’s Fury figurine for only £265!

Penny Arcade has a funny take on THQ’s UFC Personal Fitness Trainer game. Apparently, the game is a bit of a body killer:

But, surprisingly enough, doing lots of exercise produces results. Amazing ;-) Check out Alfonso’s story to see what happened to him over an 8 week period with the game. Our Editor-in-Chief Debbie Timmins and contributor Lewis Rayne will be joining the UFC Personal Training challenge this week. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?

Fable III is scheduled for release on the 29th Oct 2010 for Xbox 360 and PC.

Achievementhunter.com has all the maps from the game showing the locations of all feathers, glyphs and statues. Also when you click on each of the hidden items locations you get a youtube video showing its exact location. Couldn’t be simpler. Happy hunting!

Assassin’s Creed II is out now on Xbox 360 and PS3.

When the Hunter was released in 1991 this game really was the GTA of its day. Although you didn’t really steal the vehicles, but you did kill people and bunnies! Hunter was a great, free roaming adventure game with a plot. Kill the general and escape. Simple. I loved it and so did Tikipod.

Today it looks like arse (or like a Wii game):

But it’s still a classic. Sit back, put on your nostalgia hat and enjoy:

Ubisoft’s Christophe Grandjean has posted 2 pictures taken from the latest Bonfire of the Vanities DLC via his twitter account. Take a look:

Interestingly, the action forms part of memory 13 in which Ezio gains a new move – spring jump – which isn’t available in the rest of the game. I guessing Ubisoft have come up with some suitably clever way of making Ezio “forget”" this new move before the end of the memory sequence. Mmmm, decapitation, head trauma, excessive exposure to lolcats maybe?

Update 18th Feb 2010: This DLC is now available in 2 flavours. For 360 MS points you can get the new memory sequence missions. But for 560 MS points you get 3 secret Templar lairs to explore which were includes in the black edition of Assassin’s Creed.

Assassin’s Creed II – Bonfire of the Vanities DLC is out now on Xbox 360 and PS3.

So what’s changed in Assassin’s Creed II? Well, the cites are much more detailed and are positively heaving people to interact (kill, bribe or buy stuff from) with. Ubisoft has done a great job optimising the Anvil game engine used in the first game. I just love the whole look and the feel of the game. It’s perfect. Wandering around Venice during carnival is just spectacular. Venice really thrives with people, fireworks, costumes and face masks. Your character, Ezio is also a joy to control. After a few hours (even if you’ve never played the first game) you will be running around rooftops and killing people like a pro! This all helps really pull you into the game.

Assassin’s Creed II has a better plot, shorter more meaningful cut scenes (thankfully!!!!) and characters in the form of Ezio and your best mate Leonardo Da Vinci that are not total arseholes. There is even more variety in the missions. Admittedly, you either kill, follow, fedex an item from A to B, chase or beat people up in these missions so there isn’t a hug amount of variety, but it is a very welcome and much needed improvement. Such is the improvement, Assassin’s Creed II becomes even more of a time killer than the first game. Entire afternoon’s will disappear playing this game. I promise you.

The music in Assassin’s Creed II is just awesome. All the tracks that Jesper Kyd has composed complement the gameplay perfectly. In fact, I have the official soundtrack on my iPhone it’s so good. My person favourite is the Venice Rooftops track (listen on iTunes).

The missions aren’t the only aspect of the game that has been expanded. Multiple weapons, armour, items, money and property development are all now included. Ezio can earn money from the various missions, or pickpocketing people in order to buy better weapons, and develop his home villa (e.g. fix up shops and buildings). Whilst all this brings another aspect to the gameplay, once you get to about half way through the game money becomes pretty pointless as you have so much of it. Well I did anyway!

The only other thing I can find wrong with Assassin’s Creed II is the clumsy way several “memories” are missing from the game, only to turn up – at cost – as downloadable content (DLC). Will I be buying this particular bit of Assassin’s Creed II DLC, well, no I won’t.

In summary: Assassin’s Creed II fixes many of its predecessor’s faults to produce an excellent game. Highly recommended.

Screenshots:

Assassin’s Creed II is out now on Xbox 360 and PS3.

Brutal legend is due for release on PS3 and Xbox360 on the 13th Oct 2009.