One of the most anticipated games of the year has finally hit, and that game is Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception.

Not only is Uncharted 3 one of the most anticipated games of the year, it is also the sequel to 2009′s award winning Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. So needless to say, this game has alot to live up to, but does it?

Some sequels try and reinvent a series, others try to add more features than the previous, Uncharted 3 does the former. It takes everything from the previous two games and mashes it all into a pulse pounding conclusion to Drakes story (more on that later).  It once again features a cinematic singleplayer that will have you hooked from start to finish. However multiplayer and co-op make a return from Uncharted 2 albeit more robust this time around.

Uncharted has always been a singleplayer first, multiplayer second series and this game does not disappoint. Our hero, Nathan Drake is once again joined with Victor Sullivan and Elena Fisher but also teams up with Chloe Frazer from Uncharted 2 and, new to the Uncharted cast of protaganists, Charlie Cutter, a Jason Statham look-alike with a similar tough guy persona.

While this game is a direct sequel to Uncharted 2, it also delves into prequel territory by exploring how Drake met Sully and how their adventures began. Drakes overall goal is to uncover a secret long since hidden by Sir Francis Drake. However he isn’t the only one. A shadowy Organization led by Catherine Marlowe and her henchman Talbot are also after the secret and harry Drake every step of the way.

If you’ve played any of the previous Uncharted games you’ll know what to expect from this game. The singleplayer is largely made up of cinematic levels, with lots of climbing and puzzle solving between gun fights. There are only 22 chapters in in Uncharted 3 (As opposed to 26 in Uncharted 2) but is roughly about the same length. I clocked in at around 10 hours or so playing through on hard.

Gameplay wise Uncharted 3 is pretty similar to Uncharted 2, with a few exceptions. The melee is improved, with combos being easier to pull off. However the aiming has been tweaked, making it a bit harder to aim. The harder aiming is supposedly due to the inclusion of more recoil, but overall it just feels choppier than Uncharted 2. The climbing has also been improved, with jumps and grabbing hold of ledges being much easier.

Visually, the game is stunning. The attention to detail is noticeable in almost every level and the character models are Heavy Rain caliber. While running through a market level I couldn’t help but stop and examine some food carts and store fronts. This game also supports 3D, although I did not have the good fortune of having access to a 3DTV, it’s definitely something to check out if you do.

The soundtrack for the Uncharted series has also been great, and in addition  to the standard Uncharted theme and other various background tracks, Uncharted 3 adds in some of the local flavor by adding some middle eastern tunes to the mix. Playing this game really makes a person appreciate surround sound that much more, and if you are fortunate enough to have a surround system you’ll be glad you do.  Every chirp or rustle of leaves is music to your ears when exploring a ruined castle in the heart of a French forest.

Now before I dive into the multiplayer aspects of Uncharted 3,  there were a few quirks I had with the game. While every member of the cast is fantastic (Chloe especially, she puts the a** in fantastic), it seems like there are too many protagonists. While Drake gets the limelight throughout the entire game, the rest of our heroes get but a few chapters to make their appearance. Charlie Cutter may be the new hero introduced in Uncharted 3, but is notable absent from the second half of the game, along with Chloe. Elena on the other hand doesn’t even show her face until much later in the game. Even then, she only gets a few levels before being sent off to leave Drake to his heroics. This really took away from the importance of some of the characters, although not enough to detract from my opinion of the game.

This is the part where we starting stepping in some less than pleasant things. Naughty Dog really put much more effort into the multiplayer this time around, and it shows. There are a variety of different match types featuring everything from straight up deathmatch to capture the treasure. Getting into games was notorious in Uncharted 2 in the months following launch and this time around Naughty Dog released both a beta during the summer and one this past October as part of a Subway tie-in. All your stats are carried over from the subway beta, but not your sweet Subway gear. The betas did their job though, as finding games to join is easy and fast. The multiplayer itself is really a matter of preference, some may like it and some may not. There is a bit of imbalance in in the multiplayer, and many player are disgruntled with the fact that aiming and shooting is much less effective than bull-rushing an opponent while hip-firing and then finishing them off with a punch to the face. Take that as you will, but Naughty Dog did a commendable job making the multiplayer fun, which is of course, what matters most.

Finally, Uncharted 3 boasts a cooperative mode where you and up to 2 other friends can join forces in either a “survival” mode (think Gears of War horde mode), or “adventure” mode in which you are given objectives as you move through the level. Adventure mode does not differ much from survival mode so if you were expecting a co-op version of Uncharted’s singleplayerr prepare to be disappointed. A nifty feature Naughty Dog included is this little thing called splitscreen, allowing you to play with a friend in both co-op AND online multiplayer, something not many games let you do. However the splitscreen suffers from what I like to called “wasted space syndrome” in that a third of both screens are not used at all. Still, the fact that you can, in this day and age, still play couch co-op is great! However, I do need to add that whilst in splitscreen, the visual quality does take quite a hit and at times can  look more like Uncharted 1 than Uncharted 3.

Finally, the bonus features included in Uncharted 3 include a few features and concept art galleries that you unlock while playing through the singleplayer however both the option to watch any of the games beautifully animated cutscenes is no where to be found, along with the cheats and game options you could buy/unlock in Uncharted 3. This sadly means no playing as Doughnut Drake in singleplayer, though he does make an appearance in multiplayer.

Looking back, I realize this is quite the lengthy review, but I feel that a game that had such high expectations merits a full review. However, if all you read is this last paragraph, take away the fact that this may not be quite what Uncharted 2 was, but nevertheless is a game every PS3 owner should have in their library.

For a fantastic singleplayer, and more or less enjoyable multiplayer, Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception gets a respectable 4 out of 5 Aeropausonauts.

Much like I’m primarily interested in the Peace Walker remake for the PS3 in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid collection headed to both systems, I’d pick up the Devil May Cry re-releases only for the third iteration, Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening Special Edition, the US remix of the originally JP-only, crushingly hard Devil May Cry 3. I played the heck out of that game back in the day, so maybe I could claw most of my way to a Platinum trophy if I gave it a shot.

For more information hit up the PlayStation Blog which will give you a look at the 3D and Move-enabled game along with its Doomsday Edition.

Details are on the PS Blog.

The good news is that they’ll be spending a good portion of the show talking about and giving the press hands-on with new hardware, which has long been Sony’s strong suit. The NGP will be the star of this year’s show, but expect more detail on the just-announced PSP Remasters, PlayStation Move, the Xperia Play, and maybe just maybe they’ll grant my two long shot guesses below.

NGP

The NGP will be the star of the show, and it will finally get its true name of the PSP2. Keeping it the NGP would offer Sony the chance to create a new brand image for it, but Sony’s marketing is, well, Sony marketing, and they can’t not have the PlayStation brand on this thing. It will be delayed to the first quarter of 2012, given the wiggle room of “launching in one territory by end of 2011” previously noted and the earthquake’s effects on supply chains in Japan. More specs will be announced, but not all of them, and they will dodge all questions on the system’s price as well as the expected price of the games. Expect to hear nothing about the 3G version of the handheld, and Sony will dodge questions about it and focus on the games and core feature set of the WiFi version.

Lots of PSP2 franchises will be shown and will include Uncharted, Killzone, LittleBigPlanet, EyePet, Resistance, Eye of Judgment, Monster Hunter, Invizimals, and dare I say Syphon Filter? Expect very few new franchises at launch, but maybe we’ll see some surprise franchises that haven’t been seen since the PS2.

The PSP Remasters will be touted within the PSP2 showcase as well, talking up how at least this system will be backwards compatible with its immediate predecessor’s games, albeit only the digitally downloaded versions of them.

PlayStation 3

There won’t be a price drop this time, but all systems will instead start to ship with download vouchers for at least one Greatest Hits retail title, and after E3 expect a press release announcing new PS3 SKUs at the same price points with larger hard drives, bumping the 160GB unit to 250GB and the 320GB to 500GB. It would be smart to announce the drive upgrade alongside newly downloadable versions of formerly Blu-ray only games, but that might be too much to ask of Sony marketing.

The PSP Remasters which were surprisingly announced early with Monster Hunter 3 will get a good amount of press this time. Lots of visuals if not a playable Monster Hunter 3 will be joined by five more titles, one of which will be Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Also look for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories to be announced. Publishers will be flocking to the opportunity to pump out new versions of old assets and gameplay and several franchises, while not shown, will be promised for the PSP Remasters line. Also expect announcements that some PSP Remasters will have PSN releases much like regular PSP games do today to move closer to an all-digital model and award publishers more profit for porting their games over. Retail will be important, especially around the holidays, but all-digital is more profitable.

PlayStation Move will get some new games shown, including the already-announced EyePet sequel, and perhaps some goodies like Sports Champions 2 and Start The Party 2. Move support for everything they can possibly wedge it into will be shown as much as possible, and we’ll see more of Sorcery, which has been oddly quiet in recent months. The press won’t be sure about Move support in some games but they were quite happy with Killzone 3′s support for it, so hope will spring eternal that developers will learn from how Guerrilla did it right.

Expect Valve to return with some new information about Steam-powered gaming on the PS3. Last year’s high profile announcement of Portal 2 resulted in a very high quality product that delivered on this promise and now it’s Valve’s turn to tell us what this Steam integration means for PS3 gamers going forward. A port of Left For Dead 2, perhaps?

3D

Sony will continue banging the 3D drum as much as possible, with every major title showing support for it as a bullet point. They will talk about 3D TV adoption, but the press will generally yawn about it. Until the price comes down, 3D will continue to be a nice-to-have part of TV.

PlayStation Portable

There will be no price drop on the PSP just yet. We’ll see that when the NGP launches. The PSP Go will vanish entirely from all marketing materials and videos as it is a failed platform. Expect some talk and maybe a demo or to of the PSP Remasters

Xperia Play / PlayStation Suite

I didn’t think the Xperia Play would show much at E3, but the big news about Minecraft hitting it pretty much answered that question for me. I still think it bears repeating that a phone tied to a carrier is going to have serious selling problems to a younger demographic as well as anyone already on contract with a carrier already. See one of my long shots below for my thoughts on how to solve this problem.

However, we should also see some Sony tablet prototypes running PlayStation certified games, but the media won’t be impressed overall. The Android Market and the public’s tolerance for rapid development and expansion of games, ad supported or not, will run rings around the old world of the centrally controlled release schedule. Generally the media won’t care about this initiative until they have more shipping tablets, and by then what will the iPad and Android Tablet worlds look like?

The Long Shots

What could Sony do to pleasantly surprise us this time around?

Long shot #1: The PS3 will be able to play the same copy of the digital download PSP2 game at no additional charge, play online against other PSP2 players using integrated online or Adhoc Party, and share saved games between the PS3 copy and the PSP2 copy of the game. This will be a major incentive for the Sony faithful to buy digitally instead of the new SD-like card format.

Long shot #2: The PSP2 gets a Google-managed and updated Android subsystem with its own Market channel just like the carriers get to carry Android games aimed at the handheld’s form factor and controls. This must be more than just the strongly hinted language in the PlayStation Suite announcement in January. Real dual-stick controls, front and back touchscreens, accelerated visuals, network support, and a long-term stable platform for development would make it the go-to item for Android gaming. Google’s productivity suite of email, calendaring, and everything else Android would allow early adopters to feel like it has more value out of the box. Sony needs something like this to help its high price tag look worthwhile, even if the hardware is going to be really good.

What else?

Sony’s set to continue branching out with its new phone, handheld, and maybe tablets this year, but I think it needs to execute on my long shots to put itself back near the front of the pack. Leveraging Android is their best bet to move handhelds at launch.

I know there are lots of franchises I didn’t talk about above, so what do you think we should see at this year’s E3 from Sony?

Downloadable games are getting cheaper (and smaller) on all sorts of platforms, and adding online support is expensive. To stay competitive, Microsoft has opened the floodgates with their indie developer section on Xbox Live Marketplace, and Sony needs to make developing for the PSN even more enticing. Sony needs to leverage Adhoc Party by putting a software library on top of it to let the PSP Remasters and PSN developers easily — but please, much more intuitively for the end-user — do everything Adhoc Party can do. This way developers get all the benefits of peer-to-peer online play without having to run the servers themselves. Beef up Adhoc Party with online leaderboard support and now we’re talking.

What do you think?

These will be Blu-ray releases that are an up-rezzed remake of the PSP version but will continue to use Adhoc Party on the PS3 for online play, the Dual Shock 3 controller, and will feature save game portability between the PS3 and PSP so you can play on your PS3 at home, then put the saved game on your PSP to continue playing away from home.

No other games have been announced, and it’s listed as “starting in Japan” so it’s likely to come to other regions, but if they can ensure the PS3 and PSP versions play together online — which is what Adhoc party and the ability to play on either the PS3 or PSP very strongly implies, perhaps this shows a bright future for bundled re-releases of a Blu-ray version for the PS3 along with a PSP download voucher for the handheld. NGP title support, anyone?

And Sony, if you could please make Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker your next PSP Remaster we’d really appreciate it.

The short press release is right after the jump.

New “PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) Remaster” Title Series Available for the PlayStation®3 System

PSP Blockbuster Games Re-mastered to Deliver Rich Gameplay on the PS3 System

TOKYO, May 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced that a new “PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) Remaster” title series, PSP titles customized and developed specifically for the PS3 computer entertainment system, will become available as Blu-ray Disc(TM) games starting in the Japanese market.

“PSP Remaster” titles will deliver rich and immersive gaming experience on the PS3 system through stunning high-definition graphics as well as through additional new features for these titles, such as operability on the PS3 Wireless Controller (SIXAXIS® and DUALSHOCK®3), new add-on content or stereoscopic 3D support*(1). Users will also be able to utilize the same save data from the original PSP game for the “PSP Remaster” version and enjoy the game on the go with the PSP system and continue the game at home on a large TV screen using PS3. Ad-hoc mode gameplay will also be supported through “adhoc party for PlayStation Portable” application on the PS3 system*(2).

For Japan, the first “PSP Remaster” title to be introduced will be Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD Ver. from Capcom Co., Ltd. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for the PSP system is the latest installment of the blockbuster Monster Hunter franchise, which has alone shipped over 4.5 million units in Japan since its release in December 2010. The graphics of the PS3 version, including monsters, fields, equipment, as well as Felyne Comrades, are more gorgeous and vibrant than ever, and will deliver dynamic gameplay when played on the large TV screens. SCE, with strong support from software developers and publishers, will deploy various measures to enhance the software title line-up for the PS3 system.

SCE will continue to further expand the PS3 platform and create a new world of computer entertainment with innovative and exciting new titles.

*1 What content will be supported will depend by titles.

*2. Not all titles will be supported. Some software title will not function properly depending on the user’s network status and or the software feature. The application is not supported on 20GB model (CECHB00) which does not support Wi-Fi feature.

About Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Recognized as the global leader and company responsible for the progression of consumer-based computer entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) manufactures, distributes and markets the PlayStation® game console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system and the PlayStation®3 (PS3®) system. PlayStation has revolutionized home entertainment by introducing advanced 3D graphic processing, and PlayStation 2 further enhances the PlayStation legacy as the core of home networked entertainment. PSP is a handheld entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PS3 is an advanced computer system, incorporating the state-of-the-art Cell processor with super computer like power. SCEI, along with its subsidiary divisions Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., and Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Inc. develops, publishes, markets and distributes software, and manages the third party licensing programs for these platforms in the respective markets worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, SCEI is an independent business unit of the Sony Group.

PlayStation, PS3, SIXAXIS and DUALSHOCK are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Blu-ray Disc(TM) is a trademark of the Blu-ray Disc Association. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Skype on the PSP has been a thorn in my side for years. It never came to the PS3, and with Microsoft buying Skype for a whopping $8.5 billion, I think we can scratch that off the list of things I really wanted on the PS3 and NGP too. It would have been perfect with the PlayStation Eye to have cross-platform video calling.

This still could happen, maybe just with voice. Zipper Interactive, now a subsidiary of Sony, pioneered some excellent voice technology in the SOCOM games and I’m guessing that IP hasn’t gone stale in the slightest in today’s patent-heavy marketplace. Could a PS Plus subscription be used across the PS3 and NGP to access voice mail? Make voice calls? Could an alliance with Google Voice come into play on these platforms too?

Like many things, Sony’s platforms are open enough to tease with big possibilities for adding value for consumers, but with their bottom line dragged even farther back into the red from the faintest whiff of profitability this late in the PS3′s lifespan by the rebuilding of the PSN, I don’t anticipate Sony doing anything really innovative on their firmware anytime soon. Just getting PSN dialtone on the thing will be enough of an accomplishment.

May does look pretty good for the console, but very thin for the handheld. Things must be gearing up for the NGP later this year – I see it’s already got a place on a face button on the PS Blog alongside the PS3, PSP, and PSN.

May 3rd
MotorStorm Apocalypse (PS3)
Taking a page from the book of Split/Second, MotorStorm Apocalypse is aiming for the destructible environments to give it an edge in an arguably crowded racing genre. This Sony franchise always looked really nice to me, but never quite hooked me completely. The series’ fans are ready for this latest installment, however.

May 10th
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (PS3, PSP)
Jack Sparrow’s LEGO likeness lands with a flourish on both almost everything with a screen this month, and the normal worries about the same game going everywhere almost don’t apply in this case. This is still Travelers Tales we’re talking about – the LEGO magic is still with them after who knows how many games they’ve pumped out if the most recent Clone Wars game is any indication. The trailer they’ve released is entertaining and captures the pirate-y goodness of the movie series, including the newest one coming out this summer.

Virtua Tennis 4 (PS3)
The latest Virtua Tennis game will be Move compatible and feature online play to boot. IGN’s hands-on with an in-development version in February showed that the motion control versions (it will be Kinect compatible on the 360) differed significantly from the regular controller option – you lose most player control Wii Sports Tennis style and there was a bit of lag when swinging the Move controller or waving in front of the Kinect, lag which a regular controller took away entirely.

Brink (PS3)
Bethesda’s Brink aims to break away from ho-hum shooters with a heavily cinematic and dynamic way of getting through the environments. While the game looks very good and bears a somewhat Team Fortress 2 look, the sprint-and-look way of traversing environments could really make this game stand out. Check out the training videos to see for yourself. The third video starts off with the SMART mechanic, but the feature set is worth seeing.

May 17th
L.A. Noire (PS3)
Detective fiction from Rockstar featuring some new cutting-edge facial motion capture of a strongly acted narrative experience? Sounds like another opportunity for some Game of the Year kudos for the house that GTA built to me. In case you’ve missed the trailer, you can find it here.

May 31st
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II (PSP)
The well-received arcade-style fighter gets a sequel on the handheld this month, but with an end-of-month release date it’s not clear this second of only two retail titles headed for the handheld will make it. It will also feature adhoc-only multiplayer.