Uncharted on Course for Xmas, Demo Soon

Plus good news for PS3 owners stuck with a 1080i-only HD TV.

Would-be PlayStation 3 owners may be getting distracted by all this hubbub over a new revision of the hardware that may or may not be coming later this year, but there's still the issue of software to think about.

Exclusives and PS3 versions of multiplatform games have been falling out the Christmas line-up quickly over the last few weeks. But one game that won't be suffering that fate is Sony's own PS3 action-adventure game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

Through the official PlayStation.Blog, Evan Wells of Naughty Dog has sent word that the game is going into the final stages of development. Wells said the game has gone into beta phase and has had its last major focus test, where the team pores over data from play sessions, checking out everything from players deaths to favourite weapons.

"There are going to be a lot of late nights ahead of us, but we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel," Wells wrote.

That's not all. Owners of high-definition TVs stuck with 1080i will be pleased to hear that they're being catered to. After numerous comments in the discussion on the blog, Wells said that the decision had been made to ensure that the game will natively support the 1080i video mode in addition to 720p. There will also be an upscaled 1080p mode for those with the highest-end TVs.

Wells confirmed that there will be a playable demo at some point but exactly when has not yet been decided.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune follows the adventures of Nathan Drake, a young man with ties to legendary navigator Sir Francis Drake who follows in his relative's footsteps. The game is coming only for PlayStation 3. It will be out in the US in late November and early December in the UK.

Not sure what to make of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune? Check out our recent chat with Naughty Dog's Richard Lemarchand and look for even more soon.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo