Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - PS3

Uncharted is the kind of shooting, adventuring and puzzle solving game that we are used to seeing on each iteration of the PlayStation. It's just that we're used to seeing these games starring Lara Croft. With no Tomb Raider game in the release schedules for the PS3's first UK Christmas, Sony decided to make their own replacement. Instead of the statuesque Ms Croft, the hero of this game is Nathan Drake, and he's in search of a fortune in gold left by his many times great grandfather, Sir Francis Drake. In order to get the gold, Nathan and his helpful assistant, Elena Fisher have to travel through a selection of locations, fighting the criminals who are on their heels every step of the way. There's a huge selection of weapons on hand to fight the baddies with, and your character can carry one handgun and one rifle or shotgun at any time. Keep an eye on your ammunition, and if you're running low, try and get close to the one of your fallen opponents, and take his ammo or weapon.

Uncharted features an excellent storyline, with beautifully animated cut-scenes, which mix pre-rendered and game engine graphics, seamlessly woven into the gameplay.

Playing as Nathan, you must climb onto ledges, shimmy up vines and ropes, and run around castles, dungeons, cathedrals, labyrinths and other beautifully designed levels, stopping occasionally to solve puzzles. There are also levels which involve using a grenade launcher from the back of a moving vehicle, a jeep in one level and a jet-ski in others. and The game's fun and addictive, and the closing levels reveal a chilling secret about the golden statue that Nathan and the bad guys have been chasing all game long. more