“Wahrscheinlich ist es Wahnsinn, aber ich will der Sache nachgehen. Werde nach Fredrikstad fliegen, Amundsen Heimatort. Muss es wissen!”

Ahem, maybe I should explain more. As part of the marketing for the Uncharted franchise, there is a Nathan Drake profile on the German facebook clone MeinVZ. On that profile, the above text is a recent update. It reads:

“This is probably crazy, but I’m looking into it. Flying to Fredrikstad, Amundsen’s home town. I must know!”

Roald Amundsen is a famous polar expeditioner, the first person to reach both the North AND South Pole. He disappeared in a plane crash, the wreck was later found, but never his body. Fredrikstad is the Norwegian town Amundsen is from. To top it off, the previous updates on MeinVZ talk about Amundsen finding an ancient city under the ice.

…How much is a PS3, again?

This week’s European PlayStation Store update is a pretty generous helping, and includes an additional chapter for Assassin’s Creed 2, and new skins for the Uncharted 2 multiplayer, amongst your usual helpings of LittleBigPlanet, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band offerings.

Enjoy!

PS3 PlayStation Store

Downloadable Games

Thexder Neo (£6.29/€7.99)

Trial and Unlock Key

Polar Panic (trial free, unlock key £7.99/€9.99)

Demos (free)

Add-On Game Content

Assassin’s Creed II – Sequence 12: Battle of Forli (£3.19/€3.99)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – PlayStation Heroes Skin Pack (£3.99/€4.99)

PAIN – Hilde Gunnagrope Pack (£0.79/€0.99)

LittleBigPlanet – Groundhog Day Costume (free)

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Remember that surprise announcement for Uncharted 2 that we mentioned earlier today? It’s a new multiplayer map called “The Fort”, based on the Fortress chapter from Drake’s Fortune.

According to Naughty Dog, the level will be a “long rectangular map with wide open spaces and excellent flank routes”. Tunnels lead into the basement, and a lonely shotgun sits in the center of the map, with an RPG in the side room of the crypt.

Alongside the new map, some new features will b added to the multi-player menu, including  leaderboards and unique player cards.

Thanksgiving will also see some special celebrations in-game, apparently.

When you join a competitive Multiplayer match on Thanksgiving weekend, you’ll be greeted with a slightly different look to our Heroes and Villians. It looks like Drake and Lazarevic had a few too many helpings of turkey (or Tofurkey), green bean casserole and, most definitely, sweet potato casserole.

We also flipped a few switches and bits here and there and not only is Double Cash weekend back, but you’ll be getting 2x the cash from any and all medals you are awarded during the course of a competitive or cooperative match. The per-match limits of $50,000 are still in effect, so if you’re just that good, you’ll be maxing out just about all the time.

And hey, you can’t argue with that price, can you?

Are you a Uncharted 2 fan? Do you enjoy the games comprehensive and sublime multiplayer mode? Then you should keep an eye on the game at the end of this week. So says Naughty Dog’s twitter.

“Things are looking up that we’re going to have something quite awesome lined up for multiplayer at the end of this week,” the devs stated.

If it’s anything like the Halloween event, where all players were compulsorily turned into skeletons for the whole weekend, you can guarantee that it’s gonna be “quite awesome” indeed.

When we weren’t busy eyeing up Sony’s impressive booth at the Bullring Centre in Birmingham, England, another impressive show of force by Sony caught our eye – Nathan Drake is making his face known in style!

Take a look for yourself.

It’s rather impressive.

The GameStation store in the Bullring Centre is the largest games store in the UK (in terms of floor space), and Sony clearly hasn’t wasted any time in getting Nathan Drake’s face out there where people will see it.

EuroGamer is reporting that Uncharted 2 has received a confirmed European release date; it will touch down in the region on October 16th.

The game hits the US a day sooner, on October 15th.

Not much longer to wait now, people!

Today, Sony confirmed that Uncharted 2 will be arriving in U.S stores on October 13th. In an effort to boost pre-orders Sony has laid out their plans with retailers, with each retailer providing different pre-order bonuses, as follows:

• Amazon.com – Exclusive UNCHARTED 2 Treasure Map. The exclusive UNCHARTED 2 Treasure Map allows players to discover hidden treasures throughout the game.
• Game Crazy – Exclusive Currency Multiplier for multiplayer online use. The Uncharted 2 Currency Multiplier allows gamers to gain in-game currency and unlock bonuses faster than their opponents for a limited period.
• GameStop – Exclusive first access to the Multiplayer Demo and the downloadable Revenge Attribute The Revenge Attribute is one of the last boosters that you can unlock in the multiplayer campaign. This bonus allows you to unlock the “Revenge” booster right from the start of your multiplayer campaign.
• For those interested in Best Buy’s preorder bonus, it’s golden Berettas and an Ak-47.

Disclaimer: This views expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not reflect the general opinions of The Gaming Vault or its staff, so take it as is.

Why do we still have E3?

Three years ago it was announced that 2006′s E3 event would be the last event of its kind in the gaming industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) decided that booths, booth babes, massive press conferences from everybody and a yearly takeover of the LA Convention Centre was not worth the time, effort and money to run anymore.

To be fair to the ESA, they had good intentions. E3 was originally set up to give some credence to the emerging industry as it was in 1995. By 2006, the games industry was one of the major economic earners in entertainment, and easy access to information via the internet had began to render the show a bit of an expensive, moot, point.

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It looks like the security at GDC was pretty lax this year, because thanks to a few sneaky journalist, the first ever gameplay footage of Uncharted 2 has been leaked onto the internet.

The game is looking like it’s going to be especially good, if this sneak (literally) preview is anything to judge by. Enjoy!

Sony seems to be giving PS3 fans a lot to be happy about this years, and they’re more than willing to let us know about it, proudly (and rightfully) boasting about the PS3′s strong exclusive line-up for the year ahead.

“I think we had a very good line-up in 2008, especially for the holidays, but in 2009, it’s an absolutely amazing line-up,” SCEA VP Scott Rohde told Edge today. “It’s one of the best line-ups that we’ve ever put out in a single calendar year, so it’s very, very exciting.”

PS3 exclusives planned for this year include Heavy Rain, InFamous, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, MAG, and God of War III. And apparently, there’s more that’s yet to be announced.

“There are several titles that are in the works that we have yet to announce,” said Rohde.

If that doesn’t get PS3 owners excited, nothing will!

If your not doing anything tonight then you might want to turn on your TV right now for the Spike 2008 Video Game Awards.

While I am usually not too excited about video game award shows, Spike boasts world premiers of new trailers for God of War III, Uncharted 2, GTA IV: Lost and Damned, Brutal Legend, and a couple others.

Even nicer is the announcement of the first DLC for Gears of War 2. The new map pack will be up at 3am eastern US tonight. More details will surface over the night for the all the trailers and announcements along with Jack Blacks antics as he hosts this years show.

We’ll be reporting all the major highlights of the show tomorrow, so keep your eyes open!