Uncharted 3 multiplayer goes free-to-play on PS3

Posted on 28 Feb 2013 at 09:22, by Gareth Halfacree

Naughty Dog, the company behind the popular Uncharted series, has announced a treat for its fans: the multiplayer portion of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, is now free for all to try out.

A polished and engaging third-person shooter with an impressively presented plot - following the trials and tribulations of treasure-hunter Nathan Drake, a long-lost descendent of Sir Francis Drake - Uncharted 3 launched in November 2011 to critical acclaim. While most who have invested time in the series will have long since bought, played and likely traded the title back in again, Sony has announced the re-launch of the title as a digital-only Game of the Year release which includes the core game and all the optional multiplayer downloadable content packs - previously a separate purchase to the main game.

For those who haven't played an Uncharted game before, Sony and Naughty Dog are offering a little carrot to tempt them into the series: a multiplayer-only version of the game, downloadable for free from the PlayStation Store. Available free of charge, the game will allow players to invest as much time as they want into the game - but will stop allowing them to unlock new features and progress their character beyond Level 15.

Those who hit the level cap can continue to play, but their character will remain at Level 15 - albeit while earning experience points. If the user wants to make use of those points to unlock new features, however, they'll be asked to buy the game proper to progress further.

This tiered membership scheme is common to massively multiplayer on-line role playing games (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft, Blizzard's fantasy-themed adventuring title, which tempt users in with the promise of free gameplay and then demand payment after the player has invested numerous hours into developing his or her character.

The Uncharted 3 Multiplayer download is available on the PlayStation Store now, free of charge for all PlayStation 3 owners.