Developer Naughty Dog, of Jack and Daxter fame, hopes to take gamers on a treasure hunting thrill ride in its upcoming PlayStation 3 adventure, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. The impressive, third person shooter features a slick graphics engine and death defying escapes, plunging gamers into a world bursting with danger and excitement.

The one level demo, shown at Sony's recent Gamers Day, drops people into a lush, tropical jungle full of modern day pirates. Instead of packing scabbards and sporting eye patches and peg legs, these simply dressed dirt bags carry pistols and chuck grenades. They certainly make life difficult for the game's main character, Nathan Drake, a young thrill seeker that gets stranded on the island after his small plane crashes. After finding a clue in Sir Francis Drake's coffin, he heads off to search for the lost treasure of El Dorado.

Uncharted's visuals stand out as its best feature. Naughty Dog, far removed from the 32-bit Crash Bandicoot days, harnesses the PlayStation 3's processing muscle to create an attractive jungle environment, populated by swaying grass, thick, impenetrable trees, creeping vines, bugs, rocks, 400 year old ruins and realistic looking water that spills over objects. The entire package looks very impressive, especially during firefights, where exploding barrels and bullets add gorgeous special effects.

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