Nathan Drake must have fingers like biceps. Since he burst on to the scene in 2007, we've seen the roguish adventurer hang from ledges, swing from posts and cling on for dear life by his digits more times than I care to remember. Yet for all the familiarity of seeing Drake dangling from yet another crumbling precipice, it's impossible not to get excited about his return.

Some games may pull off individual elements of the series better, but none bring them together so spectacularly. Uncharted 2 was a game that no manner of hyperbole could derail, one of the best of its, or any other, generation. Forgive me then for getting a bit frothy about the prospect of another, even if the shown at Sony's recent PlayStation Experience event covers old ground.

But first, the set-up. This time around, Drake is on the hunt for The Atlantis of the Sands, a mythical lost city buried beneath the desert. Echoing the journey of T.E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), our cocky protagonist travels the world on the hunt for evidence of its location. Lawrence died before he could complete his quest. Drake hopes to do better.

Aside from that, all talk of how the story will pan out is tantalisingly vague. We know Uncharted 3 will delve further into the friend/father figure relationship between Drake and Sully. There's speak of a menacing new antagonist, a different figure to the usual nasty pirate/mercenary types (I suspect something a little more supernatural). But that's about it.

So let's talk about what we do know. It's not worth going through the exact details of the demo again, as it's been widely reported up to now. The scene with Drake and Sully making their way through a burning French chateaux has been doing the rounds since December. But there are a few things worth pointing out.

Starting with this: what you've seen does the scene no justice at all. None. It's utterly, utterly gorgeous. The way the flames lick and spread across the walls and ceiling, the way the sun dapples on mossy timber through holes in the crumbling roof, the smoothness of the animations as Drake and sully leap, climb, run and punch - all of it is an absolute delight. Forget the crappy footage you've seen so far, play this on a decent telly and your mouth will be agog.

It also suggests that have lost none of their unparalleled skill for pacing. Many titles simply twist the 'more' button, ratcheting up the action until you become desensitized by bombast. The Uncharted games, meanwhile, excel in the ebb and flow of a great scene.

It's telling too that Naughty Dog should want to show off this particular section, as it encapsulates combat, platforming, sumptuous visuals and witty dialogue - everything, basically, that the series has now become known for. If Uncharted 3 handles the quiet moments as well as these big set-pieces, we're in for something special.

The other promised additions point to a greater focus on polish and depth. As Drake explores environments, you'll see him touch walls, running his fingers along the surface. Context-sensitive animations have been augmented. Our hero can now traverse physics objects too, as shown by the swinging chandelier. Naughty Dog are going to great depths to ground Nate within a believable world. That they can concentrate on such details speaks of their mastery.

Combat has been improved TOO. You can now take on more than one enemy at once, a move that you could be forgiven for believing would descend into sub-Bayonetta combos, but Naughty Dog are smarter than that. The demo shows Drake using an aggressor's choking grasp from behind to lever himself up and kick an on-rushing enemy before snapping his head back to break free. Its a lovely bit of Indiana Jones-esque improvisation. They know better than to turn him into a superhero.

Which brings us right up to Uncharted 3's ambitions. Naughty Dog are making a point of saying that they're gunning for the big-boys this time around. But Uncharted 2's multiplayer hardly fills you with confidence, some of the online co-op stuff was on the verge of being broken. So we'll see. But Im looking at Uncharted MP as little more than dressing to the central adventure itself. An adventure that could well de-throne UC2 as the best I've ever experienced.

Getting to see as many new games as you do in this line of work inevitably leads to a degree of weary indifference. Not so with Uncharted 3. Thanks to its relative uniqueness in the market, Naughty Dog seem the only developer capable of scratching my adventure itch. The story, the characters, the globetrotting, the spectacular set-pieces - all the ingredients are there. I simply cant wait. I suspect Im not alone.

By Lee Bradley