One alleged issue making the rounds is game related, with some users complaining of "freezing" copies of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, with the game reportedly locking up mid-play and requiring a restart of the system. Those reports don't appear to be widespread, but are popping up at the official PlayStation.com forums.

Another issue, again not widespread but making the rounds at Sony's official forums, is with the PlayStation 3's DualShock controller itself. Some customers are reporting that both first and third party gamepads have stopped working, by their estimate as of the most recent firmware update.

While noteworthy, it's not that uncommon for this sort of thing to pop up every time the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 get a system update—and it's not always related to said update. We've received only a handful of tips complaining of problems with Uncharted. And for the record, some of us at Kotaku have DualShock 3s that appear to be working just fine, thank you.

We reached out to Sony to get comment on the matter this morning, but haven't heard back yet about the status of these two items.

just got this today....freezing problems? [GameFAQs - thanks, Carlos!]
Serious crashing problems today? [PlayStation.com Forums]
Firmware 3.00 controller not working !! [PlayStation.com Forums - thanks, Joe!]

Evidence of an impending PlayStation 3 price drop? Not necessarily. But the availability of some PS3 models is on the decline, while incentives to clear out older stock increase. At the very least, its a better deal on a PlayStation 3 bundle that's due to become a bit less valued, as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is just a few months out.

PlayStation 3 [Amazon - thanks, xxnike629xx!]

Columbia Pictures is working on a movie adaptation of the million-selling-game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. The flick is being penned by Kyle Ward, who is writing the film version of Kane & Lynch starring Bruce Willis and who has been hired to scribe Hitman 2 for 20th Century Fox.

The Uncharted movie is being produced by Avi Arad, Charles Roven, Ari Arad and Alex Gartner. No word on who is in talks to helm or star in the picture.

'Drake's Fortune' set for big screen [Hollywood Reporter via Shacknews]

You'll know he's Nathan Drake. You'll know he's the Prince of Persia. As the scrawny kid from Assassin's Creed, as Sgt. Forge from Halo Wars and Vossler from Final Fantasy XII.

Basically, you'll know him as one of, if not the most prolific and recognisable voice actors working in gaming. And now, you'll actually know who he is, instead of saying "oh, this guy sounds like Nathan Drake" all the time.

Meet Nathan Drake: Uncharted 2's Nolan North [PlayStation]

When it comes to the big screen adventure, Arad said the plan is to mix things up a little bit. In the game, the action moves very quickly to the island, but the film will open things up a bit and add some depth before the island adventure.

So, more talking, more sexual tension, less gunplay. Avrad also stresses that Nathan Drake is not just another Indiana Jones clone, saying "Indiana Jones was always a good guy and he relentlessly did the right thing. Drake is a guy who's being hauled over to virtue throughout the game". The story should at least make for a half-decent popcorn flick, but wasn't the main appeal of the game the fact it already felt like a movie?

[The Man Behind Marvel Movie Magic Hopes To Do the Same For Gaming]

Right now the patch is only showing up in PAL territories, though we're certain a North American release can't be too far behind. AHA! Err, UPDATE: Now available in the states!

Uncharted trophies patch released for PAL territories [PSU]

Fortunately, it sounds like some of them are related to shooting people in the face, something I excel at in Uncharted. However, we've been hearing rumors that if you can get Nathan Drake's shirt fully tucked in, it unlocks, like, twenty nude codes. We're confirming.

Uncharted Trophies Q&A [IGN]

Sony's Eric Lempel Talks PS3 Version 2.4 [GameSpy]

We had hit reactions and even some death animations for the wildlife in the game but we chose to remove it. It was flagged as a potential issue by the ESRB and it seemed like a small concession to make in order to maintain our "Teen" rating. It may have also affected the rating in Europe.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY NAUGHTY DOG'S EVAN WELLS: PART ONE [Three Speech, via Game|Life]

But it's the Uncharted mini-game that has us far more pumped.

According to our sources, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune comes to Home armed with a side-scrolling 2D arcade game, described to us as reminiscent of both Contra and Out Of This World. Sounds kind of like Capcom's 2D remake of Bionic Commando in its execution, full of enemies and exploding barrels to shoot.

Sony is apparently pitching features like these to developers to extend the lives of their titles, using strong first and second party development showcases to prove that Home can effectively market outside of traditional means. We hope they take them up on their offer, because we're definitely excited about the prospects.

This week, in between some scathing political commentary, Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw reviews Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for the PS3. Does he like it? Of course not. Can you imagine his reviews happy? We can only pray that divine intervention keeps both love and ecstasy from Yahtzee's grasp, lest we lose Zero Punctuation forever.

Quote of the week: "Saying that an action game's got a vehicle section these days carries about as much weight as saying that it comes in a box."

Zero Punctuation [TheEscapist]

Enough reading of this drivel. Make with the comments about your weekend gaming plans, pronto. Anyone going to grab a copy of Professor Layton this Sunday?

First a thing about the name: I didn't pick it. I think it's hilarious, but I'd never name an award after myself, it's obnoxious... and quite funny. Which is what I think the Rocky was going for. There are quite a few closet smart-asses over there. :)

So my annual pick for best video game ran in the Rocky Mountain News today and I picked Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as the overall winner. The game beat out The Orange Box, Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

Here's why I decided to pick a war-time first-person shooter sequel over the splendor of a dystopian society, amazing character interaction of Uncharted and innovative design of Galaxy and Orange Box:

This solid first-person shooter for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 may not be as innovative as The Orange Box and Super Mario Galaxy. It may not deliver an awe-inspiring glimpse at an eschewed philosophy like BioShock or create the sort of sizzling character interaction found in Uncharted, but, hands down, it is the most thoroughly entertaining video game of the past year.

The single-player story is captivating, set in a present-day Middle East and parts of Russia and comes at the player in a mix of sweeping cinematic set pieces and smart pacing that can easily glue the audience to the game for the entire six- to eight-hour experience.

It's a game that has the sorts of moments usually found only in film, hiding these startling revelations in gamers' blind spots. People you come to care about die. You die, and not in the sort of plastic, ephemeral death found in video games. These deaths are permanent and, at times, evocative.

A deep, seemingly limitless online multiplayer experience also adds quite a bit of life to the title. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare may seem like more of the same, but this title is the realization of a rewarding franchise meeting its complete potential.

Hit the link to check out my winners for the rest of the categories, including a selection of "hot flashes" I managed to sneak into the awards. Feel free to bash me here for not choosing (your selection here) for best (your category here).

Ps. I didn't write the awards' intro, that's one of those smart-asses I was talking about.
Game Gold

He writes of Drake's shirt "Jet skiing, swimming, and almost kissing—nothing can dislodge or fully tuck Drake's half-casual shirt. It is draped in a purgatory state, half in, half out, never completely free." A bold and fascinating analysis from a visionary mind that anyone who has even a passing interest in video game fashion should read. Compelling stuff.

Half-tuck is the new Mullett [Double Fine]

..., it's anybody's guess. At Naughty Dog, we're pretty sure we should be able to see leaps between games on the PS3 that are even bigger than they were on the PS2.

Your plans? What do you have on your plate for a game-filled weekend?