Remember all that Pepsi product placement in Uncharted 2? Me neither. But it looks like we barely dodged a bullet. Nathan Drake has thrown his lot in with Pepsi. Sony is "partnering" with Pepsi to promote Uncharted 2. Also check out the Toyota 4-Runner ads plastered on the Uncharted 2 page on the Playstation Network.

It's interesting to note from the details of the Pepsi contest that this clearly isn't aimed at folks like you and me who've already played the game. The 20 first-prize winners get a PS3 along with copies of both Uncharteds. The 200 runners-up just get a copy of the game. We've already got those things.

Instead, this is a way for Sony to advertise the game in supermarkets to people who might not know about the game. Because it's so cinematic, and because it has such vividly presented characters, this is the kind of game I'm happy to see muscling into places you don't normally see games. Uncharted 2 and the soft drink aisle of my local supermarket are a fine fit.

The contest is also promoting the Uncharted "motion comic", Eye of Indra. A motion comic is like an animated short but without actual animation. Instead, the camera pans around still artwork while actors do voiceover. Sometimes someone's arm moves or something. The first episode is available on the Playstation Network for free, although you get to sit through advertising. You get a Toyota ad, in which Elena drives up in a bright red 4-Runner to rescue Nate. They drive off in a scene with a big Toyota logo at the bottom of the screen. "You in?" the tagline asks.

But it seems like Sony intends to charge for the later episodes. Either that, or the 100,000 second place runners-up in the Pepsi contest who win episodes one and two aren't getting much of a prize.