The Last of Us is one of the most amazing games I have played. It is a survival horror game developed by Naughty Dog, the studio that brought us Jak and Daxter, and Uncharted. Last of Us was released on June 14th, 2013 exclusively for the Playstation 3. Not only does it bring us a survival horror experience, but it also gives us a riveting story, good stealth mechanics, and a fun online multiplayer mode. I believe that this game will be the game of the year for 2013.
Story - 10
Twenty years prior to the story, a strange fungal infection began spreading through mankind. It was called "Cordyceps", because of its relation to the fungi genus. Cordyceps is a parasite that grows on the subject's brain, causing them to become highly aggressive and almost primal. Over time the fungus grows even further to mutate its host and imbue it with special abilities. Most of the human race has fallen prey to the infection. Those who survive must fight to survive. Some become cutthroat survivalists, scavenging the abandoned world for whatever they can find. Others stay behind the walls of the quarantine zone, safe from infection, but under the iron fist of a harsh martial government.
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| Infected Aren't the Only Thing to be Afraid of |
You play most of the game as Joel, a man forced to take extreme measures to survive in this post apocalyptic world. To do so, he becomes a smuggler. After his supplies are taken from him in a deal gone wrong, Joel is forced to smuggle a young girl named Ellie outside of the quarantine zone. Not much is revealed about her, other than that the rebel group called the "Fireflies" want her safe. As you can imagine, there are many complications along the way, but I won't get into them at risk of spoiling anything. Trust me when I say that the story is fantastic, and really stands out as unique in many ways.
Audio - 10
The Last of Us does an amazing job putting together great, atmospheric music, eerie sound effects, and superb voice acting. Troy Baker (Bioshock Infinite, Arkham City) plays Joel, and Ashley Johnson plays Ellie. Though Ashley hasn't done much voice acting for video games in the past, her performance truly breathes life into Ellie. I was quite surprised to find Nolan North (Uncharted, Assassin's Creed) in the credits as well. he plays the side character, David, so keep your eyes open for him if you give the game a shot. The music and sound effects also really set the mood for the game. In some areas the music is evident, setting up a big fight or chase, while in others its nearly non-existent giving room for the strange sounds of the world to sink in and unsettle you.
Video - 10
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| A Hungry Clicker |
The animation for Last of Us is really amazing. It is hard to tell whether you are in a scripted cutscene, or actually playing the game simply because the visuals don't really change much, and there is usually a seamless transition. Beyond graphics themselves, the character designs are fantastic. Each character's appearance gives them as much personality as the voice acting itself. The enemies are also very well designed are quite intimidating. The clicker is especially intimidating, as it makes eerie sounds, moves in unpredictable jerky motions, and has a creepy mutated face. You can check out one of the more recent trailers below.
Gameplay - 10
True survival horror is really hard to come by in today's age, but The Last of Us pulls it off quite well. That is not it's full focus though, it also provides strong stealth mechanics, has crafting features, and fun combat. It uses a shooting system similar to Uncharted, but adds a sway feature. That combined with ammo being hard to come by creates a unique and challenging first person shooter. While hand to hand combat is usually just mashing the square button, the animations for it are extremely dynamic and sleek. Another interesting feature is the crafting ability. There are very few things that you can actually craft, but they are all very useful. You can make nail bombs, molotov cocktails, shivs, smoke bombs and med kits. One thing I really like about The Last of Us, is that everything takes place in real time, so you have to plan ahead for every situation. It is quite a challenging game, even on normal difficulty.
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| Can You Survive The Last of Us Multiplayer? |
The multiplayer features two game modes which are both quite fun. Each game mode features 4v4 combat. The first game type is "supply raid", this is a typical death match. There are a certain number of tickets, or lives for your team to spend, and the first team to lose all their lives loses. The second mode is called "survivors". Survivors is similar to to supply raid, but each player only has one life. When you die, you stay dead till the next round. Each round you gain a certain number of points to upgrade your equipment for the next round. Survivors reminds me of games like Counterstrike. Something that I find interesting about The Last of Us' multiplayer is the idea that you are the leader of a group of survivors. Each match you play gains supplies for your group, and the more supplies you get, the bigger your group grows. The bigger your group is, the more costumes and weapons you unlock. This adds interesting flavor to the usual experience and level system in online shooters.
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The Last of Us is a great game, and the first game that I actually give a perfect 10 to. It is a masterpiece, and a must own for any Playstation 3 owner. This is not a game for players under the age of 16. There is little to no sexual content, but very gruesome violence, and a lot of foul language. The plot also contains a lot of difficult, uncomfortable issues centering around what it takes to survive. I love this game, and really think that this is what modern zombie games should feel like. What did you think of Last of Us? Leave a comment below telling us what you liked about the game, try and keep it spoiler free though. Also, don't forget to subscribe, its a great way to show your support and interest in our posts, and in the coming months we'll be doing something special, exclusively for subscribers.
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