The Last of Us: Bleak, Gritty, and Amazing!

     Fantastic, compelling, must own, and simply awesome. Those words and more describe The Last of Us. If you've ever played a Naughty Dog game you know what you're getting with The Last of Us. I could stop now and that would be my review of this game. However, I find it necessary to explain more in depth of why this game deserves your attention.

     The story of The Last of Us is dark, dangerous, and continuously has you on the edge of your seat. The story has plenty of great characters, but focuses on two in particular. That of course is Joel and Ellie. The main portion of The Last of Us is set long after a violent fungal outbreak has spread across the United States. The country is in complete shambles, people are infected and dying. The resemblance of a government tries to quarantine people in walled off sections of cities. To top that off, other survivors have become little more than rogues and bandits who are just as deadly as the virus itself.

     Joel meets up with Ellie and he is tasked with taking her to safety across the United States. The journey of the two characters is just incredible. Joel and Ellie have such a strong emotional connection and it's easy to get caught up in their story. You can truly sense it when listening to their conversations, watching their facial expressions, and even subtle body language. Joel and Ellie easily develop a kind of father-daughter relationship. Both characters have a rough and soft side to them. At times they act tough and strong, but there are moments where that exterior is broken and the softer, more caring side comes through. Watching the cutscenes makes you feel like you're watching a movie. It's great to see their story unfold and see how much they care and depend on one another.

     The controls handle much like other Naughty Dog third person action games. You'll aim your gun with L1 and fire with R1 for example. Speaking of guns, those aren't the only weapons you'll use in the game. You'll be able to use a bow and arrow and a wide assortment of melee weapons. Also, you can craft certain weapons like shivs, smoke bombs, molotov cocktails, and even add deadly attachments to your melee weapon. Just like in real life, the melee weapons will take damage and break over time. Ammo is not laying all over the place and doesn't drop often from enemies. This makes you cherish your weapons and adds to the realism of the game.

     You can also find "pills" and scrap parts that allow you to upgrade your guns and skills to improve Joel's survivability. Another very important "weapon" in the game is your sense of hearing. By holding down R2, you will enter a focused hearing state and nearby enemies will be silhouetted. This is key to surviving. Listening to your surroundings and sneaking will allow you to grab enemies and quietly take them down. This is effective with both humans and the infected. Especially the clickers. Oh God the clickers. You will quickly learn to fear and hate them!  

 

     Graphically the game is great looking. The environment is highly detailed. You'll see dilapidated skyscrapers overtaken by nature, gloomy and empty cities and homes, darkened sewers and warehouses, and lush forests and mountains. You'll catch yourself watching raindrops fall onto the ground, hearing animals, the wind, and catching glimpses of sun rays stream through the trees. All of these things just make the game more lifelike. The world is torn down and gritty but in a way it is just done beautifully. Character models are done very well and the voice acting is superb. There's also great attention to subtle details. When your swim in water, your clothes become darker and look wet. You can see snow accumulating on your clothes while outside and then melt away if you're inside. It's simple details yet they are important and truly immerse you into the game.

     Once you are finished playing the amazing single player campaign, The Last of Us offers a unique and enjoyable multiplayer experience. The multiplayer isn't just a tacked on mode. It follows the same feeling and bleak setting as the campaign. When you start multiplayer the first time you will pick from one of two factions. Once you pick your faction you can play two different modes called: survivor and supply raid. In the survivor mode you and three other players are pitted against the other faction in a four-vs-four team deathmatch. If you die in one of the seven rounds, you are out for that round. The supply raid mode is similar but your team shares a certain amount of respawns. Recently a new Interrogation mode was added in a free update. In this mode each team must protect a safe with supplies. To find out where the other team's safe is you have to interrogate enemy players instead of killing them. The multiplayer modes are very intense and you end up sticking together and being more careful in matches. Like in the campaign, you can gather up supplies and craft items right in the middle of a match. You can also customize your characters appearance and loadout of weapons.

     If you own a PS3 and don't have The Last of Us you are doing yourself a huge disservice. I would maybe even go as far to say to buy a PS3 for this game. The Last of Us is simply a masterpiece. It does such a good job of showing that there is legitimate scariness and fear in isolation. The story of Joel and Ellie is amazing to watch unfold and their emotional bond is incredible. This is what a great video game is. A rich, touching, compelling story, and characters you care about. A story that sticks with you after the game is over. A game that is both visually and emotionally strong. Naughty Dog has continuously done this with the Uncharted series and they have done it again with The Last of Us. Thank you Naughty Dog. Thank you.

Final Verdict: 10/10

Written by: Alter Ego 83