This game is widely considered as one the best games of this generation. I have to agree. The Last of Us is an action adventure survival horror game developed by Naughty Dog, the creators of Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, and one this generations greatest series, Uncharted. This game features amazing gameplay, a fascinating story, exquisite character development and stunningly beautiful graphics.
Story: A fungus known as the Cordyceps Brain Infection has spread through the world and taken over mankind. The infection controls the hosts mind, making them mindless creatures set out to spread the fungus, sort of like zombies. The country becomes controlled by the military, who begins to place each city under martial law. Survivors of the outbreak are assigned to specific Quarantine Zones designed to keep them safe and away from the infected. An anti government group known as the Fireflies is formed with the goal of finding or producing a cure for the infection, while also attacking different quarantine zones as an act of defiance towards the government.
The main protagonist, Joel, and his smuggling partner Tess live and work in a Quarantine Zone in Boston. When searching for a man named Robert one day in hopes to get back the weapons he stole from them, only to find out that he has traded them to the Fireflies. Soon after that, Joel and Tess run in to Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies, who promises them double their stolen goods, but in return, Joel must smuggle a teenage girl named Ellie to a firefly group in downtown Boston. Ellie is later revealed to be what Marlene believes to be the cure for the virus, because Ellie is immune to the bites of the infected, which is why Joel has been assigned the task of smuggling her outside of the quarantine zone.
This begins a long, stirring journey for the two, making a few new friends and catching up with a few of Joel's old pals and relatives. Along their adventure, they become closer to one another than either of them would ever have expected. The story in The Last of Us is one of the most touching, exciting, and well thought out stories ever told in video games, and always keeps you surprised and wanting more.
Verdict = 10.0
Gameplay: This game is played in the third person perspective as a survival action adventure game. The Playstation 3 is known for having amazing exclusives, and most of them are also third person action adventure games, like Uncharted and Infamous. The Last of Us is another perfect addition to the PS3's library of great adventure games.
Combat in The Last of Us requires a lot of patience and precise movement, because it is based on stealth for the most part. When you encounter infected, it is crucial that you don't make too much noise or give your position away, or else a horde of runners and clickers could be on your tail instantly. There are 4 stages of the infected: Stage 1 infected are known as runners, the weakest of them all, but very fast. Stage 1 begins when the host is infected, it takes over their brain function, and they become hyper aggressive infected beings. The second stage develops infected called Stalkers. Stalkers and runners are very alike, because they both have good vision and intense speed, but stalkers have enhanced echolocation. Stalkers are also very smart, and use there surroundings to stalk their prey. Stage 3 infected are known as Clickers. These are the most recognizable, because they constantly make clicking noises. Clickers have no sight, but instead use their hearing to detect movement. It occurs over time when the infection worsens and the fungus begins to cover most of their head and destroy their vision. And finally, Stage 4. These infected are called Bloaters, who are the most dangerous of all due to their strength. They are the rarest of the infected because they take so long to develop. Bloaters have a thick fungus shell around them that acts as armor, making them very defensive against any kind of attack. On top of being incredibly strong and almost impervious to damage, Bloaters can also throw spores from their own bodies that act as grenades and damage the health of anyone in the blast radius.
Even though you encounter many infected, human enemies, such as hunters, bandits, and even the military, are also a huge threat to Joel. Human enemies can be very tricky because they have much more range than infected. When in combat, you have to plan out every attack precisely so that you don't slip up and attract attention.
When you aren't sneaking past a group of clickers, there are plenty of other things to do in The Last of Us, like finding collectibles, upgrading Joe with supplements, upgrading your weapons, and even enjoying your surroundings. The collectibles you can find include 80 artifacts, 30 firefly pendants, 14 comic books and 12 training manuals. To upgrade Joel, you must find Supplements throughout the game. To upgrade your weapons, you must find upgrade parts and craft them at workbenches that are placed in certain spots throughout the game. Supplements and upgrade parts can sometimes be very hard to come by, so upgrade wisely. Even exploring the open world can be very entertaining, because there is so much detail in the environment, including a lot of Easter Eggs. There are also spots in the game where you can have optional conversations with all of the characters, and even moments when Ellie pulls out a joke book to try to lighten the mood.
The gameplay in The Last of Us is as close to perfect as you can get in a video game. The controls are exquisite and never get boring or repetitive. If you enjoy Third Person Action Adventure games, this game is a fantastic choice for you.
Verdict = 10.0
Graphics: Putting gameplay and story line aside, the graphics in The Last of Us are without a doubt some of the best the PS3 has seen. The small things in your surroundings have such detail that you can just stare at the screen in amazement for hours. If it is raining, you can look up to the sky and see every single solitary drop of water, and watch it as it falls to the ground and make a tiny splash. You can watch the leaves off the trees and every single strand of hair on Joel's head blow in the wind. The Last of Us also features great detail in the environment you travel through. The buildings in the cities truly look like they have been abandoned for years, with broken in windows and plants growing out of the sides. While searching throughout bedrooms and offices in random buildings for supplies, you can tell the time and effort Naughty Dog put forth into making this game.
The outstanding graphics and detail of the environment are some that we aren't used to in gaming. This feature makes the game that much more fun to play through, because even when you are traveling throughout your journey, you can enjoy the environment to great extents.
Verdict = 10.0
Characters: The Last of Us consists a number of different people, but the two main protagonists are Joel and Ellie. You instantly connect with Joel as a character and want to sit down and play through the game in one night just to see where this story leads him. The character development only gets better when you are introduced to Ellie. In fact, the entire game is full of characters that you instantly become emotionally attached to. Joel and Ellie continue to make friends and allies, and of course enemies, throughout the game that just keeps you wanting to see where they all end up.
You encounter a few old friends of Joel that help you along your journey, and you even manage to make a couple of new ones. But, just like any other story, there are a few bad guys that will try to cut your story short. The Last of Us does a good job of making you not feel alone, because you're constantly surrounded by other human characters throughout the game, which is a great change of pace compared to other survival video games. Though Naughty Dog did a fantastic job with designing and developing the characters, I wish that they would have given us more closure as to where some of the characters end up in the story.
Even if there were a few unresolved stories that I wish were told in The Last of Us, the characters were greatly developed. Naughty Dog always does an amazing job with creating characters that you connect with and feel like you know personally.
Verdict = 10.0
With The Last of Us, Naughty Dog has officially proved that they are one of the most valuable companies in the industry. The Last of Us is one of the greatest games ever created, with an incredible, touching story, impeccable gameplay, stunning graphics, and amazing character development. This game is a perfect gaming experience for any gamer, especially those who are interested in adventure games.
Final Verdict = 10.0
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