The Last of Us Review

Going into 2013 The Last of Us was at the top of many people's list of games to get, and rightfully so. The game comes from the development company Naughty Dog who are most well known for the award winning Uncharted series. From the first cinematic trailer for the Last of Us people were excited; it is a new and somewhat realistic twist on the zombie genre. I went to go pick up the game from GameStop at 10:30am on opening day, when I arrived there were five people in the line that were in front of me; all five were there to pick up the game, and for good reason. A little over a week ago the first reviews came out and the game quickly became one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, receiving over 50 perfect scores from major publications (which is mind boggling). The Last of Us takes place twenty years in the future where a real life parasitic fungus called Cordyceps (which has a nasty habit of literally taking over organisms and turning them into what are essentially "zombies") has evolved to be able to infect humans. After the initial outbreak: the US military declares martial law, rounded up all survivors, and fire bombed all major cities in an attempt o control the plague. But after twenty years the fungus is starting to reemerge and has even made its way into the safe zones. You play as Joel, a man who lost his daughter in the initial outbreak and has lived a sad and broken life since. Joel is a smuggler; he gets people inside the quarantine zones whatever they need. One day when he and his partner were supposed to receive a large shipment of guns and ammo, they get it stolen right out from under them. They find out that the guns have been sold to a rouge militia group called the Firefly's who oppose the way that the government treats the remaining survivors. Joel meets up with the leader of the Firefly's who makes him a deal, if he can smuggle a young girl out of the quarantine zone and to the capital building in D.C., he'll get his guns back. He doesn't know why or even care that much; he just wants to get it done, so he sets out to get the girl to her destination. But with the civilized world being long gone, he's going to have to go through hell to get the job done. I'll say it right now; The Last of Us is one of the greatest games I have ever played. It is an astounding achievement in video game storytelling and atmospheric design. Ascetically, The Last of Us is almost unmatched by any game of this generation. The world has a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere, seeing skyscrapers and buildings crumble and being taken over by nature is quite surreal. It even gives off a terrifying vibe that's reminiscent of games like Bioshock and Silent Hill. Combined with some of the best graphics I've ever seen on a console makes it a visual feast. I would also like to commend the actors who participated in the game. The character animations were caught using live motion capture technology, meaning that the voice actors actually played out the cut scenes and many of the movements to make sure the game captured the realistic situations they are put in. And I can't think of a time this technology looked better in a video games. The game play is fast, frantic, and challenging. You play with a third person perspective, and in contrast to the developers previous games (such as Uncharted) you are not a superhero. You can die very easily in this game, and when you come in contact with zombie hordes of three or more it can be very difficult to get back the upper hand. There are two different zombie types, the first being runners which will attack you with shear rage and can quickly swarm you. They aren't hard to kill on their own but can be difficult in groups. The second enemy types are called clickers, these are zombies that have been infected for years and have lost their eyesight due to the fact that the fungus has engulfed their face. They use a type of echo-location to see so if you make any sort of noise they will hear you and can kill you in one hit (it is best to take them out stealth fully). When you have to engage enemies, the combat is brutal and executed perfectly. One thing I would like to add is that this game is terrifying and ungodly stressful. The fact that you can die so easily makes you really think, you can't just go in guns blazing. It is best to play stealthy as long as possible and go crazy only if you have to. And the fact that supplies is rare means you can't waist anything. Everything about this game is amazing: the visuals, game play, story, characters, ect. I can't actually say that the game has any problems. The one thing I have against it is more of a personal preference. This is one of the most violent games I have ever played, almost to a disturbing level. I usually don't have a problem with violence in any sort of entertainment, but I don't like when they have violence for the sake of violence. The first time in the game where I encountered this in the game was fairly early on. I was facing a group of enemies. I got up close to melee one of them, and for the killing blow you take this injured man and slam his head into a wall where you hear the skull crack and blood is everywhere; it was unsettling. I understand why there is such violence in the game since they are trying to have a very serious and mature narrative about the fall of civilization, but in my opinion it's unnecessary. The Last of Us is special, it is a rare game that we experience maybe once every couple of years. Up to this point the developer’s finest achievement was the 2009 game of the year Uncharted 2, but this game might just be better. Its games like this that show the video game's are changing. No longer are games defined as mindless first person shouters where you go around and kill just because. Its games like the Last of Us and Bioshcock Infinite that show games can have complex and deep stories and are truly works of art. If you have a PS3, go get this game. If you don't you really are missing out on one of the best games this generation.

5/5 Stars