“After all we’ve been through. Everything that I’ve done. It can’t be for nothing…” says Ellie, a quote that’s very familiar with any other apocalyptic/ zombie-infested story. Imagine a world full of dangers, the rush of constant survival, not only living in fear whether you’ll starve or die of thirst but also the terror of getting killed by a malicious zombie or roaming bandits. Those ideas can turn the loving husband into a ferocious killing machine with only one thing in his mind “Survival of the fittest” and that’s what this game is all about!
“The Last of us!” is made by “Naughty Dog”, the developers of the successful third-person franchise “Uncharted” which stands out with its combination of full-packed action and cinematic experiences. Naughty Doug promised a whole new game to its community that would add more realism and an even more cinematic experience than ever before… I must say they promised a lot and a big part of the community was skeptic. Put all this skepticism aside because Naughty Doug did deliver! Let me tell you why this is the perfect ending for the Playstation 3 lifespan!
The game is set in the United States which are enveloped by the forces of mother nature and infected with a new kind of zombie. All those who survived this epidemic must wander around in the different abandoned states of America. The inhabitants must find food, shelter, weapons and other important things that will ensure their survival. In this new, amazing and also believable story, there are 2 characters who take the lead namely Joel, an old-timer that does anything for survival and Ellie, a teenage girl who’s still new to the outside world. They must work together to complete a certain task across the debris of the United States.
When you look at the game, it’s definitely the best looking PS3- game out there. All these tiny things they added to the game like foliage, lighting effects, high resolution graphics, … makes the world so realistic that you’ve got difficulty to separate the fantasy world with the real world. These little things make the game stand out on graphical level. Everything runs very smooth and there aren’t many glitches/ bugs in this game. It is very polished. The loading times can be long at times but it doesn’t take anything away from the whole gaming experience. Most of the time, it’s just your loading file that takes a lot of time, during the game you don’t have any delay.
Also the facial expressions and the voice acting are superb! It’s really good looking and it looks like you’re watching a zombie tv- series like the Walking Dead, but even better since the player is actually in it! It goes even further. Since the game is very realistic, you experience all the emotions that the game characters have. From the beginning, I felled connected with Joel and it only felt even more intimate when the game progressed.
All the in-game characters have a decent background story which makes you think and yet understand how difficult a certain decision or situation must be. It makes you think “ How would I react if I was in that situation? “
The game mechanics are very familiar. It’s a third person adventure game that makes you scout for anything salvageable. Looking and searching for useful items is very important in this game because ammunition and other useful objects are very limited. Not only are supplies hard to find but they are also scarce. When you progress throughout the game you find items that can be used to craft useful things like med kits, nail bombs, shivs, …etc. You can also find salvageable parts and books to upgrade your weaponry. Throughout the game, you also find food supplements to boost your health, your crafting speed, …
Everything in the game happens real-time. This means that you can craft your items anywhere you want but it’s up to you to think about what and when you’re going to craft . This system has its advantages and disadvantages, for example: You can plan your actions very careful at any confrontation and set the stage the way you want it to be. You want to be loaded with nail and smoke bombs? Go ahead! You want to improve your melee weapon and hack your way through it all? Well, be my guest! It gives the player a lot of options in “how to handle a combat situation” but there’s one big disadvantage. If you do not plan your crafting at a right time, it can mean your death. So just like in the real living world, you have to plan everything right! Also, be careful what you craft because crafting supplies are limited and you can only drag a certain amount of supplies with you.
Like I said, Naughty Doug gives the player a lot of options in “handling a combat situation”. Do you want to be stealthy or go all out? The decision is in your hand. Also, don’t forget you’re not alone in this situation. Ellie is there to help you out when things don’t go exactly as planned. She’ll warn you about incoming enemies and give directions, but also she’ll throw a brick to stun your enemy or even a bottle to distract them and in worst case scenarios, she’ll jump unto a guy and kill him. This gives you a sense of “We’re in this together. We’ve got to help each other, no matter what! “ It connects the player with the characters and their surroundings.
Also you’ll handle a combat situation differently when it comes to “ type of enemies”. Bandits will be hard to spot since they act humanly, they will hide from you or they will go out and search separately. Sometimes this can be very hard but that’s where the hearing ability comes in. This ability lets you “see” through walls, to position the enemies but be careful! If they don’t make a sound, you won’t “see” them! These are of course your human enemies which will react to anything that happens in a certain situation but then you have your other infected persons that react differently. They will attack you in groups or just kill you… One advise: If you see a clicker, well actually HEAR the clicker, get the hell out of there! They are mean killing machines!
Another good point about this game is the fact that they thought of every single little thing I can imagine to add a certain realism in this game. The way everyone reacts, looks out, scout for their surroundings, show emotions,… For example: if you have to lift Ellie upon a ledge, how the animation goes, well it is so realistic! Another example, when Ellie scouts the area, she interacts with the environment like we all would do! They all thought off it, so “Naughty Dog”, well played!
The Last of us also has a multiplayer mode called factions. You choose a faction and you customize your character. You have a good amount of premade characters but other appearances can be unlocked throughout the multiplayer. Each match is a day and you survive for 12 weeks. Everything you do in a battle is translated into supplies, so how bigger the stock of supplies, how higher your survivors count.
You can choose between two game modes: supply raid or survivors. Both game modes allow up to four players per team, that makes up for eight players maximum per match. Supply raid is all about scavenging. Each player has a life limit of twenty. Everything you craft or buy is carried over to you, if you’re still alive. Survivors is more like your standard but brutal team death match. When you die, you’re dead until the beginning of the next round. Each match has seven rounds.
The Last of us is a must-own PlayStation 3 game. It has beautiful and realistic graphics, the story is not unique but definitely one to remember, the characters are believable and they’re connecting with the player in a way that some developers still have to learn and it has familiar gameplay mechanics. The campaign is around 14-15 hours and after that there’s a good multiplayer mode that will be enjoyable for quite some time!
