Final Thoughts: The Last of Us

WARNING: May Contain Spoilers

Said to be one of the final games on the PS3 before Sony's next-gen console comes out later this year, they have at least two games under their belt to showcase before they move on and one of the two is Naughty Dog's cinematic-survival adventure, The Last of Us.

Set in a post apocalyptic America, due to an outbreak of an cordyceps-like infection. The player takes control of Joel who was given a task by the leader of rebels known as the Fireflies to export a young girl named Ellie across America who has a secret under her sleeve, immunity from the outbreak.

This is the 4th game from Sony's first party developer Naughty Dog who has been with Sony since the very beginning on the Playstation and while their last series of games which was the "Uncharted" franchise had a level of deep maturity within it's light-hearted tone that the developer has been known for, some may think that they can't do a deep and serious game with deep characters and a rich story backed up with solid gameplay.

Well, they delivered that promise. Now mind you, the whole premise actually reminds me of The Walking Dead, mostly because of it's setting and how it's played but it's not entirely a direct clone or anything and it may come across as a bit biased because the level of characterization that I got from Telltales game based on the same comic book and TV show feel similar in The Last of Us, however while The Walking Dead is a point 'n click adventure in Telltale's usual style. The Last of Us is a solid blend of action, survival, stealth and adventure rolled up into one and for the most part it works really well.

One of the best aspects of the story is that while it does tread on tried and true formula of the post-apocalyptic world filled with infected as the infected themselves aren't from the cliche'd virus zombies that we keep seeing time and time again in video games and media but with a level of a natural element to it which some of the infected known as clickers have a unique but ugly design to them that makes the game stand out in terms of presentation that is also well presented with it's cinematic quality.

The characterization between Joel and Ellie is the big highlight of the game and it really shows that is what the developers were intending. They start off rather rough because Joel lost his daughter at the first scene of the game and he saw Ellie as nothing more but cargo for the Fireflies but as he and she continue, they become more relatable to each other and the deep banter between them is what really makes these characters stand out, combing with wit and strength to make them relatable and likable without being complete idiots.

The other characters do have their spot in the story like the previously mentioned Tess and Joel's brother Tommy but they're mostly there to drive the story forward rather than being characters of their own. It may be a downer for some but that's because they didn't want you to focus on them, only on Joel and Ellie alone. Nothing less, nothing more.

So onto the gameplay, it's a seemless mix of action/adventure and survival horror and works very well. The controls feel similar to Uncharted but not nearly as freely which isn't a bad thing because it's mostly responsive and the inventory system is nicely handled where you can switch weapons on the fly by highlighting the weapon and holding X to allow you to switch what guns you have in your inventory.

The crafting system is very well done where you can scavenge items and able to craft them via the select button without having to go to a work table is very refreshing and useful as most of the items like nail bombs, smoke bombs, shivs, health packs, etc. are all very useful in this game. The work tables are used to upgrade your weapons but some of them you need to find a tool box that can upgrade on how much you can upgrade your items with the scavenged items you got. There's also a section where you can upgrade Joel with pills you can find to upgrade your health bar, crafting speed, etc. Also helpful.

The ally AI is very helpful as Ellie and/or other characters you meet help you out and react to your actions, like helping Ellie to get up to a ledge, etc. As well as they're helpful in combat when you need to bump enemies off. However sometimes they can be a bit too patient by not catching up to where you are and sometimes can be visible to the enemies which would seem to be easy for them to spot you but they don't seem to react which is strange.

The enemies ranges from human Hunters and the infected, the humans are just as what you'd expect, they're very co-operative on how they react to your prescence but not so much to the ally's prescene as they're not alarmed in the slightest when they notice them. It may be a nit-pick but still feels a little odd. The infected can be a challenge, especially against the clickers where you can get past them by not making any sound but if you get close to them while attacking, good night. But don't worry as the developers are awfully generous with a good amount of checkpoints so once you die, you don't have to go very far.

The presentation is very cinematic as I've previously mentioned with the style that the cut-scenes are shown makes it feel like you're watching a film but doesn't distract you from the fact that you are still playing the game. The graphics are very similar to Uncharted 3 and that's a good thing because the texture and polygon quality is just as excellent but also added some minor details like footprints, water splashes and blood splatter on certain terrain adds a level of effects to sweeten the look.

The character designs are well designed and animated like Uncharted so nothing to complain about, the environments are also nicely designed with plenty of cover to hide and different ways to explore for items and getting around enemies without being noticed. The setting has a very Enslaved feel where it's post-apocalyptic but also colorful unlike the brownish landscapes we've seen in Fallout 3, etc.

The sound design is also a gigantic highlight as the music by Gustavo Santaolalla is excellent and fits the bleak, eerie and sentimental tone of the game. The voice acting is also top-notch with the new Nolan North, Troy Baker who has already established himself with games like Catherine, Persona 4, Tales of Vesperia and more recently, Bioshock Infinite does a sublime performace once again as Joel and Ashley Johnson as Ellie is also very well done. The rest of the cast does great for what they were given and Nolan North has a role in there somewhere. The sound effects are nothing special but they're also just as good as the rest of the sound, so no complaints there.

If there was another problem that I've had with the game is that there's a long load time before you start the game and it takes almost like 3-5 minutes before the game actually loads but it's the only load screen you'll encounter in the game so it's only minor and it's rather impressive that the game doesn't load at all throughout the entire main campaign.

There is also a Multiplayer mode but I won't explore into that as I'm not really an MP kind of gamer but I did play a match and while it's a bit more slower paced than Uncharted, it still was rather enjoyable.

So in the end, The Last of Us may be one of the best final games for the PS3. While I don't think it has me teary by the end of it but I can understand the praise it got. I don't think it'll qualify as the best game of the year but it certainly is one of the best games I have played with it's gratifying story with two strong main characters, solid gameplay and a well directed cinematic presentation.

While there is Beyond: Two Souls to look forward to but for now, this is highly recommended. Thanks for reading.