The Last of Us Review

It's been seven years since the launch of the first Playstation 3 and over the past couple of years, many owners of the trusty console have been great exclusives such as God of War, Uncharted, Heavy Rain and many more titles. Though the debate of which console did better is still a subject of strong debate, it goes without saying that the games (especially the exclusives) that define the console itself. 

However, in spite of the vast number of PS3 exclusives out there in the market, The Last of Us is probably the defining moment in the PS3's era in this console generation. 

At first glance, The Last of Us does not come off as a very original idea. Essentially a zombie game, human civilization is destroyed by a fungal disease that turns humans into rabid infected creatures, spreading their disease by attacking anyone on site. To make matters worse, the remaining and constantly dwindling human population is policed poorly by The Authority which show little regard for human life. A resistance group emerges known as the Fireflies who fight back and... I think you'll probably know where we're getting at from here. 

Throw in a couple more bandits who attack anyone on sight and there you have it, you have your run of the mill zombie survival story out there. 

While the overall plot doesn't score much points for originality, it makes up for it in terms of it's execution. 

For most of the game, you play Joel, mentally destroyed by the losses of everything that was important to him. Soon after, he encounters Ellie, a fourteen year old girl where he's trusted with to deliver to the Fireflies for reasons I believe you guys can easily figure out. 

In spite of it's hackneyed plot, the Last of Us focuses instead of the human story of survival, sacrifice, loss and bonding. Instead of focusing directly on the objective of where the characters go and what they need to do next, the strength of the game's narration lies in its subtitles. 

Joel, jaded and hardened by his traumatic experiences and Ellie, never really been outside in the real world beyond the quarantine zones that keep the humans safe from zombies, known as Clickers. The interesting relationship they develop as Joel escorts Ellie prompts up many insightful conversations about the world as we know it and more often enough invokes deep emotions within its audience without the need to collapse a corporate building in your face. 

The story does take it's time and it is within that time spent with Joel, Ellie and the other interesting characters they meet along the way that players will find themselves being profoundly attached to this game world and its populace. 

Within this very emotional and engaging story lies a game as well. Numerous times along the way, Joel and Ellie would encounter resistance. The infected are divided into several types, namely runners and clickers. Runners, who still look human, are quick to charge and attack any target on sight but can be handled easily in smaller numbers. 

Clickers on the other hand are fully mutated infected that have no sense of vision given that their heads are completely enveloped by some gnarly fungal growth. They use sound instead to detect potential victims using a clicking noise, hence the name. The most interesting thing about them is that if one gets to Joel, it's a one hit kill which really creates urgency in either killing them first or stealthily avoiding them all together. 

Aside from the infected, there are also human resistance, most of the time bandits and looters but occasionally a bout with the Authority as well. Unlike the gung-ho charging tactics of the infected, the human AI does what you come to expect of it. Taking cover at the right times, flanking you if you stay in cover too long and even timing their precious shots, the human AI hammers you with all sorts of weapons ranging from pistols, shotguns and even molotov cocktails. 

In all of this, resources are scarce where players would often have little to no bullets in their guns. Scattered all around the game world are equally scarce resource items like cloth, and blades where players can craft into useful items such as shivs, health packs and nail bombs even to help Joel and Ellie persevere. 

Though The Last of Us is supposed to be played as a stealth game where the players are often punished for detection, the violence in the last of us is one of the most horrific, gruesome and visceral in a realistic way. Armed with a lead pipe, Joel would desperately bash an enemy's skill in before smashing another enemy's face in with a brick. 

And no matter how justified the violence is in the context of the game, one does not feel any positive merit or reward from killing someone else. No doubt this game would be a focal point of discussion about violence in videogames and how it affects us as consumers of this interactive media. 

In other words, killing someone in this game feels messed up, like how it should be in real life. 

All this ties in very well with the overall story of desperation and survival where gameplay and narration are one instead of gameplay being a disjointing factor in the overall experience. 

Visually, the Last of Us is a stunning looking game with little to no flaws whatsoever. The only complaint I would have against it is the lack of anti-aliasing but seeing how the PS3 has been really pushed to its limits, the fault lies in with the system and not the game itself. This makes me wonder how the game would have looked on PC without being overburdened with the PS3's soon to be outdated specs. 

Aside from the level of visual fidelity, the art style of the game is something quite amazing. Taking place in a very realistic universe, the art direction still manages to shine with abandoned buildings and structures aplenty being reclaimed back by nature and the new terrors of the world, leaving behind small relics of our previously thriving species . 

Cutscenes are beautifully rendered, creating believable moments between characters as they bicker, argue, fight and bond with some very intelligent editing which always knows how to keep the audience on the edge of their seats and guessing in spite of some very cliched moments. 

A special mention also goes out to the people who worked in the audio and music composition of the game which really sets in the tone and atmosphere of the game. The plucking of the guitar, playing to a very sentimental American tune that feels so apropos. 

There are a thousand more things to be said and discussed about this game and unlike Sim City, Diablo 3 or Mass Effect 3, every discussion about it would most likely be people showering their endless praise for this game and honestly, it deserves no less. 

Many games make the engage and stimulate players by making or breaking big things in their face or sometimes with dynamic characters with eccentric personalities and what not. The Last of Us instead makes us look inward instead. While there is much to see in other games, there is much to feel in the Last of Us. 

7 - DIAMOND