Quote:Ollie Reviews: The Last of Us



I can honestly admit that I was worried about Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, as I was one of the few that loathed Uncharted 3, but I can gladly say that most of my worries about The Last of Us have disappeared since inserting it in to my Playstation 3.
A simplistic menu that tells it’s own tale which is up for discussion is the first thing you see. To me the menu screen represents hope, a window looking to a bright future which many may dream of in the world of The Last of Us, but know is unlikely to arrive.




Almost immediately you are thrown in to an emotional journey set in a post-apocalyptic America (and world), where everyone’s main goal is to survive. Although it may seem to take on a few cliches at first, the story takes on very few of them. The Last of Us’ story revolves around a brutal survivor, Joel (played by Troy Baker) who attempts to smuggle a young girl born in to this world of madness, Ellie (played by Ashley Johnson), across America to a group known as the “Fireflies”. As the game progresses, so does Ellie and Joel’s relationship, from hardly being able to stand each other, to developing in to a sort of Father-Daughter type relationship, along with this, you also grow a connection with the characters- something that I find very important in games. While travelling throughout America you shall come across the “Infected”. The Infected are humans that (as the name suggests) have been infected by Cordyceps, which just so happens to be based on a real virus that infect insects. There are four main types/stages of infected including; Runners, Stalkers, Clickers and Bloaters. You will also come across other survivors, and they are what you should be afraid of. The Last of Us does have a problem, pretty much everyone you come across is unfriendly, yes there are a few characters that are friendly, but they’re apart of the story, I just thought that it would be nice to just be able to walk freely through a group, without being shot at.
It took me approximately 15 hours and 59 minutes to complete the story for The Last of Us, meaning it only just manages to scrape by my minimum amount of play-time for a linear experience (15 hours, at least 25 hours for open-world games). It is difficult to delve in to the story without spoiling it as there are many twists and turns, but one thing is for sure and that is, that it’s one epic tale.




There isn’t much to be said about the gameplay in The Last of Us. It is what it is, it certainly isn’t perfect, but it gets the job done. When you come across an enemy, you’ll have two options, either going in stealthy or bursting in loud. Usually you’ll be forced to go with the latter, and this system tends to be standard in most modern games, so it’s not really anything special. One thing I do like is that when you have to craft something in the game, it takes real time, and that can make for some really intense situations.
Scavenging for items is a big part of the game. Even though finding items really isn’t too rare, I still like to go around every little area and collect as much as I can. The problem with this is that I usually find myself having to crouch while doing so because I’m so worried that there might be another enemy around the corner, so it can be quite slow and grueling. Generally the gameplay can feel a little repetitive at times, but only barely. The AI is also quite bad at times. Although it was Naughty Dog’s decision, the enemy AI only recognize you, not Ellie or any other friendly AI you have with you. Ellie may as well just stand in front of an enemy and the enemy will just go about it’s usual business. I’m sure if Naughty Dog had a little more time, they would’ve had the ability to improve the AI, but they were rushing considering the game had already suffered from one delay.

The graphics in The Last of Us are stunning. Naughty Dog have utilised the Playstation 3 to it’s fullest to show off a post-apocalyptic America in the best way possible. Anybody who plays The Last of Us will crave and love every moment in the bright sunshine and fear every moment in the interior darkness. I hate to say it but no matter how stunning the visuals look, the settings can feel a little repetitive at times. Nonetheless it is great to see how nature reclaims it’s land in The Last of Us.

Although The Last of Us contains multiplayer, it isn’t the focus, which is great. The multiplayer hasn’t done much of anything new. It’s just player vs player in intense situations. People have suggested that the multiplayer is amazing and is what makes the game, but not to me.

Overall, The Last of Us is probably the most brutally violent game I have ever played. Naughty Dog have done a fantastic job with this, although I wouldn’t call it a 10/10 masterpiece, it is up there as one of the greatest games I have ever played and won’t be forgotten anytime soon. I find it unfortunate that it is a Playstation 3 exclusive, meaning that a lot of gamer’s will miss out on The Last of Us. I prefer not to give games a score, as I’d like people to actually read my review’s and think about what information I have given them from my experience with them and finally decide whether or not this is a game for them, so instead I’m just going to answer yes or no, as to whether or not I’d suggest it. Do I suggest The Last of Us? Yes, to anybody and everybody with a PS3, I suggest that you shouldn’t miss out on one of the final and great games of this generation.