My neighbor is slamming his torso on
the glass door. Blood is pouring from his mouth and covering his shirt. My dad
is reaching for his gun and before I know it my neighbor is on the ground,
wounded from the gunshot. The city is in shambles, houses are in fire, police
cars are at every corner, and patients are tearing apart the people directly in
front of you. What do you do? You run and try to survive. Why, because we are the
The Last of Us.
The
Last of Us, developed by naughty dog and released in 2013, is a chilling
visual and interactive representation of Cormac
McCarthy's novel The Road (2006). The world of The Last of Us is a
post-pandemic world in which the outbreak ,known as the mutated Cordyceps
fungus, took place in September 2013. In this artistic video game, the lead
protagonist is a man named Joel, a single father voiced by Troy Baker, who
lived through the outbreak in his hometown of Austin, Texas. As twenty years
have passed since the outbreak, the world has since been turned into ruble and
factions spread over the nation with quarantine zones have been put in place
within major cities. Joel has become a
ruthless survivor in this world with few moral lines left to cross. His
life, which by now has become a never endless grinding cycle, will once again
change for better or worse when entrusted by a dying friend to take Ellie, a
four-teen year old girl who is thought to be the cure for the infection and
humanity’s only chance of resurrection voiced by Ashley Johnson, to a near by
quarantine zone but is quickly turned into a profound journey that will forever
change Joel and Ellie.
The criteria that
follows will be used to review The Last of Us overall execution. First
off, the main focus will be held in Representation which includes visuals,
character dynamics and plot along with much more. Secondly, The Last of Us
gameplay will be analyzed by its adaptability and function along with fluidity.
In doing so the final verdict will be presented. Let it be known that for this
review only the campaign will be taken to account.
The Last of Us, the
PlayStation exclusive, is a story based game filled with an enticing narrative.
The pandemic ridden United States in 2033 that is presented by Naughty Dog
provides a suitable backdrop to Joel and Ellie's story while also serves as a
juxtaposition in humanity’s down fall to
natures prosperity. Following the same principles as The Road, The Last of Us
main importance is held with the characters themselves. The game is centered around
the father and daughter like bond between Joel and Ellie that of which starts
off a bit diss-functional due to lack of trust and reliability in the earlier
section of the game. The game does a great job in immersing the player in the
world around the characters. As stated before, Joel is this grizzled character
created through tragic events of the outbreak but often tries to retain the
little humanity he has left and is ironic that through out all the murder and
his wrong doings Joel is easy to root for because he is so relatable. Ellie on
the other hand, while not completely being innocent herself, is viewed to be so
due to her birth during this dystopian era and her hardened exterior shows her
ignorance to the pre-pandemic world which strengthens the players need to
protect her. Not only are these characters stories impactful but so are
countless others which are found along the journey. The world also seems so
real because of little details in rooms visited throughout the story and a
variety of collectables found within the game along with dialogue triggered by
the environment and actions caused by the player. The voice acting is simply
superb giving the game, both literally and figuratively, powerful voice. As
IGN's Colin Moriarty states, “The Last of Us overflow with realism”. Thus creating
a more poignant game
Now onto matters
concerning gameplay. Gameplay is very important to a game of this caliber.
Throughout your journey, Joel and Ellie will come across numerous amounts of
enemies.The outcome of these encounters will depend on the players style and
can change with each play through. Joel is equipped with various weapons and
firearms that are found or given in the course of the game and can be enhanced
at workbenches stationed throughout the campaign with the use of gears that can
be collected. The controls are pretty simple and easy to pick up so I wont
spend too much time on that. One component to these controls worth noting is
the use of the R2 button which prompts Joel's Listening Mode allowing him to
look through walls to detect moving enemies creating sound. This is key to
stealth gameplay in The Last of Us. Using the stealthier approach allows for
conservation of ammo which is very scarce. In combat, one bullet can save Joel
and give him one more day of life or give him salvation from their decaying
world. In addition, taking out a room full of enemies stealthily feels
rewarding as a player. Joel also carries a backpack which holds supplies picked
up from fallen enemies or can be found in the environment and can be used to
concoct a variety of makeshift weapons or med-kits. All of this is done in real
time with no pause. Enemies in this game vary but most are people like Joel
with a single purpose is to breath for another day and makes it hard to judge
these people. For the most part these people are either hunters or fireflies
which are two factions within this world. But the most concerning enemy is the
infected themselves. The infected are humans infected by a mutated form of
Cordyceps fungus in which the fungus takes host of human bodies and zombifies
them. The fungus starts to mutate the body and is shown in stages. The first
stage is called a runner and is a beginning change which has little to none
cosmetic changes to the body but are a quick and agile. The second stage is called
a stalker which seem just like runners but rely on sound and stalk their prey.
The third stage is known as a clicker and is where the fungus has caused
significant cosmetic change to the body up to where the infected has no
eyesight and depends on their echo-locational ability, which is used by making
a clicking sound, to detect movement. Now the final one is called a bloater
because of its physical appearance of being bloated by the fungus creating
armor for the body. These various forms of infected haunt dreams and are best
dwelt with silently. The Last of Us does an extremely well job in
balancing out its thriller aspect and gameplay with its compelling narrative.
Overall the games mobility and combat is astonishing.
Putting the representation
and gameplay of The Last of Us into account the final verdict has been decided.
The outstanding visuals, compelling story and astonishing gameplay is a formula
for a masterpiece of visual and interactive art, all of which can be found in The
Last of Us. This splendid game never
disappoints and continues to amaze the player as the story progresses. This
game is rated M for mature so of course players with a higher degree of
maturity will truly enjoy the game. The game has gained popularity since its
release, so much so that a cinematic production is under development at this
moment. I give The Last of Us a ten out of ten.
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