The Last of Us: Incredibly Powerful Yet…

Hello everybody!

Here is my review for the PS3 masterpiece, The Last of Us.

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TITLE: The Last of Us

DEVELOPER: Naughty Dog

GENRE: Action-Adventure, Survival-Horror

YEAR: 2013

Alright, here it is. The Last of Us was one of my most anticipated games for 2013 (and I wouldn’t be surprised if I wasn’t the only one) and all I have to say is that The Last of Us is different.  Critics and many gamers are hailing Naughty Dog for making yet another incredible masterpiece and, while I have to agree with them in some aspects, I was somewhat let down by The Last of Us. I don’t know what it is, but I have this feeling about The Last of Us, that there could be plenty more on top of this greatness.

     Well, on to the review. The first thing that I should mention as how beautiful and detailed this damn game is. More than half of the game I thought I was watching an artsy fartsy film (while there are nothing with artsy fartsy films). Naughty Dog’s in-house engine as well as the Havok physics engine definitely gave the audience the looks of a lifetime.  Is this an improvement on the engine for the Uncharted series?

     The Last of Us‘s story was absolutely as mesmerizing, entertaining, and deep as I had hoped. I was a little confused in the very beginning (prologue if you will), as I thought that we had already lost a main character ten minutes into the game.  The game begins at the very beginning of the outbreak near Austin, Texas. At first you play as Joel’s daughter Sarah (who I mistook for Ellie) and Joel, Sarah, and Joel’s brother Tommy (who I truly was going to die in those first few minutes) try to escape the city at the time of the initial outbreak. Coming across a lone military officer, Joel pleads for help but the officer fatally wounds Sarah, then is murdered by Tommy. Fast forward twenty years, that is when the real game starts.

     Alright, this is my biggest pet peeve about The Last of Us. Why don’t you have the choice to play as either Joel or Ellie?  Why is this choice made for you so early on in the game.  The Last of Us prides itself on the player being able to make his own choices throughout the game, yet it restricts you right in the beginning?  As soon as I knew I was going to play as Joel for the majority of the game, I pictured Ellie as another Ashley Graham from Resident Evil 4.  At least Ellie is very helpful and I actually cared for her well-being throughout the game.  I was also pleasantly surprised that I was able to play as Ellie for a small amount off and on in the third act.

PROS:

• Amazing engine and game play.
• Invigorating and entertaining story.
• Somewhat interesting take on the zombie/rage virus genre.
• Ellie could have been another Ashley Graham.
• Moral Choices.

CONS:

• No choice of character.
• Somewhat confusing plot.
• Could have been a little more.

SCORE: 8.5/10

What did you think of The Last of Us? Leave me your opinion in the comments below.

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