The Last of Us Review

Naughty Dog has made many great games from Crass Bandicoot to Uncharted. And they continue the trend with The Last Of Us, and this is their best game yet. Not just the best game from Naughty Dog but one of the greatest games available for the ps3. Sony is definitely lucky to have such a outstanding developer to continue making award winning games in the future.

The Last of Us is not just a game but a experience about Joel and Ellie's adventure in a fungus filled world. The Pandemic has been going on for 22 years and Joel has severed greatly trying to survive this harsh world. Many groups have developed including the remains of the military, clans of civilians, and the Fireflies. He is tasked with transporting a girl named Ellie to the fireflies in exchange for some guns. At first it is just another job for Joel ,but it soon transforms into a character driven and emotional filled story. The game is not about the pandemic but about the journey and character development of Joel and Ellie. The story does something that no other game has done before making you really care about what happens to the characters. Ellie soon becomes the star with her comments and personality. But don't worry she is not helpless and real help you survive as she grows throughout the story. Joel will do whatever it takes to protect Ellie, including some very gruesome feats. Each character is voiced extremely well with such raw emotion and personality. Just the look on someone face can tell a story all by itself.

Along with great voice acting is the beautiful graphics. It is probably the best looking game on the ps3! The plant filled wasteland is jaw dropping. You will want to take a break from the action and let the beautiful scenery sink in. Uncharted has always had some outstanding music and the Last of Us is just the same. Gustavo Santaolalla's music is amazing but it also taps into the deep emotion of the game. With all this combined The Last of Us offers a great story with many surprises along the way.


The gameplay is completely changed from Uncharted. It feels like you are actually playing a real person unlike Nathan Drake who can jump across any chasm. Joel has to find other ways across which mostly involves moving planks or objects such as trash cans and pianos. This is where most of the puzzles come in, and they will make you think but it is never anything to difficult. Uncharted has always been a very linear path and The Last of Us still follows that path but you have more freedom. Joel can be upgrading along the way and so can his guns. You have to find supplies to do that which means exploring off the beaten path. Supplies can also be crafted into many weapons like bombs, shivs, Molotov's, smoke bombs, health kits, and even a board with nails taped to it. This encourages you to explore and lets you have a little bit more freedom. All the upgrading and crafting is done in game which gives a sense of great urgency. The most freedom you have is when it comes to combat. You don't have a lot of bullets so you have to play it smart. There are big, open areas in combat so you can take out the enemies in many different ways. You can shoot all of them, stealth kill them, sneak past them, and use the weapons you have created. This is not a escort game and your partner will help out. Ellie will throw bricks to distract enemies and even kill some herself. The one problem is when your sneaking Ellie will just run out in the open and the bad guys still won't see her. No matter what situation you are in there is a sense of pressure and terror. And that is what the Last of Us does best. You are always on the edge of your seat because you never now what lurks around the corner. Humans are not the only enemies, there is also the infected and they are nothing like your normal zombie. Runners have just been bitten and they will run after you. Clickers have been dead for a long time and fungus has grown over their face. They use a sort of eco location to see. The creepiest part is hearing them click when you are searching a spooky, dark building. Then there are Bloaters who have been dead for a very, very long time. They are big, fat, and ugly, not to mention extremely hard to kill. The mix of infected and humans give a mix that no other game has done before.

 Naughty Dog has created another masterpiece and it is not over when you beat the 20 hour campaign. You will have to replay the missions to get all the collectables and test out all the different unlocks. But you will probably jump right on over to multiplayer. I said before that Naughty Dog should get someone else to work on the online gameplay and I was dead wrong. They actually did a great job and created something original. You can play supply run which is just a team deathmatch mode, but your team will have to work together to win. You don't have to shoot them a lot and there are a good variety of weapons to use including the ones you craft yourself. Then there is survivors which consists of 5 rounds where you only have 1 live. The most interesting part is your clan. You are a leader of a group of survivors and you have to bring back supplies to keep your group alive. If you don't bring back enough, people will get hungry and eventually turn sick and die. The goal is to survive 12 weeks. It is also fun because it uses your Facebook friends! The one problem is if I lose connection in the middle of the match it still counts it against me.

This is one of the best games on the ps3 and everyone should check it out. The multiplayer brings that same intensity from the campaign and it is great fun. The campaign brings a heartfelt experience and a one of a kind experience that will never be forgotten. The Last of Us deserves to top score of 9.9!