How to begin?...How do you begin when it comes to the strongest contender for Game Of The Year thus far, and yes some may debate that with other greats like Bioshock: Infinite and Tomb Raider, but for me I currently stand behind The Last Of Us, at least until I get to play Beyond, lol, if its good of course.
For those thinking of embarking on this journey created for us by Naughty Dog, be prepared for one of the most heart-breaking and intense rides, you will probably experience for some time.
Computer/Video games, (depending on where you live in the world :p) are increasingly creating experiences which arguably, are becoming better and more engrossing, than all other forms of media combined...at this point at least.
The Last Of Us allows us to experience those moments we don't usually see in movies, specifically in this case the moment of a viral outbreak. The fear, confusion and break down in the rule of order...and that's in the first 10 mins of gameplay, the end of which leaves you feeling emotionally broken and frustrated that things could not have gone another way. Talk about being put in the moment!!
Naughty Dog may lay the emotions on thick at the start, but trust me you will love them for it.
From the opening credits, we then follow our first two main characters, Joel and Tess on a journey to find a man who wronged them, which then leads us on a completely separate experience, where we meet the second of our main characters Ellie.
The nice thing about the Last Of Us, is that they chose to give as much credit to all three of those characters. You would be hard pushed to debate the importance of each one against the other. That is something you don't really see much, in games or in movies! So, Kudos to the guys at Naughty Dog.
They gave us characters we fall in love with in a really intense way, a gripping story that develops in an intense yet realistic way, when you take into account the world the game exists in, and the desire to play more..to keep going...to reach the end and hope for some kind of resolution that favours these character we have fallen in love with. You will have to play it though, or watch a playthrough to see if that is the case.
Now lets talk about the in game mechanics. Rarely would you have a setup that you would consider to be perfect in a game, but The Last Of Us was designed with speed and ease in mind, and pulls it off better than almost every other game I have played!
Whether it is changing weapons, reading written material or creating combat items, you can zip in and out as quickly as you need, whilst allowing you to keep an eye on your environment or indulge in dialogue with other characters, the latter being an automatic response when you reach certain areas.
The movement of the characters is smooth and precise, and the combat feels so real you almost feel the impact of each hit. Apart from that, it is just fun to take part in melee combat, and experience the extreme close ups that accompany it.
The graphics and the level designs are beautiful, and they tried to vary the look and feel for each area, despite the fact that at the point the game takes place all areas have become overtaken by foilage, and the inner city streets have returned to nature.
If anyone asks "why should I play this game?", the correct response would be "why would you NOT, play this game?"
Across the board this game would and should be enjoyed by all.
Were going to give it a winning score of 9.5/10
Now some may say "hold on what about that MAJOR GLITCH the game had on its release!!"
Yes the game was released with a glitch which unfortunately had many people losing their saves.
That is a horrendous problem to have on day 1 of its release, however, it was patched relatively quickly, and personally I never experienced the problem myself. Plus that is why we removed the half point, or it would have been a 10/10.
So go out and try The Last Of Us, if you are looking for a sure win...then this is the one!
Our Giveaway is running and will end July 11th 2013@Noon UK Time
Click this link to take part:
Youtube.com
Click here for Part 1 of our Walkthrough:
Youtube.com
All the best guys, and thanks again for your time,
Tal@WMHD
