What a week its been for Sony and the Playstation brand. It’s no secret that the PS3 struggled to get off the blocks at the beginning of this generation, meanwhile the Xbox 360 continued to gain momentum with consumers and publishers. Only this week at E3 have Sony managed to turn things around
Yet, you’d never know it. With the quality of PS3 releases we’re seeing in 2013, anyone would think this was Sony’s strategy all along. Save the best till last.
The Last Of Us fits that bill extremely well.
Format: PS3
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: Out Now
The thing that excites me most about next-gen are in-game narratives. In 2013, games have never been more coherant. They’ve never been this engaging and they’ve never made us openly weep like blubbering babies.
Last year’s The Walking Dead made me an insufferable wreck. Every episode played my heartstrings like a violin. Same with Journey. The ambience, art and atmosphere in that game have not been matched since.
Then there’s the prologue in The Last of Us and everything that follows thereafter. It’s not fun, it’s not pretty, but you won’t be able to stop playing. You can’t. The game powerpunches you in the chest and will not let you come up for air until you’re deeply entrenched in this broken, fractured world. It won’t let you free until you’re heartily invested in Joel and Ellie and you come to understand and accept their challenging, reluctant relationship.
And that’s when The Last of Us really comes to life. This is a narrative-driven experience, through and through, and its one of the best i’ve ever seen in a video-game.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not technically perfect. There are some slight problems, such as questionable AI moments, broken textures, occassional clipping problems and specific sweet-spots that need to be identified and triggered to make game progress, but all of that is forgotten about with each cut-scene and every dynamic set-piece.
Even laborious sections all gamers hate such as underwater travelling or ‘hunts for missing car parts’ are made interesting through banter, location and suspense. Naughty Dog once again prove that they are masters of their craft and have been, without question, Sony’s goldmine for quality this generation.
From reactive facial expressions that reveal as much as a line of dialogue, to gritty voice acting that is as good as we’ve ever heard, the game feels like a long interactive movie, but without the filler. Everyone plays their role well, though some lines do come across as if they’ve been rehearshed and thrown out during long sessions in a recording studio. While rare and hardly noticeable, some delivery does lack desired impact.
But, really, my complaints are minor. The game is an absolute masterclass in how to do things right. From start to finish, I was hooked and unlike many games that have released this gen, I am sure to remember the events and the characters very well in the years to come.
Even the crafting and healing system feels genuine and believable in this environment and presents a nice tactical edge for all to see. Joel can wrap himself in bandages when hurt, but he can also use items he collects in the world to create more survival tools, increase the competency of melee weapons and guns, and even improve his instincts in the wilderness.
Joel can also use a listen mode which allows him to see his enemies locations (even through walls) enabling him to creep up and attack, or even avoid them completely. You can play the game however you see fit and the game won’t reprimand you. There is no right or wrong way. The mechanic works wonderfully well in the game and could be adapted for future titles quite effectively.
Even the multiplayer is well implemented and interesting. Factions let players choose between hunters or fireflies and it is the duty of the player to keep a small number of survivors alive overtime.
There are two game types: Supply Raid, in which a player’s team has 20 reinforcements. Once they’re lost, the game enters a sudden death mode. There’s also a Survivor’s mode which includes respawns and matches are made up of best of seven. Once a player is killed, they are eliminated until next round.
Players can revive a fallen teammate, and fallen teammates can crawl to allies. This makes for a greater emphasis on teamwork.
The crafting system also works here, as well as Listen mode which allows players to see enemies with silenced weapons.
Final Analysis
Has a first-party exclusive ever been this good? Not Halo. Not Gears. Not even Uncharted. The Last of Us absolutely deserves to be a system seller. It raises the bar for quality and sets standards that will become industry hallmarks for years to come.
It’s still hard to believe, but I think Bioshock Infinite may have been trumped as my current Game of the Year. The Last of Us is the absolute definition of an essential Day One Purchase.
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