PS3 Title: The Last of Us

Here is yet another review of one of the latest releases and one of the final fantastic games of this generation of consoles. The Last of Us is quite possibly the best gaming experience you will ever have and I am proud to be able to review this game. As always this is an unbiased review of the game itself, breaking down the key elements of the game itself. Everything you read is purely my opinion and is not in place to be offensive. With that out the way let us begin the review of the best game you will play on the Playstation 3 system.

The first primary element of the Last of Us is the story. If there is a single thing you will remember after playing through this game it is the journey you experience. The characters are very easy to relate to given the many situations and hardships they experience as the game plays out. You follow Joel, a man jaded by losses he has had as the world has changed around him. You also spend the majority of the game following Ellie, a young girl who has also been changed by the world around her. The primary stage of the story is set around the United States, the main change you will notice from the start is that North America has been quarantined due to a rapid infection. People suffering from this infection turn into zombie like creatures or mutate further based off of the duration of the infection.

Just in case you haven't read anything about this game, it is a zombie game. However the focus is not only on the infected, people who are still alive in this post apocalyptic world have also been turned to an almost savage state, making just about every encounter questionable and dangerous. This is the world you have to find a way to survive in, and it is a fantastic experience you will get immersed in from the start. The strongest point of the Last of Us has to be the bond between both Joel and Ellie, and no it is not a love interest you creepers. These two characters are too sides of the same coin in most aspects, they have both experienced loss and have a careless attitude when it comes to their own lives. With that being said they are not reckless with intent to get themselves killed, they just wouldn't really care if they live or die. The character arc between these characters as they overcome the challenges of the world is a great experience in its own right. With the story elements taken care of let us now move to the gameplay that the Last of Us has to offer.

The Last of Us introduces a fresh game experience with action elements, stealth elements, and story elements. You will find yourself often times simply walking and scouring buildings for resources as you proceed through the game. These "slow" points of the game would be incredibly boring if not for the scenery and dialogue taking place. These game elements get you much more involved and invested in the characters you are leading through the world around you. The action elements are nothing we haven't seen when it comes to gunplay. Naughty Dog's previous Playstation title: Uncharted has an almost identical combat system when you are in a firefight or engaging in melee combat. Some "firearms" such as a bow and arrow or flamethrower, require slightly more strategy behind them to make them effective. 

Clickers are not the kind of thing you want giving you a hug

The stealth element of the Last of Us allows you to take a break from blasting everything in sight and places you in many very troublesome situations where sneaking may be a whole lot better than trying to fend off all of the infected or humans in your path. Given that Joel's character is designed to be more realistic than most others, he has to account for recoil with any firearms. This makes gunplay take a back seat to a stealth approach, especially if you want to save ammunition for when you might really need it. The stealth system factors similar elements from Skyrim or Oblivion to make the game more challenging, these elements include moving slowly when in stealth mode to decrease chances of detection, and the ability to use blocks or bottles to make noise in areas. Making noise will draw any nearby enemies to a specific area so throwing a bottle down a hallway you do not plan to explore will free up the road you do intend to travel. As much as most players would like to be constantly shooting down every enemy in sight this is not the game to do so. The enemies (especially infected) are strong and will not go down without a fight. To make things more interesting some of the creature, such as the clicker in the photo above, can instantly kill the player upon grabbing them. Given that players don't like to die this encourages planning before making any movements so that you can get through an area without complications. All in all by combining these elements the player has many choices available to them and most players will not play 100% the same way.

The Last of Us is definitely a must buy for any players looking to get invested in the characters as well as have a fantastic gameplay experience making their own decisions as to which methods to perform to progress in the game. Definitely give this game a try if you have the means, after all if there is any game worth grabbing on the Playstation 3 system, it is this one. 10/10