One of my greatest regrets about going to E3 was missing out on the weekend. Like you guys and girls, I really wanted to have a The Last Of Us weekend. Just lock the doors, put on the comfiest pants I could find and live and breathe the game for a weekend.
I didn’t get to do that. I didn’t even get to play it. I arrived home on Sunday morning and my copy of the game was in the office. No dice.
But I will refer you to the two recent articles I wrote about this game. I wrote about the cool way Naughty Dog was using a real life disease and implementing it into the game world. I also wrote about the mystery of the game, and how little we really knew about The Last Of Us in the lead up to its release.
I can only discuss the game based on what I’ve played of the demo, but I loved the game’s universe, tentatively enjoyed the relationship between the two main protagonists, and was interested in the sporadic combat. I’m hoping it lives up to the promise.
Okay, now over to you guys and girls — what do you think of the game so far?
Comments
52 responses to “Community Review: The Last Of Us”
I think I hate the fact that the closest place I can buy it from is an 8 hour round trip -_-
Can’t get it delivered? In any case, this game is worth an 8 hour trip. 😉
I know it is and I really should have planned in advance. I am hoping quietly that the target country or the little electronics store “might” have it in Narrabri, gotta duck in today.
How’s your net connection? You can download it, I had to because it was sold out everywhere I went. Only took an hour.
I only have the 4GB PS3 at the moment, which gives about 1/5th or 1/6th of the game. Had to replace my old second run 60g machine when it did the overheating fan spinning fury death that they apparently do. Still, I bought it not long after release and it lasted me up until about December last year.
I have a friend doing a trip to the Central Coast on Wednesday so I will get em to pick me up a copy, that or I will summon one to my door via (insert internet shopping site here)
Worth every hour of said trip. Godspeed. 😛
I finished this on the weekend and now I feel… empty and sad.
That’s a testament to an amazing game. One that leaves you craving for more long after its conclusion.
What about New Game+.
Oh yeah. I’ll be doing that. I just wanted the story to continue. The characters really grew on me.
Yeah, I hate that, when a story just sucks you in and leaves you wanting more. Apparently they’re extending the story with some single player DLC, but I’m not sure when it’s coming out.
Based on having read the “real life disease” article, that sounds like a terrible joke. Bravo.
Haha it was an unintentional pun, I swear!
Especially that Joel fellow, he struck me as a fun guy..
Yep, just didn’t want it to end. Anyone tried the Factions stuff?
I’m only about three hours in and it’s alright. The world looks nice, the setting feels well thought out, the characters seem reasonably believable. I don’t know if I’d call it “great”, but there’s been a few well done moments.
only 3 hours in and there’s already a few well done moments? i’d say that’s a good sign of a great game.
A fair point, but nothing has really impressed me yet. Apart from how it looks. Some of the scenery is stunning.
The godfather movies insist upon themselves. 😉
One of the best games of this generation, without a doubt. Acting (esp facial animation is excellent), voice-work is superb, combat/stealth is satisfying and game is pretty long and packed full of crazy levels of detail.
I want to buy this game. But, I’m nearing the end of Dark Souls 2. I’ve already been “distracted” by other games since I got it soon after release, I can’t let another game do that again while I’m so close.
I really like it. I think the scenery is gorgeous and the main characters are very likeable. Over all its a pleasure to play. My only gripe is the camera control swings a bit too much, but I am getting the hang of it.
Absolutely loved it. The storyline dragged me into their world and it looks amazing.
The shooting bits inherit the terrible Uncharted mechanics but thankfully I can avoid most of that by going all Batman on everyone and taking them out by stealth.
Already started my NG+
A little over 50% though, and loving it so far. The first hour or two was great, it drags a little bit when you’re creeping through that building encountering infected for the first time (god knows why they used that bit for the demo, it’s the weakest part of the game so far, IMO). And I had to play that bit twice because of the stupid auto-save bug 🙁
But after that it really gets going again. Very different feel to the Uncharted games… much more stealth-based. Less violence (in terms of bodycount), but what violence there is is much more brutal. I reckon gameplay-wise it’s probably got as much or more in common with Manhunt than it does Uncharted.
Looks and sounds amazing, the production values are on a par with Naughty Dog’s last couple of Uncharted games i.e. as good as it gets at the moment.
Gameplay? Solid, bit underwhelming. Stealth is.. broken at times.
Plot? Fucking amazing.
Sometimes the opponents have terrible peripheral vision!
I’m a few hours in too, loving it so far – just hope it doesn’t become too repetitive. Only bad comments so far are that when in sections where I have to creep silently to avoid detection, my compadrés are hoofing around and shout whispering how scary it is…shuddup!
Also, while the art direction is generally great, the fact that in a computer game, the older version of the younger character in the intro looks like a young actor who’s been made up to look older, ie the same with grey bits…s’weird.
I got about 4 hours in on friday night, then I came across the auto-save glitch, so I had to delete everything and start again.
Started again on Saturday, finished the prologue, then I had to go to work. Had to work all day Sunday.
Enjoyed what I played so far, but not happy that I had to start again. Hopefully I’ll get enough time to finish it during the week.
I really wanted to have a Last of Us weekend too. But Australia Post is too friggin slow to deliver. sadface
Played all friday night, then was hit by the autosave bug and lost 4 hours worth of game time. It wasn’t all bad tho I managed to find more stuff the second time through (safes/doors). I thought the first 25% of the game was a bit ho hum, but am now 55% through and hooked.
Played about 7 or 8 hours in so far. Probably one of the greatest games of this generation. The lure of it’s narrative, the acting, the environments and the real feeling of desperation and constant hostility can’t be missed.
Haven’t yet tried the Multiplayer but I don’t think there’s much we haven’t seen before. I do like the concept of “Factions” however, shakes it up a little bit.
Naughty Dog haven’t disappointed me yet and this game is no different.
Seeing as I’ve only gotten to play a few broken up hours because this game destroys my ps3 because it’s pushes it too hard I would say it’s a good story but not a great game.
The plot so far is sombre and engaging, the characters are very relateable and the world is very pretty. Game play on the other hand leaves a little to be desired, the movement feels very bogged down and odd (character will side step instead of turning and moving most of the time) and combat is a bit tired and very much done before.
Borrowing a friends ps3 so I can finish the game in the next week so hopefully they throw a few twists in the game play to make it more interesting.
Gameplay remains pretty much the same the whole game, you enter a room with water and instantly think, where is the pallet? You enter a room with a high place and think where did they put the ladder?
The combat was quite lacklustre. It would have been a little better if they didn’t have zombies that were immune to melee. It would have been much more fun if almost any zombie were able to be taken down via stealth kills.
Also I dont get why the enemies dont drop the guns they hold. You will kill people holding all manner of guns without them having fired a shot yet they drop neither gun nor ammo most of the time. You kill a few zombies and they will drop 5 shotgun shells? What is up with that?
Are you trolling? Or haven’t played more than an hour?
The combat is great.
The runners (the less developed infected) can be kill with melee AND stealth attacks.
The clickers can’t be strangled in a stealth attack but shivved. They are stronger physically.
The combat is really satifying, especially drawing in clickers to a molotov cocktail.
There’s no intricate puzzles unlike in Uncharted so you are partly right about gameplay feeling same-ish.
I sort of agree with you that the enemies should drop more ammo. Maybe they are pretending to have ammo to deter their threats. You just don’t know if that gun is really loaded until it fires or clicks empty. I was playing on a harder difficulty with no ammo left so I grabbed a guy as a human shield and bluffed my way closer to his partner who had a gun, strangled the human shield and punched out the other guy.
The combat certainly is not great, it’s unoriginal as hell. If I have to play another “hide behind a waist high wall until patrolling enemy is alone enough press button to kill” game it will be far too soon.
The addition of using distractions is nice except they have been totally unpredictable so far and not required so why would I use them?
It’s disappointing that combat feels like it’s in the way of the story.
I have passed the game and I enjoyed it alot, I just figured I should list the things I found wrong with it considering everyone else has long listed what is good about it.
I was just referring to clickers and the big guys whose name I have forgotten that will just kind of insta kill you while you are wrestling with clunky movement.
As an xbox fan, this game makes me glad that I own a ps3. Beautiful looking game, fluid movements and intense combat. Even the smaller details like holstering your gun etc is oh so satisfying. Almost 5 hours in and loving it. Spent most of the weekend playing state of decay if im honest.
I think even my grandmother knows how good the single player game is by now, and she has been dead for 5 years.
Anyone play the multi player??
I thought it was kind of nifty. Its the only multi player game where everyone works together. I suppose only having 7 bullets each helps with the bonding.
Sorry, not a review BUT – I hope to start this tonight….Hopefully my wife leaves me to this in my man cave for a while, because it sounds like it’s delightfully immersive.
Edit: spelling mistake.
Loving the game so far, no idea how far through it I am. All I know is I can’t wait to get home and kick my wife off the couch.
Although my biggest gripe with the game is this – you have to be super stealthy and silent around clickers so they don’t hear you, but Ellie and co. can go running circles around them and it doesn’t wake them up!
Started playing on Normal on Friday night, read some tips saying to bump it to hard, did so on Saturday morning, finished it Sunday afternoon. Immediately restarted on Hard, because completing the last 95% of the game on Hard, even if you go back and redo the prologue and first two chapters, is not considered “completing the game on Hard”, and I want to do NG+ on Hard. Knowing where most major supplies and area exits are makes it much faster to get through, though, so shouldn’t take too long.
Gameplay is pretty good – especially the first clicker encounter, which really helps set the tone for the rest of the game. Taking out an area full of bandits without anyone seeing you is… addictive, to say the least. Some of the levels hide their exits a little too well, but that just encourages you to explore areas you normally wouldn’t (and likely find helpful supplies).
The story is amazing. The fact that I had tears in my eyes at the end of the prologue, less than half an hour in, speaks volumes. The one thing I’m amazed by is how well the character development is tied into the gameplay.
Especially Winter – that lonely opening is so poignant, and the chaos that bookends it makes it stand out that much more.The only problem I have with the story isthe lack of story to fill that twenty year gap at the start, and what lead to the events with Robert.Regarding the ending,I have mixed feelings… I think any way they wrapped up the story would have left me with mixed feelings, but I feel like the one they opted for left me feeling far more conflicted than the alternatives. That said, they say one of the hallmarks of a good story is that it is able to generate such mixed feelings.When Winter came I,,,
…initially thought that Joel was dead. Which I suppose was the point of that. It made it even more interesting to play as Ellie, especially considering what she had to go through all alone now.That was what made it such a powerful scene. You think “She’s had to grow up so much since Joel’s death; she’s so much more self-reliant, so much more distrusting, so much more serious.” Gone is the bravado, replaced with pure determination to survive. And the hunt gives you time to time to just reflect on Joel’s death; to mourn.But then you see that glimpse of the hopeful child bursting through the façade: “Medicine! Do you have any antibiotics?”, giving you a clue as to the reality, and also how dire her situation really is, even as it all just keeps getting worse.
Well said! That’s exactly what I thought/felt when playing that bit.
I loved the contrast between that and Joel saying “you’re not my daughter”. I can also see why Joel initially had that stance. He didn’t want to lose another person he cared for, so I think he attempted to detach himself. But you could see how it was inevitable that they’ll end up looking out for each other. Although not exactly an original story by any means, it was really well written.I’m really liking this game so far…the only issue I had was the manual/auto save bug where I lost about 3 hours of play on late Friday night (something that Naughty Dog were made aware of and investigating with Sony)….caused me to start pretty much back from the start.
The storyline is really really engaging (hence why when I stopped playing on Friday night it was 3am in the morning)…I can see how Gamespot gave this game an 8 (where the AI NPC’s could sometimes run past clickers and not get detected) but that’s only a small flaw in otherwise a great game.
Also this game puts the whole ‘damsel in distress’ trope to bed, because every single female in this game has a really strong character.
New York Times say no….
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/arts/video-games/in-the-video-game-the-last-of-us-survival-favors-the-man.html?_r=0
I’m PC and XBox360 and I feel I’m missing out… However, I never trust 10/10 game scores.
But what got me giggling was the response to the Gamespot review… God forbid it got an 8/10!
Rage on internet! Rage on!
I’m skeptical of 10/10 games too, but this really is a gaming gem. So much so that I’d be inclined to say you should get yourself a PS3 just to play this. 😛
I’m playing it at the moment and I don’t think it is worthy of a 10/10. sometimes the controls are clumsy. you know when your about to get overwhelmed by enemies as there suddenly becomes an abundance of supplies. I haven’t finished the game yet. I’m guessing i am about 50% through so maybe the next half of the game will get the other 2 points to make it 10/10
Its wasnt fantastic, but it was pretty good. Some of the combat felt tacked on for the sake of it, but other than that it was an enjoyable experience.
Things I don’t like. You can’t pick up ammo or guns off people you kill (most of the time) and you can’t pick up used arrows you shoot with the bow. Everything else has been great.
Awesome so far and living up to the hype. Also this video has some fun with the game as well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdUbA6elI-Y