Sunday 12 February 2017

The Last Of Us -  A Modern Masterpiece


Introduction
Following the success of their previous franchises (Crash Bandcioot, Jak and Daxter and the Uncharted series) Naughty Dog started development on their next big project. They began work on the last of us in 2009 following the release of Uncharted 2 and formally announced the game in December 2011. Neil Druckmann was put in charge of developing the story and it's characters and following the games release in June 2013 it's safe to say he did an amazing job. Not only did it contain a heart felt story and a young strong female character, it also felt very real despite it's horrific and extraordinary themes.

What's it About
The game focuses on two main characters and how their paths cross in a post apocalyptic setting. A strain of a fungus known as Cordyceps (It's real btw look it up) has mutated to a level where it can infect and take over the brains of human hosts with no known cure, vaccination or antidote. The infection has spread at a faster rate than the government and army could handle and has taken over the majority of the United States. The country is in turmoil with little pockets of civilisation still remaining in quarantined areas which are heavily policed and small rations of food and supplies are given. Other groups either travel across the country as nomads or take over more distant and hostile areas.

Joel is one such resident of the quarantined zones, and his area has been suffering from ration shortages for while now. A middle aged man who lost his daughter Sarah in the early days of the apocalypse he now works as smuggler both within and outside of the quarantine zone with his friend Tess. Here they meet Marlene, the leader of a rebel militia known as the fireflies who oppose the leaders of the quarantined zones. She offers them boxes of arms in return for smuggling Ellie, a teenage girl to the fireflies main base at another destination in Boston. From here the three of them will experience a journey of twists, turns, joy and disappointment until everything finally slides into place.


This game will make you cry and you won't even complain. I would easily put this down as one of the best stories ever in a video game period. The relationship between Joel and Ellie blossoms into one of a father-daughter relationship, that seems so so real. The characters met upon the way feel very real although not all of them are the nicest people you could meet. It gives a very dark view into the psyche of people and how we would behave in a apocalyptic type environment. There's also a competitive multiplayer feature to this game that adds just many more hours of enjoyment to the overall experience. Trust me in saying you will love this game.

Naughty dog were also not afraid to make some bold choices when making this game and their decisions really payed off. Gaming in general never really focuses on female characters and has been viewed as quite sexist from time to time. However this did not deter Druckmann one bit. Despite pressure from many retailers they downright refused to remove Ellie from the cover as she was an integral part of the game. And this decision has earned team even more plaudits from fans and critics alike.


Final Thoughts
Now although I only got to play this through its remaster on the PS4, I still managed to fall in love with the story and the characters. It is genuinely one of my favourite games of all time and the story is better than most movies I have seen especially as of late. I would encourage any gamer or story lover in general to give it a go. The score is amazing too and really makes the scenes come to life. The ending will really make you question your morality, and if you have any sort of a heart at all there might even be a few tears. Roll on Part 2.

Final Rating: 10/10


2 comments:

  1. I had a whole other definition for gaming before coming across your blog! :) Keep it up!

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    1. Thanks a lot I hope you liked it :) Just try to give my honest opinion great to see someone enjoyed it!

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