It shouldn’t come as a surprise that The Last Of Us came out on top of last week’s WeView poll. The game scored very highly amoung critics, with it storming to the top of the UK sales charts in June and holding the top spot for the following six weeks.
The Last Of Us emotionally moved me in a way very few games have. Without revealing too much the opening level, even after only a handful of minutes with the game, left me heartbroken and shedding tears. The Last Of Us was a heart wrenching experience from start to finish – Naughty Dog created a masterpiece in my eyes.
Alex reviewed The Last Of Us for TSA, and scored the game a 10/10. He described the visuals as “some of the best this generation of consoles has ever produced”. Alex was also quick to praise Gustavo Santaolalla’s accompanying soundtrack saying “it fits the game so well it’s hard to imagine it without it.”
His conclusion, albeit quite a lengthy one, perfectly describes The Last Of Us for me:
“Joel and Ellie’s story is a sprawling, often desperate struggle for survival against insurmountable odds and a series of increasing bad rolls of the dice, and it’s expertly told.
But there are moments of beauty in the tale, both physically and emotionally, between a mismatched duo that end up relying on each other far more than either thought they might. The bright moments are overwhelmingly powerfully so, the innocent ignorance of Ellie’s upbringing slotting perfectly between Joel’s dark, barbed decades of his own private hell, and those they meet on the way.
There’s one fleeting, momentary respite near the end of the tale as Ellie stares out onto a rich green field, Joel at her side. It’s quiet, poignant, delicate and shows an element of nature untouched by the disasters around it. A reminder that not all is bad, not all is lost, and, after everything that’s happened, it’s hard to fight back the tears. These things you can’t help but carry with you long after it’s all over, and few other games can have that kind of hook, that kind of reaction.
The Last Of Us does. Several times. Just be ready.”
Now it’s over to you – pop down your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to give The Last Of Us either a Buy It, Bargain Bin It, Rent It or Avoid It rating. I’m expecting a large response for this week’s WeView so make sure to comment by Sunday evening if you want to be included in Monday’s verdict article.
Moshbag
Superb game, very rarely puts a foot wrong. My only problem with it is that I was so invested in the story and what was happening on screen, that the conventional gameplay elements often felt quite jarring and out of place (especially dying!).
It actually makes a mockery of games like Heavy Rain which try so hard to ‘tell a story’ at the expense of gameplay. I should say rent it because I think it only needs a single playthrough to experience its quality, but really you should Buy It to support such brilliant developers.
Also has one of the most satisfying shotguns ever put into a game, and there’s a lot of competition out there!
JR.
Incredible game. I can’t fault it.
Buy it and then slap yourself in the face for not buying it sooner.
stueeeee
I’m about half way through, and so far it is a refreshing game in amongst the shooter these days. Although it has a lot of cover and shooting, it’s much less than uncharted which makes it feel like u really are trying to survive. There are some standout shock moments I enjoyed too, even after the first chapter.
The best bits IMO aren’t when your trying to not get killed by a clicker for the fifth time, (although the first few times are tense) but when your trekking through the abandoned towns and houses, seeing what families have left and picturing what they were doing at the time.
So much time and effort appears to have gone into these details it’s a pleasure to look around with the torch and see it all, even though some areas and rooms u don’t even have to go in.
I could have down without some of the clicker levels which started tense and became a bit annoying, and with the gruesome kills too.
It’s a BUY IT. The PS3’s swansong.
Mundham
The game had an emotional resonance that few games have ever reached (FF7 and Journey being it’s only peers in my 30 years of gaming). Buy It.
boyinastairwell
Buy it! I understand it’s not everyone’s cup if tea but it reminded me of playing Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation; it’s a game that feels new (even if the mechanics and basic story have been seen before) and the characters are so well realised that you can’t help but feel attached to them.
I agree with other comments that it’s the small things that add to the level of detail. I’m trying not to spoil anything but there’s a moment towards the end of the game where you encounter something very unexpected which literally blew me away. It was a combination of what was happening on the screen and the music but it had me playing with a massive grin on my face!
doug
Rent or bargin bin it
My expectations were high for this game so in preparation I played all 3 uncharteds again before release hoping for another classic from ND but after playing it for 3 hours and it not saving thanks to the glitch I found myself forcing my way through it just to finish it so I could sell it on and even then I only got to 80 something percent through it before giving up because I got bored with it
Defiantly not a game of this generation as some say but looks wise it’s up there I’ll stick with uncharted thank you very much
PoorPaddy89
I rented it myself, and have played through the single-player campaign three times now. The story is very good, despite heavily borrowing plot devices from other zom-pocalype fictions. The relationship between the two lead characters is brilliant, equaling if not surpassing that of BioShock Infinite (my personal favourite game of the year). There were a couple of moments particularly towards the end of the second act that really tugged at the heartstrings for me.
It has to be said, however, that this game isn’t perfect. Perhaps it was because I had such high expectations that I noticed the bugs and glitches more that I usually would, and apart from a couple of crashes it didn’t ruin the game. However when assets are late to load, lighting changes incorrectly, and the camera moves through the environment, it does break the immersion of an otherwise incredible game.
I’m going to BUY IT myself soon as I enjoyed it so much and would like to give the multiplayer a go. Little bugs aside, it’s pretty much faultless.
psychobudgie
Buy it. That is all.
Severn2j
Buy it. Definitely one of the best games this generation and possibly one of the best games ever as far as delivering a story. The only other game I can think of that moved me as much as the TLofU was ICO. I do hope they leave it alone tho, it’s so much better as a standalone game, rather than an IP to be milked.
The Lone Steven
I picked up TLOU from Blockbuster for £25 on Saturday and i’m enjoying it. I like the unique feel the infected have. Although, i fucking loathe those clickers. The gameplay is solid and feels like you are really trying not to become an infected’s next snack. The resource system is simple but effective and the stealth system is excellent. The AI is excellent and the characters are excellent. Ellie is very likeable and compensats for Joel’s personality. Joel, he can be a miserable git but it’s very understandable and it is interesting to see the two interact. The story is excellent despite it being one glorifed escort mission but the game makes no attempts to hide it.
I do wish that we had a chance to repel clickers as i’ve died a lot because of them and sometimes, the mob of infected can be annoying but other then that, it’s an excellent game and Naughty Dog has delievered once again. so give that dog a bone and BUY IT.