Review: The Last Of Us - Survival Never Felt So Important
From the moment your epic journey begins, you become attached to and invested in the lives of Joel and Ellie. The emotional intensity displayed at the very start, is a theme which remains constant throughout. Set in a dystopian world with a premise not dissimilar to ‘The Road’, The Last of Us is an immersive voyage through a post apocalyptic land of peril. Set 20 years after the Cordyceps virus (which is a real virus by the way) wiped out 90% of civilization, the small scrap of humanity which remains must do everything they can to protect themselves not only from the infected, but from each other.
You play as Joel, a grizzled veteran of survival who, after a little back story, gets tasked with transporting a 14 year old girl called Ellie to a resistance group known as The Fireflies. The relationship between the two forms the crux of the games enthralling story. The partnership is forced at first, but over time and through shared struggles, the bond tightens. Joel’s toughened exterior is born of necessity, but also as a product of a haunted past. Ellie on the other hand is a precocious teenager, who knows the world only as it is today. Her fascination with the past is shown through curious interactions with her surroundings, and casual conversations she has with Joel about how things used to be.
The setting is beautifully realised thanks to the talented team at Naughty Dog. The lighting effects, flora and fauna, water and weather effects really bring the relatively abandoned world to life. There are several ‘slow pan’ moments as you take in the view, and realise just how much of the city you still have to traverse before you reach your next destination. The fact that your attention gets directed towards your goal at regular intervals, gives you a real sense that you’re making progress, and is a nice touch.
In fact, TLoU is full of nice touches, and I think it’s all the little things added together that make this the great experience that it is. The way the cockroaches on the walls scatter when you shine the torch on them. The way your torch starts to flicker out, but you can bring it back to life with a quick shake of the controller. The way Ellie quietly talks to herself and hums a tune every now and then. I know these are only small things and we’ve seen several of them before, but a game’s worth is equal to the sum of all its parts... and this has a lot of good parts.
The cutscenes shine with customary Naughty Dog polish. The high level of motion capture, subtle eye movement and emotion portrayed through facial animations, makes for engaging viewing. The voice acting is also top notch, headed by two of the gaming industry’s current crop of voice talent. Couple this with seamless transitions back to the action, and it really hammers home that ‘interactive movie’ feel.
Sneaking plays an important role, because ammo and supplies are scarce. Joel also has a special hearing ability, which enables you to sense nearby foes through sound. If you can creep around and take down enemies silently by strangulation, you can save precious bullets. However it does take time to perform this manoeuvre, so it’s not applicable for all situations. The way your victims, particularly the human ones, flail their arms about trying to grasp you as you squeeze the life out of them, adds a certain realistic impact to what you’re doing. But just remember; it’s kill or be killed. It’s as simple as that.
You find various materials in your travels that you can use to craft things like health packs, shivs, Molotov cocktails etc. You can only carry a certain amount of resources, and a certain amount of items, so you need to carefully consider what you craft, what you use and when. The usual assortment of collectibles are available to discover as well. Training manuals will improve the effectiveness of certain items, while notes will often tell stories of the previous occupants. It’s quite interesting to walk into a room where something clearly went down, and then find out what happened through reading the last words of the actual person who experienced the horror first hand.
There’s a small array of weapons available, which can be upgraded at workbenches by recovering parts and tools. Joel himself can even be upgraded by finding pills, giving boosts to max health, hearing distance, crafting and healing time etc. These can be particularly useful, as saving time to heal yourself in a tight situation can be the difference between life and death. There aren’t enough pills or parts to fully upgrade on the first playthrough, so it adds an element of careful strategy when deciding what you want, nay need, to improve.
There are basically 2 types of enemies, humans and infected, and they each require their own unique tactics to take out. Humans will take cover, flank you, throw Molotov’s to flush you out, and generally think more about what they’re doing. The infected however, will simply rush you, often in groups, with complete disregard for anything other than taking you down. It can be quite terrifying when surrounded by these creatures, with no time to heal, and no safe haven to take a breath in. Often times, your only option is to run! There’s a really immersive sense of survival which truly makes you fear for your life, and there’s a lot more at stake than that...
The Last of Us takes it to another level when it comes to gaming experiences. It raises your expectations of everything you play afterwards. Some games have the graphics, some have the story, some have the gameplay and some have immersion. This has them all. There’s really no one area that lets it down, it’s quality from start to finish. If you’ve ever watched ‘The Road’ and wanted to be Viggo Mortensen (although I don’t know why you would?), this is a must play. So if you’re looking for a game, that’s the ultimate in survival, pick up The Last of Us, it simply has no rival.
Choose your difficulty: Fun, Challenging, Frustrating, RageQuit
Does playing on a harder difficulty mean a greater sense of achievement, or a stronger urge to go postal? Is it possible there’s a direct correlation between the scaling of the difficulty and your enjoyment? Whether it’s a shooter, RPG, beat em’ up or racer, the difficulty you choose can greatly affect how much fun you have when you play. Set it too easy, and you may wonder why you’re bothering to play the game at all. Set it too hard however, and it can be a groundhog day of repeating stages and being beaten and killed by the enemy time and time again.
There’s certainly something to be said for playing on a more user friendly difficulty. The pleasure you get destroying enemies with the greatest of ease, gives you that feeling of being a real badass… and isn’t that really what gaming is all about? I guess you could say it depends on the type of game you’re playing. The sentiment may ring true for shooters and action games, but what about other genres? For instance, I like driving games and I’ve got the full setup with a Logitech G25 and a racing frame (can you tell I like driving games?). So when I’m racing I like a good challenge and I generally turn off the assists and crank up the difficulty to the point where I have to be driving really well to get a good result. That way, if I finish poorly, it’s on me. No blaming the AI for a cheap headshot from 3 miles away. So I guess your skill level and the confidence you have playing your chosen title, factor in to how comfortable you are making the competition harder.
Borderlands is an interesting example. As you play and level up your character, the difficulty scales, and the enemies you encounter raise in level along with you. In a way, it’s kind of like a dynamic difficulty. You’ll come across bosses in certain areas which are much tougher than you, and you have the option to take them on as is for a much more dangerous fight, or retreat, do some easier missions, and come back when your level more closely matches theirs. You could say it’s a little bit ‘choose your own difficulty’. Usually there will be a variety of missions available to you, ranging from trivial, to hard, to impossible, so you can pick and choose as you please. I personally like this model as you’re not stuck with a decision you made before you even started playing the game. You have the ability to modify the challenge on the fly, and feel much more in control of your own destiny.
Sometimes it’s hard to strike the correct balance between fun and challenge. If you don’t care about earning trophies, then it’s much easier to change the difficulty as you go. But for those who do, and there are difficulty specific trophies available, it can be a frustrating ride. Perhaps your first playthrough should be on a slightly easier setting, so you’ve got time to hone your skills? Maybe you just throw caution to the wind, consequences be damned! What’s important to remember is that playing video games is about having fun, and if you’re not having fun, you may as well clean the bathroom.
