14 DAY TRIAL // 
Naughty Dog has delighted PlayStation fans over the years by creating big franchises like the recent Uncharted or the classic Jak and Daxter.
Now, the studio has brought forth The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic survival adventure game that focuses on two characters, Joel and Ellie, as they try to navigate a devastated United States of America.
With the promise of a novel story, a true emphasis on survival and stealth, as well as the polish that's expected of a Naughty Dog game, the new PS3-exclusive is looking really good.
Is The Last of Us a true survivor or should the infected chew through its corpse? Let's find out.
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Story
The Last of Us focuses on Joel and Ellie, two unlikely survivors of an apocalyptic infection that swept across North America, turning those who caught the deadly fungal spores into agile killers and, provided the infection is undisturbed long enough, caused the appearance of monstrous creatures.
Joel is a grizzled individual who lost loved ones during the outbreak and, in the 20 years since the original infection, struggled to stay alive through whatever means possible. Ellie, meanwhile, is a young girl who's been raised in quarantine zones and didn't even see the outside world with all its gorgeous sights and massive dangers.
Through a series of events, they're forced to travel across the U.S. in search of allies and, along the way, they'll go through many different adventures, as well as plenty of ups and downs in terms of their actual relationship with themselves and with others.
I won't spoil anything, but it's probably one of the most impressive stories seen in video games in a while. With exceptions like BioShock Infinite or Spec Ops: The Line, there haven't been plots like this in recent titles, and probably won't for some time now.
Gameplay
While, in terms of story, The Last of Us does a formidable job, in terms of gameplay things are a bit rocky, especially when it comes to stealth and the AI.
First up, the game is a third-person shooter much like the Uncharted series previously made by Naughty Dog. Here, however, there's a stronger emphasis on sneaking around than on shooting or fighting. Joel may be a video game protagonist, but he's quite vulnerable, and the infected, particularly the monstrous Clickers, are a force to be reckoned with.
Throw in the limited supplies for crafting or ammo for the guns, and you'll practically be forced to sneak around many areas in the game.
While the stealth mechanics are pretty good, especially the novel Listen system that sees Joel focus his hearing and detect enemies through walls, the AI has a few quirks. Most of the times, the creatures behave normally, following sounds in the case of Clickers, or sights in the case of Runners, or both, in the case of human foes like Hunters. Other times, however, they'll either be completely ignorant of the player and his allies, or they'll detect him from huge distances, even if he's crouching or in cover.
Besides the somewhat hit-and-miss AI, the game delivers a great time that will certainly delight those looking for a survival experience. There's a big emphasis on crafting, as Joel can find all sorts of materials in the different levels, which can then be used to create healing kits, but also offensive weapons like Molotov cocktails or nail bombs.
When you do get into fights, The Last of Us is a far cry from the Uncharted games, as the melee combat is much more brutal and varied, while the gunplay is less accurate, as Joel's arm sways when shooting, making long distance hits almost impossible, if you don't invest in upgrading his skills and weapons by collecting special materials.
Exploration is also vital, as players need to make their way across many destroyed environments. Joel is a much less agile version of Nathan Drake, and he'll regularly use things like ladders to climb up walls or planks to traverse the rooftops, instead of attempting death-defying jumps.
During combat, Joel will be helped by Ellie and, at some points, other AI-controlled allies. Sadly, they aren't that useful and, when sneaking around, they can break the immersion. For example, when trying to go through an area crawling with Clickers by being as silent as possible, you often see Ellie or the other companions running around and making a lot of noise. Thankfully, they aren't detected by clickers so they won't impact the stealth attempt.
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[/col] [/row] [row] [col]Multiplayer
Besides the story-based single-player campaign, The Last of Us also features a multiplayer mode called Factions. Here, players can choose a group, either the Hunters or the Fireflies, and fight for survival by engaging in matches in two different modes called Supply Raid or Survivors.
In Supply Raid, you face off against the enemy team and try to explore a map to search for crafting materials. Each team has a limited number of respawns, so surviving is crucial.
In Survivors, staying alive is even more important, as this experience consists of matches of seven rounds. Each round has no respawns, so death means you have to wait until the start of the next one.
While both experiences are quite intense and there's a bigger meta-game, in which you win survivors each time a match ends, depending on your performance, it doesn't really feel that great. This is largely because the gameplay, with its wobbly guns and erratic melee, makes it feel like it's based more on luck than on skill.
Graphics and Sound
For a PlayStation 3 game, The Last of Us looks really good, but its opening areas, which take place in a gritty, grey city and at night, don't do it much justice. Only later, when Joel and Ellie start reaching new locations, do things get more pleasant visually.
While character models look really great, the PS3 is showing its age and the game has some low-quality textures in quite a few areas, not to mention a few animation errors, especially in regards to the melee combat.
In terms of sound, the game does a much better job, with a soundtrack that knows when to stay eerily quiet to make the monsters sound even more imposing, and when to ramp up the rhythm.
Major props go to the two voice actors, Troy Baker as Joel and Ashley Johnson as Ellie, who deliver great performances and make the two characters stand out from many other video game heroes. Secondary characters also do a good job and players will really feel a connection with most of them.
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[/col] [/row] [row] [col]Conclusion
The Last of Us is a great game that blends a superb story with gameplay that hits almost all of the right goals. Had it not been for the AI and the somewhat superfluous multiplayer, the game would be more than worthy of a maximum grade. Even so, PS3 owners owe it to themselves to try out the impressive title.
Check out the gameplay screenshots for The Last of Us below, but *please be warned that discretion is advised, as the subtitles in some of them contain instances of language that might offend.
